We Now Return You To Your Regularly Scheduled Christmas Knitting Panic

Christmas Gift #1: I have to say that the Magic Loop is saving my knitting arse this year. I'm already finished two gifts that I never dreamed I would get done in time for Christmas. Instead of taking a month of Sundays to knit, these socks for my niece only took a few days:

Details:
Yarn: Felici by Knitpicks in "Coastal"
Pattern: my own, toe-up - 60 stitches
Needles: 2.5 addi turbos

My niece thinks that these socks are for Ivy, my SM. We were in the Annapolis Valley a few weeks ago when I asked her to try on the socks, saying, "I think you and Ivy have the same size feet" (so not true). Being a good kid, she gamely took off her canvas sneakers and tried on the sock.

Moments later, the smell of pre-teen foot in canvas sneakers assaulted my olfactory system. My niece smiled sheepishly and apologized for the stinky foot smell. She held out the sock and I took it from her, holding it a safe distance from my nose before dropping it in my backpack, and said, "Well then... I guess I'll just let that air out and work on something else for a while." Gack!

For scale I've placed a 7" needle on the sock. My adorable little niece, the one who was the same height as me last Christmas, has grown a lot this year. Her feet grew from a size 6 to a size 9.5 in the last 5 months. She wore her mom's flip flops all spring and summer, so they didn't notice until she started back at school in the fall. Crazy, eh?

Christmas Gift #2: If you're not my dad, you can click here to see what I've made for him this year. That gift took me only a couple of days. I do believe that I ROCK!

Ahem. *assumes less obnoxious demeanour*

Not a Christmas Gift #1: After finishing the socks for my niece this week, I decided that I needed to make a hat for myself. Believe it or not, I've been wearing the same two hats for the last few years (my Shining Star hat and my Noro ribbed hat). I did get a nice hat from the swap we held at KOL at the end of the summer (It was too big for Moe), and I love it, but I really wanted to knit a slouchy hat. I reached into the stash and pulled out this:

Yarn: Terra by The Fibre Company
Pattern: Le Slouch by Knit and Tonic
Needles: 5.0mm and 5.5mm

Hey - everyone needs a little somethin' somethin' for themselves during the holidays.

Not a Christmas Gift #2: I picked this up on Friday night:

Reason #1 for buying this book so close to Christmas:
Moe has a pattern in it.

Reason #2 for buying this book so close to Christmas:
All the awesome patterns, including what will become:

Christmas Gift #3:*

I'm going to make this hat for my almost 11-year-old nephew. Since he's a sk8r dude, I think he's going to LOSE his mind when he sees it. I asked my SIL about it already and she has approved the skullage on the hat. I've chosen to tone it down a bit by knitting it in blue and black instead of red and black. The yarn is Wool Gatto from Lana Gatto. It's the same weight as the Baby Ull that the pattern calls for but Oh-so-much-more squishy!

Now, if you'll excuse me. I must go panic about the rest of the Christmas knitting.

*Could I use just a few more colons in this post? :::::::!

One Down...

Last night I came home from work, washed up some dishes, made myself a "festive" dinner (ok, nachos with red salsa and green guacamole... I LOVE guacamole) and then knit until the wee hours. Ok, there may have been a shot of espresso in there somewhere.

The result?

The scarf/shawl for Andrew's mom is done. Finito.

*imagine roar of the crowd and thunderous applause*

I would like to thank the following people, without whom this Finished Object would not have been possible.

First and foremost, I would like to thank Cari of Dogs Steal Yarn for the beautiful pattern. The Travelling Vines Pattern is especially significant for my MIL as she and my FIL have recently retired from their work representing a Canadian missions board in Eastern Europe. They have travelled extensively over the last 8 years (visiting Belgium, Albania, Turkey, The Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Bosnia, Greece, and... hmmm... France, England... and other places I'm sure I missed) and are looking forward to some time at home.

Of course, the project wouldn't have been possible if it hadn't been for the yarn, Fleece Artist 2-ply kid silk which I purchased about 3 years ago with no specific project in mind. It was the colour that drew me in - a blue of amazing depth and variation. It is perfect for my MIL as she wears a lot of blue and has blue eyes too. I don't know that the yarn is still available...

