Simple Gifts

One of my knitting group kiddos gave me this bookmark, her second finished object ever. Have you ever seen anything sweeter?

A slightly more experienced knitter whipped up this eyelash yarn "scarflet." It's barely big enough to wrap around my neck. She had run out of yarn. It happens.

Another student baked this Christmas ornament which has perfumed the entire apartment with a yummy cinnamon aroma, even through the ziploc bag. I'm afraid that if I remove it from said bag to hang on the tree, I'll be vacuuming up glitter until next Christmas.

Unsurprisingly, I think I'm most excited about these two beauties. The one on the left is the successfully improvised, first canning effort of one of my dearest friends (she's a tad afraid that she has now gifted her friends with a can of botulism). On the right is a gift from a school parent.

Handmade gifts old and new: on the bottom is an adorable planter turned votive holder, painted by my bestie Garrett. Ever since I revealed to him my fantasy that all my friends adopt different handcrafts and we fill each others' lives with incredible, one-of-a-kind treasures, he's been searching for more ways to get creative. I suggested BeDazzling. Above, origami flower bouquet, a wedding gift from my college roommate Emily.

My mother-in-law and aunt-in-law have taken up beading. The piece above is my mil's second necklace! She even gave me a bracelet and pair of chandelier earrings to match. They take a metals class this spring. I've got to say, I am in full support of this new hobby.

Pattern: "Leafy Mitts" by Ruth Stewart, available for paid download on Ravelry here
Yarn: Noelle's Noodles Handpainted Merino Aran (San Francisco)
Needles: US 7 dpns (worked in the round)

Plus: I bought this yarn 100% for the colorway name, which was the fabulous location of our honeymoon. It's hard to see in the photo, but the color is truly lovely. This is everything I want a handpainted yarn to be: flickery, subtle, watery, spirited, delicate....not stark contrasts with regularly occurring thick, horizontal darts of variation (ahem, Lorna's Laces). As for the pattern, the embossed leaf design has a big "wow" effect with non-knitters, even though it's a cinch and pretty fun.

Delta: I found the pattern a little clunky. The chart was oddly drawn, and the directions were awkwardly phrased where written out. None of it was hard, really. I just couldn't shake the feeling that it could have been more straightforward. Also, do you see that little roll at the base of the stem, just above the ribbed cuff? The part that makes it look like my wrist has a roll of fat around it? Yeah.