handmade by stefanie

When I first started knitting, I made everyone in my family scarves for Christmas one year - that would be between 10-12 scarves by my count. Each one had a different stitch pattern, some of which were beyond my skill level at the time, but somehow I got them done in time. I definitely sweated it, but managed to meet the deadline with minimal drama, if memory serves. Over the years, I have knit a lot of gifts for people, but the numbers have been steadily declining for a number of reasons. First and foremost, it's stressful to do! Besides worrying about making the deadline, you also have to worry about it fitting, or being something that they'll end up liking/using. I've found that my idea of what people will like and enjoy can differ from reality, so I've taken to offering up a bin of finished handknits and letting folks take what they want. Their selections almost always surprise me. So, fast forward to this year. I wasn't planning to make any gifts, but then ...

I knitted and crocheted nearly all of my holiday gifts this year, but I'm not sure if I will get a chance to photograph and blog each and every one now that there's no risk of spoiling the surprise. There are just too many, and my photographer extraordinaire has been working so much that finding time for proper photo shoots has been difficult. Excuses, excuses....at any rate, I will be cherry picking a few of these gifted projects to share over the next few weeks, starting with the Star Wars amigurumi I made for my nephews in Portland using patterns from the  Lucy Ravenscar etsy store . Most of the yarn I used was already in my stash, with the exception of the gold sparkly yarn I bought at VK Live earlier this fall for the express purpose of making the world's greatest C-3PO. I had a hard time deciding which nephew should receive which toy, so I ended up randomly selecting three for each package, which I then wrapped up, juggled a bit, and then had my husband stic...