My Brittany 4.0 mm needles who carried me through the last 21 pattern repeats. Thank you ladies, you performed with such grace and ease. I couldn't have done it without you.

The recipe cards on which I wrote each row of the pattern so that I could see them without the danger of reading another row. You stepped in when the going got tough, kept me on track and didn't let me down.

...and last but not least, I would like to thank the household chores who have been feeling rather neglected, especially in these final days of the project. You have been so supportive and I really appreciate your patience. I hope you know that when all this Christmas knitting is done, we will spend some real quality time together. I'll bring the vacuum, you bring the dust, k?

Photos to follow.

(I did 31 pattern repeats so that we would be able to remember when it was made.)

IT is here

I was just reading The Harlot's blog entry about her speech last night and how she asked the knitters to stand and then weeded them down to the ones who:

a. are knitting for the holidays
b. aren't sure if they were going to get everything done on their list
c. have optimistically added new projects to the mix.

She started talking about IT. The last minute Christmas panic.

My panic started today. You want to know why?

Lemme tell you why.

The first of the Christmas chocolate has been delivered to our office. It's really Christmas. I've eaten an entire bag of chocolate covered pistachios.

GAH!

I'm having heart palpitations and panic attacks.

Here's hoping Andrew is at home right now bringing our Christmas tree up from the basement.

Spring Has Sprung, Some Knitting is Done!

Soundtrack: Belle and Sebastian "Tigermilk"

It is a bee-you-tee-ful-day here in the City of Lakes. I took the Pipster out for a walk this morning and had to take my hat and mitts back to the house. It's gorgeous out. I love it when the first day of spring is like this. It gives us hope that we can survive the dreary time when the snow is melting: our lawns look depressed and flat from the weight of the snow, everything seems kind of dirty and the layers of poo the dogs have deposited over the winter slowly surface like some sort of fecal archaeoligical dig. A day like today makes you forget all that and instead you think of crocuses and tulips and gardening!

I spent 3 hours in Chapters this afternoon. I had cwaffee with JAK and her son, the Curious C. We had cafe mochas and treats. Then we had a lovely time sitting in the Knitting section (we sat because JAK fell over - tee hee) looking at every single book. We even perused the gardening section.

Here's what I bought:
Lois Hole’s Perennial Favorites
It’s a great little reference book. Our gardening neighbours on our old street had this book. Over the years I have discovered that I am not a gardener. I really WANT to be a gardener, but I’m just not. I am a pretty good gardener in June and July, but by August I’m ready to throw in the trowel. It pains me that I can’t keep my interest in the plants for more than two months. I have so many things I would love to grow in my garden, but I am just not committed. I’m hoping this will change with age, but right now, I just don’t enjoy it. My evil plan is to plant shrubs and perennials and then ignore the garden for a few years.

I also bought this. I’ve read two of her other books and loved them. I read “The Cure for Death By LIghtening” on my honeymoon almost 7 years ago (gasp, 7 years!). I think I’m going to put it on my re-read list.

The Curious C kept finding these great books on movies. One was called “1001 movies you must see before you die”. That’s a threatening title, dontcha think? What happens if I don’t see them all? I took a course in university called “Narratives in Cinema”. Best damn course, ever. It was an English course. We watched a movie a week. Some guy brought popcorn one night. The prof kicked his arse. I loved that course and the prof. He changed my taste in films... Hmmmm... I feel a post on movies coming on.

I have yet to see The Yarn Harlot’s book on a bookshelf. I think I’ll call the local indy bookseller and see if she has it yet.

So, I know the title promised knitting that is done. Sad story. The French Market Bag left the house without a proper photo. I gave it to my MIL yesterday morning when she and my FIL came over for breakfast. It looked more like French Market Blob when I did photograph it. Use your imagination everyone: It had a black bottom and handles and the contrast colour was done in Brown Sheep Lamb’s Pride Aubergine. The shape was ok. I think my MIL liked it. She was surprised. It matches her new winter coat - that she won’t be needing soon! Yay spring.

Moving on. Here’s the Sophie bag...

