it's still christmas in january

Little elves are still hard at work, and holiday gifts are still arriving! This is great!

First was a handknit Christmas ornament from TheBon:

(The pic was taken last week...the tree is officially packed up now). I love the ornament because it feels to me like it embodies Christmas, Channukah and Winter Solstice! Thank you!!


Second gift was this:



Blocking wires. MyFavoriteKid decided I needed these (sure is helpful having a kid that knits...he understands mommy's needs quite well).

MyFK had told his dad that he wanted to get me these as a present this year. His request to buy them was made early, but then ordered late (*ahem*), hence another shopping trip between the two of them the day before Christmas so that MyFK wouldn't show up empty-handed (he was very stressed about that...which is odd, because I'm not even into Christmas and we'd already done Channukah).

So I also got an "antique" vase (sundae dish?) out of the deal, which I also adore....mostly because MyFK picked it out himself.

It's faceted and sparkly and is made of a pale blue glass--my favorite color. Very pretty, and very thoughtful :-)
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Well...how 'bout some Knitting Knews?

I've got too many projects on the needles, so consequently, none of them look like they are going anywhere at all. Hate that.

The Trekking Socks for TheMostImportantGuy are almost done. Sock#2 needs 15 more rounds and then the toe decreases.



So near, but yet so far.
*****

Seeing the reports about the upcoming cold snap (we've been getting into the low 20's people...that's not normal for California), I decided I needed a wider scarf. Like, NOW. So I cast-on for Bejeweled last week. I was almost done. It was about 4 feet long, and I had only about a foot and half more to go. And then I saw a mistake wayyy back, decided I couldn't live with it, and ripped back so far it made my head hurt. *sigh*


I really must learn how to shoot purples better. This thing is actually eggplant. When shot it in the I did in natural light indoors, it looked blue...and then with the flash, pinkish. And it's too cold to do a photoshoot outside.
*****

Wanting instant gratification with that scarf and failing, and really wanting just a little something to keep the wind off the back of my neck, I put Bejeweled down and decided to cast on for this little neckwarmer, from the book One Skein Wonders.

Easy peasy, fast knit, no?
NO.
Short row hell. But I have taught myself to knit backwards rather than turning the work around, so a new skill has been acquired. Yay. I'm about 1/2 way done.

*****

The Forest Canopy Shawl is almost done. Given the instuctions for the laceweight version, I have enough repeats now to stop and add the border, resulting in a "shoulder shawl". But I think I want to do a few more repeats and make it a bit larger. It's been sitting in my basket while I ponder that thought, but with the blocking wires now in hand, I feel the urge to finish it. I'm pretty sure it's a gift for someone in April, but I'm not going to give it up if I fall in love with it because it's my first shawl and I can be a selfish pig when it comes to handknits.

*****

TheShumps are still waiting for me not to be moody, and the Jaywalkers are still waiting for me to mourn their non-stretchy/sizing issue so I can rip it out and start over. I'm eager to get on them right after the Trekking socks are done though, which will hopefully mean next week.

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Here's one last knitting thing. A HaHa brought to you courtesy of Carleigh, my new friend that Is learning to knit:

I recently taught her how to "tink" back to fix her mistakes. For the uninitiated, "tink" is K-N-I-T spelled backwards, so when you "T-I-N-K", you are "un-knitting".

Yesterday Carleigh discovered that she had to un-knit some purl stitches, which she had not done yet (she'd only tinked knit stitches). When she asked me to show her, she decided that unknitting purl stitches should be called "L-U-R-P-ing".

hahahahahahaha!

By the way, dear Carleigh already has projects in queue, a stash building up, and a sweetheart that is complaining she is knitting too much.

Welcome to the ranks, babe ;-)
You're hooked.