Product vs. Process

I've got the bulk of my handknitted gifts done; it's so satisfying to see them all lined up.

First off is the sweater for my son.



It's very blue outside today; the colors are actually much brighter. I'm pleased with how this came out, having made my peace with the impossibility of preventing Lorna's Laces yarns from pooling. It has a tie-dyed effect, ¿verdad? I used one of the cool Riri zippers with the multicolored teeth

After I cast off the sweater, I grabbed a crochet hook and made a rainbow beanie.



(I'd forgotten about Mr. Glass Head until today's photo shoot.) This is for my best friend's son.

Then I decided that his sister could also use a crocheted hat, so I followed my own pattern for Balai. Fortunately, I didn't need to refer to the tutorial, but I had to refresh my memory of what I did at the color changes.



Since this is a Stash Reduction Christmas (mostly,) the gold yarn is leftover from the afghan our knitting group made for one of the people who makes our yearly retreat possible. The variegated was actually the oldest yarn in my stash. I bought two colorways of it in Siena in 1989, my second year of knitting. It was a Filatura di Crosa yarn, I'm sure, and I knitted an allover cabled sweater with these two colors of already-multicolored yarn. Way too much going on in that sweater. I never did wear it much. (I should point out that I was living in Tucson at the time as well.) But it looks nice in broomstick crochet.

I was going to make my best friend herself a pair of fingerless gloves, but I found a beautiful handmade wire bracelet at a local artisans' sale, so I knitted a little pouch to put it in.



And, finally, I finished my cashmere Fan Neckwarmer last night.



Again, it's not really that blue. This is going to my son's science teacher, who is a knitter herself, and my favorite person at the school. I love the reclaimed cashmere yarn; I'm trying to decide what fabulous thing I can make for myself with the 1 1/2 skeins I have left.

I'm not done with presents. I have a flannel shirt cut out for my dad, a pair of flannel pants to make for my son (a loud plaid to go with the loud sweater) a couple more cloth grocery bags for my mom, and then two more things to knit. A pair of fingerless gloves for another friend and something for my daughter's teacher. She wears handknit sweaters from her own mom, so she appreciates handknits, too. Luckily, only the teacher gift is that time-sensitive. People are coming here for Christmas, so I can be working feverishly until midnight on Christmas Eve if necessary. I'll let you know.