Handmade Christmas Gifts Catchup

I thought I'd share a couple of Christmas gifts I knitted for Yarn Along this week.

First up is a scarf that I made for my Dad.  The picture is a bit blurry as I snapped quickly - he looked slightly uncomfortable about being a knitwear model!




The pattern was improvised - mostly a 2x2 rib with some cables thrown in to the mix.  The yarn is Winter Garden (available in three colours in my shop where everything is on sale this month with the coupon code: JANUARYSALE) which was a joy to knit with, has beautiful colour flecks and such a comfortable texture - I very nearly didn't give the finished scarf away!

The other project I'm sharing is a hot water bottle cosy that I made for Cameron using Tepa (also in the shop) which I wrote a little bit about here.





This pattern was also improvised.  Working in the round, adding some cables and using simple decreases towards the ribbed neck part.  There's no opening as when the hot water bottle is empty it will fold well enough to come out of the stretchy ribbed neck without doing any damage.  Cameron was really impressed!

I was very lucky to receive a Kindle Fire this Christmas and I read a wonderful book over my break, recommended to me by another Yarn Along-er: The Language of Flowers.  I found the book so inspiring, it's like non-fiction/information mixed into a really great novel.  I'm going to make it one of my projects this year to learn more about flowers - identifying, growing and displaying.  In fact, I went out on New Years Day and bought a Chrysanthemum plant to brighten up my office windowsill and every time I look at it, it reminds me of the story.

What have you been knitting and/or reading lately?  Are you showing off your secret projects now that they've been gifted?