I’ve got a little parade of finished things. I know that two things doesn’t really seem like a parade, but I’ve finished things that come in pairs, and considering how hard it is to beat SSS (Second Sock Syndrome) or SMS (Second Mitten Syndrome) I feel like I should be celebrating four finished things. (Also, these are Christmas things and considering that there are 42 Knitting Days until Christmas left -that’s if you count today and not Christmas Day, I feel especially pleased.)
First up, the mittens from Selbuvotter are done.
These are the romantically named “NHM #7” mittens, knit from Shelridge Farms hand-dyed sock yarn (the pink/red) and Sisu in white. It’s a fantastic pattern, and has only whet my whistle for more mittens. I love mittens. Way faster than socks.
Speaking of socks, these are Rotating Rib socks, finished.
These were knit from my standard issue sock pattern, but I subbed in a short row heel instead of my usual flap heel because the recipient likes tall socks, and short row heels take less yarn than flap heels. Using less yarn in the heel lets me make the leg a little longer.
I made the ribbing “rotate” by doing regular 2×2 ribbing, then moving the ribbing over one stitch every 6 rounds. Works like a charm, and is sort of cool looking without being difficult at all. (Except for the part where you have to wake up every 6 rounds and shift the thing. Turns out that counting to six is harder than it sounds.)
When I got to the foot, I put 1/2 of the stitches on one needle for the top of the foot, and the other half on two needles. I kept the rotating rib working all the way down the top of the foot, and changed the bottom to plain stockinette. Love them. The yarn is STR lightweight in “Downpour”. A big success.
I love these socks. I may knit them another few times before it’s out of my system entirely. Not today though, because today is Tuesday, and I’ve got a date with my spinning wheel. I’m aiming to finish up the carded wool I have for Joe’s gansey, and then make an assessment about how close I am to done. (I have a feeling it won’t be good news. This project is never-freakin-ending. If it is ever done I shall likely collapse in a fit of shock and emptiness.)
PS. Sorry about mentioning the 42 Knitting Days until Christmas thing, but it’s sneaking up on us and someone had to say it. I won’t mention Hanukkah. (Hint: it’s way sooner.)
Great balls of yarn – I’m first. Love you and your comments and patterns. Thanks for frequently making my day.
holy moley … pretty mitts, and the socks are very clever too! I think i am first to post! I love the mitts and want to make them (even though fairisle gives me the shakes from fear!)
I’ve had a countdown on my blog for a month. It’s really upsetting the way it ticks down so fast. I swear it’s speeding up when I’m not looking.
42 days? sh*%!!!!!!!!!
LOVE the mittens. Here in Sothern coastal California, I have no use for mitten whatsoever, and I have no family or friends that live in cold areas, so I have no reason to knit mittens, but one of these days I’m going to give in a knit some anyway. I’ll use them when traveling, right? Right?
Both mittens and socks are beautiful. Of course, since you’ve been putting things in the long-range planning bin all year, you’re totally prepared for the season, eh? 🙂
I, on the other hand, have to grab a handful of “therapeutic” M&Ms every time I look at my Ravelry queue…
Wow! I’m early!
I love spiral/rotating rib socks! So does my mom. I gave her one pair like that, and she has specifically requested that more in the future be made that way. She likes the way they hug the ankle, yet give a lot on bad arthritis days.
I may give her a pair of Monkey (from knitty.com) socks, just to see what she thinks of lace.
Thoe mittens are just lovely. The perfect colors for that pattern.
42 days… hmmmmmmmmmmmmm I’ll just add that to 42 nights… then I have 84… (procrastinators unite) Great mittens… now back to more X-mas knitting
I think I might have to work on some mittens. It’s the only way ANYthing’s gonna get done in my world.
Finished my Xmas knitting last week; ha, ha. Now I can knit for myself.
While you were looking at caged animals over the weekend, I was outdoors looking at wild animals. While looking for a picture of a Kaibab squirrel to show a friend, I found this:
http://www.lynxview.com/kaibab-squirrel-encounter.html
Apparently, thieving is in a squirrel’s DNA.
Oh crap! I hadn’t counted the days, and 42 days sounds so much less than “oh around 1,5 months”. I need to speed it up!
Beautiful mittens and beautiful socks!