See the stray felted pieces? They are going to become a flower with a leaf and stem. Perhaps that will happen tonight. The bag was knit with cascade 220, as was the orange piece. The green is BSLP in Key Lime Pie.

As I write this I have a very hyper puppy trying to get me to play with a tennis ball. My typing keeps getting interrupted as I retrieve the ball from under the radiator - ok, I put something in front of the radiator - my yarn basket. He promptly went for the Berocco suede - smart dog! Argh, no!!!!!!

Another FO for the books:

This is the Multidirectional Diagonal Scarf - the instructions for which can be found here. I did this using some leftover Cherry Tree Hill silk stuff (dog is now between me and the door - I'm not walking over him to get the tag). I did the pattern over 30 stitches on the nice Clovers that Angela sent to me. Silk on wooden needles. Nice.

NOW PIPPIN IS DROPPING THE BALL SO IT GOES UNDER THE DESK! AAAAAAAHHH!!! Ok, there's a bag in front of that now.

New soundtrack: Joel Plaskett

Argh - my browser quit on me. Thank goodness I had the foresite to copy this post into Appleworks.

I have other photos to show you, but I’m going to hold off. I can’t give away the farm today.

One quick story - Andrew is still down in Austin, TX. He called yesterday and told me that they met Brian Wilson. His bandmate, Jason, saw Brian walking by the club they were in. Jason sprinted down the street after him. I’m just going to imagine that for a moment. I’ve never seen Jason sprint, ever.

He is the biggest BW fan I know. And by fan, I would like to emphasize that the word is a shortened form of FANATIC. Jason is a BW fanatic. He will die a happy man. He gave BW’s manager a copy of their cd. Apparently, BW doesn’t listen to music because he is worried that if he wrote a song that sounded like someone else that he would get sued. Makes sense in that weird BW way. Of course, it could just be a polite way of saying “Keep your CD kid, you aren’t the first one to force your music on me, and you won’t be the last. I probably won’t listen to it.” I hope that’s not the case. Maybe he will listen to it. Maybe, he’ll produce their next album and I’ll get those new shoes after all (Whenever someone looks for a cd for free I always say “Buy it. The children need new shoes.”).

Ok, gotta eat. Until next time!

There is no time...

...for blogging! What am I doing here? What, what, what I ask you? why am I sitting in front of the computer reading other knit-blogs and now putting an entry on mine?

I've vaccuumed and mopped the floor in preparation for tomorrow and the landing of the family. But have I made the cake? NO!
Have a stopped to eat yet? No. But the two cups of caffeine are keeping me going.

It's all a blur, though...

I remember going to Winners - and leaving with NOTHING...
I remember going to Shoppers and leaving with a magazine, fingernail polish and two bags of Hershey's kisses (had to try to caramel).

What am I doing?
It's 3:15pm, and although I went to the yarn store this morning, I now realize that I need to go back. She closes at 4pm. 'scuze me.

Here's the list...

I'll be checking it twice. No worries, almost everyone has been nice, and as for those who've been naughty, well, the word naughty makes me grin, so even the naughty people will be getting gifts from me this year. However, if you were rude, obnoxious, self-important or just plain old annoying this year, you will be getting NOTHING from me, 'cause none of those adjectives make me grin.

Dad - Fuzzy Feet Slippers in a green tweed (and a small stash of little gifts that I've bought over the year)
Ivy - Fuzzy Feet Slippers in a Webber vitamin bottle top purple(and my homemade chocolates - this woman is just so easy!)
Grandma #1 - wrap/scarf made with Cherry Tree hill yarn
Grandpa #1 - not entirely sure. He's 90+. He's also an amputee - can't really give him slippers, can I? I could give him a single slipper, but these slippers are actually slippery and he doesn't really need any help with instability.
Grandma #2 - fuzzy, purple alpaca scarf
Grandpa #2* - an addition to his collection of cds - I do this every year. I know he loves it. He'll be okay if he doesn't get a knitted item. - NOT DONE

(*NOTE: Yes, four grandparents. I'm very fortunate to be almost thirty-*cough**cough*-one*cough* and still have all four grandparents. They range in age from 80 to 90.5. Longevity runs in the family - my great-grandfather lived to 103 - but R's great-granny had him beat, right R?)

