A Very Matthews Christmas

I am on the ball this year with Christmas gifts. I have already finished all the gifts for my in-laws this year. I've got a good deal more knitting to do for my Mom, Walker and me, but I've made excellent progress.
For Mary, I made the Smock-a-Ruche Scarf from 101 Designer One Skein Wonders. I used Cascade Eco + Bulky. Not my favorite yarn ever, but it keeps the shape well and I liked the color a lot. I think Mary will, too.For Walker's mom, I made the Twisted Stitch Gauntlets from Interweave Knits Holiday Gifts 2007. I used Karabella Aurora 4, which is a really soft merino in sport weight. Not a terribly easy knit, but enjoyable all the same. I really like that the cuff will go over her coat sleeve and keep her wrists warm.

I asked Walker's mom what the boys would like for Christmas and I was pleased to hear that they wanted the easiest things ever to knit: hats! For Walker's dad, I made the Jacques Cousteau hat (a Ravelry download) in Knitpicks City Tweed DK. Really really soft yarn, but I think there are too many little 'fuzzies' in there. Good for a men's hat, though.

Charles is getting a Seaman's Cap, also a Ravelry download. The yarn I used was Knitpicks' Wool of the Andes, an excellent standby yarn. I got a little creative with the striping because I was running out of the black yarn, but I like the result all the same. It was a little small on Walker's head, so I'm really hoping it'll fit Charles...

I guess we'll see come Christmastime.

For the rest of the family, I am working on a beautiful shawl out of Knitted Lace of Estonia for Mom and just finished the Tilted Duster from Interweave Knits Fall 2007 for Miss Caroline. Once I finish Mom's shawl, I'll do a Wilkes gift edition. I am also working on a matching pair of stocking for the Mister and myself for our first married Christmas. They are based on the Judy's Colors stockings, which are only sold in absurdly expensive kits, so I made a heavily modified version of my own, so ha! I'm done with the cuff portion of Walker's, so I still have a ways to go...

In non-Christmas related news, I'm going to have to frog Venezia. She is just too small and blocking is not what I need. I'm going to have to either start over or move on to something else. Sad :(. After all the Christmas stuff I have a few other projects I want to work on, so redoing the Venezia marathon is not exactly a welcome development right now, but it's such a beautiful pattern that I can't abandon it.

I hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and got to spend some quality time with your families. Good luck with all your Christmas shopping/other holiday endeavors!

Cheers,

-Allie