gift knitting

I am currently working on some gift knitting. My mom's birthday is coming up (it's at the end of this month and is actually on the same day as mine) and I am making a cute pleated tee for her, called Vesper. The designer is Heidi Kirrmaier (Pipibird on Ravelry) and she has some really great patterns out! I am using Elsebeth Lavold's hempathy, in dark coral. Here's a progress pic of me trying it on. Despite some initial set backs, it's turning out nicely.

The yoke is hand-pleated and sewn, giving the edge a "raw" look. I hope she likes it! She better. I am making the XL size, which required casting on 468 stitches. That was a lot of work!!! I was seriously skeptical about whether it would work out or not because the yoke does not take ANY shape until you sew the pleats. So, after I separated the armholes, I went ahead and sewed the pleats to get an idea about how it would look. And I love it! If you're working on this pattern, just trust the process! I know some people think it ended up being a bit heavy at the top because of all the extra stitches, but I think it works great! It's just a lot of stitches and DK yarn.

I will also be working on some more gift knitting after this. I will be doing Ysolda Teague's Hap Blanket using Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted in natural and poppy. It's for my cousin, who is having a baby in October. I have some other things planned for her too, but I'll get to all of that in time. Doing all of this gift knitting has me really wanting to spend some time doing some selfish knitting! I have recently acquired, for the first time, some wollmeise and I would love to work on a couple of projects using it. But, that is being put on hold. Don't get me wrong, I do really like knitting for other people (at least the ones that really seem to appreciate it!). But, I miss doing projects for me! I miss using the colors I like and being able to take as much time as I want to, instead of feeling pressured to finish something. I know I will keep gift knitting. Barring some bad experience, I don't think I'll ever completely give it up. But I need to be sure I don't get too overwhelmed with gift knitting. And, with December not really being all that far away, I am not sure that will happen!