A Very Knitterly Christmas

Well, as you can see by my previous update, the Christmas spirit did not arrive here until late (which kinda figures - I've always been a tardy kinda gal anyway). But once it did, wow... it showed up in a big big way. I've been all full of sappy Christmas sentimentality and being grateful for good friends we didn't even have a year ago and loving my fellow humans and all that good stuff.

I am, for the record, convinced that my avoidance of all things "mall" aided in this cheerful outlook despite us having no idea how we're going to manage the next month or so.

I was marvelling, last night, that I've somehow become the owner of several knitting books all the sudden. This morning I realized that receiving four (4! FOUR!) knitting books for Christmas - two pattern books, two non - had something to do with it.

So what did Knitter Claus bring me this year? Well, from my dad and his wife I received Knitting Vintage Socks by Nancy Bush, Yarn Harlot: The Secret Life of a Knitter and At Knit's End: Meditations for Women Who Knit Too Much by the always lovely Stephanie Pearl-McPhee.

Then last night, from one of those dear friends I didn't even have a year ago, I got Stitch 'N Bitch: The Knitter's Handbook by Debbie Stoller.

One top of the couple other knitting books I've picked up over the past year, suddenly my knit library is burgeoning. I mean, I know it's not much compared to a lot of people, but considering I only really got into this about a year ago? I'm kinda surprised how much I've picked up already.

Otherwise, it was a lovely holiday. I'll have to do a Jaywalker update soon, but just had to record the happy KnitMas I've had. *beam!*

*snarl* Feckin' Christmas....

Most women, when they get PMS, get headaches, cramps, bloating, etc. Me? I get a colossal case of dropsy and then also get to be the special target of Murphy's Law for a week.

This time, ten days before Christmas (oh god, nine days now) is not a great time for me to be having this sort of PMS. Not only is dropsy a bad thing to have when you're trying to churn four different batches of cookies out of your kitchen (what am I saying, the only cookies I've touched I've also eaten - the baking is all Caz this year), but this whole Murphy's Law business? Am REALLY tired of it.

To whit:

I needed to knit three hats for family Christmas celebrations this weekend.

I knit one, and at the end realized that it was, perhaps, a trifle large. I decided, "That's all right. If it's really much too big, I will have the recipient assist me in frogging the hat (which I expect would be a lot of fun since the recipient is like three years old), and then I will re-knit and get it sent off within a couple weeks."

I then embarked on the second hat, then paused after twice frogging the decreases, because I couldn't settle on a decrease pattern that wouldn't leave me white-knuckled wondering when I was going to run out of yarn. That hat is still waiting for decreases.

So then I started the third hat. Again there was some hemming and hawing on the issue of pattern, but eventually I selected one. All seemed well. I cast on yesterday (Wednesday), made a decent bit of headway, then knitted like a fiend today, in between discussions over whether instant coffee would be a suitable replacement for espresso powder in a recipe (We decided to go for it, incidentally.)

Now, I measured my gauge on this third hat earlier today. The pattern called for 20 sts/4 in, and I was at about 19.5. Not quite dead-on, but really quite close enough as far as I was concerned. So I continued knitting, then after rather some time, I realized that the hat seemed a bit large. I tried pulling it onto my head and realized that it was about a perfect fit. Considering this hat's intended recipient is like five or six years old, I was not amused.

And yet, still I did That Thing. You know, where you go, "Oh man, I've really screwed this up somehow," and so your chosen course of action then is to continue as before, in the apparent hopes that somehow the additional length will fix whatever is wrong.

Eventually, I had to admit that Continuing On was not working. Also, it was becoming painfully clear that I was going to run out of yarn and soon. So I pulled out my trusty tape measure and checked my gauge again, only to discover that somehow I was knitting at 18 sts/4 in. CRAPENZIE!!

The moral of that story, clearly, is don't trust your gauge measurements if they're taken when there are toddlers in the room.

So now, with two knitting days completely wasted, I'm forced to face the fact that really, what I'm going to have to do is give my dear nephews cheapish dork-presents on Saturday, and then mail them each their hats in another couple weeks once I get them all completed.

Somebody pass me some spritz cookies and a whole mess of buttered rum cider, willya? I've got sorrows to drown.

Such a dingus!

So today, as I was gearing up to go back out into the elements, I thought to myself, "Man, I really love that this scarf is such a perfect length. So many scarves are too short."

And then I realized, "Hello! This is what happens when you knit your scarf yourself!!"

sigh.

Yeah, I'm still getting used to this whole wild and wonderful world of handknits.

Busy busy busy

Okay, despite my lack of posting, I really have been knitting. And having a life. And other crazy things.

Knitting:

I finished one hat, which I fear may be too small, but we'll see what blocking does.

I finished another hat, which I fear may be too big.

I almost finished another hat, realized that it's not nearly as cool-looking as I'd hoped, also realized I had more yarn than I realized, so I frogged back to the decreases and am going to make the nice normal hat I was making into a more stocking-y hat. Now what - I'll run out of yarn. snort!

I started, again, my Jaywalker socks for Cara's Jaywalker KAL, and after a few false starts wherein I decided the small size on 1s was too small, and the large size on 1s was too big, I am now making quite fine progress on 2s using the small size, and so I'm feeling like perhaps I've finally got this figured out.

I'm stalled on Christmas Stocking #1 (remember, I have to do two - argh!), but I have decided to kind of up-end the pattern I've got, which I think will be saner in the long run. But first I have to finish all these Christmas presents so that I can begin the long hard burn to try to get both stockings done. (Yes, Meg, I know it's impossible, but what can I say - I haven't quite given up hope.)

Life:
My kids are huge and strong and waaaaayyyy too smart. It's making me a little bit nutty, actually. And they're sick and tired of being cooped up for two weeks almost-straight. First they both had colds, and then it was about 4 degrees Kelvin outside for most of this past week, so we haven't really gone much of anywhere.

Crazy:
So, Caz lost his job yesterday, which is... argh. We had a couple hours of good strong panic, complete with bouts of near-hyperventilation and some crying. Now we're... we're a bit more composed about it, anyway. Though if anyone is nice to me about it, I'm still kinda inclined to sniffle and gulp and feel my face go all red and splotchy (so attractive!).

We're trying to look at this as some kind of "opportunity" or something. He wasn't liking his job hardly at all anyway, and I've been getting more and more stir-crazy home with the kids all the time, so maybe we'll swap who's the breadwinner for a while. Maybe. I guess we'll see how it all shakes out.

Okay, back to life and living and Oh God Getting The Christmas Knitting Done!