MIL - Fuzzy Feet slippers in Pink
FIL - Fuzzy Feet slippers in "Jack's Plum"
SIL - Fuzzy feet slippers - black with Sirdar Funky Fur in hot pink mixed into the cuff.
BIL - Fuzzy Feet slippers - in Cascade 220 - NOT DONE

Step-sister - Cascade purse - she's going to think she's getting slippers. Bwah, ha ha ha!
Step-sister's hubbie - fuzzy feet slippers - not sure what colour, maybe striped - NOT DONE

Brother - darned good question... yup.

Three Nieces and two nephews and some friends - all getting same thing - NOT DONE BUT PROTOTYPE HAS BEEN MADE. It's top secret, though, b/c some of the friends read this blog. - and I'm not doing this - the hubby is.

Great-Aunt J- not sure - Fuzzy feet perhaps?
Auntie J and Uncle D - two more sets of Fuzzy feet? Sigh. Movie Passes?
Dear friend, P - hmmmmm... small felted bag?
Dearest pal, R - as if I would tell it here - I'm thinker than you smart I am!
Minou and her Mommy and Daddy - my lips are sealed, or, rather, "mwy mmmph mph mphhhhhhmmmm-ed!

Ok - so I need to go out and get the cd, figure out what to give to Grandpa #1, and knit two more, possibly 5 more sets of fuzzy feet. I think I might make it. I think I might throw up.


Let's review the weekend's activities:
Friday night - Free to knit - yay!

Saturday- Get up, tidy house, make birthday cake, knit all afternoon and evening, go see husband's band play in the evening, knit at bar, get odd stares from rogue club-kids who show up at an indy pop show, give them the "Happy Holidays, so glad I can see your mid-rif and the crack of your arse at the same time, don't you know it's December; you won't be getting a kidney from me after the abuse you're giving yours from being out in the -15 weather dressed like we live in Florida" look that I love to give; wrap party for show hubby worked on will be post show

Sunday - stifle hubby's snoring with pillow, or jam self under his arm and lever him over onto his side; give up, crawl out of bed, put cake together before noon (It's the Chocolate Blackout cake from the Complete Canadian Living Cookbook) - convince husband that he should be making the seafood chowder for the family since it is HIS family that is coming over - get in knitting time after supper?

Thanks for reviewing the list with me, gang. It makes me feel better.
I've got a week, and despite the fact that a total of 9 people will be over for supper on Sunday afternoon, I'm sure it'll all get done.

A big "hello" to R and her Mom and Dad - heard you stopped by to see what all the fuss is about. Not much to see here, really, except the yellow caution tape around me and my holiday panic attack. Can't wait to see you guys on Boxing Day. It's been TOO long!

I Love My Washing Machine...

Oh yes I do.
Three Christmas presents were "felted" last night. Three! My dad's slippers, my father-in-law's slippers and my step-sister's Sophie bag.

You know how sometimes the pattern says "You may have to run this through the wash twice to achieve the desired blah blah blah, yada, yada." I'm sure others among you have figured this out, but on my machine, if I leave the top open it will agitate, but it won't go into the spin cycle. So if I throw something in to be felted and I leave it, the washer won't spin. Then I check the stuff and if it needs more time, then I just turn the washer off and spin the dial back to the first of the cycle and voila, more agitation!

I love my ancient and somewhat decrepit washer. Like the Yarn Harlot, I don't know if my Mr. Washie will come out of the basement if it's soul goes to that great Appliance Repair shop in the sky. I'm going to treat him well while I have him with me.

"Only about 10 Christmas gifts to go", she said as her left eye twitched.

My Annual Holiday Related Panic Attack...

How did this happen?!?! It is now 2 weeks until Christmas EVE!

I was doing just fine, and then I realized that I only have two weeks. Suddenly, my heart is racing, my head is spinning and I can't feel my ass anymore. Perhaps that last problem has something to do with spending so much time sitting on the couch knitting like a mad-woman.

