Christmas Gifts

So far most of what you’ve seen of my Christmas knitting has been for the Advent Swap or for Lovebug.  And that’s pretty much accurate.  The last 2 years I’ve tried to knit something for everyone in my immediate family.  I didn’t this year because I didn’t figure I’d have time what with caring for a newborn and all.  Good thing I didn’t because I had just enough knitting to keep me occupied and happy, and not a mad dash to finish.

Instead, I knit a set of dishcloths for each of the women in my family.  Mom got a knitted dishcloth and a crocheted dish scrubber last spring.  She uses them a lot and we’ve talked numerous times about her getting more.  I used Christmas as the opportunity to supply her with some.

The first pattern I used was the Official Pattern of Revenge of Dish Rag Tag by Emily Ivey.  I liked the open knit material these dishcloths had.  These were made with Spinrite Peaches & Crème Ombres & Prints in Good Earth and Spinrite Peaches & Crème Solids in Burgundy.  These colors were picked to match Mom’s kitchen.   This pattern is quick and easy to follow.  Knit diagonally, you can make it as large or as small as you want.  These turned out a little bit small.  If I made them again I would add another 4-5 increase rows. 

The second pattern I used for Mom was the Mother’s Day Cloth by Kris Knits.  It’s a bit hard to see but it says “I (heart) MOM.”  This is a solid, knit dishcloth and more similar to what she already had.  I’ve asked her to get back to me on which she prefers – the open design, or the solid knit fabric.  This cloth was considerably larger than the previous two, and actually, larger than any other dishcloth I’ve made so far.  But I liked the size and the pattern was easy.  Just a bunch of knits and purls.  This too was knit in the Spinrite Peaches & Crème Solids in Burgundy.

The final pattern I used, with Good Earth, was Granny Square Cloth, a crocheted pattern.  This was my first crocheted pattern to try.  I’ve had some made for me and I enjoyed them, so I made one for Mom.  These work up in a matter of hours!

To complete her gift, Mom also received some matching dishtowels, a dish scrubber and some handmade soap. 

For my sister, I made a set of 4 crocheted Granny Square clothes.  Two were crocheted using Spinrite Peaches & Creams Solids in Strawberry Stripes. 

One was a mixture of Lily Sugar’N’crème in White and the Strawberry Stripes, and the final cloth was striped using Spinrite Peaches & Crème Solids in Soft Blue and Lily Sugar’N’Cream white and yellow.

The last cloth was a bit different because it involved striping and learning how to attach and weave in the ends in crochet.  A bit different from what I’m used to with knitting, but I think I caught on fairly quickly. 

Sis also got 2 bars of handmade soap as well.  They smelled very yummy.  I really hope she enjoys them and gets some use out of them.  I always get so worried about whether what I knit (or crochet in this case) is appreciated or will be used.

Finally, I crocheted Mr. Man’s mom a couple yellow Granny Square Cloths.  This was just a little something extra for her gift as she was also getting a new picture of Squishy.  I got a lovely text from her telling me she had used her new cloths and really likes them.  I love this kind of feedback!  Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures of them beforehand, so you’ll just have to imagine them looking like the above photos, except in yellow! (Yarn: Lily Sugar’N’Cream in Yellow)