Handmade Holidays

The first handmade gift of the holiday season is for myself - a new double-pointed knitting needle roll.  Using fabrics from our trip to Japan last February I put this sweet little roll together in about an hour.  It replaces my much larger needle case crafted in 2008.  That one was made to accommodate 10 to 14-inch straight needles.  In the years since I made that case I have gravitated towards using circular needles and my little double points kept falling out of the over sized roll. 

I am just in love with this little case - it is perfectly sized and the fabrics make me so happy.

This next gift is a whimsical tree ornament from the Posie Gets Cozy collection that I have been working through.  When I was working the most recent set of three ornaments I made a rookie mistake by crafting two identical trees when I should have made mirror images!  I even make this mistake TWICE - on the snowflake ornament too - just goes to show that crafting and mothering at the same time don't always work out the way that you expect.  Yikes.  At first I was disappointed/frustrated by my silly error, but quickly realized that with a little more effort I could turn it into a second ornament.  This second tree will go to my Mother-in-Law for Christmas.

The kit was actually sold out for this set of ornaments so I purchased the pattern and then ordered felt and matching floss from Prairie Woolens.    

This cowl, completed a couple months ago, will head to my Sister-in-Law.

This next needle case will go to my niece who has recently learned to knit.  I purchased sets of aluminum straight needles (which she seems to prefer) from Ebay and crafted the case to fit them.  Paired with some skeins of yarn it will make a great starter knitting kit for her.  And since I am partial to them, I put in a couple circular needles and double-points to round out the collection for her too.

Speaking of knitting, we have THREE new knitters under our roof!  This past month I taught my three older daughters to knit and they just took off.  The scarves they are creating are incredible and they couldn't be more excited to watch their own progress.  Abby (below) is wearing the first thing she ever knit - a red scarf for her favorite 5th grade teacher.  We had to google 'average length for a men's scarf' which came back about about 6 feet.  Abby decided to cut this one off at 5 feet.

My eight year old is part of a Girl Scout Troop that is focused heavily on the arts.  This past month they went to a local pottery studio that also carries a great selection of beads.  She was so into it!  In that short afternoon she made earrings for her older sisters.

The following week she and I took a separate trip to a local beading store and made more earrings for older sisters and a necklace for her younger sister.

I am so excited the crafting and creating is becoming a part of what we can do together as a family and that they are all excited to make things for others.  While I didn't 'make' as much this year as I have in years past I am finding so much joy in seeing my girls make for others.