'Tis the Season

Sorry I haven't posted in a while.  To be honest, I don't really have that much to blog about.  I've been spending these early summer months getting a head start on my Christmas knitting (early bird and all that).  I thought I would leisurely work on my holiday gifts while working on other projects, and enjoy the summer months.  But I find that once I start a project, I become obsessed with finishing it quickly to move on to the next big project (no just enjoying the journey for me!).

Right now, I'm finishing up a Xmas gift for my mother-in-law, a cardigan with a decorative yoke.  (An aside - believe it or not, I can't find the right buttons for this sweater!  Everything I look at is the wrong color red, or the wrong size or style).

I find the decision to give handmade gifts a hard one.  I worry that the person receiving the gift won't like it, or doesn't really care for handmade items.  After the decision to make a gift is made, I still wrestle with picking the right pattern - and with the cardigan - the right size.

I knitted gifts for my family last year, with mixed results.  I made my mother-in-law a lap blanket or afghan.  She always complains of being cold, so I thought it would be a pretty safe choice.  Even if she didn't really like the pattern or color, she could just use it around the house while watching tv and such.  But I really don't know if she ever uses it.

And I made everyone on my side of the family scarves.   The one person I thought might not care for the gift was my sister, who has been known to simply throw out gifts she doesn't want. 

I made her a gray scarf with a simple, but I think, feminine cable pattern to it.  Surprisingly, she took to wearing it right away.  Although I didn't know the color of her coat, the gray was an easy choice.  My sister only wears gray, black, red, white and blue (?!?)

And I made scarves for my folks. 

This beautiful Misty Garden for my Mom.  She wears a bunch of different coats throughout the winter months, depending on the weather.  I thought this striping Noro yarn, in its many colors, would go with a lot of different outfits.

And a more conservative gansey pattern for my Dad.  My Dad never wore his, but in his defense, I've never seen him wear a scarf.

  Lastly, I made this blue neckwarmer for my wonderful husband.

He happily wore his handmade scarf, but then, he didn't have much of a choice in the matter :)