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Besides hats, scarves are easy gifts; highly customizable and no worries about getting the size right. First up is the Fake Lace Scarf:

This is just plain garter stitch over 20 stitches on size 15 needles. The huge needles give it a nice lacy effect without all the fiddliness. Here’s a closer look:

The yarn is Misti Alpaca Sport Weight in the Chocolate Caramel Moulinette colorway. I knit this for Bev (Stephen’s father’s girlfriend) and she was wearing it the next time I saw her so I guess it was a hit!

I opted for a shawl for Dianne, Stephen’s mom, because it just seemed more her style somehow. I’ve had this yarn (Lion Brand Homespun in the Prairie colorway) forever, since the first time I learned to knit in college. It’s very pretty and soft but not as stretchy as I like to work with. Behold, the Garter Shawl:

The colors are far more muted in real life, the flash really picked up on them somehow. It’s plain garter stitch again with yarn overs at the beginning and end of every other row. Add a bit of fringe and I think it came out quite nice.

My mom requested a small scarf that she wouldn’t have to fold over at all and that wouldn’t be long and bulky. So, I came up with the Keyhole Neck Scarf:

It’s basic K1, P1 ribbing with ruffles on either end and the keyhole made simply by binding off some stitches in the middle of a row and then casting the same number back on in the next row. The yarn is Crystal Palace Panda Cotton in the Fruit Salad colorway. I knit it with two strands held together which blended the colors together nicely and made for a plush, stretchy fabric. I liked it so much that I made another one for my Aunt Lorie, who is my godmother:

The yarn is the same in the Roses colorway. They are fun little scarves and Mom and Lorie liked them. For Mema, I knit the Diamond Lace Scarf:

This yarn is Knit Picks Andean Silk in Navy and it is pure heaven to work with. I picked the diamond lace motif from a stitch dictionary, added a seed stitch border and some fringe and I think it came out rather elegant:

Last up is still in progress, the Bobbley Scarf to go with Julia’s Bobbley Hat:

She wants it good and long so I figure I’m a bit more than halfway there. The pattern is just the primary diamond cable and bobbles motif from the hat and columns of 1×1 cables surrounded by seed stitch:

So that’s just about it for all of the holiday gift knitting. I need to finish Julia’s scarf obviously but overall I was pretty pleased with myself for setting reasonable gift knitting goals and meeting them!