I decided that I would
only knit a couple Christmas gifts this year, mostly to help save my sanity. I’ve
been in the “Oh, I’ll just knit them something” rush before and it’s my goal to
avoid that place at all costs from now on! There were a couple things that I really
did want to make this year, so I chose to focus on those, (along with filling
custom orders and creating some things for Etsy).
I was especially
excited about making the Rayures cowl scarf by
Amy Miller. The friend that I made this for is a fantastic artist and an
inspiration to me in many ways. She mostly paints but her creativity branches
out to many other areas as well. Color was extremely important for this
project. I wanted her gift to reflect the vibrancy and the beauty of her
creative personality.
After much
consideration, I decided to go with KnitPicks Palette
in the colors Calypso Heather, Bittersweet Heather, Semolina, and Oyster
Heather. I knit 5 rounds of each color and 20 stripes in each block. This
project ended up taking me a very long time to complete, but part of the reason
was that I started working on it sometime during the summer and was very inconsistent
with my progress. Grafting the two ends together was definitely a lesson in
patience!
Another
gift that I made for a friend this year was a rib stitch hat. I used Ella Rae
Classic Print in color 142, which is a really nice masculine blend of black and
dark green. The colors that are blended into this yarn make me think of things pubs,
cigars, and tweed. There’s a very classic masculine look to the yarn. It struck
me as very stylish and perfect for a hat for a man. I made one of these hats a
while back for my husband, using this same yarn, and we both really liked it. I
based the design on the pattern Hat with Heart by Lynn Anne Banks. The only modification that I made to the pattern was that I cast on 90 stitches.
Since
I didn’t overload myself with knitting projects this year, both of these gifts
were given the attention needed to result in items that were crafted with
quality and were well appreciated. I really enjoy giving gifts at Christmas
time, especially ones that are handmade!