I got the Selbuvotter book on order (from Tove – I try to buy local when I can). I’ve got the (embarrassingly large) stash of Shelridge. Even got the Sisu. But now I want to make the socks…
OMG! Those mittens are simply gorgeous! Time for me to get out the Latvian Mittens book and do some stash diving….
I finished a the second of a pair of fingerless gloves I thought would never end! 🙂
I love the socks, and the mittens. You always knit such lovely stuff!
I’m glad you have been paying attention to the calendar this year. No doubt my not so subtle reminders have helped?
Nice mittens.
Now I know that I’m insane. 42 days makes feel like I might get everything done as long as life doesn’t intrude.
Those mittens are to die for. Or is that dye? I don’t know.
Don’t beat yourself up over the gansey. I get a e-mail thing called Knitting Daily, I think that’s what it’s called, and today’s was about a 10 year sweater. 10 years people. All I can say is “Bless her heart.”
No, I don’t have any UFO’s that old. No I don’t. Really. Stop that, why are you laughing. I’ve only been knitting for 3 years. Oh, crocheting? Do I have to count those? What about cross-stitch? Crap. Nevermind.
I have some Shelridge Farms like that in blues and greens and a touch of purple, waiting for the perfect project. Those mittens are pretty perfect. I think I need to move to a colder climate!
December 5th. 1st night of Hanukkah. Somehow it doesn’t seem fair — on the other hand, maybe someone will give me some cool yarn a full 3 weeks before the rest of you open your presents?
the gansey was a wedding gift wasnt it? a marriage is never done – why would the gansey ever be done? This might be kinda like the sweater for the boyfriend theory…….
Those mittens are drop-dead gorgeous, but I must admit, they frighten me. I’ve only been knitting a year, and the idea of colorwork makes me skittish.
I am definitely writing down the directions for those socks, though. I think I can handle that.
OMG. Must. Knit. Selbuvotter.
Ha! I’m feverishly working on mittens right now. Who will win – me or the cold weather?
i totally missed the 42 days things, until you had to go and mention it a second time.
*sigh*
Forty-two days? OMG, that makes it sound so scary! I have a feeling more people are getting boxes of yarn with a pattern for Christmas. I wonder how many days I can take off of work to just knit? Hmm…. (Wanders off to talk to boss)
woooo-hoo! That’s an awesome haul! Definitely FOUR projects done. Thanks for knitting up something in that downpour, as I’ve been pondering what to do with mine… And am I the only knitter in denial that 42 days is PLENTY of time???
That is such a great tip about saving yarn with short-row heels, I would never have clued in about that. Now I feel a little less skittish around my STR and making size 11 socks. Also: beautiful mittens and socks all around!
Absolutely gorgeous mittens! I love Norwegian mittens. Right now, though, I’m enamored with EZ’s Jogger Mittens and will be knitting up a prototype as soon as I finish up the husband’s socks for Christmas. The rotating rib sock looks quite nice. That pattern might be a second pair of socks for him!
According to Douglas Adams, 42 is the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything.
I don’t think that will help with getting knitting done in time for Christmas, though!
Oh damn, only 42 days? I have got to get knitting.
Also, I love that mitten pattern, they look great!
42??!!!??? Holy crap! I gotta get to it!
Fear not. Rams, Rachel, and I will not allow you to collapse in a fit of shock and emptiness. We will get together and celebrate in a fitting and memorable manner.
Then we’ll find something new to nag you about.
I need a row marker chain for anything over two rows. I absolutely do not trust myself to be able to reliably count beyond two, especially if they yarn patterns, too.
Forty-two days sounds so short and I’m not even knitting gifts this year. I leave tomorrow for our annual holiday trek to spend the season where our families are. It really is early this year, since US Thanksgiving is as early as it can be and we need to arrive a week before that.
Beautiful mittens!
What yarn did you use for the socks?
And as for the 42 days thing, I had my panic over the weekend when I realized that (for those of us in the US) Thanksgiving is only just over a week away. So at least, seeing the 42 days notice didn’t scare me further…
I’m so glad you clued us in on that pattern. I assumed it was something simple like that but knowing my luck it would never look like what you have up there. I think I’m going to use this for the socks I’m making myself to wear in the hospital when I go in to have my baby.
42 days eh? Good thing people like gift certificates.
You had to say it didn’t you?
