Now that all my knits are gifted, I can post photos and details of the finished items!

The first gift I finished was not the first one I started. This is the Riverbank cowl (by Melissa Thomson) I knit for my sister Jenny. I knit it up in SweetGeorgia Superwash Worsted in the colour China Doll. This was the perfect match of yarn and pattern, and the finished cowl is squishy and drapey, with just enough structure to support all the texture. I especially love that she can wear it as a cowl or a caplet.

My sister Connie requested a pair of socks, so I knit her Saltburn by Rachel Coopey. I used Jill Draper Makes Stuff Splendor Sock (sadly discontinued) in Cobalt and Tanis Fiber Arts Blue Label in Natural. Connie is a huge fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs, so knitting her socks in their colours was an obvious choice. The cables meant the socks aren’t very stretchy, though, so they are a bit snug. So snug in fact that she couldn’t get them on until she soaked them and stretched them wet over her heels (and she does not have big feet). I think they’ll be wearable, but I said I knit her another pair of plain socks in the same colours, since I have yarn left over.

My mum requested a shawl ages ago. Just something small she could wrap around her neck to fight a draught and look nice. I looked at a lot of patterns before settling on Charm, which turned out to be perfect. I knit it up in Hand Maiden Casbah in the Ruby colourway. She wore it all Christmas day, so I’m declaring it a hit.

Both my dad and L got socks. For my dad, I went with something fairly plain, since I don’t think I’ve ever seen him wear exciting socks (and by exciting, I mean other than white socks with jeans or black socks with suits). There’s nothing wrong with a great pair of plain socks, though, especially when they’re a perfect fit, as these turned out to be. I knit them up in two shades of Zitron Unisono, which I intend to stock up on, because it is such a pleasure to knit with and really nice to wear (I knit myself a pair of socks in it almost a year ago).

I went a little fancier for L and went with Charade in Dragonfly Fibers Djinni Sock in Mushroom Hunting B Side. I wrote a fair bit about these socks as I was working on them, but suffice to say, L has been wearing them and says they’re a good fit.

The last gift I knit was a hat for my Uncle Michael. I forgot to get a photo of it before I mailed it off, but I knit it using some Jill Draper Makes Stuff Hudson I had in my stash. This yarn is some of the nicest I’ve knit with in a long time. It’s super soft, springy, and takes Jill’s dyes beautifully. I knit the hat in Chestnut, which is a really warm brown, almost the colour of a cup of hot chocolate. I was worried it wouldn’t arrive in time, but my Uncle e-mailed to say it got there just before Christmas, which is perfect.

How did your Christmas knitting go? I got back from Switzerland on Boxing Day, so there’s a proper post-holidays post coming about pretty yarns and mountain views – I just need to re-acclimate to this time zone first.