Elephant in the Room

Every year my extended family gets together at Christmas and does a white elephant style gift exchange. We set a $5 limit, and try to actually bring things that people want. (As opposed to weird gag gifts.) Generally speaking people are good about insuring that there are things the littles will like, and the aunts/uncles are always well optioned...but there tends to be little geared toward my older guy cousins. I have taken upon myself to fill this need. One year, for example, I took a huge roll of duct tape.

This year I knit a version of the Knox Beanie in a variegated grey. Technically it was more than the limit...I normally charge about $20 for a beanie. Still, I figured if I didn't charge myself for labor it would be ok. The yarn itself cost right around $5.

I sat by my cousin Reb, who is 20, during the gift exchange. His turn was coming up. Several gifts had been opened: quilt books, bouncing balls, tools... Things were getting sketchy. There wasn't anything really stealable, and the chances of a gift he wanted were dropping...I pointed to the box I had wrapped and said, in a very obviously hinting way, I brought that one.

He ended up picking mine, and opened up the beanie. Which he immediately plopped on his head. Apparently he liked it enough to block anyone from stealing it by wearing it.

I'm glad he liked it!

Handknits to the Rescue

My mother had a minor procedure done on her head the first week I was home for Christmas break. She was perfectly fine afterward except for the fact that the stitches/recovery stipulated that she could not wash her hair for a few days.

We had church to attend. She couldn't shampoo her hair.

What to do? What to do?

What she decided to do was ask me ahead of time to bring all my berets home with me.

Sunday morning she picked out her outfit, we found an appropriate beret, and styled her up beautifully. No one at church had any idea that the decision was anything but an aesthetic one.

Handknits save the day yet again!

Just Playing Around!

I love my nephew. He is the best baby ever. Babies need toys.

My mom came across a pattern to knit covers for super balls, and then felt them. The balls still bounce really well, but not as erratically, and are easier for little fingers to grasp.

I had some Noro Kureyon in the stash that was perfect. What I didn't have was a super ball. It turns out that in this modern digital age, super balls are not only incredibly difficult to find...they are also insanely expensive. Still, nothing but the best for Nephew. I finally tracked on down and got to knitting.

The knitting itself was very fast and easy. It only took a couple hours. What was not fast and easy was the felting. I had to run the ball through the wash/dry cycle 10 times before it was properly tight/fuzzy/felty. I sure liked it though.

And I think that Nephew did as well!

He Likes It! from Megan May on Vimeo.

When Birthdays and Christmas Converge

For my birthday, back in August, Mom gave me The Knitter's Book of Wool. It is a very neat book. It talks about how different sheep create different types of wool, and how various wools are more suited to certain types of projects. (Wonder why Aran sweaters developed where they did? Cause the sheep's wool was perfect for Aran sweaters, thats why!)

The book also had some really nice patterns. Mom particularly liked a certain farrow rib knit in the round cardigan. It was called the Allegin. It was a very pretty sweater, and looked like it was well within my skill set.

Mom's birthday is in December. Christmas is in December. It is always a bit of challenge figuring out what to get her for both, and to properly budget them. Occasionally though I have moments of brilliance. I decided it would be a GREAT idea to knit said sweater for mom for a combination birthday and Christmas present. Mom is a great knitter, but rarely takes the time to knit anything for herself...and I don't know when she last knit a sweater.

With a little help from my dad (who selected the color of the yarn...Knitpicks Shamrock in Kavanagh), I buckled down to knit the sweater. The pattern was extremely well written and easy to follow. I knit the sleeves first, and placed them on waste yarn. Then I knit the body from the bottom up, joined the sleeves, and knit the yoke in one piece. I LOVED that there was no seaming up to do. I hate seaming up.

I actually got the sweater completed and the ends woven in before I got home for Christmas break. I had planned on giving mom as much as was finished for her birthday, since I did not think it at all possible that I would finish it by her birthday. And then I was going to finish the rest before Christmas. Instead, when I gave it to her, all it was missing was the buttons. (I have always found buttons to be a very personal choice. The wrong buttons can completely change the personality and appeal of a sweater.)

Mom was delighted and surprised to get the sweater. Together we went shopping for the pewter buttons. She wore it to the family Christmas gathering at my grandparents, as well as to work.

I think it turned out extremely flattering, and love the way it looks on her. I may just make a version for myself as well.

