Christmas Knits

Christmas is over for another year, and however you are celebrating at this time of year I hope you had a lovely time.

I like many other makers, made a lot of my Christmas gifts this year. I made sure I didn't give myself a million and one different things to make this year, as I know there is a fine line before I end up getting overwhelmed and loose my mojo all together. I did however manage to get one present started and finished in the summer, so I was well on my way. I thought I would give a run down of the things I've made for gifts this year, even the questionable ones!

Sam's F1 Socks
These were one of the last presents I made, they were mostly made when I came to finish them off, but they spent a lot of time with a thousand ends to sew in and missing their heels. I did have a small sense of humour failure after spending almost two days weaving in ends, which has put me off a tiny bit from finishing my own pair of F1 socks, which really have taken a back seat for now.

I thought this design up after being inspired by a pair of socks that Rachel from the Crafty Historian podcast made, detailing the women throughout the Game of Thrones series. Mine however needed me to think about how to display each podium and race of the F1 season. I'm very pleased with how I managed to do it, and might even right the pattern up for future use - if I can find a way to get rid of quite so many ends! ;)

The pair of socks were mainly made up of Coop Knits Socks Yeah! in a few different colours representing the different teams. Mercedes in Chryso, Ferrari in Carnelian, Red Bull in Benitolite, Toro Rosso in Larimar, and suprising us all McLaren in Citrine. The heels, toes and cuffs break the mould being West Yorkshire Spinners signature 4-ply in a plain black colour. I made this pair cuff down with afterthought heels, cut in using a cardboard cut out of Sam's foot. The socks weren't a great fit sadly, but they were fortunately too big instead of too small. Maybe the next pair need to be on a smaller needle.

Needless to say, regardless of the fit Sam loved them and kept on telling anyone who would listen about them.

Pop Socks
This present was one of the very first I made this year, started late May and finished in July. They are a simple vanilla sock, made with my usual sock recipie, using 64 stitches.
There isn't really much exciting to say about this pair, they have German Short Row heels and are made from Austermann Step sock yarn, colour way 328.

This pair I gave to my Dad for Christmas, but I am not sure how well they fit. I didn't have a cardboard cut out of his foot so I made them to fit Sam's feet which are a similar size. I hope they are alright.

Becca Socks
The next in a longish line of socks I made this year were a pair for my sister-in-law, this was another 64 stitch vanilla sock. This one with a shorter cuff length, but still with a German Short Row heel.

The yarn I used for this one was Opal sock yarn although I don't actually know what colour way. It is interesting working with a few of the other work horse sock yarns, seeing as I have worked with West Yorkshire Spinners almost exclusively apart from the odd luxury skein of sock yarn here and there. I'm going to see how these two pairs turn out and maybe I'll work a little bit more with them in the future.

Chris Socks
Now this is where the socks become a little more interesting. I did a little more thinking for this pair, as my brother does have rather large feet but fortunately I did have a cardboard cut out of his foot to help me. I decided I would use a 2.5mm needle and 64 stitches, which is my larger go to sock recipe but to make sure they would stretch even further I decided to make the sock a 2x2 rib.

So setting out with a suitable hardy West Yorkshire Spinners signature 4-ply in the pheasant colour way. I made these with a longer then normal leg, as I know that is what my brother likes. I had to be somewhat careful that they weren't going to be too long and I end up struggling to fit them around his calf. The sole of the sock was in plain socking stitch, but I continues the rib down the top of the foot.

I think out of all the socks I've made this year, these are definitely the ones I'm most pleased with , both in style and in fit. I also believe they were received rather well.

Emma Socks
The last pair of gift socks for this year, and lets be perfectly honest, they weren't the best, but the person who got them was grateful. I've made a pair of socks for my best friend Emma before and I thought that this time I'd treat her to another pair. She had recently given me some cotton yarn, which I thought would be good for the job. Having already given me some to make a pair for her Mum. Unfortunately I didn't learn from the first pair...

So I cast on the normal 64 stitches on a 2.5mm needle, and decided that I'd skip my least favourite part of the sock and make a shortie pair. I hate knitting the leg on socks. The pair went smoothly, top down with a German Short Row heel. But my, they were far wider then I was expecting. The same thing happened with the other cotton pair, so it shouldn't be a surprise.

Like I say, they were quick, easy, and well received, if not baggy and only useful for slippers. Maybe I should learn to make cotton socks properly.

Alison Hat
First of the hats, one for my other sister-in-law. She got socks from me last year as well as my brother, so I decided to make them hats this year. Alison's hat was one I started fairly early, and was something that had been in my queue for a little while, so it was nice to make.

