This was the first Christmas present I started last year and also the first one that was done. I started it at my mother in law's house over our christmas vacation because her house can get very cold in the winter. She asked me what I was making and I said, "A blanket for your cold house," we laughed and I don't think she thought of it again. I'm sure she remembered when she opened up the box!
This one seemed to take me much longer than things usually do, but I think I just couldn't work on it for very long. I tend to like variety, but this one is pretty much the same pattern all the way around, so it worked up pretty easily, but very tediously for me.