Yes, I know that it's only the very beginning of August, but for knitters and other crafters it is time to start thinking about Christmas presents, or they will not be finished by the time the holiday comes around. 

Ugh, don't we all get enough of Christmas starting the week of Thanksgiving? I mean it's in the stores before the Thanksgiving stuff is out, some places even start putting up decorations for sale as soon as the Halloween stuff is out. I like Christmas as much as the next person, but one of the reasons to be excited about it is that, much like birthdays, it only comes around once per year, and is only one day.

I started knitting this hat for my younger brother in hopes that he'll actually wear it. He's one of those tough guys (or likes to think he is, but we all know the truth) who only wears those baseball caps, and doesn't wear stocking hats in winter no matter how cold it gets. Well I found this pattern on Ravelry, a site I absolutely love, by the way, and can spend hours at a time on. The hat itself has a nice brim that looks a lot like a baseball cap, but also has this stretchy bottom part that can be pulled down over the ears when it gets cold.

I am also working on a pair of gloves for my mom, who needs the finger-less kind because of her job. Sadly those are very difficult to find and actually get warm gloves without getting those ugly convertible mittens with the flap that always gets in the way of everything. Sadly I have no camera at this time and the photo you see above was taken with my mom's phone. No, not even the camera on my phone works. So the gloves cannot be photographed by her for obvious reasons. Anyway, more photos to come, hopefully.