What I Knit for Christmas:

Now that the Holiday of Doom (tm) is over, I can divulge my knitting activities (although I'm not 100% done, but more on that later).

Unfortunately, my camera is MIA so pics will be up as soon as I locate the dang thing!

2 pairs of felted slippers for the in-laws

3 intarsia skull beanies for 2 BILs and a niece

1 matching beanie & scarf (done in horrid Moda Dea yarn) for wee-young niece

1 two-tone Coronet with a matching (in fiber and one of the colors of the hat) Falling Water scarf

6 soap socks to accompany handmade (by someone else) soaps

1 pair of Fuzzy Feet for my sis

2 "already knit and sitting in my F.O. stash pile" scarves

1 slouchy beret for my BFF. That her on-screen presence is "Queen of Curls" should explain why I went with "slouchy" and "beret" on her. She also got a neck-warmer thingymajig . . .

of which if knit . . .

7 neck-warmer thingymajigs and I only gifted one (see above).

Hands down, my absolute LOVE LOVE LOVE of the things I knit-gifted this year are my MIL's red felted clogs. They are So. Stink'n. Cute. and if they were for anyone else but her, I'm not sure I would have given them up.

My FIL's felted clogs were pretty good looking too, as were the skull hats I did.

Sheila's slouchy beret turned out really well also, thanks to Jollyewe's input and tips. I hope the coral/salmon color looks as good on her as I imagine. Her neckwarmer came from my never-ending skein of Lisa Souza's beautiful blue/green/purple alpaca blend. Sheila AND her sister saw me knitting with it and declared the colorway "Sheila's colors" . . . so what was I supposed to do? LOL.

Wee-young niece's hat & scarf were made in yarn that I knew she would love - Eden in the dark blue and light blue (grey?). It feels like (synthetic) rabbit fur. So very soft! Mike told me she kept petting the scarf and saying "soooooo soooooffft". More on her hat later.

My sis's Fuzzy Feet were bound off, felted and dried today. I dunno about this pattern though. From everything I read, they are supposed to be gargantuan socks felted down to a human foot size and I accomplished the 'gargantuan sock' part. Upon felting, they appear to be more like felted "bubbles" encasing the feet. There was no identifiable *shape* to them before felting. Pictures of the "before" just didn't look like my "before" and thus my "after" doesn't look like other people's "after" as well.

They are certainly functional enough that I would wear and enjoy them myself, but? You guys know what I mean. Are they what I want to represent my knitting acumen? That, I'm not so sure of. Where did I miss the shaping that should have been there, since my technical knitting was spot-on?

Which leads me to wee-young niece's hat (that matches her scarf). It didn't fit. At. All. Mike said it sat atop her head like a yarmulke (not that Mike's Bush-Okie family has ever seen one in living color, but I knew what he meant).

Mike's mom, my MIL, stated the obvious and said Wee-Young Niece is a McL and "hog-headed". No lie, hand-to-heart, that's what she said. Hog Headed. It's how those Bush-Okies talk.

Two other things:

The soap socks and corresponding handmade soaps didn't garner one mention from any recipient this year. Interesting.

Those other 6 neck-warmers I cranked out? I dunno. It just didn't feel right to give them as gifts. I definitely loved knitting them, and I've worn one or two myself and loved them alot, but . . . they felt like "those things". Items that are enjoyable from a knitter's perspective but wouldn't really be understood from a non-knitter-recipient's perspective. Much like legwarmers or the Clapotis or a lace project.

This year's knitted gifts - some amazing, some pretty damn good, some not-quites and all learning experiences.


Still left to knit:

MY BIL (on *my* family's side) want's a pair of felted slippers, and he deserves them.

A woman dear to Mike is being treated for breast cancer and has recently shaved her head, so I'm working on a worthy hat. I don't think she knows any other knitters and isn't sporting any "worthy" hats, so . . . now's my chance to represent us fiber fiends, lol!