It just got real

Yup, even on a Sunday, here I am, posting so I don’t fall behind on Luis and Gifts.  I took a little break from freaking out about yarn and how I somehow don’t have any of it that I need this morning (how is that possible? Can you tell me how you can have a stash like this and it can’t have what I need in it? HOW I ASK YOU. HOW?) to go with Luis and his mum and dad to welcome Santa to town.  Luis did great this year – impressive, since the queue of children before him all sobbed helplessly when plunked on the big man’s lap, but Luis told him nicely how old he was (he held up two fingers, which is slightly less effective than words when wearing mittens, but such are the trials of a Canadian toddler) and when asked what he wanted for Christmas, said “A train and a truck please.” (Noted: Luis, who swaps back and forth between Spanish and English depending on his audience, correctly pegged this Santa for an English speaker.)

luisypapanoel 2014-12-07

I’m glad I took the time to go with them. It’s easy to get bogged down in knitting (oh man am I in trouble) and wrapping (I wrapped four things, so that’s something) and cleaning (I give up)  and forget to do all the things that make the season so much fun. (My favourite thing about that picture by the way, is not Luis’ shining face, it’s the fact that one of Santa’s eyebrows has come loose of it’s moorings. Fantastic.) So, since today is officially a “get it going on” day, rather than a blogging day, let’s do this thing, shall we?

What’s Luis hanging today?

The young master decided this morning to hang the acorn.  La bellota. (If I’m learning Spanish, you can too.)

acorn 2014-12-07

I have a great picture of that one, because it charmed me so much.  A wee little thing, so organic and perfect. I used this pattern, and scraps of a pretty tweedy yarn I had.  I needed it to come out pretty tiny, so that’s a light fingering weight knit on 2mm needles.

acorn2 2014-12-07

When I asked Carlos why he thought Luis picked that one, he said that he thinks it’s because Luis likes this Spanish ham – “Jamon iberico de bellota” which I don’t know squat about, but apparently is a ham that has a distinctive flavour, because they feed the pigs acorns.  (I think that Carlos is projecting.) This vegetarian auntie can’t quite get down with that reason, but I think next year I might knit Lou a salad. (One must leverage one’s influence where one can.)

Gifts for Knitters, Day 7

Dear non-knitter who loves a knitter. This one is quick and easy, and provides you with a rule, as well as an idea.  Your knitter loves anything with knitting on it.  (It’s better if it’s not actually knitted, because they could make that themselves, you dig?)  For this theme, you just have to find regular stuff that looks like knitting.  I love this dish towel. (It’s in my kitchen right now) and these pillows work too (remember sheep = knitting.) So do these candles from Ikea, and this teapot.  Good hunting.

Saturday too

A rare weekend post from me, but I didn’t want to get behind on gifts for knitters, or not tell you what Luis is hanging today.  (I’ve had a few emails that imply that there’s more than one knitter out there who’s making one a day, in conjunction with what I post, and I didn’t want to let them down if they were on a system.) I’ve not yet recovered from the mitten debacle, and the fastest way to fix that is to knit, rather than tell you about it, so let’s cut to the chase, eh?

What’s Luis hanging today?

Midge!

midge 2014-12-06

When asked why, he just said “Pim pom, pim pom” which is what he says when the waves rock the boat to and fro.  He’s too little yet to do any real sailing, but he does like to go out, bob around in the sunshine and then motor back in, and this boat has been such a big part our family this last year that I couldn’t leave it off.

midgelou 2014-12-06

To make our Midge ornament, I messed around with this pattern a little bit.  I altered the colours (to match Midge, it goes without saying) and since my ornament was going to be flat, not something that would stand up, I took out two of the rows that make the base.  (I don’t need no stinking bases.) My version was made of fingering weight wool on 2mm needles, so there was no way that a pipe cleaner (thick or otherwise) was going into the mast.  An unbent and cut paperclip is rather securely sewn in instead.

