Christmas Knitting (Almost) Done!

Here's the Christmas knitting roundup:

For my neice, a pair of Faux-Felted Mittens (and a second pair, not photographed, for my sister) --

For my Aunt Alice, a sweater with a story --
This sweater was knit on size 13 needles with three strands of yarn in different colors held together. Aunt Alice gave me the bag of yarn and pattern (ordered as a kit from a magazine some years ago) this fall, saying she was never going to get to knit it (she has carpal tunnel problems) and so I might as well have the yarn and needles. I decided to go ahead and knit her the sweater for Christmas :) Her birthday is January 1, so I mailed both Christmas and birthday presents late last week, so she may be getting it today -- surprise! Even Don commented that it looked funny with me knitting on those huge needles. The most interesting part was crocheting the covers for the buttons -- I should have gotten a picture of me with my ipad on my lap, open to a crochet tutorial, while working on these.

Next up, the biggest project of the holiday, a sweater for my mother:
A few years ago, I offered to make my mother a sweater and she said she'd rather have a quilt. Well, it took a couple of years to get a quilt done for her, much to her dismay. Once she got a quilt she kept commenting how much she'd like a sweater like one or two I've made for myself. In August, there was a LYS near my sister which was closing and having a big sale. I scored this beautiful red Lambs Pride Worsted and made the cardigan version of Nordic Impression by Donna Kay. I have the same sweater in blue (also Lambs Pride), knitted when the boys were in 5th & 6th grade and it is one of my favorites. This one got presented with needles and yarn still attached on Christmas Day, but was finished the next day in time for Mom to wear it at the extended family Christmas party in Hermon. It fits!

And, last but not least, a Japanese Vines scarf from a cotton/linen blend yarn (Classic Elite Allegoro) for one son's girlfriend who is allergic to wool. This is the same woman I made the Saroyan scarf for last Christmas out of wool and alpaca -- they didn't tell me about her allergy until last summer. I hope this will soften up a bit when I block it. The yarn is rough on my fingers, but it is moving along pretty quickly now that all of the other projects are taken care of. She is coming to visit on Thursday, so that is my deadline.

I hope all of your holiday knitting is finished and that you are enjoying a breathing spell as you contemplate projects for the new year!