Star Wars Mittens

Our friend Jason is turning 40 this year. He's a Star Wars Geek of epic proportions, so to celebrate this milestone I decided to make him a pair of mittens. Ravelry (source of all things knitting) came through with the fairisle patterns for the characters, and I used a mitten pattern I've used before. I'm pretty happy with how they turned out, though I'm nervous they might be a bit big. However, it's an easy fix to make them a bit smaller. My own little geek self came out while making these; I decided to put the "good guy" (R2-D2) on the right hand mitten, and the "bad guy" (stormtrooper) on the left. (Fun fact: "sinister" is actually from the Latin for "left hand [sinestra].") Happy Birthday, Shark! May the force continue to be with you.
Pattern: Modified Cigar with Fairisle Star Wars Patterns
Yarn: Cascade 220 Heathers

Gerbera Socks

For Solstice 2010, Jeffy bought me sock yarn. (Always a good gift. I feel about sock yarn the way my mom feels about vegetables: you can never have too much.) This was one of the skeins he got for me. It's called "Champagne" yarn because it has tiny bits of silver woven through it, which gives it sparkle and oomph. The colour is called "Gerbera" which I think is perfect, since that's exactly what it looks like: summery and flowery and bright and happy. Anyway, I started these socks in early 2011 and only just finished them up now. They sat in hibernation for a while but I rediscovered them a few months ago and realized they were perfect sock knitting - enough of a pattern to keep me interested, but not so complicated that I couldn't work on them while watching TV. So I carted them around for a while (to gymnastics, while waiting for the kids at school, etc) and lo and behold: here they are, done and posing happily near our petunias overlooking the lake.
It took me a while to find the right pattern for these, because I wanted something which would make them look beaded without having the discomfort of actual beads on the socks. I couldn't find what I wanted in the many patterns already in existence, so I made up my own. Yes indeedy-do, these are entirely out of my own head, and after a few false starts I managed to figure out a way to get what I wanted from the yarn all by myself. I am delighted with how they turned out. They're fun and comfortable and warm and gorgeous. Thanks, Sweetie, for giving me the sort of gift that keeps on giving!
Yarn: Unwind Yarns "Champagne Fingering" yarn in Gerbera
Pattern: out of my head, but I'm happy to share if interested