Gifting One Sock

This is quite OK for family members, immediate family that live under your roof! The pair will be for my husband. I gave him one finished sock for Christmas and of course he knows the other will follow very soon. These are Elisabeth Zimmerman's Woodmen Socks. I've posted the pair I made for myself a while back. I wear them a lot. I did use a wool/nylon carry along thread at the heel and toe. He even tried them on so I could guestimate the length of the foot.

Knitpicks, Shamrock in color, 'Fitzpatrick'. Used a 7 needle. CO 44 stitches, k2p2 for the pattern. Simple. It's the perfect mainstay wool sock and a quick knit with worsted weight on 6 or 7 needles. The pair I did for myself was on the 6's and for hubby on the 7's.

What did I get for Christmas? I know you knitters might not get too excited but I love this new gizmo! My Zojirushi Bread Machine. A gift to myself actually but of course the whole family benefits. So far it's been great. I've done Whole Wheat and White/Oat/Spelt and it's all wonderfully good. This bread pictured is still hot and I just ate the end piece!



Hubby came through with a gift certificate to my LYS! I found out today that they had a sale on Friday. I'll call tomorrow and hopefully hear that it's still on cause I am just so mad that I missed it. I would have, could have been there! Gee, I just remembered they are closed Mondays and of course it's part of the New Year's Holiday too. I think I missed out. 25% off is quite a bit to know I could have had if I was in the know!

Enjoy you Christmas Eve

Painting titled: EMANUEL GOD WITH US by James Seward found at AllPosters.com (click on the picture and you can view it a little larger) It's beautiful!

I hope you have a wonderful time making memories with your family and friends. I'm sure we all have special Christmas Eve traditions and continue to establish new ones.

A Cabler's Dream

Maybe not quite but almost! This is a Cable Wrap from Vogue Knitting Winter 2005/2006. I've started this over a couple times. I used the wrong size needle then counted wrong and even now I wish I had used an even larger needle. It's on a 10 but the next size might offer a little more drape but I'm not taking it out again. I think it will block to about 15 inches wide and I hope it softens too after a washing. Yarn is Peace Fleece purchased from Kary at The Knotty Sheep. It's kind of tweedy and a soft seafoam green. I bought the yarn for a shawl a while back but never knit it. This pattern just showed up and I cast on without much thought! You know how it goes with 'destashing'?

Addendum: 12/25 Project canned!!! It's too stiff, not drape at all, not wide enough for a stole and too wide for a scarf. Got about 10 inches into it and I know I wouldn't use it. Too much work for something useless. So, I have 7 skeins of this!!! Now what?

12 Christmas Facts for Our Family

I've been tagged by Jody at Gumbo Lily to share my own random 12 facts about Christmas:

1. It's all about JESUS

2. The world has lost sight about the reason for celebration

3. I love Christmas Carols

4. This is our first year for an artificial tree. We usually go cut one down.

5. My sister has given my kids an ornament every year since their birth, always from a place she has traveled.

6. Because of my sisters ornament gifts when my kids have left the nest I might have a bare tree!

7. We have a Koala Bear tree topper. Why? I don't know! We like him.

8. My children open their gifts to one another on Christmas Eve.

9. My husband does Christmas breakfast . Our 2 older sons and their friends always drop by at just the right time!

10. I refuse to travel at Christmas. Celebrating at home is important.

11. We have no outdoor lights. It's an old house and no outside outlet.

12. We gather in our bedroom and read the Christmas Story from Luke before going downstairs to open gifts. It has to be light outside before the kids can wake me up!!

I'll tag Catie and Erica.

Need a service project involving your knitting?

How about joining the Bandage Brigade? Bandages for leprosy patients in Vietnam! Found out about it here from Junie Moon scroll down to Dec. 9. Check here as well leprosybandages for tons of information and see pictures of how this can be such a blessing to a lot of people. This will be my first KAL of sorts so I am pleased it will be a helpful one. Come on. It's quick and easy with a purpose!

If you are interested in a great book about a physician that worked with leprosy patients check out, Ten Fingers For God. It's an amazing and wonderful story.

Finally finished!

A gift to mark 25 years of LOVE for my sister and her husband. It's taken me 3 years to complete this quilt probably due to my knitting habit!

She requested all neutrals. Her husband is a bluegrass musician so I included a few musical notes. At first I thought it would be kind of unexciting but I love the colors. I'll be shipping it off to Colorado tomorrow.

Scottish Shortbread My Favorite

Made some shortbread today for our Spinners and Knitters group Christmas gathering tomorrow night. I love this stuff. Butter, brown sugar and flour. It melts in your mouth. I kept thinking of some kid song so I looked up the lyrics. It wasn't shortbread at all but short'nin. Remember this?
Put on the skillet,
Slip on the lid,
Mama's gonna make A little short'nin' bread.
That ain't all She's gonna do,
Mama's gonna make A little coffee, too.
Mama's little baby loves Short'nin', short'nin',
Mama's little baby loves Short'nin' bread,
Mama's little baby loves Short'nin', short'nin',
Mama's little baby loves Short'nin' bread.

Kinsale Revived!

It's about time too. I don't know why this sweater has to wait so long for me to concentrate on it. My Christmas gifts few that they were are finished so I am back to what will one day be a favorite sweater I'm sure. Last night I was checking out the Kinsale's on Ravelry and was encouraged. I want to finish this before I get back to my Karabella cardigan and before I start the Pearl Buck Swing jacket that I manged to purchase yarn for in haste just a month ago. That Jaeger Extra Fine Merino is being very patient waiting to be cast on! I think Kinsale will be my manly sweater. I mean isn't gansey more masculine? The whole fisherman ideal, the Scottish coast, the moor's, the lighthouses, the waves crashing on the cliffs, etc. He awaits me now!