Handmade Holidays....

A few days ago I  returned from an early Christmas with my family in Chicago (since I am in my third trimester, I wouldn't have been able to visit during the actual holiday). It was great to be home and see my family, but honestly, the trip was a bit disastrous..... The day after we arrived, Finn came down with pink eye and an ear infection (which prevented us from spending much time with my brand new less-than-a-week-old niece), the horrible weather caused my husband's flight out to be canceled, and things just didn't seem to go our way. Plus, upon my arrival home, I developed a painful varicose vein in my leg that I initially thought may have been a blood clot. Fun, huh? But, even though it is so nice to be back home, and have my family healthy again, I already miss the family I left behind.
But, since we did some early present exchanging, I can share some of the handmade gifts I gave. Now, if I can just finish about 10 more projects by the middle of next week, I'll be all set.....Go fingers, go!

This was actually a birthday crown for my nephew's 5th birthday that was just a couple of weeks ago:

Some felted booties for my brand new niece Charlotte (the pattern is from French Press Knits):

This year I made mitten for the first time ever. I have already done 3 pairs and plan on another one this weekend.. and maybe even a pair for my mittenless-self after the holidays! This pattern came from Knitting magazine, which was passed along to me by my knitting mentor:

Felted stacking bowls for my niece Harper (the pattern for these can be found here):