Geesh, is it really this far into the new year all ready?  I have had a hard time getting back into the swing of things here after my Christmas break.  We did have a good time with Barry parents in town.  Christmas letters did not get mailed, neighbor treats did not get done, but such is life during a busy time of year.  I’m hoping our friends and family will be pleasantly surprised to get Valentines this year.

So, I decided to focus on making handmade gifts for our parents this year, rather than the kids.  I started in November with a sweater for my mom, then moved on to hats for my dad and Barry’s parents.

The sweater was my third Shalom.  (See the first two here and here.)  This time with sleeves!  I had really wanted my blue one to have sleeves, but miscalculated the amount of yarn I needed.  Truth be told, the thick wool it is knit with would be SO hot if it did have sleeves that it is fine just how it is.  I do wear it a lot.

It turned out really cute and I hope not too itchy.  My mom is super wool sensitive like I am.  I tried Knit Picks Swish Chunky superwash merino.  It was really nice to work with and I love the color.  I think it is soft enough too, as long as you have a long sleeve shirt underneath.

I know I need to broaden my sweater repertoire, but this is such a simple sweater to knit and fits cute on just about everyone.  Top down knitting is marvelous because you can try it on as you go.  I just really, really love this pattern.  Maybe I’ll move on to another top down cardigan this year.  I’m really dreaming of making a really soft brown one of these that I could wear every day.  What do you think?  Is it different enough?

So, on the left there is the hat I knit for my mother in-law and on the right is the one for my dad. (Find these patterns at knitty here and here.)

I had to keep starting my mother in-law’s hat over.  Either the baby would get a hold of it, or I would lose count on the lace pattern and really mess it up.  I knit it at least 4 times– I probably could have knit another sweater with all the time it took– but it turned out cute in the end, I think.  It’s obviously knit from the same yarn as my mom’s sweater and I love the color.

The one for my dad is my first ever foray into cables.  It was quick and fun and much easier to keep track of than the lacy leaves of the other hat.  It is knit with the softest yarn I have ever, ever used– malabrigo baby merino.  He modeled it for me during our Christmas day skype chat, so I know it fits.

I knit another hat for my father in-law and only have one photo of it.

I don’t know if it will ever really get used.  I should have taken into account the fact that he uses hats just to keep the top of his head warm and not his ears and made it a bit shorter.  Hopefully knowing that he was one of the few recipients of my hand made love will be gift enough.  It’s made from the same yarn as my blue sweater— soft and warm.

So, there you have it.  My first post of the new year about the old year.  Just wait ’til you see the handmade gifts Brenna and Jonah (and I, of course) made each other.  They’re awesome.