A waste of perfectly good panic

After completely freaking out about the Christmas deadline, I went and finished a couple of gifts lickety-split. I feel a little silly now for panicking.

Mom's socks:


Pattern: On-Hold from Socks from the Toe Up by Wendy Johnson with two stitches removed from either side of the central pattern for fit.

Yarn: Socks that Rock lightweight, Jasper colorway

Needles: Addi Turbo size 0

These were not as much fun to knit as my sister's socks. I think because the yarn was so stiff and I was knitting them on smaller needles. They feel great as socks, though, and they're slightly small for me which means they'll be perfect for Mom. I've decided I'm not a huge fan of Socks that Rock, though, which I think might be sacrilege in some circles.

For nephew B:


Pattern: Oh Balls! from Ravelry

Yarn: Lion Brand Cotton-Ease in Lime, Maize, and Cherry

Needles: US size 5 dpns

These knit up so quick I could see that they could become addictive. It was a really satisfying project and I have decided that I really like working with Cotton-Ease. These balls will be just the right size for a toddler to throw and since they are stuffed with poly fiberfill, they're not going to do any damage. Conceivably, they could knock over something very lightweight but that's about it. These will be going with the braided ball I made and a stuffed Mickey Mouse from Disneyland. So, I'm all finished with my gift for nephew B.

AND, I started a Red Scarf!


The guilt got to me. I really felt I should do a charity project for the holidays and they really need scarves for this charity so I sucked it up and started a scarf. I'm using Cascade 220 and just winged the pattern--seed stitch with an 8 stitch cable in the middle. I'm cabling every 8 rows. It's been going pretty fast, I've got 46 inches so far. With just 14 more inches to go to meet the suggested length, I think I'll be able to send it out on time. I'm really liking the Cascade 220--so much better than the wool-ease!

So, I've got two Christmas gifts completed and a charity project almost done. Not bad for the first of December!

Mom's socks: first sock complete

One sock down, one to go!

On-hold socks, now off-hold

Sometime in Oct., I started my Mom's Christmas present, a pair of socks using the On-Hold pattern from Socks from the Toe Up by Wendy Johnson. I got a little over one pattern repeat done and then stalled. The socks were coming out too big. *sigh*

So, I kinda stopped working on them. The On-Hold socks were on hold. It didn't help that the pattern wasn't something I could work on at knitting group because I had to do too much counting and would keep getting distracted.

Last weekend, it occurred to me that Christmas was approaching (this is, of course, exactly what the stores want you to think with all of the Christmas decorations hanging from their ceilings). I really didn't want to get down to the wire with the knitting (or worse, miss Christmas entirely) and given that I was going to have ship these babies since I'm not going home for Christmas this year AND the fact that my family celebrates Christmas the weekend before Christmas, I knew I had to get working on these socks again.

So, I got out the size zero needles and started over. Unfortunately, there wasn't much difference in size (read almost none at all) between the first sock I started and the second sock. I almost gave up and started a new pattern, but I realized I could remove a few knit stitches on each side of the central pattern (and off the sole, then, too, of course) so that's what I did. Now, I've done four pattern repeats and am about to start the heel of the first sock. Still a ways to go, but I'm getting there!

While knitting, I've been listening to the first Dresden Files book, Storm Front, by Jim Butcher. I've only read (listened to) three or four chapters but I'm finding it entertaining so far. I download audio books from audible.com and I'm pretty pleased with audible. When I first started downloading books from them, you couldn't listen to a clip of the book (you just had to go on the reviews and there would be some where people both loved and hated the narrator) and I ended up getting one or two books that I never listened to past the first few minutes because I hated the narrator. These days, you can listen to a clip and that makes me very happy.

You're probably wondering what I've been knitting on at knitting group if I haven't been knitting on Mom's socks. Another pair of socks, of course. This pair is for me. I have no idea when I started the first sock, but I had gotten it all the way to the point of kitchnering the toe and then stopped, letting it languish for months. I finally picked it back up when I needed something mindless for knitting group and now I've completed the leg and the heel of the second sock (in addition to stitching up the toe of the first sock, of course)! The yarn is a bamboo blend from Regia and the needles are size 2 so it's zooming along. Pretty soon, I'll need to find some other mindless knitting for knitting group.

I'll get pictures of Mom's socks and my socks up one of these days.

Random anecdote: Today, I was at Starbucks and I ordered a chai latte. The person at the register asked me if I wanted a shot of expresso in it. Um, no.