Thanks for the pattern, though. I had just stopped after the toe and was trying to figure out what to do for a pattern on the boy’s socks since you gave his away to Joe…
/me mutters to self “42 @%$! days”
Those turned out beautifully! I love the little girl on the thumb! You’re soon going to convince me to break my pattern fast and get this book!
Must. Finish. Current. Projects.
Must. Seek. Project. Completion.
Must. Knit.
Hm, maybe I should clean my house first. (nah)
Love the rotating rib sock,they are on my list of socks to knit, as soon as I finish all my christmas knitting… I’m starting to twitch…
I love the mittens and apparently many others do too! I work at a LYS and the last time you posted pictures of them, we sold out of the book. Another book order has arrived, so I wonder if it will sell out this week, too? As for the Christmas knitting, imagine this: I don’t get to spend Christmas with my family (in-laws and all that), so we are exchanging presents on Thanksgiving with my family. In the U.S., that is next week! I have 8 days! I’m going to get several pairs of mittens done, but my dad’s vest might be a pattern and some yarn in a shoebox with a lovely note of explanation. Some times you just have to bow to the forces of nature that run our calendar system.
OK knutters…I mean knitters I need some clueless husband help. My wife has asked for (read demanded!) a Lazy Kate (is that right?) for Christmas and I have no clue what that is or where to get one. Can any of you point me toward an escape route…I mean in the right direction to find one that won’t require me to pick and choose which child gets fed on which weeknight.
Mz Harlot, ma’am; my wife rants about your site daily and I was wondering if you could possibly reverse the spell she is under or lessen its effect so that she goes an hour or so without knitting or talking about it. Thanks
Clueless husband.
Yes I noticed that our local grocers had their blue Hanukkah sugar cookies out already. I did not notice if they were marked with the “K” (or what ever the local symbol is)
Haha!! This is what I get for resolving to not make knitted gifts for everyone that I know. XD I know better!
Hey I made some just like that in March, except rotated the rib every four rows instead of six. I did a little decrease at the centre back after the short row heel (they were toe-up) because I find that heel a bit loose. They were for a little girl so I could make them super long…I think the cuff was 11 inches. You couldn’t see the rib as well as in yours, though – I used a Kroy variegate, not a stripe.
Anyway, blah blah blah, what I’m trying to say is, nice socks.
The rotating rib is great—– very clever and not terribly difficult, always a good thing. I concur about the counting thing though, it’s always easier than it sounds somehow!
Applause for the parade of finished projects! I keep on casting on more and more and finishing zero and less.
Ohmigosh, you’re kidding! How can I already be so far behind? I’m knitting everyone socks since it’s my first year as a sock knitter but I only have 1.5 done. I can knit them pretty fast if I tie up my children and put them in a closet–er–if I use thicker yarn and larger needles.
Wasn’t it JUST New Year’s Day?
Barb
PS: Thank you for the sock pattern!
No holiday knitting for me this year. After a few years of grumbling at 4AM Christmas morning, trying to finish an item.. and proclaiming that it would be the “last time”.. I’m finally sticking to it. No.More.Holiday.Gift.Handknits. Birthdays only thank you 😉
i think that i will put my fingers over my eyes and pretend i didn’t see the actual days…there is something to be said about being clueless sometimes!
I can’t believe it is already November 13. The corporate coffee company next to my office broke out the holiday drinks last week and the colored cups & java jackets. Next think I know, husband will be singing holiday songs…make it all go away for a few more weeks.
ever notice how as the days to Christmas (or hannukah) get fewer, the knitting projects get bulkier? This year I have a different knitting deadline going on so everyone is getting needlepunched items from me instead of knit. Still yarny, but much faster.
My son just asked me to make him a Harry Potter sweater for Channukah. I’ll make the sweater, but not for Channukah. He’s also wanting socks with one having snitches and the other broom sticks (are they in the Harry Potter knitting book?). Not for Channukah, either. But at least he wants handknits!
Oh, that definitely counts as four things! Way to go! =)
Um…yeah…Christmas knitting…about that… 😉
I’ve finished the knitting on Mom’s Christmas poncho, but am finding that adding the fringe is almost as excruciating as the miles and miles of stockinette that I forced myself through.
And thanks to the dryer breaking down and the landlord not fixing it yet, I found some unexpected time to knit on a pair of Dad’s Christmas socks while sitting at the laundromat yesterday.
