End of year finishing binge

A very happy New Year to all of you! May 2009 be a wonderfully happy, healthy, prosperous and fiber-filled fun year for all. May we see more peace and less strife and hatred in the world. 2008 was the first full year for this blog and I think I have developed a rhythm and a voice in that time. At first I was unsure of what to write about and whether I could come up with enough to write about each week. Now I find I almost always have something to say, whether anyone cares or not!

This is a finishing binge for me. I rarely finish a couple of items in a week because I am usually working on only one item at a time. The headband is done. This is the outside. That pattern is supposed to be a snowflake. I am very proud of the seamless nature of the construction.
This is the inside. All smooth and nice. It is very warm and thick and soft. I think my daughter will enjoy wearing it.I also was not in the mood to pick up the mittens yet. So I finished a garter st scarf that was a 'learn to knit' project for my daughter. It is at least 5 or 6 years old. I took it to a New Year's Eve dinner at my sister's and finished it except for weaving in the ends. I did that on Jan 2nd.

One of the things I realized was how much my finishing skills have improved over the years. I taught my daughter to weave in the end as she went when she finished the first skein. When I added others, I left the ends dangling and just duplicate stitched them. The latter makes for a more reversible fabric than the former. Oh well. One lives and learns.
Today it will be back to the mittens. I hope to undo the top and get the sts onto needles today and then I'll work on finishing the first one without mistakes during the week. Wish me luck! Thank you for your commiseration on the mittens. I love them, I really do and they will be nice and warm but I hate fixing this sort of thing.