Somewhere Elves Are Laughing

There are ten people on my list that I give Christmas gifts to each year. Each year, they all receive something knitted and some of them even receive two things (one in the stocking and one under the tree). This year however, I am only gifting one knitted goodie to each and then making some sort of baked item (I'm thinking my traditional gingerbread stars). You're probably thinking "that's great! Ten knits and there are THIS MANY DAYS left to knit them. You can do it!"

Somewhere up north, Santa's elves are laughing hysterically. You see, out of the ten darlings on my list, there are four pairs of socks, three pairs of mittens, and one set of five dishcloths. There is also one hat and one undecided item. Yes. All very simple items to stitch. One at a time. That means, double the knitting, and not really enough time to try and learn how to do things two-at-a-time.

This is how much of the Christmas knitting is actually done/in progress:

 

 

I must learn the ways of the Elves and how they manage to make things so quickly...

The WB has made some progress, but I'm going to wait to talk more about that. Happy knitting. It's very stormy out today so it's a good day to stay in and knit.

Pieces

Awhile back I posted this little number. There is a matching sweater to go along with it but it still looks like this:

That little bit on the needles is the second sleeve so there has been some progress made. Perhaps by the end of the day I will have a matching set of sleeves. If the Knitting Muses are in a good mood, I may even have them attached to body of the sweater. And, (here is where the wishful thinking comes into play. That, or my delusions of actually finishing something...) I may even have the wee wooly finished by the end of the week!

Of course, for that to happen, I would need to neglect all housework, ignore the husband and his need for dinner every night, and (the hardest part) not knit anything else (except the WB and that one sock...) until this project has been sewn together, washed blocked and fully appreciated by all who see it.

I'm sipping tea right now while deciding upon the best course of action to bring all the pieces together by the end of the weekend. What are you doing?

Bragging Rights

My mother-in-law is a very modest and humble person. She is also a knitter. When she first started to learn, I was very excited (she was in the process of converting from crochet, and although she still dabbles in that a bit, I love her dearly). Her skills have come a long way, and because she is not the bragging sort, I'm going to fill in. She made this:

It's the Pedestrian Crossing Cowl by Melissa Sibley.

The wee silver heart buttons are quite charming, don't you think? I have a copy of this pattern and there is still (a lot) of yarn in the stash and the weather is getting colder...

Have a lovely day and happy knitting!

Blanket Check #2

I've been keeping a very close eye on the calendar as of late. There are eight weeks until The Wedding. The dresses and tuxes have been ordered, the flowers are in progress, the groom has moved out of the nest and the blanket- well, the blanket still looks like this:

You may notice that on the right side of the blanket there is a stripe. That stripe is the beginning of Block 6 in the pattern. That is the exact amount of progress I have made since the first check. There are 9 blocks and 8 weeks. The blanket needs to be washed and there is still a simple border and ends to weave in before the Big Day. It's simple garter stitch. Miles of it. Should be a quick knit right?

In between knitting the WB and avoiding the laundry I have managed to start another Christmas gift. I won't mention who the wooly will be going to as it is someone who reads this blog and I wouldn't want to ruin any surprises. I'm off to knit some more. What are you doing today?

In Progress

The last few days have been the start of something that I do every year. I take out my list of loved ones and the knitted goodies that I plan to make for them. I have made exactly this much progress:

 

I think that the stadiums should have better lighting. The better for knitters that don't care much about football can see with. The giant elephant ears made up for the lack of lights.

So far, of all the woolies I have been working on, this dishcloth has been the most difficult.

 

I realize that some of you probably read that last caption a few times and wondered how a simple garter stitch dishcloth could possibly be kicking my arse. The story is thus:

 

The package arrived yesterday with balls of cotton needed to stitch up these traditional cloths. In my excitement the knitting began this morning at approximately 7am. After putting in the laundry I glanced at my pattern and cast on. I have knitted several of these cloths before and have the pattern pretty well memorized have come up with my own creative approach.

 

The increases were going well and soon there was a half triangle on my needles. Then the decreases came along. I knit and knit but the square didn't seem to be closing up. Instead, the shape that lay on my lap was something more like a pentagon. I showed Alex, who only asked, "are you improvising your pattern again?" Feeling a bit insulted and annoyed by his lacking faith in my stitching competence, I made a comment suggesting that he find another place to sit that was not in view of my knitting.

 

I kept going. I went to my mother's house and lamented that my cloth was still growing in the shape of a pentagon. She watched me and then asked about how the decreases were being made. Crap. The decreases; I didn't pay enough attention to the pattern. I explained what I had been doing for the increases, glanced down at the wee cloth and swore. Again.