Needed to blow off some steam though. I got messed over by the Madrona registration thing yesterday and missed out on all of the classes I wanted to take. I feel sorry for the Madrona ladies. I wonder if it’s part of the anti-yarn conspiracy, where they told the registration software people that it was for a knit/crochet/spinning event and the registration software people thinking “hey, no problem, who’s going to be interested in that?”
O jeez, did you have to mention christmas? I’m already stressed (5 projects for xmas, 3 on the way)
And yes, Colleen, you can find patterns for snitch/broomstick socks in Charmed Knits. They’re super cute! =)
Wow! So that’s how you do the rotating rib! Thanks for sharing. That would make some nice sweater cuffs or a nice hat, too (once I make an Unoriginal Hat!). I love those mittens, but I prefer gloves, and I think knitting gloves for myself would be a one-way ticket to Crazytown. Maybe some kid-size mittens … but Hanukkah is only about three weeks away … we’ll see.
Goodness! I have a holiday bazaar I need to knit for first and a baby blanket that has to come before that. There is no time for Christmas knitting. Maybe I can hire little knomes to do the knitting (or at least the finishing) for me.
Yeah…I was super prepared this year and started on Christmas presents in July….only to discover that just gave me more time to decide I didn’t like the pattern and start over. About 8 times. In my panic, of course, I have decided that what I want to knit more than anything else in the world are baby booties (ignore the fact that I really don’t care for children and don’t know anyone with a baby).
Love, love, love, love the mittens. So much love that I immediately purchased the book the first peek you gave us of them. Just an FYI…I’ve noticed in the last 2 – 3 weeks that I have to patiently wait for your blog to download when I click on it. I don’t receive any error messages, it just takes longer than normal.
I want the mittens. It was my goal to do mittens for Christmas this year. Unfortunately due to circumstances beyond my control (my husband decided we should buy a house), I have no time to knit. It’s very sad. Christmas will be sans knitting this year. I may have to get that book though. . .
Still loving the colors on those mittens. So pretty. And thanks for the tip on short row vs. flap heel and sock length – I’m going have to adopt the short row heel now so I can keep my socks as long as possible!
42 days?!? Crap. And we’re doing Christmas about a week early ‘cuz that’s when I have vacation and can go home.
Must go home and knit lace… must go home and knit lace… maybe I can tell my boss I’m feeling sick and need to go home early?
chanukah coming early has its definite advantages. on the one hand, earlier deadlines and lots of pressure. on the other hand, i get to laugh and laugh at everyone scrambling to get their christmas shopping and crafting done for weeks. also, my family’s all out of the way by the time christmas rolls around, so my friends get treated super nicely on an early chanukah year.
IT is definitely approaching! I’m about one week into it. I’ve decided to make mittens, hats, scarves and socks for my four nieces and nephews, although I did tell my sister that they may get….. one sock, one mitten, a half a scarf, etc… 🙂
forty. two. days.
Can you hear me freaking out from the other side of the country? (And is it a bad thing that a small part of my brain is thinking, ‘but hey, at least I have 3 more hours than they do?’)
Everyone is getting hats. Everyone. (Well, except one girl who is getting a scarf.)
OH, and obviously, the mittens totally rule!
Love the mittens – love the socks – not so much in love with the fact that we only have 42 days – that said – my intention was to knit socks, but I’m changing my plans to knitting spa socks from a vogue knitting pattern I found from a summer issue – they really go quick, are a little heavier for those chilly mornings your pitter pattering around the house, and I can probably make 2 pair in the time it takes me to knit one pair of socks – okay – so I’m not as fast as everyone else – but I’m working on it – happy knitting.
NHM? Perhaps is stands for “New Hampshire Mittens”? Or maybe “Nearly Heated Mittens”? – seeing as how they are all doubly thick with the colorwork floats on the inside. Or even “Nice Harlotty Mittens” in your honor?
Crap – only 42 days….not what I needed to know.
I was just wondering if it was time to panic about my Christmas knitting. Thanks for keeping me real.
GAH!
Sorry, I just got scared. Problem is, that terror won’t last very long b/c I just found out last night we are hosting Thanksgiving! So I’m in a general dither and can’t think about holiday gifts until I slog through next week. Thank heavens for CostCo.
