Happy Christmas to all

Things have calmed down around here (yesterday was, well, what do you think Christmas in a family of 7 kids is like?!)

I finished the first of my Slippery Socks yesterday and promptly cast on for the second in the grand tradition of avoiding second sock syndrome, because it is worth xp on knit wars, and because I need more knitted socks now! I really like the pattern and it worked up nicely. I was worried about whether the darkness of the yarn would be a problem but it turned out lovely. There was some pooling of the darkest colour on the leg, and it striped vertically on the leg and horizontally after the heel - I think I like the horizontal better. The slipped st heel looks really neat with this colourway. And I did it with a heel flap, which I normally avoid, but I rather like the way this one turned out.

My Hand-dyed yarn swap package arrived from Australia - yeah my sock yarn! and fun stuff.

I got two knitting books for Christmas:

*Stunning Shawls and Wraps by Scarlett Taylor - all shawls with beads, there are a couple that I really like, and a few other that I'd like to modify into sweaters/tops. Several different techniques for adding beads are included and patterns range from simple garter sts triangular shall to shrugs and caplets, colour work, and cables.

This is one of my favourites, and as my mother rather likes it... (I think I'll have to tell dad that she wants it for her birthday... - what is it they say, find a pattern you love and get someone else to pay for it...)

I liked the creative use of self-striping yarn in this one.

And these two I'd like to take and turn into tops.

This one would make a nice pull over.

And this one I'd like to turn into a sleeveless top, but adding arm holes (between the collar and the body) and extending the body.

*At Knit's End by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee - always hilarious, my family has been enjoying it (though they haven't exactally gotten the mohair jokes...)

My Grandmother gave me the sock needle set of Harmony dpns. And two antique metal circs - they belonged to my great-great grandmother Annie (Grandma's father's mother). They are pretty heavy duty - as in if I ever needed to garotte someone... I'll be interested to see how they work.

My Christmas knitting was distributed, and much enjoyed. Mom is now wearing both the socks and the shawl and L. carried around the Dr. Who scarf all day yesterday, while T. wore his hat -inside- all day.

A couple more for the pile

So in addition to the two things from last post (socks and hat), I've finished another hat (for me) and a scarf and hat (for my uncle as requested by my aunt).

I used SWS Natural Garden for my hat, and the modified tea cozy pattern.

The scarf is A Scarf Askew from Magknits, in Patons Classic Wool in Dark Grey Mix, using about 1.25-1.5 skeins.

The hat is SWS Natural Coal, same pattern.

V is for Victory

I have officially completed not only my list but bouns items.

Dad's socks - the end of the list

Nick's hat - the first 'list is finished' bonus (it was a hat based on Em's Tea Cozy pattern).

I've already started another hat like the one for Nick, this one for me. I've also realized, I would have failed all my students on the last two assignments if I didn't have my knitting (WTF! Why can't they analize the text I gave them instead of importing all sorts of irrelevant shit!? And where the frak did he get the idea that Antony was one of the conspirators and that he was arguing to justify Caesar's death?! - grrr- *breathes deeply and pets yarn*)

[Blogger is being stupid and won't let me add pictures...]

Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells

Christmas knitting victory is in sight. I'm not sure why I keep hearing about the stressy-ness of Christmas knitting (despite last year), but I've loved it this year, and actually it has been less stressy because I haven't been running all over hell's half acre looking for things.

I ended up with:

*finishing the purple diamond shawl for my mom

*three shawls for my girlfriends

*hedera for mom

*3 pairs of mittens

* 4 Koolhaas hats

*a tea cozy

*a teddy bear

* Dr. Who scarf

* multiple face-cloths

*a pair of fetching

I have yet to finish-

*dad's Phineas socks - I'm now doing the ribbing on each, having knit both to 4.5 diamonds and not having enough yarn for ribbing so I frogged back the .5 and cut the yarn in half, balled it back up and am now going to rib each little ball for each sock.

I'm also giving knitting gifts

* two hand-dyed skeins

* two kits (needles, yarn, pattern)

It is a very knitterly Christmas! Once everythings is done, I have a couple of lacey things for myself that I'm working on and a half dozen pairs of socks I want to make (as well as a Koolhaas for myself - I LOVE THAT PATTERN!)

For next year there are two things I really want to knit that I don't have the yarn for: one will probably involve needing to buy 2 full bags of the bare Wool of the Andes worsted and the other is the Ivy League vest (which my plan is to knit in pallett).

I have the yarn for and will knit before ordering more yarn:

*the Cochella

*the Red Carpet Convertible top (not the dress)

*a shawl - either the Spanish Christening one or the Feather and Fan one

*I also have all but one or two balls of the calmer for a Nothin' but a t-shirt (I need another one or two of gold as an accent colour)

Final cool thing:

I have a friend who just came back from a trip to Australia and New Zealand and she brought me back four worsted weight skeins of Merino/Possum(!) blend.

Ouch - my hands

Soooo - only part of a pair of socks, one pair of mittens, and part of a hat to go...

I finished 3 Koolhaas hats - in Red, Blue, and Teal-ish... to be variously distributed and am working on a 4th. At some point in the new year, I'm going to have to knit myself one - I really like them.

I finished Bertie's mitts, but the last pair of mittens has yet to be cast on, I'm thinking of just doing the same as the other two but on much larger needles, esp. since the cart itself is actually written for adult size... we'll see, I could just use the chart from the other pattern, but knit the same mitten pattern as I'm now very familiar with...

I also cast on a scarf/shawl for me, since I found a pattern that calls for about the yardage of my Mini-maiden. (Though my shrug hasn't seen any action since I started it... oops.)

My hands are a bit sore, I've been pushing it a bit - and I did a power point presentation for a talk at school last week and my laptop mouse is really hard on my hands. So I'll take it easy for a bit... (well, at least until tomorrow night...)