Gifts for Knitters, Day 6

Quick and dirty – here’s another good idea.  Knitting needles come in lots of sizes, and the sizes aren’t always printed on them, and it’s pretty important to know what you’re dealing with. Enter the humble needle gauge.  We’ve all got a couple, but don’t let that stop you from buying another one.  The more them merrier, that’s the rule for gauges. (It ups the odds that your knitter will be able to put their hands on one. It’s one of the things you see them ripping up that drawer trying to find.   There’s lots of different kinds, so I think if you poke around, you’ll find the perfect thing.  If your knitter is a purist, try this plain wooden one. If your knitter’s American*, this seller has some cute ones in the shape of your knitters home state. (Knit free or die.) There’s some beautiful ones that are nothing short of art.  Try this one with swallows, or hedgehogs, (actually, she has a lot of cute ones) or a dinosaur or this one that’s a  brooch, if you think your knitter would wear it.  This one’s a pretty pendant,  and this one is too, and this one (are you sensing a theme?) is a tardis. If you’re looking to kick your game up a notch?  This one is gold.

*Note re: There are, in the world, presently two needle systems, and gauges reflect that. The US needle system (a numbered system) and the Metric system (that one is measured) for pretty much everybody else. Most Canadian knitters will prefer metric,  most European/Australian are going to prefer metric, and most American knitters will prefer the US sizes. If you don’t know your knitters preference, then it’s best to get a gauge that is numbered for both.

 

One up, one down

The tree is up.  Sam helped me out last night and got the lights on the thing while I was at a Bike Rally function (I’ve joined the Steering Committee this year. There are many meetings even though we’re months and months from the ride) and when I got home I got all of the ornaments on it.

treepic2 2014-12-05

It’s very, very pretty, and it would totally have given me the sense of accomplishment and festive prowess I was looking for, if I hadn’t have had a fairly significant knitting setback.

treepic1 2014-12-05

I’m still trying to get everything for the holidays on the needles. I have this sense that if I can get it all started, that finishing will seem easy – and so yesterday I grabbed some yarn, chose a pattern and whacked a pair of mittens onto the needles.  Then I left the house, and hopped a bus, and then a streetcar, and two minutes into my travel I knew I’d made two mistakes. First, the yarn, needles and pattern weren’t playing nicely together, and second, I’d brought no other knitting.  None. Not so much as a wee sockie, and so there I was, knitting on a project I knew was doomed pretty much the whole evening.  I kept going. I mean, what else was there to do? Not knit? For a whole evening? Two streetcar trips? That would end in disaster, I know that for sure. That ends with me having to apologize to a bunch of people all while saying something like “I didn’t mean to say that, it’s just that I was out of wool and it effects my self-control.”

mittenbath 2014-12-05

When  I got home, I took the thing off the needles, and I guess I’ll have to start again – although to be sure it’s bad, I’m giving it a bit of a bath first.  Part of me thinks maybe it will be all right, although I can tell it won’t be.   In the name of all things moth repellant, why do we always think these things will work when we can feel it in our hearts that it won’t? Does hope spring that eternal? Are we that determined, or stupid? What about my good sense has me swishing this mitten cuff round a sink of warm suds like my forty years of knitting experience hasn’t already told me it’s bloody awful? It’s the desperation born of twenty days till Christmas, that’s what it is, and frankly, I can’t believe I’m falling for it. It’s nothing but a failed swatch, and I know it.  One whole day of lost knitting time.

What did Luis hang today?

El corazón. The heart.

heart 2014-12-05

I asked Carlos why he picked that one, but apparently the reasons are a mystery.  It’s not what I thought he would pick next, but there you have it. (I understand there’s a bit of a debate happening over there. The Santa is supposed to go last, to indicate that Santa’s coming that night, but apparently Lou’s got it in his head that if he hangs that one, he can call the great man at his bidding. The heart may have been his second choice,  for not being able to make today Christmas Eve.)  For this ornament I used this pattern, (I think) and added a little row of other hearts inside.  You know, to make it more heartish.  I can tell you that this one is really a symbol of my love, not just because it’s a heart, but because that thing was a royal pain in the arse to sew up.