Have you ever done spiral rib socks? If you make sure you cast on one more (or is it one less?) stitch than fits evenly in your rib pattern, they shift all by themselves every row. And the magic of that pattern is that you don’t need a heel at all, making them ideal for children (whose feet grow) and folks whose shoe size you do not know. Apparently they were knit during the war for soldiers.
Love the mittens! And with regards to the gansey – well, you have mentioned that he is the giant-economy-sized model. And you did choose him, with his yarn-eating sweater size…
It’s amazing how something as simple as a gansey out of handspun can seem to take over your entire being. I feel for you. A sweater I made for my hubby out of handspun took 5 years. I never wanna spin/knit white again!
I heart the mittens. Thanks for the knitting days left reminder… Methinks I need to create a countdown ticker!
The mittens – zounds, I do love the look of handpainted yarn in colorwork! Pretty, pretty, pretty. And the socks are magnificent. They look great in the Downpour. Congrats for four FO’s! (I totally agree it’s four FO’s, even if two of them go with the other two. One must be logical about this. I’m sure Spock would agree.) As to 42 days… Ok, I’m shoving virtual chocolate through the modem as fast as I can. 😉 Here’s to being early and the lessening of IT!
(And thanks for stopping by – I only wish you could’ve been there, you would’ve loved it!)
Yikes!!! 42 days?! Who knew?! I thought I had much more time than that…Oh, wait, my husband just said that he’s been telling me this all along. But I don’t see him picking up the slack and knitting any gifts here. And I am having bad SSS on two pairs that are to be for Christmas. My 20 year old calls his hand knit socks “hugs for his feet” so he definitely will get another pair. And his roommate begged for hugs for his feet too. How can one say no to that?
Thanks for bringing me back to reality. Can’t belive there are only 42 more days till Christmas, so much knitting and so little time. Will I make it, sanity and all?
I like the socks a lot — I’m fond of patterns that look like they’d work well with variegated yarns.
42 days. Save me, somebody.
Love the mittens and the socks! Just in time…I want to make socks for my MIL and wanted them to have a bit of pattern while being easy to knit quickly so this pattern fits the bill. Thanks for that and the 42 day reminder! I have a whole freakin’log cabin baby blanket to get finished by then.
thanks for (not) mentioning channuka! I often feel left out and grumpy this time of year because of the incessant xmassing everywhere you turn. Although, dec 5, eeeek!
Thanks for the apology about the 42 days… I was ready to log off and stay off! Heck, we’ve been seeing Christmas commercials for Target and Walmart since Halowe’en!
Actually…..I should thank you for the reminder. I have 2 pairs of socks to knit, 3 scarves, and some fingerless gloves for just-in-case gifts…..
Darn….only 42 days, eh?
Gene
Both look really great. 🙂
42 days is plenty of time for Christmas knitting – three pairs of socks to be done, one already finished, and it even is the largest one. Just out of curiosity: How many knitted gifts do you plan this year? 😉
Yeah- Hannukah is waaaaaaay sooner- Dec. 5th. Funny thing about Hannukah- it’s either early or late, but never on time!!!!
I am so going to make those socks. I picked up a skein of Downpour at wildfiber (Santa Monica). My husband picked it out for socks for himself. He’s not a fussy sock kind of guy…and I think these will be great.
I’ll add my voice to the others who thanked you for the suggestion to use short row heels in order to allow more yarn for ankle length. I’ll try that. I’m always in a panic as I get halfway down the foot, especially on sock #1. The men in my life have BIG feet (the twins wear size 14 shoes: no socks for them!) Question, though: do the short row heels wear as well as the slip/rib ones?
42 days, huh. Why did I buy yarn and add two more projects to my Christmas list today, when I already have five projects on the go?????
A message for “Frantic Husband”: lazy kates can be found at any place that carries spinning wheels/accessories. I typed it into Google and the first place that popped up was Mielke’s Fiber Arts. They have several styles of kates ranging from approz $20-40 US. What a great husband you must be to venture into spinning-land for love of your wife! The last time I was sick and desperate for new yarn my husband actually went to my LYS and asked the ladies to help him find what I wanted. It was pink, no less. What a guy. Hope you have success in your kate quest!
Beautiful mitts. I’d never give them away or wear them either . I’d be afraid to loose one. The socks look so comfy . I’d wear those for sure. Congrats on having so many items done.
crap–42 days??? really??? Looks like I will be wrapping up unfinished presents again this year. When will I learn that Christmas comes the same day each year-how can I be surprised by the season every year. I must live in a perpetual fog. This time of year I envy the people that just by socks,scarves and other knitted gifts. 42 days is plenty for them.