I went to my LYS yesterday after work. I make stitch markers that the shop owner sells in her store - I think she agreed to do it so that she could support my habit. It's like owning your own video gambling machine in a casino full of them. Anyhoo I had taken some stitch markers down last week (oh, b.t.w. I call the markers "A Little Bit of Happy", hence the blog name) and I needed to pick up my moolah. I had money in my pocket and I was still doing fine. I bought a skein of Brown sheep and the needles I need for my step-sister's Sophie bag. (Shhhhhh... it's a secret. She doesn't know... I'm going to make her think she's getting slippers. heh heh.)

I went home with the yarn. Had my supper. Started to knit. Then my husband's band came over to practice for their show next week. They guys went downstairs to set up their instruments. I put all my yarn for Christmas presents into a box and stepped back to look at it. The guys started playing a song. I started to feel kinda sweaty.

"Oh great, " I thought to myself, "my holiday panic attack has a soundtrack. And I think the keyboard player just hit a foul note."

Why do I do this to myself every year? Don't bother replying, I know the answer: Because it wouldn't be Christmas without the attack. I know I'll get it all done. And whatever I don't get done, well, it didn't really matter in the first place.

For the last 4 years of our marriage, my husband and I have agreed to make our Christmas gifts. One year we made painted ceramic trivets and painted glass ornaments and lots of baked goods to go with them. Another year, we made blankets for all the kids. But my darling husband doesn't knit, so this year I'm doing the big chunk. And it's giving me facial twitches. The exciting thing is that this year he's planning to design some stuffed dolls for the nieces and nephews, based on a cat character he's had in mind for a tv show for quite some time. He's not working right now, so I think I'm going to have to dump some stuff on him. I've already asked him if he could make the cappucino cups that I make for special people every year.

He doesn't know this yet, but in a moment of weakness or complete insanity, I said to my sister-in-law last week - "Why don't we have the b-day party here?" Christmas isn't enough for this family - we have a bunch of birthdays to celebrate too! We have a family celebration for all the kids birthdays and for the adults too. This year we're combining my nephew's celebration with his grandparents' celebration. Thank goodness! Being the "Cake Auntie" I'm glad we're down to one cake for three people. Two more cakes would have pushed me over the edge.

I forgot - we're also in charge of Christmas breakfast. I'm seeing the edge approaching now. Crap, the holiday cards! Crap, crap, crap.

You know, this post may have sounded like complaining but the truth is - I really like doing all of this. And I love giving homemade Christmas presents. I really wouldn't have it any other way.

Saturday, Saturday, Saturday, Saturday,Saturday

My shoulders are tense tonight. In the last week I've only knit about 40 rows on a silly silky scarf and about 3 rows on a pair of slippers for a Christmas gift. I've never procrastinated with wool before; it's a new but familiar sensation - kind of like when I used to procrastinate when writing essays...

When I was in university I would begin a 2000 word essay at 11pm on the night before it's due date. Oh yes indeedy, I would. And I would stay up until 2am, typing like a fiend (have I mentioned how glad I am that I took typing in high school? Bird course? HA!)... go to bed and then get up early, and skip all my classes that day in order to finish the essay. Then I would rush over to the English department (which, at Dalhousie was, at the time, actually a cute little house) to drop off my essay just before the deadline. The professor would have a bemused smile as I departed, but despite this rather irresponsible approach to my work, I must say, I managed to pull off pretty good marks. Oh, did I mention that I would always drop off the essay while still wearing my pajamas? At four o'clock in the afternoon. Hee hee.

So now I've got that "evening before an essay deadline" feeling in my stomach again, like I know I'm goofing off, but I can't help myself. This time Christmas is the deadline. I won't be knitting tonight - I've got a party to go to, about which I'm kind of excited - it's at the house of one of the people on my husband's production team. She seems like a lot of fun, so it should be interesting. I don't know that I'll get a lot done tomorrow as I have another party to go to in the afternoon. It's a dear friend's suprise 40th b-day. I made the cake this afternoon: Chocolate Cheesecake. I haven't made this in ages, but it's one of her favorites and mine too!

Ok, I had better get going - I must get ready for the par-tay!

tchau, amigas!

