In which my face gets mysteriously replaced by a camera

Pattern: Ballet Camisole from Magknits (36"bust), tweaked just a little.
Needles: Knit Picks Options size 7 (ribbing) and 8 (stockinette).
Yarn: 3+-ish balls of Patons Katrina colour 10305, Lilac
Modifications: There were plenty, not because I didn't like the original shape of the camisole, but more because my yarn choice dictated it. This yarn is very stretchy, splitty and dense. Hence I converted the camisole into a sweater vest using all the basic shaping and sizing but omitting the gathered neckline and shaped straps. Alternatively I added five (neck) or four (arms) rows of twisted ribbing to finish the edges. This time the twisting was intentional, for some reason regular ribbing seems to flare horribly in this yarn and since I wanted a nice, tight edge the twisting was necessary.
Gripes: This is probably all of my own doing (not the best yarn substitution ever), but there is a bit of pooching where I stepped up a needle size from the ribbing to the body of the sweater. Now if I had bigger hips, or say, gave this to someone with slightly larger hips, I think the flaring would be hidden in the stretch of the fabric.

Dilemma: This sweater more or less fits me, and lets face it, it goes awesomely with my pyjammas. The problem? As I described below I was intending to give this to my mother for Christmas. It's a huge step up in technique and finishing from the handknit I gave her last year, the yarn choice is better, the pattern is more appropriate, it's just so much more advanced. It's amazing what a year of pursuing a "frivolous hobby" can do for both your skills and your confidence. But now I don't know what to do. I feel like my effort in producing something that is as perfect as I can get a handknit, something that is wearable and durable has been prematurely thrown back in my face. But then, maybe she'll be so wowed by the sweater she'll rethink her opinion.

The more I interact with my classmates and other scientists, the postdocs and the technicians, the more I'm beginning to understand the strong link between scientific endeavour and creativity. So many of these people play musical instruments, knit, sew, paint... the list goes on and on. I know personally that I need this creative outlet to stay sane, to keep my hands busy. There is so much satisfaction in producing something from a bunch of raw materials that is a thing of beauty, of purpose. It just so happens that for the past year and a half my creative outlet has been knitting, before than it was sock monkeys and way before that the fabric based artwork I produced by the boatload for my extra-curricular art classes in high school. I think I've always had this need to create and I always will. It'd be nice to have some positive affirmation from my mother.

Hell, she'll probably get the sweater anyway. Maybe I should take a leaf out of her book and give what I want to, to hell with the recipients wants or feelings. I just have to steel myself against the disappointment and disapproval.