Love the socks! I may use that with the STR Grinchy that just arrived. But only after I finish up the xmas knitting…
Great mittens! I refuse to count the days; it freaks me out. This time of year is simply referred to as “High Knitting Season” at my house. All of the urgency, none of the paralysis.
Wow, I’m making my first pair of socks right now in a really similar pattern, except it’s 1×1 ribbing that just alternates every 4 rows and I’m doing a heel flap. I think I might like the look of short row heels better though. Where would you recommend looking for good instructions on doing them? Oh, and another good question from someone else in the comments: how does the durability compare to heel flaps?
Also, love the mittens! I now have a folk mitten book on my Christmas list. They’re all so beautiful.
Are we going to read about the whole holiday knitting race again!?! It’s always fun, and this year I get to play along. . .I realized the whole 42 days thing yesterday, when I figured out that the henley for my honey was only 25% done. And most likely will not be finished by the holiday. Of course, we’re going to Hawaii for the holiday, so why he would need a wool henley is beyond my comprehension, but . . . looks like late knitting nights for me!
Love the rotating rib pattern for the socks. I’ll have to try that on my next pair. I think I have the perfect yarn for it.
I have the mitten book, but I haven’t gotten around to knitting anything out of it. Now I’m inspired!
42 days…thanks for the wee shot of adrenalin to keep me going at the end of the day!
Congratulations on getting a head start on “It”! And since it is Tuesday (hey, you brought it up), shall we see a finished gansey for Christmas?
P.S. I don’t get SSS, but I have had some SMS with my NHM #7. I think it’s the thumbs. I cast on and did 1/2 the cuff last night though, so I think I’ll get there. I love mine (well, the one I’ve finished anyway) as much as you love yours.
Bwahaha my denial is great. I read the entry, I read the comments and could not for the life of me figure out why everyone was talking about the number 42. Lalalalala.
Great socks I might go back to trying them again someday. The mittens make me want to try stranded again SOON.
Why is it that I kill myself trying to make everyone Christmas presents?
Is it love? Or just plain stupidity?
Good luck with the Christmas knitting stuff. It’s looking good so far. Especially the mitts.
I hope you have enough gansey wool once you are finished. Although it would be interesting to see what happens if you don’t. Mean, but interesting.
I love the socks!! I think that may be the pattern I use for my next pair.
Those mittens are gorgeous! I wish I had the need to wear them in North Carolina.
Ya know, the adjustable pattern row counter will count the rows for you. No need to try that pesky counting thing yourself. 😉
Forget Christmas, I have a craft show in FOUR DAYS… and just received 5100 yards of yarn to dye.
What the heck am I doing reading blogs?
42 knitting days until Christmas?
ACK!!
I.Want.Selbuvotter. Hmmm. 42 days til I get to open a present too.
Yes, Hannukah is incredibly soon. D’you think my parents will mind much if they don’t get their Hannukah gifts until Christmas?
I have discovered the creative genius of mittens recently. I can make simple ones in about 3-4 hours!!! I’ve made a pair for my secret santa project at school.
I am also counting the days until christmas, having started my christmas scarves in september. I have made 7 and I still have another 1 to go (not counting the ones on the needles…)
42 days indeed…
Unfortunately, each year, my Christmas knitting/days before Christmas ratio is way out of whack and therefore Christmas day counts as an actual knitting day in my books.
I love love love the mittens. They are gorgeous, but seem WAY out of my league. I am currently taking a toe-up sock knitting class (never made socks before) and your traveling rib sock looks relatively easy to translate to toe-up. Thank you, I think I’ll give it a try. Though probably not in the next 42 days.
42 days? Crap.
I am totally in love with your mittens! I so very much want a pair just like them! I have always been intimidated to work in two colors, but I just may have to learn now.
Yeah, Chanukah (spelled any way you like) is the fifth. As in three weeks. As in twenty-one days, if you count the same way. Except I’m commenting at 11:09 pm so it’s really only 20 days.
I have started the Christmas knitting. I will pretend I will get it done. I will also pretend we are not moving over Christmas break, and not just across town.
How pray tell does one do a short row heel? (book or link would be great, I own a large footed pick man)
I have found a love for ribbed socks, I will be casting on another pair, in a new pattern. Never mind the unfinished one in my knitting bag.
