Finished Objects - then and now

Now that Christmas is over and presents have been received, here are some photos of the things I made.

First up I made one for my mum and one for my brother and SIL; this is a big mitt designed for your hand and a retractable dog's leash to be inside. The idea is that with mittens or gloves, the possibility of the retractable leash flying out of your hand when you're walking the dog with a glove or mitten will be decreased as you have your leash and your hand inside the mitten. There is a cable up the sides and a buttoned flap which allows you to put the leash inside and stay inside. The retractable part fits through the little tube. If I'm not explaining it well, check the pattern - you can get the pattern and see more photos here.

From a kit at a quilt shop, I made these Sock Monkey pillowcases. I was in such a hurry to finish them and get them in the post so the presents would arrive in time, that I forgot to include a note that they were handmade. When my SIL saw them, she instantly wanted to get the whole sheet set! They didn't even know I had made them! I had to break the news to her that there probably isn't a sheet set to match these ones, but there are sets out there - see here for example.

The top photo has more accurate colours - and the pillow case is straight, I just took the photo at an angle. The red strip is a sewn on piece.

I think I'd like to make some pillow cases for myself now.

And speaking of monkeys, I made a set of Monkey Socks for my mom in Berroco Ultra Fine Alpaca - they are very soft socks and she tells me they fit her well. I just love the colour too - up close you can see bits of mustard and blue and plum - so they'll go with lots of things - I believe Berroco calls the colour Prune Mix. If you are looking for a nice soft but durable sock yarn then you should give this a try - and the hanks are a good size as I had a fair bit left over. (I know bad self portrait but again, I was in a hurry to get it in the post - I think there's a shadow giving me an extra baby toe as well)

And finally, this was made after Christmas not as a present, but part of a set I promised to make for my mum. It is counted cross stitch and is about 5 1/2" x 7 1/2". More designs can be found here.
(wow - everything has a web link to it - welcome to the age of the Internet)

And now I am knitting something for myself - this is the Shapely Tank Top which I am knitting in Knit Picks Shine. (details on my Ravelry page) So far I've knit about 6 1/2"

Besides the crafts I have also been doing a fair bit of cooking - today I made a pineapple and whipped cream dessert for JP and tapioca for the kid. In a minute I will start on a late Christmas dinner with turkey breasts, potatoes, stuffing, Brussels sprouts, gravy, bread and salad.

Whew! Thank goodness I don't have to work tomorrow! I hope you're getting some time off and enjoying the holidays as well. And I bet many of you in the lower mainland who drive probably went out today for the first time in 2 or 3 days - am I right?