Knitted Gifts Galore!

Here is a long overdue post. I'll try and be concise because I have a lot of things to talk about and I usually ramble..

Finished Objects:
1.) Beth's Dashing Wristwarmers!

Beth picked out the yarn (and paid for it!! What a perfect deal for both of us!). She picked out nice yarn too. The charcoal colored yarn is 100% baby alpaca wool, turned out gorgeous and so warm and fuzzy and sooo soft to knit with. It doesn't have great stitch definition, which the pattern does look good with, but I still like this pattern with the alpaca wool. They didn't photograph very well, but you can see the cables in real life, and the wristwarmers have a great texture and body to them. Knitted on US size 5 needles.

2.) Beth's Meret

This gorgeous yarn is Malabrigo merino wool. It was fun to knit, and it felt perfect on bamboo needles. I trimmed the wristwarmers in this wool too, and the alpaca was used for the rim of this beret. Knitted on US size 7 needles. Maybe a little tight of a gauge, but it worked. I agonized and agonized about blocking this hat (Beth can attest) but in the end, I didn't. I think it would have looked prettier lying flat if I had blocked it, but I like the shape it has when worn without blocking. And it was finals week, so yeah...

Of course, we closed out the evening with a fabulous photo shoot of Beth in her matching warm accessories.
OK. Now fast forward to break-knitting.

3.) I'm working on a Clapotis for my mom. It was supposed to be done by Christmas and a surprise. Now it is neither of those things. Oh well, such is life.
Just look at that gorgeous yarn. 50% silk, 50% alpaca by Blue Sky Alpacas.

I'm not even doing the full version of this wrap and it is still taking me forever. I think I'm also a little annoyed because I'm knitting it at a pretty loose gauge, using size 6 needles for what I would normally use probably size 4 needles. Well, I got a little bored, and so I have moved onto my new project....

4.) MY FIRST SWEATER EVER. OMG.

I'm getting there slowly but surely. I was just able to try it on today, how fun. It is going to be for my sister, but she has warned me that turtlenecks aren't her thing, so maybe I will end up keeping it.
Haha, so obviously I'm not stopping at this awkward length of a sweater, and I will attach sleeves, too. But I was so excited to try it on! It's going to be a real sweater! And the best part about this pattern is that it's knit top-down, meaning NO SEAMS. Wow, awesome. Also funny that I chose this color yarn. I'm kind of sick of it now because it is just about the exact same color as the one for the clapotis for my mom. But nice sweater color, no? Oh another funny thing. This yarn was SO CHEAP. Hobby Lobby. I swear I got enough yarn for the whole sweater under $5. Not bad, huh?

5.) Number five isn't a gift from me, but rather gifts FOR me. Sadly, no pictures yet. But descriptions!! Elizabeth came back from Australia with some yarn for me from New Zealand... An outrageous pairing of animal hair: sheep and POSSUM. what. I know. But she swears it's all the rage in New Zealand. It's really soft anyway. And such pretty colors. Purple and green, my favvvvss :)

And Joe brought me back yarn from the Aran Islands!! So much too! And so pretty. It's like a maroon-ish color, but more pinkish than the stuff I've been working with lately. Fuschia. It is a lot though, so I want to try and make something big maybe (This is fun, knitting big things..). Or a few little things that match.

Ok, that is all. I'm done. PHEW! What a giant post. And this is just the beginning of my pictures. If you are not satisfied you can see the rest on my flickr page.

Also, I want to apologize to Ellen, because my post is too long and too soon after hers. So read hers now please, her mittens are beautiful. :)