A Handmade Christmas!

I managed (with a few last minute late night knitting sessions) to get all my handmade family gifts done in time for Christmas. I did not (of course) get pics done in time to post on or around Christmas time. Ha. 

For my dad, I made this toque, using "Clink Hat," a free pattern from Ellie Ellis on Ravelry. It's extra special because of the name of the pattern. Hmmm . . . how to explain the significance of the word 'clink' . . . 

Well, my dad likes to use random words in contexts that don't necessarily make sense. And I do too. "Clink" and "Clank" are recent faves of ours. Sometimes used as a (non-angry, jokey) expletive. Sometimes just used for the sake of using it in a sentence: "The interclank isn't working again" (oft used in our house these days, unfortunately). Too weird? Well, the toque is pretty great anyways.

For my mom, I made a cowl necklace, improvising from a pattern from radmeagan. I don't have the fancy lucet tool that the pattern calls for, so I just used two fingers, held in a V (should make sense if you look at the picture of the lucet in her pattern). I also threw in some crochet here and there to make it look more textured.

My brother Darren is always the biggest challenge to make for, because he's very particular about what he wears. I don't know for sure, but I suspect that most of the toques and mits I've made for him have been much cherished (he's sentimental that way) and never worn. So this year, I made him something to decorate his home instead of his person! I didn't have a pattern for this, but if you know how to cable and how to graft, it's not too difficult to figure out: 

1. knit a scarf that is as wide as a cushion and twice as long
2. fold it in half, graft the ends together
3. graft the open sides together
4. voila! 

I just did cables on one side, because . . . well, cables take a heck-of-a-lot longer than not-cables.

My youngest brother, Eric, wanted an old-school ski toque, so I made him this one (again, no pattern). I liked it so much that I made one for myself after Christmas!

And then we all posed for a family photo, which is like everyone's gift to mom. Because she really wants us to, and we really don't want to at all.

P.S. I didn't tell anyone to wear their new handmade Christmas paraphernalia; they did that all on their own!