*edited later - holy crapola, i did a bad job on this post - it's amazing that I ever passed my English classes!*

Knitting? What knitting? Oh, that KNITTING...

Ok, ok... so I'm supposed to be showing you photos of my knitting. Yeah, yeah. Hold your needles ladies. I'll get to it, eventually. I'm still sorting out how to use this thing. And, well, if you have seen the weather report today, you'll know why I don't have any knitting photos today. I was going to go out this morning and take some photos, I really, really was. But instead, I was wearing knitted items as I cursed and shovelled wet snow.

Let's pretend there are photos here. Use your imagination:
Photo 1: Fuzzy Feet photo - Cascade yarn, admire the blue. I'm almost ready to start the toe shaping. See the piles of Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride in the back? Those skeins are waiting to become Fuzzy feet. Yup, all of those skeins. Don't bother to count them. And don't ask if you're on the recipient list. B/c if you aren't, and you think you should be, then I will weep, openly and without shame.

Photo 2: Four pretty "balls" of yarn - these 3 peace fleece (one pink, one raspberry, one black) and 1 Custom Woolen Mills (khaki) are waiting to become two Brioche hats from Weekend Knitting - one for me, one for the man with the crazy hair (that's the husband). I wound them on the ball winder at my LYS. I could use that ball winder all day and never cease to be amazed at the little "cakes of yarn" it makes.

Photo 3: Me, wearing my Briggs and Little Red Devil hat (sans horns), and my snowpants and big winter jacket. Yes, I do appear to be glaring at the snow. Yes, I am struggling to hold on to the shovel. Yup, it's windy. Let's move on.

Photo 4: My angry little footprints, leading up the driveway to the house.
End photos.

Oh yes, ladies and gentlemen, I gave up. I'm praying for the miracle of rain. Rain, baby, rain. Make the snow go away.

Moving on to the Knitting!
I'm working on Christmas presents and such, of course. No self-respecting knitter is working on anything but Christmas presents at this time of year. Well, Christmas presents and maybe a hat for his/herself... ok, maybe a scarf... alright, maybe a sweater... but certainly not anything with cables or anything complicated. Not being the super-experienced knitter, I haven't reached the point where I dare work on a sweater for myself while working on Christmas presents. I'm sure others are working on sweaters BUT I am working on a pair of socks for myself. The Petticoat socks from Weekend Knitting. Oh yes I am. Well, so far it's Petticoat Sock. And barely sock, more like Petticoat So. I'm only a couple of pattern sets past the cuff. I'm loving the pattern. And I'm loving the yarn. And if I wasn't such a lazy arse, I would get up off this couch right now, check the label on the yarn and tell you what it is... But I think my leg muscles have atrophied. My husband would probably check for me, but he's on the other couch switching from reality tv and the news and then over to the American Music Awards. We only have 3 channels, so it's not so much channel surfing as it is channel avoiding. He's doing a running commentary on the artists who are lip-synching (Gwen Stefani and John Mayer)... and then on the ones who aren't (Bon Jovi). Watching music awards shows with a musician / sound engineer takes all the glamour away.

Oh, and now we're watching the news. Seems I might not have to work tomorrow. We've been hit by a lovely early winter storm and it knocked down the power transmission towers in the industrial park where I work. I'll have to wait to hear the news tomorrow to know for sure.

Wait, no, I'm talking about knitting. FOCUS ON THE KNITTING. Right. Well, there are lots of Fuzzy Feet socks on the list, and scarves and hats (and mittens if I figure out the pattern one of the Holy Trinity left for me).

The Christmas projects are piling up. I don't know why I do this to myself. I want to sew a blanket for my new four-legged nephew. And make the same kind for my two-legged niece. A few years ago I made personalized blankies for my nieces and nephews. The newest niece was born after the original blanket run. All the other blankets are fleece and mattress ticking with their initial on a corner. I also want to make some other fun things, that I shouldn't name here in case one of the recipients is reading (Minou).

How many days until Christmas? sigh. Does anyone know how I can get a cardboard box that I can use for a cloning machine and a transmogrifier? hee hee... (a little Bill Watterson humour for my pal, Les)

Urgh... finishing blog entry now. Must go chat on msn with pal.