Hypothetical Knitting

I have a friend, Printer, who has a screen printing business, and has done a LOT of t-shirts for me and the residence hall this year. I fear he tends to cut me a better deal than he ought to occasionally. So, because we are friends, and because he is so generous...I wanted to give him a Christmas present. The problem is, he is a bit of a tricky fellow to shop for. He doesn't have a television, he makes his own t-shirts, he doesn't collect anything, he doesn't have any real hobbies to speak of...I decided to knit something for him. The problem was determining what to knit that he would actually wear or want. So, we had the following telephone conversation:

Me: So, hypothetically, if someone were to knit something for you, would you wear it?
Him: It depends on what it is.
Me: Lets say it was hypothetically a beanie.
Him: Possibly. Would it look...crafty?
Me: Not necessarily.
Him: Yeah. I would probably wear it.
Me: Hypothetically, what color would it need to be.
Him: Something dark like black or grey.
Me: Ok.

A few nights later, we had another telephone conversation:

Him: What are you up to tonight?
Me: I'm knitting.
Him: Knitting knitting, or hypothetically knitting?
Me: Hypothetically knitting.
Him: How is it coming? Hypothetically.
Me: Hypothetically, I am really liking the pattern design I came up with.
Him: Cool.

I, hypothetically, finished the beanie and mailed it to my sister in Kentucky. (Printer also lives there, too...I put it in the same box as SNCFan's hat and scarf to save on postage.)

She delivered it to Printer before she came up to the parents' house for the holidays. Hypothetically he can wear it frequently this winter as Bowling Green is having an appallingly cold and icy December.

Apparently, he liked it, as in an unprecedented move, he actually took a picture of himself and sent it to me.

He is pondering deep hypotheses.

And it looks much better on him than it did on me.

The pattern was really easy. It is a variation on a standard 2X2 ribbed beanie that ended up in a sort of waffle pattern. It was a little less boring than a standard beanie without being fussy or girly. Heaven forbid we knit anything less than masculine! I will write it up soon and post it.

New Needles

For Christmas, Mom gave me 2 pairs of nickel plated circular knitting needles from knitpicks to use for sock knitting. She thought it was silly that I only had one pair of sock needles, and she loves the knitpick ones.

She, of course, was anxious to get my opinion on them. I, however, didn't have spare sock yarn with me on my trip.

What's a girl to do?

(Buy more yarn of course!)

I went out to coffee with my friend Spirit that Saturday morning, and sweet-talked her into taking me to Pacific Fabrics. There I was forced to buy some Crystal Palace Panda Superwash in "Dark Night" just so I could test drive the needles. What a hardship!

I cast on my boring old plain vanilla 2x2 rib socks. This not only gave me a purse portable brain-free project, but it allowed me to focus more on the needles than the yarn or pattern.

Needle Review: These are AMAZING. I HIGHLY recommend them. I like these more than...gasp...Addi Turbos. (And they are a fraction of the price!) The points are sharp, the needles slide gleefully into the stitches, and the purple cable makes me smile. So...thanks Mom!

(FYI: The color "Dark Night" -sounds like- Dark Knight -another name for- Batman -who lives in- Gotham...thus the socks are called the Gotham Socks...)

Merry Christmas Gift Parade!

Here are all of the projects that I haven't been able to blog about over the past several weeks. Some of them will be featured in individual entries over the next few days...but for right now, a picture parade:



Sister and her felted catnip mice



Mom and her Scarf that Goes with Everything



Sis-In-Law and her knitted earrings



Dad, Brother, and Nephew in their Generational Beanies



Nephew's Manly Sweater (which looked so tiny when I knit it...but huge when I held it up to him!)



Ontie with her version of the "Blood and Shadows" scarf

The parade of pictures will continue as I get photos from the Christmas commissions I took on as well...

Ornament Exchange

The ladies at my church had an ornament exchange tonight.

I hate ornament shopping, especially this time of year. The ornament shop at the mall is always crowded, dark, and claustrophobic making. The mall in general is to be avoided at all costs.

So instead of buying my ornament...I made two!

I used the same mitten pattern I used for my mitten storytime. I used red and green dk wool, and embroidered the snowflakes on in white. (Actually, the yarn is all from my stash...the red is leftover from Twilight's beret...cream is from my beret...green is from Hawaii's wrist warmers...)

I think they really turned out cute.

And, Blondie seemed very pleased to take them home! (She stole for them!)

FINISHED

...kind of.

That is to say, I have done all of the knitting required for everything in the Christmas queue.

I still have all of the finishing up to do...such as weaving in ends, blocking, etc.