Gifts for Knitters, day 5.

Tee shirts for knitters! You’ll know best if your knitter is the tee-shirt type, but if they are, trust me, these are great.  This one is an inside joke, but your knitter will get it. I’d wear this one as regular clothes, although this one is probably more appropriate. This one is still a dream that won’t come true,  and if your knitter is also a sewer? This fabric printed to look like knitting is very, very cool (and comes in other colours too.) This fabric has balls of yarn on it. (We like those.) These are knitting needles, and if all else fails. Remember. Sheep.

There’s a million things like this out there. If none of these speak to you, check the comments below. I bet most of these knitters have a favourite shirt.

PS. Because someone will ask, the glass ornament in the top picture are these snowflakes.

The tree is naked

I had to happen, and it has. A moment of panic has snuck its way into my glorious sense of peacefulness around the holidays, and this morning I had a minor freakout and revised the spreadsheet, adding a few items, and moving a few items around, and then we went and bought a tree.  It’s sitting in the living room now, completely naked and awaiting the time to trim it, and I hope that’s tonight, because I think having a brightly lit, sparkling tree in the living room will do a lot to make me feel like I’ve got a grip on the season.  Realistically, it’s only one small item off the list, but it’s a significant one.  (A few wrapped gifts to put beneath it would really help, but that’s just crazy talk.)

What did Luis hang today?

Our little Lou has had a love affair with our cat Millie for some time now.  When he arrives at our house she’s the first thing he looks for.  He runs around the house, calling her name (which comes out “Mi-yee”) and filling his pockets with cat food so that when he finds her, he can try to buy her love. Millie, who’s an older cat with good manners, does not return Lou’s love in any way, shape or form, and as a matter of fact (and despite the bribes) hightails it to a secret location the minute he comes through the door.  Lou doesn’t perceive this as rejection (which it totally is) and instead views it as challenge.  He and I go for a hunt for her, and when she’s found he gives her his pocket cat treats, watches her eat them, and squeals with delight.

If a cat could roll her eyes, Millie would.  I try to help her out by limiting Lou’s access to that one brief interaction, but it has done nothing to dim his love. Mi-yee is significant to Lou, and so she went on his calendar, and surprise, surprise, it’s what he picked today. I love watching his wee priorities revealed in his choices.

millie 2014-12-04

I toyed around with the idea of a knitted cat (this pattern was high on the list) but I had a specific idea about how it should look, and felt turned out to be the better answer.  Like with the truck, I cut a cat shape out of felt. (I can draw, but if you can’t you could trace something from here – just be nice about not stealing art, make sure it’s a free image.) I embroidered the top layer, and then sewed it to the back one. (That hides the mess on the wrong side.) A smarter crafter would have embedded the hanger in the seam, but sadly, I am not that crafter. I sewed it to the back.  If know not many of you will want a Millie for your tree, but wouldn’t any representation of the family pet be sweet? (There’s some free patterns here.)  By the way, I had trouble with the mouth, so I left it off. No harm, no foul.

Gifts for Knitters, Day four

Dear Non-knitter who loves a knitter,

This one is not for all knitters. There are knitters who have a big attachment to project bags and project baskets, and this isn’t for them. This one is for knitters who like to knit from yarn wound into balls – and would like a little more control over said balls. (It’s also mostly for knitters who like to sit in one place while they work. If your knitter trucks their knitting all over creation eighty-four times a day, they might not be into it. These knitters may want a yarn bowl.  Yarn bowls are – well, they’re bowls, but bowls with a notch or swirl cut into it to guide the yarn, and they’re handy for keeping yarn from rolling all over the place when you pull another length free. The yarn sits there, tidily, without rolling under the couch and collecting every little bit of cat hair or dust that those of us with a less than heroic commitment to vacuuming appreciate.  There’s all sorts of them. Some are ceramic, some are ceramic with birds on, (this one has birds too) some are wood, and (rather excitingly, for those of us who love wool) some are felt.  If you’re handy, and you have a dremel, you could make one for your knitter. They’d love that. You should pick one that suits your knitters home and taste, and frankly, the size of their balls.