It did spark off a little urge to make many more hats, which I haven't quite satisfied yet. I used the leftovers from the un-dyed skein in my Fern and Feather jumper, a DK skein of Grande Merino from Countess Ablaze and a 3.75mm circular needle. The project didn't last long and was a lovely palette cleanser between other projects at the time.

The pattern, Irma Hat by Aneta Gasiorowska, was nice to work through and used simple methods to create a lovely pattern. It really was a joy to knit, and lovely to see it enjoyed when gifted.

Colin Hat
This hat was  I think the present that brought me the most joy in making. A somewhat ridiculous panda hat for my brother, I was tempted to make a matching one for his son, but seeing as the sizing started at 8 years old, his 5 month old would have a long time before it would fit. So I only made one

It was the first time I used my book on knitting animal hats in earnest. I've used it once before to get the basic hat pattern to make a walrus hat a little while ago for a friend of mine. I've found the book intuitive to use, and I was quite pleased with the hat once I was done. Unfortunately I don't have a photo of the finished hat, but when I do I will add it in here.
I used a simple acrylic chunky yarn as I wanted it to be easy maintenance. There was a fleece lining to the hat as well, which kept it snuggly and warm and ready for the winter.

Leo's Jumper
For my baby nephew I decided to make a christmas jumper. He's small enough that knitting a jumper for him isn't a huge undertaking. I wanted the jumper to have a Christmas-y feel, so decided on a red jumper with some colour work. I decided to use the Flax pattern by Tin Can Knits. It's one I've used before to make a jumper for Leo when he was born. I made the 1 to 2 year old size, which given my gauge has come out slightly large, but he'll grow into it.

I took to Pinterest to find some charts and get a little inspiration to hack the Flax pattern. I found a snowflake chart and a polar bear chart, that I thought were lovely. I'm a sucker for a polar bear, I used the Flax pattern for the bare bones of the jumper, leaving out the garter stitch panels on the sleeves. I planned out the number of stitches on the body and the charts I had found to try and work out the best way to fit the pattern into the jumper.

I used the first part of the jumper before the sleeve separation as a gauge swatch and whilst the width of the jumper was going to be fine, the body would be a little long. The length of the body I wasn't really worried about, he is a long baby. For my first major colour work project I am glad that it was a baby jumper. I am also quite pleased with how it turned out. The jumper did turn out a little bit on the large size, but I am looking forward to seeing my little nephew in his new jumper.

Wallace and Gromit
This present was one which warmed my heart when I gifted it. The person who received it was made up, and it felt so good. I made a little amigurumi crochet Wallace and Gromit, which were far from perfect. The pattern and yarn came from a kit that was given to me, with the person I made them for in mind. The pattern was quick, like most crochet, and was easy to follow. I wasn't too keen on all the sewing up though.

I have to admit the individual pieces got made up quite quickly and then spent a good few weeks in a box waiting to be joined together. I finally got myself together and joined all the pieces up and my least favourite bit, sewing on the faces. The faces left a little bit to be desired, but we got the general effect. Terrifying. The faces weren't the only far from perfect bit. Wallace's jumper was a little too short, showing a little part of his midriff, not to mention the problems with Gromit.

Gromit started off so well, but things got a little wrong when I ran out of yarn for Gromit's legs. Gromit sadly ended up with rather short front legs. I then had no yarn left for his back legs. I used the leftover yarn from Wallace's head, as it was the closest colour I had left, so he now has slightly off colour, and slightly longer back legs. Despite all things that were wrong with both Wallace and Gromit, they were absolutely loved. It does go to show that no matter how many flaws we see in our own work, the people we love, who love us, will always see the best.

Bag and Bunting
The last present I made was a sewing project, and one I finished fairly early. I had the task of turning three pieces of material into a present. I had three very similar pieces of fabric, they had a sheep design on them, but in three different colours. The person they were for loved the material and I had got my hands on three oddments of them to make something. I settled for one piece of bunting and a bag. I wanted a small quilted bag, and managed to find a free online pattern and tutorial for one.

The pieces were an awkward size and I had a fun time trying to jigsaw puzzle the pieces on what fabric I had left after making the bunting. I managed though, and I am pretty pleased with the outcome. The pattern was from The Fabric Mutt and includes a brilliant walk through tutorial, which really does hold your hand from start to finish. I'm happy to say that this present was loved by the person I give it too, but unfortunately I haven't got many good photos of it. I have also managed to get no photos of the bunting either.

That is where all the hand made gifts ended for this year. I felt quite pleased that I managed to get quite a few presents done, and they were really well received which made me all the more want to make gifts again next year.