 

Ripping back the entire morning of work (an swearing silently all the way) My mother pointed out that I really only needed to go back to the halfway point where I would have started my decreases (had I actually paid attention to the pattern), and then go from there. So, the stitches were slipped back onto the needle, the stitches recounted and then the needles turned to start the decreases and- the damn stitches were on the opposite side of the pointy part of the needle.

 

Taking a few more squares of chocolate, swearing a little more, and then reminding myself that I do know how to knit, I finally cast it off. There. A nice square-ish cloth that can be used to scrub dishes. The recipient had better love and appreciate them because after the first one and then the second, I don't know if there will be a complete set of five...

It's Coming

Today we are 109 days away from Christmas*. This seems like plenty of time to finish our knitted wool goodies that will be passed around but don't let the calendar fool you. I have come up with a few tips to ease the stress of your holiday knitting. They are only guidelines, and do not need to be followed exactly.

*I have not included the year here as many a knitter have succumbed to Unfinished Project Syndrome and will be too exhausted/fed up with/weaving in the ends of their many knits to have them completed by this Christmas. If this describes you or someone you know, don't fret, this day comes every year and means that the projects you knitted up for this season, will only give a head start for your list next year.

Step 1) Assemble all necessary materials and equipment for your Christmas knits. If you need to get more yarn, do it now. Make sure that all of your yarn is in the same dye lot. It doesn't hurt to buy and extra skein (or twelve) to be certain you will not run out of yarn.

Step 2) Immediately cast on your projects. My list has around ten people every year that receive two hand knits apiece. Most of them are small, portable projects like socks or mittens. Save these (if they are on your list) for the later knitting. They are quicker to finish before a gather than say, a sweater cast on a week before.

Step 3) Admire the progress you have made on your projects.

Step 4) Allow ample time for mistakes and do-overs. If it's something small, like a purled stitch instead of a knitted stitch, and it's twenty seven rows back, don't fret. Nobody will notice and time is of the essence.

If the error is very noticeable, like a miscrossed cable or straight knitted stitches where your lace work should be, get some chocolate and lock yourself somewhere where the children/cat/husband can't bother you and do what you can to fix it. I don't recommend using the only bathroom in the house as your hidey-hole.

Step 5) Be sure you make time for your loved ones. For many of us, chopping down/decorating a tree, baking cookies, and attending parties is a large part of the season. The best part is that you can take your knitting with you. Remember, if you are on the go, take one of your small projects.

Step 6) The week before Christmas, the majority of the gifts should be finished. I try to wash and block before wrapping, but this is not necessary for all projects, like the cotton dishcloths I plan to knit this year.

Step 7) Be sure to label the gifts according to the recipient. I wrap everything the same, so having the right name and gift is important.

Step 8) By now, there should be a bout three days before Christmas. If you haven't already, explain again to your family that they need to cook for themselves while you (still) work on the sweater for your sister that was started almost 8 months ago.

Step 9) Finish the sweater at 3am Christmas morning and wrap it in something pretty.

Step 10) Enjoy the day! **Everyone will be so impressed that this year, they received something knit with love. Something that took hours of your time and that you are proud of.

**If you weren't able to finish quite everything, don't fret. You have a headstart for next year.

Cause To Celebrate

Andrew, my youngest brother is in town for the Labor Day weekend. It has been quite nice having him around the last few days. Last night was a special evening indeed; my parents and both of my brothers came to our place to have homemade enchiladas and cornbread. The weather was perfect and when we finished eating we played the boardgame LIFE and enjoyed each other's company.  

 

 

This is why I love summer and why there is a bit of sadness in my heart. I'm sad, not because very soon, the sunshine that we crave here in the Pacific Northwest will be replaced with gray skies and constant rain showers, but also because my brother won't be back until Thanksgiving, and then Christmas. I'm sad because he will be going on to Graduate School in the near future and our time together will be even less than it is now.

 

I look at this photo and I see my family together, just the five of us (I'm not in the photo), and it strikes me, this is probably the last time for a long time that we will ever be just the five of us. Alex and I are married and out on our own, busy with life, Jonathan is preparing to get married, and Andrew is living in Seattle until he goes off to graduate school.

 

I love summer because everything is full of life and warm and beautiful and it's hard to say goodbye as we move into the next season. On with our lives. The seasons don't ever change, but our lives, they do. Who we are and the things we do, places we go, the things we experience everyday whether we realize it or not. Last night was a cause to celebrate, however simply, the fact that we were together. I love you all.