Christmas Present Making

I have a total of 14 Christmas gifts to make each year.  This is for various nieces, nephews, great nieces, great nephews, friends, etc.  I usually start in August!

This year I have made a variety of hat and mitten sets (usually for the younger ones), 4 bags for the older girls, scarfs and a shawl.  I can't post pictures yet because some of the friends that I make presents for may look in here.

Late last year I bought 6 skeins of suede yarn on sale at $1.00 a piece.  I didn't know what I would do with it, but I knew I would find something.  This is what I have used to make the bags for the girls.  A little flower embellishment and they came out really cute.

I have the shawl to finish and a scarf to make and I'm all done.  I may have an additional couple of pairs of mittens to make, but I have time.  Oh, I forgot about the 2 Christmas Stockings I have to sew.  Yikes.

So how are your Christmas projects coming?

Knitting

So the second sock is done and I'm very happy with the set.  Next time I will make the leg a little longer, about 1.5 to 2 inches and taper the top a bit.  Ah live and learn.

Speaking of learning, most of my Christmas presents are handmade.  It is just too expensive otherwise, I have a huge amount of nieces and nephews.  Plus the few friends I make gifts for seem to appreciate them.  In making a scarf for one of my friends I learned a great cast on technique when making ribbing.  It is the long tail and reverse long tail method.  It actually makes your first row for you.

Thanks to knittinghelp.com and knitdaily.com for the videos and emails that helped me learn them.  I love learning new ways to make things look nice.

Knitting Socks - the second sock

I found a much easier way to do short row heels.  Thank you Gia for suggesting the website knitting help.  It was invaluable.  It also gave me a few pointers about how to do the Turkish toes.

As anyone who has ever had to pull out rows, it is always hard to pick the stitches back up again.  When you have to do it for over 12 rounds and the yarn is superfine fingering weight and the needles are size 3...argh.  It is my own fault for not paying attention to my count.

Onward and upward.