Guilt compels me to explain *why* I’ve already finished the Xmas knitting.
Three weeks ago, I had a nightmare. I dreamed that it was 4 am on Xmas morning, and I had barely started the red mohair shawl I’m planning to give one of my friends. I woke up in a cold sweat, and knit 16 hours a day until I had finished everything.
My husband and I celebrate Generic Midwinter Holiday, usually a week or so before Xmas. That’s when we give gifts, so we’re relaxed and happy at Xmas– no last minute shopping and wrapping for us.
Great socks and mittens, but you knew that.
Heee. 42 days. Heee. You funny lady.
And I only have to finish two sweaters, two shawls, a scarf, two hats, and two pair of socks.
Oh, and a vest. Heee.
Those mittens? How can I put this? Ever since I had a dreadful job long, long ago that involved a red and white polyester uniform, I get a panic attack when I see red and white clothing.
Except for those mittens. Stunning. I think you may have cured me.
Glorious mittens! The socks are lovely too. 🙂 Way to go on getting presents done early. 🙂
I have a whole drawer full of variegated sock yarns and when I saw how beautifully your mittens looked, I became very inspired to make mittens instead of socks.
Plus. my fingers got numb this evening while walking the dogs. Tacoma winter is nothing like Toronto, but still nippy enough to appreciate wool mittens.
Love the socks – and the mittens … wow!
Only 42 knitting days left? That snuck up on me so fast I haven’t even started yet (gulp!)
Love Tammie
;-D
Now you’ve gone and done it. It wasn’t going to be any darned 42 days until you said it.
Feh.
Better start, I spoze.
Great socks! Please, please, please could you give the instructions for the short-row-heel? I always follow your standard sock recipe from “Knitting Rules”, but have always wanted to try the short row heel method.
Are there any advantages (apart from using less yarn) of the short-row vs flap?
You’re a cruel woman, reminding us of all the knitting that we have yet to do! I can’t believe how fast the season/deadline is approaching! Sigh! Great mittens and socks though. I’m waiting until after Christmas to tackle knitting something from the Selbuvotter book. I might even knit them just for me!
Love the socks, what a simple idea, rotating the ribs – might have to pinch that idea off you!
Hmmm. I started Xmas knitting in August (!) yep, I’m a sloooow knitter. I’ve got two scarves on the needles and one on the hook (sorry), another one to do and a pair of fingerless mitts and that’s it. I think. 42 days should be enough. I hope. One scarf is being done in secret though as it’s for the husband, so I only get a bit of time a day to work on it.
oh hell…send help… 🙁
mmmmmmmmmmmmmm! mittens! loooooovvvvvvvve those mittens. in fact i love them so much that i went and ordered the whole book of her mittens! and your colour choices are way prettier than all that black and white.
Those mittens are beautiful! I love the colors. And the rotating rib socks in Downpour are making me want to knit rotating rib socks in Downpour. Very pretty.
It doesn’t matter WHEN Hannukah is, as there’s none of this hand-knitted gift nonsense, except for the kids (who aren’t interested in hand-knits anyway, except for one of my nephews – he’ll go in the WILL), and except for North America. Anyway, you just give them chocolate money, pretty much. In theory. We used to get the equivalent of $1 coins (didn’t grow up in NA, our currency was not the dollar, but the principle was the same).
I love the rotating rib socks! I will definitely making some for myself. Oh, and about the bit about Christmas just $@#! away? Just go ahead and pour some lemon juice over that papercut you just gave me!
“If it is ever done I shall likely collapse in a fit of shock and emptiness”
And if you pick a guinea pig up by the tail his eyes fall out.
I love the mittens, too, but I want socks out of them!
those mitts are amazing. Did you use the technique Susanna taught in her class?. hmmm, silly question I guess since the patterns go all the way around(yet I’ll ask it anyway) I think I have to buy that book.
42 days? yikes.
I knit a pair of rotating rib fingerless gloves this summer (in fact I was knitting them while listening to you at Indigo!) and I will happily never knit that pattern again. Or at least for a few years. I only had to count to four and I kept screwing that up. I hate ribbing anyway so I don’t know wtf I was thinking. Oh, and they were ELBOW LENGTH fingerless gloves. Torture.
But I adore your mittens and must have that book.
