Super Secret Holiday Knitting Reveled

Last night was my knitting 'dinner party'. As usual, we had a blast, and we got to exchange Christmas gifts. I had been very excited for this part, as I finally get to revel my holiday knitting.

The first gift to be opened was the Felted Flamingo that I made Susan. I first saw this knitted up at the Yarn Seller in York, Maine this summer. I couldn't get it out of my head, as I knew that Susan would LOVE it. Not only does she love the color pink, but she collects flamingos. Here she is with her new toy:
This pattern is called Flamingo Beach Party from Fiber Trends. The pattern was pretty well written. I wouldn't say easy, as you had to have the pattern next to you at all times while knitting, but so long as you didn't lose your place, no worries. I managed to screw up and used Lambs Pride Bulky instead of worsted weight - which wasn't a HUGE problem. It turned out pretty large, and the felting took longer than expected... but in the end, I like the finished product. And I'm pretty sure Susan did too!

Laurie got a pair of hand-knit socks. She has a size 5 foot, which it turns out, is exactly the size that my size 10 socks will felt to if they end up in the washer/dryer. I've pretty much learned my lesson, and rarely knit with non-super wash wool for my socks, but Laurie still has been the recipient of about 5 pairs of my nice, handknit socks. But those were my 'hand-me-downs'. For Christmas, I made her very own!

For these, I used Knit Picks Parade yarn, and the pattern Thuja from Knitty. As promised in the pattern, this knit up pretty fast (I used a size 2 needle) and I will definitely be making as least one pair of these for me. I'm a little nervous that 2 balls of the Parade yarn won't make a pair for my big feet, but we might as well give it a try! **Edited to add - I forgot that I needed to add 2 extra repeats (so instead of 44 stitches, I cast on 52) - as Parade wasn't getting the same gauge as the original yarn used to write the pattern.**

I also made a present for Bonnie, but since she wasn't there, I can't tell what it is yet. Tarsha got a little bit of yarn from me, but also a bag with a note 'All Assembly Required'. I'm going to make her a pair of Monster Slippers from Stitch and Bitch Nation. I LOVE those slippers (I admit to getting enough yarn for a pair for me also.)

More to report (presents that I got) but I have errands to run, so part 2 later on in the day!