This is a continual struggle with me. I finish the knitting and my brain is creatively satisfied. I know what the finished product looks like, or will look like, so I have no more motivation. Also, I hate weaving in ends. HATE it. This is how I have, in the past, ended up with garbage bags full of projects with "tails".

I need to buckle down and bust out the darning needle.

I need to do it. Tonight. NOW.

The goal: by this time tomorrow the queue will be both completed AND wrappable.

Whiz's Wit

I did a special Christmas storytime at the pajama party the foster fam had last night for all of the small folk from church.

As I was leaving, I was slowly putting on my gloves, scarf, hat, coat, etc. and talking to Whiz. (Who had been wearing the Whiz Bang Beanie, by the way...) The conversation went like this:

Whiz: Did you make your hat?

Me: No. I probably could have, but this one was on sale at Target.

Whiz: Do people ask you that a lot? If you made everything you own?

Me: Yep. All the time.

Whiz: It would be pretty cool if you could make, like, everything you ever needed.

Me: Well, I do make a lot of it.

Whiz: Well, but not stuff like food or money.

Me: It would be pretty cool if I could just knit up some money.

Whiz: Yeah...but...you know that's illegal, right?

Me:...

I love that kid. So concerned that I might try and counterfeit cash with yarn from the stash...wanted to make sure I was aware of the government's current stand on currency production!

Insanity...Thy Name is Mine

I had a LONG Christmas queue this year. Long in quantity, but not necessarily in difficulty. A lot of the projects/gifts that I had decided to make were verystraightforward knits. They were things that, generally speaking, I could knock off in fairly short order.

The problem was that even if a project by itself is fast and simple, when you add a gazillion more fast and simple projects to it...well...

I am crazy.

I started planning and knitting the Christmas queue way back in October.

Still not done.

In addition to my own projects this year, I took on several commissions for the holidays. Don't ask me why. I don't know.

All of the commissions were also straight forward simple knits. When I was asked, I thought, "Of course! That is an easy peasy project. It will take no time!"

But again, get enough easy peasy projects in a queue and you have a huge mountain of knitting. So, these just add to the general insanity of my life. Not to mention the fact that commissions need to be delivered on time...and in my case, on time means early since I am going to my parents for the holidays. Unlike my own gifts, I can't IOU a Christmas commission.

Oh, and just to make myself even more loopy, or because I was already loopy...I actually knit 7/8 of a gift for a family member. Then I decided that it was utter rot and I needed to do something entirely different. Hours of knitting gaily abandoned and additional hours tacked on. (In my defense, the original project was a good idea conceptually, and I knit it perfectly according to the pattern...the pattern was just cruddy and not at all what I had envisioned...) Then the back up project also wasn't working out, so I have abandoned it as well. Hopefully, the third time will be the charm.

Now I sit here, on my floor, surrounded by project bags. I have put each project, its pattern, extra yarn, and needles into its own bag in order to stay organized. I am literally overwhelmed by organization. It is a huge ordeal to prioritize what needs to be knit now, what can be put off...if I put it off will I still be finished with it on time? Not to mention having to take into account who will be around while I'm knitting it. Oh the agony!

Thinking positively...I am almost done with the queue...I am almost done with the queue...I am almost done with the queue...

Finally Feeling Festive

Yesterday, my day off, I put up all of my Christmas decorations: the garlands, the wreaths, the tree!

(In order to do so, I had to rearrange ALL of the furniture in the living room...I actually like it better this way, so I will probably leave it like this...the fact that my couch is REALLY heavy has nothing to do with it!)

So, tonight I am sitting here knitting in my muck luck slipper socks and snowflake pj pants. My Christmas tree lights are twinkling, Karen Carpenter's voice is singing, and a mug of peppermint hot chocolate sits at my elbow (with marshmallows)...I finally feel festive! I might just put on the Muppet Christmas Special when the CD ends.

Part of my joyous mood might also stem from the fact that I am 3/4's done with my Christmas Queue! And that includes the crazy commissions I have taken on!

Recuperating

Well, I am over my fever...hooray!

I was able to get a little bit of knitting done yesterday afternoon, but it was hard.

I needed a project that required next to no brain cells.

I also wanted to make sure that it was one that was okay to knit while sick...one that would be impervious to germs.

I ended up making a dishcloth. For myself.

Today I went back to work, and am doing MUCH better. So, tonight I jumped back on my Christmas queue...actually finished one project that I had started last week, and did a second one start to finish. Unfortunately, these are not bloggable since they are gifts...