Rams – you are so right! There may be a little shock, but probably a whole lot more cheering. Although, perhaps The Blog will be shocked, as we’ve all rather gotten used to being able to remind Stephanie about this project. Better check her UFO’s to see what might be next in line.
Perversely, all I have been able to think about since reading this yesterday was what I could, if I were that way inclined, knit for people for Christmas. Which is now 41 days away. And it’s entirely possible I’ll be casting on for one of those hypothetical gifts today.
Bring the blow dart with you to knit night please. This can’t be allowed to continue.
I am presently working on a hat for my mother who has demanded I make it in time for Thanksgiving (when I will see her). So I’ve taken to knitting at lunch. I am well aware of the possibility of C.H.O.K.E. operatives lurking here. However, I have received two (not one but two) requests to be taught to knit and one request for a hat. Even the one person I was certain would be a CHOKE operative complimented my hat and thought it was cool. So no CHOKEing has gone on so far and it’s day three of my knitting at my desk experiment. Happy holidays!
Oh crap, now it’s only 41 knitting days until Christmas. I may need to give up sleep.
Beautiful mittens.
OH gods…you had to do it…not only do you give me a perfectly lovely pattern that I’d love to try, but you give me 41 days until Christmas? Are you freakin’ kidding me? (And, oh crap, I knit for my students, so cut that time down to 37 days to knit a pair of socks, a blanket and an earflap hat…I’m doomed, I tell you do-omed.)
Since when do you not count Christmas day as a knitting day???
Hey Cindy, I got screwed by Madrona too and so did my 3 fellow knitters! Who gets into these classes anyway? 🙁
http://tessknits.henchal.com/archives/29
I’m sure I’m probably the 800th person to say this but the mittens are just gorgeous. Variegated yarn kills me and it’s just even more beautiful and mysterious in colorwork.
Those are must-have-pattern-and-yarn gorgeous mittens. I LOVE those colors (and of course, the pattern.)
Thanks so much for the rotating rib pattern. I cast on with STR Space Dust and they are so much fun to look at while I’m knitting. I stayed up way too late. They ended up a little big (size 1 needles, not my usual size 0) and I had to rip out the couple of inches and start over. I’m not even upset about it!
LOVE the rotating rib. I’m so doing that for my next pair of socks.
Nice to see that you count Knitting Days the same way I do. And I love the rotating ribs! Do you worry about gift recipients seeing things on the blog in advance? I’m struggling with that.
I love your books and your site, and I would like to tell you my funny knitting story. We found out my husband’s cousin in Alberta was having a baby. I decided to knit a baby blanket for the baby. I found the perfect blanket pattern in one of my magazines, and found a yarn shop that sold the recommended yarn. The yarn shop was 2 hours away from where I live, but we made it a family day trip and I was able to all the yarn I needed. The expecting grandparents were coming down for a visit, and since it would cost me more to mail the blanket than to knit it, I knit like crazy to make sure it was done before they got here. I was nearly finished when I figured out that I wasn’t going to have enough yarn, but I just needed one more ball. My husband’s aunt and uncle were already down from Edmonton, so having the yarn shipped was out of the question, so another trip was in order. Two hours later I had my needed ball of yarn. I knitted those last few rows in the car and was finished before we got home. I gave the blanket to my husband’s aunt and uncle before they left to go home happy that I had finished a project and didn’t have to pay an arm and a leg for mailing it. The next day, the day before my husband’s aunt and uncle left to go home, the expecting parents called and said that they are having twins. Good thing it was a crib-size blanket that they both can fit under for a while. Afterwards, blankets can always be used as wall art. 🙂
I figure I will make it up to them by knitting a couple of teddy bears for Christmas.
Thanks for listening, just thought you would get a chuckle out it this. Happy Knitting!!
I love all the socks that you’re doing! I have searched high and low, and I can’t find your “standard issue” sock pattern. Any chance you could send it my way??? (A small part of the blog thanks you) 🙂
ACK! Only 42 days!? I have to go…
Just found your site and made me laugh and say uh huh!!! I love to knit and like to think I am good at it. Alot of my girlfriends laugh at me, until they get some socks, or dishrags or a felted purse!!!!
Pam
Thanks alot for the unoriganel hat! I’ve been
hiding form cables always, but this busted my fear of cables. I finished 2 hats and now i’m on a roll.