It's a new day and a New Year!

After a handmade Christmas, I had an only slightly less handmade New Year. I have been thinking for a while about doing boys' clothes for the shop and I started the new year by making a shirt for James to wear to a New Year's Eve party. I am so tired of seeing him trot along to parties in t-shirt and jeans, no matter how nice they may be, when the little girls are arrayed in their sparkly twirly finery. His friend Benny attended the last party in a super-smart shirt and tie, and while James wouldn't be persuaded on the tie, he did think he'd like to have a nice shirt. So I got out Winifred and set to work. It's a very simple short-sleeved shirt (both James and I being new to this shirt business). I put my foot down on the yellow theme and made the shirt in a good quality quilting fabric featuring helicoptors! He really likes the print and while it'd look a bit naff on a 10 year old, it's cute for a 4 year old. He doesn't like buttons, in common with quite a few of his classmates (what IS this button thing about? I really don't get it...) so I used poppers. I have a smarter version planned with cuffs, collar stand and back yoke. Time to do a bulk buy of cheap muslin I think!

Anyway, here's a little gallery of the Christmas and New Year makes. Everyone got at least one handmade present, even if it was only a hat, and everyone seemed to really like what they got. So I had lovely holidays too!

Socks for Nigel. The self-striping yarn was such fun to use I didn't even mind making the socks extra long for my husband's extra-long feet. No pattern required because these were pretty simple, but I unfortunately did one sock in 3+1 rib and the other in 2x2 I and didn't notice until I was wrapping them up. Nigel doesn't mind though.

Milo Armadillo for Laura. My first attempt at a soft toy. He looks a bit lumpy in the tummy but that's just the photograph.

Two pairs of socks for my mother in law. She asked me for socks and I thought "Aha!" She is thrilled with them. The patterns came via Ravelry - there are so many gorgeous free patterns out there for socks - the internet knitting community is uber-generous.

Walking socks for my father in law. No pattern required - it was very simple!

Hat for sister's boyfriend - the free Lillehammer pattern found somewhere on the internet.

Beret for my sister (no pattern - it's just a beret with stripes!).

Self-drafted dressing gown pattern for Label Bear, James' special bear.

A fleece jacket from James. It's a much modified Ottobre pattern and is going to be modified more. I lined it with microfleece and so it's a little snug. It could also be reversible if it weren't for the zip. So I am going to take out the zip, add some width with a yellow placket and put on poppers. The blue microfleece is the perfect colour for my boy, so we'll both be happier once I've done the alterations.

Cabled cardigan for Laura. Hold your breath because I actually bought this pattern! Mind you, I did serious searching for a free version first before biting the bullet and parting with the cash. It's Sirdar pattern and was lovely to make and lovely to wear. I am about to start a version for myself using the Cable Luxe free pattern from Lion Brand.

I even made an Ottobre top for myself, which I absolutely adore. In fact, I've ordered 2 more Ottobre Woman magazines on the strength of it.

Hat, scarf and mittens to go with Laura's upcycled coat.

Laura in her Mary costume for the Los Posadas party. Very cute though not exactly a masterpiece of stitchery. I used one of Nigel's old t-shirts for the tunic, which is worn over James' old t-shirt.

James wore his innkeeper costume to Los Posadas.

An experiment in making bloomers. Very cute and practical. Super for soft play! I just embellished an RTW t-shirt to go with them because tempus was seriously fugiting.

Laura's Christmas outfit including the pettiskirt (I had yet another hack at it to improve the proportions... I reckon there's 14 hours of sewing gone into this one skirt.) A fleece hoody from the Olivia pattern, with some fun fur around the sleeve edges. A pair of viscose leggings completes the outfit. It is even cuter in real life - we were mobbed coming out of Mass by people wanting to tell her she was a gorgeous little angel!

Fleece digger romping trousers for James. Self-drafted pattern.

A skirt for my sister (no pattern required - just two skirt shaped pieces attached to an FOE waistband). I made her another one from an old jumper of Nigel's. This is more of a spring weight skirt, in some aqua and orange hearts I got from Nature's Fabrics Black Friday sale.

A Fair Isle beret for my mum. It was a rush job (I only started it on 21st December!) and I made a screamingly obvious mistake in the pattern. But it's still a nice beret and she really likes it.

So that's the Christmas stash. I'm looking forward to a handmade 2010, with lots of ideas for the Spring collection for both boys and girls. I hope you're looking forward to a 2010 filled with whatever it is that you do that makes you happy.