Productivity. It's a beautiful thing.

Incompatibility

I have a knitting blog. (Which you probably know, because you are currently reading it.)

On said knitting blog, which I committed myself to updating every other day, I discuss my current projects, successes, epic failures, and quirks.

I also have something called the Christmas Queue, which is the list of all the gifts I need to make by Christmas.

The Christmas Queue essentially devours all available knitting time from approximately September 1 through December 24. (And often later, since I tend to give out gift IOUs.)

The recipients of projects on the Christmas Queue have 2 things in common.

1. I love them
2. They are the vast majority of people who read this blog!

There is a definite incompatibility problem here. I want to blog about what I am knitting, I want people to read my blog, and yet I don't want anyone's Christmas surprise to be spoiled.

It is a conundrum.

Weirdest Request Ever

I meant to post this eons ago...but I never got the pictures. I am tired of waiting, and at camp, and too tired to write a new post, so here you go:

The Friday before Christmas, at an ornament exchange for church, my friend Psych came up to me and made a request. I had given her an IOU for a handknit on her birthday, and she had finally decided what she wanted. It was the strangest, and most fun-to-execute, request that I have ever received.

It seems that her husband, Preacher, has an insanely disgusting big toe on one foot from years of playing soccer. I have never seen the toe in all its glory, but apparently it can make small children cry. While sitting on the couch together, Preacher jokingly told Psych that he should have me knit him a cozy for his toe. (This makes sense in light of that fact that whenever I am at their house...which is often (Monday night bible studies, Tuesday night American Idol, random game nights, movie nights, holiday parties, etc)...I am knitting something. They both thought this was funny. Psych decided to act on it.

She wondered if I could knit a cozy for his toe in time for her to stick it in his Christmas Stocking. I said sure...how long could it take? I actually got it done in time to slip it to her at church on Sunday. It was actually REALLY easy. I basically just made a teeny tiny elongated hat. I even got fancy and put rugby stripes on it for that manly edge.

Apparently it was a hit! Preacher said I should try marketing them to soccer players, because most of the ones he knows also have nasty toes. (Maybe ballerinas, too.) I could start a whole line of toe cozies that would enable people everywhere to continue to wear flip-flops without the nerdiness or overly-warm nature of a full sock/sandal combo!

Samples Samples Samples

I have been working hard to have a respectable number of dishcloth samples for my program tonight. I have 2 that are actually the pattern I am teaching them, and then two that require knowledge of a YO and a K2TOG.

Had this been a year ago...or better yet the day before the 2007 company Christmas gift exchange...I would have had SCADS to show the students from my gift stash. Sadly, having most of my stuff in storage, in combination with the deluge of incoming babies, has totally depleted the stash.

So, instead of going to my handy dandy shelf, I have been scrounging in my kitchen drawers for examples that are not TOO TOO grungy. I also have decided out of desperation to take along a couple of burp rags...they are essentially the same thing anyway.

This whole adventure has led me to two conclusions:
1. I really need to work on beefing up the gift stash again...I mean seriously...there is only ONE coffee cup cozy in there.
2. I am in dire need of some new dishcloths for my own use. Honestly, some of these are shameful.

Second Sock

The second sock in the pair I was making from DC's Christmas gift skein is done!

They took longer than normal, even though they are the easiest/most brainless/boringest pattern I have, because of the flood of baby gifts I have been making.

I think they are very cute, but am glad to be done with them so that I can finally get going on my Rivendell pair from Eclectic Sole. (I have changed my mind about which yarn to use for these at least 3 times...but I think I have finally come to a decision...we'll see when I actually cast on.)

However, before I cast on I need to cross at least 2 other things off of my queue.

I am going to be responsible...if it kills me...and it might!

Am I that obvious?

I received some lovely Christmas gifts from a friend.

They included sock yarn. Orange sock yarn. Self striping orange sock yarn.

Said friend and I had met via email through a mutual friend.

Apparently I talk about knitting often enough, and my love of all things orange, that he knew just what to get me. (Not just everyone would appreciate a gift that requires effort on their part. No-siree-bob!)

Here is the first finished sock:

Just my regular old plain jane sock pattern. 2x2 rib with a flap heel. Nothing super exciting since I didn't want to detract at all from the yarn's coloration.

I already cast on the second in an effort to stave off Second Sock Syndrome, and will take it on my trip this weekend...it will make a good purse project.