Make my own Christmas gifts

This one’s for my SIL. (I’m not married legally, but…we’re still pretty much married.) Pink is her favorite color. I was never too keen on pink, but this color spoke to me. I am loving how it turned out.

Lauren’s cabled scarf – DONE. Two more (easy) scarves to go. Hot damn, I’m an addict.

FINALLY, they’re done. I finished the first one fairly quickly, but the second one seemed to take forever. I got bored and wanted to work on other things – the dreaded Second Mitten Syndrome. Anyway, here they are.

Disclaimer: I hope I don’t offend anyone. They’re meant to be playful and silly, not rude and offensive. My bf saw a pic of these and fell in love with them. He’s going to be so surprised and delighted when he opens these up.

The two skeins of yarn I needed to complete the two remaining afghans have been received (bought from ebay), so now I can finish those up. Aside from the throws, I need to make a scarf for my SIL, finish KJ’s mittens and hat, and figure out what to make for my pops. I’m really on the ball this year, because I started way early. I started planning these gifts in Feb and was working on them in March. It’s nice to not have as much pressure on me as I did last year to get them done in time for the Big Day.

Mark: moose hat – DONE
Mom: autumn afghan – working at least 1 row per day, about 55% completed. Need to buy another skein of “fall” yarn to complete.
Mike’s mom: Holiday throw – DONE
Mike’s grandma: Granny throw – about 85% complete. I ran out of yarn for one of the colors. I only need about 1 foot to finish the project, but I’ll have to buy another whole skein of yarn. Sheesh.
Cindy: snowflake throw – DONE
Mikey: snow mittens – First mitten is done, and I’m about 15% into the second. I’m also making him a hat, which I just started.

I’ve tried working on one project at a time, because I think that seems logical and rational. But I can’t stand it. I get waaaaay too bored. I prefer to flutter around from one to the next. It keeps life exciting. :)

Oh, dear. I’ve hit a wall. I knew when I decided to make all of these throws this year that I was biting off an awful lot. It’s catching up to me, it seems.

I’m starting to develop symptoms of tendonitis in my left hand, so I’ve got to take a few days off to rest. It’s very hard to do! I did get to work on the Noel throw for about 45 mins today, however; so all is not lost. I expect a few weeks of rest, wearing a brace, and then limiting my crochet time each day will result in a remission of symptoms. Here’s hoping.

I believe my problem stems from the way that I hold the yarn. I don’t loop it through my fingers the way most crocheters do. I hold it between my first and middle finger, similar to how people hold a cigarette. This places a ton of pressure on my ring finger and wrist. So today, while wearing my brace, I sat at the table and forced myself to crochet the ‘correct’ way. It still feels unnatural to me, but I will get used to it. There was no pain, so I believe this may be the remedy. Still, I’m going to take it easy.

Knitting and crochet = super addictive. These are very hard to give up, even for a short time. I’m trying to distract myself with different hobbies. Perhaps this is an opportune time to learn how to use a sewing machine, since that’s another hobby I’ve been wanting to learn.

has been started and I’ve made considerable progress. 12 blocks (consisting of 4 small squares each) and 13 large squares in total. So far I’ve got 4 blocks and 2 large squares made. Screwed up on one of the squares but think I solved the problem.

Finished the second throw today. I think it turned out really cool; but, alas, holiday-themed yarn looks a tad out of place in mid-July. (I wonder where Christmas in July came from.) If the picture doesn’t thrill you, look at it again in December when it’s frosty outside. I guarantee you’ll love it then. Right now I look at it and see “HOT. Too damn hot to be working on afghans.”

Anyway, my MIL is gonna go ape when she opens this up on Christmas Day. Can’t wait!

The Brilliant Twilight hat I knitted for K is done, as well. I originally planned on giving that to him for Christmas, but it will likely wind up being a birthday gift instead.

The blankets are all coming along. I started them plenty early this year, so I could avoid the stress of a time crunch. I’m very pleased with how things are coming along.

I started this project yesterday:
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/brilliant-twilight

It’s Fair Isle on fingerling weight yarn, but it’s already a quick knit…and a welcome diversion from the endless Stockinette stitch of the sweater that I’m working on concurrently. I fell in love with this pattern as soon as I saw it and knew it would be perfect for my guy. It reminds me of the sky in the Peanuts’ holiday specials. I always loooove the colors they use in that animation, especially in “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.” I hope he loves it as much as I do. I’m certain he will.

Home for the Holidays afghan – 69/110 granny squares complete
Entrelac – had to frog two rounds because I screwed up. Re-did one of those rounds and will finish the second one today possibly
Noel throw – 6 motifs completed.

I now have all of the gifts started.