Counting Down the Days

Hello,

Wow, it's December 4th already!  My how the time has flown by the last couple of weeks.  We have been in decorating mode here at my house the past few days, and I think we're almost finished.  As you can see, I've got my Advent bunting out and have begun to count down the days to Christmas.  It never fails to bring a smile to my face every time I see these colourful stars hanging up there.  It makes getting closer to Christmas seem like a happy time, not something to stress over because I haven't gotten my gifts done yet.  Which is a reminder I need quite frequently.

Speaking of gifts, we finally had some sunshine this morning, so I took a bunch of photos of my finished and in-progress gifts.

I did finish Dad's Sesame Street Socks, which were the November socks-of-the-month, actually in November.  The 18th to be exact.  I know the colours are a little "out there" for his tastes, but I was trying to work from my stash, and this was the most manly yarn I had.  I do hope he likes them, and like I said before, I'm just going to tell him they are his "happy socks."  Really, they go on your feet, so it shouldn't matter too much.

I also finished a couple of crocheted cowls:

This one is the Cuddle Cowl from the book Crochet Boutique by Rachael Oglesby.  Which on a side note, I want to make almost everything in this book!  This one worked up very quick in a nice bulky yarn.

And the Calm Cowl, which I showed in-progress a little while ago, is now done and I'm very happy with how it turned out.  I didn't have quite enough yarn, so it's a bit thinner than the pattern, but I still think it's rather cute.

I also knit up a couple hats:

A Modern Rib hat for my cousin's husband.  I made it a bit shorter than the pattern because I thought the brim might be too bulky when folded twice.

And my Mom picked up a skein of Patons Delish after seeing a hat sample at the local yarn shop and asked me to make her one for Christmas.  I used the same pattern, but I had a little less yarn for the pompom when I was done than I would have preferred, which I'm sure has something to do with my gauge.  I still made a little one, and it looks alright.  If she doesn't like it, I can always remove it for her.

I made this cute little Tiny Cactus for a silly gift.  I've had this pattern in my queue for a long while and thought it was about time to crochet it up.  I crocheted through the back loop for the whole thing, which I find easier to do for tiny toys like this, and I think it looks quite good this way.  I always enjoy making things like this, they never fail to bring a little extra fun to my crafting.

I also have quite a few more WIPs, but I think I will wait and share those with you all tomorrow.  I hope you are enjoying getting ready for the Holiday Season too!

xoxo