I’m not totally in the dark

Ahh, the long dark tea-time of the soul that is the Canadian winter.  I don’t mind the cold so much (that’s a lie. I loathe it with a passion that makes Romeo and Juliet look like stoic shleps) it’s the dark that’s so demoralizing.  Today is grey and dreary, and that combined with the short days means that right now, at 3:30 in the afternoon, it’s as though it was early evening outside, and the fact that my tiny Victorian house has about four windows isn’t helping much.  The streetlights come on about 4:10 these days, and it’s plenty dark by 4:30.  I wouldn’t mind so much (another lie) if it weren’t for how hard it makes it to get good knitting photos done. It’s always this time of year I think about getting a flash, because the alternative to these dodgy pictures is standing in the cold, and today it’s too windy for yarn, and well.  It’s all a long way around saying that this picture isn’t the best, which is too bad, because I think it’s going to be lovely.

indianfeathers 2014-12-03

(The astute among you will certainly notice that he only thing properly in focus in that shot is the cat hair, which I thought about disguising, or cleaning up, and then realized that there’s probably cat hair at your house, and pretending it isn’t here is a little mean.  I left it.)

This is the scarf/shawl thing that I mentioned yesterday, one of the things I’m under the impression I can knit like the wind between now and Christmas.  It was a present in the goodie bags at the last Strung Along retreat, and I maneuvered to get a blue one, because it’s perfect for someone I know.  It’s a mini skein of Skinny Ewe Lace from Holiday Yarns, and because the folks over there are a little bonkers, a mini skein was 400m, which is more than enough to do a small shawl/scarf thing.  Jennifer included the beads, and the pattern for Indian Feathers, and the whole setup was so charming that I couldn’t help but cast on.  (The cast on edge is more than 400 stitches, but at least it’s going to get shorter rather than longer.) My goal for this week was to get everything for Christmas cast on, but I think it’s going to take a trip to the yarn shop, so I’m a little behind.  I’m ignoring it. I’m sure it’s going to be fine.

Onto our new regular features?

What’s Luis hanging today?

Madness continues to reign, as Lou selects an ornament each day, with no regard for the numbers (makes sense, he’s too little to count) and today when I texted Carlos to find out which one it was, he said “El pato, otro de sus favoritos.”  Have I told you that Carlos speaks Spanish? (He’s from Spain) I’ve been learning over the last year, and one of the ways Carlos helps me practice is that generally, he texts me in Spanish.  Usually I can figure out what he’s saying – though today was an exception.  Pato is a duck in Spanish, and I got that – except there’s no ornament on the tree that’s a duck. I thought about it, then texted back “Un pajaro azul?” because dudes, there’s no duck, but there is a Blue Bird of Happiness.

bird2 2014-12-03

I knit that little guy just as the pattern indicated, except I didn’t stuff it very much because I wanted it pretty flat.  Also, my bird is a wee bit smaller than in the pattern, so I had trouble making a really tiny beak, and it did come out a little large, and maybe that’s why it looks like a duck.  Carlos did respond, and say that was the one, and that to Luis, it’s the duck. It’s his calandario now, so I’m not saying a word.

Gifts for Knitters, day three.

Stitch markers.  I know, you think you shouldn’t get these for your knitter because they already have lots, but stitch markers are ephemeral. You need a lot because they aren’t long for this world.  (Plus, you just need a lot. It’s like knitting jewelry.)  Right now, I think you should get this one for your knitter.  It’s a cell phone plug marker.  It goes into the headphone jack of your knitters phone or device, and then they’ve always got a marker with them.  (Again, trust me. This is a good idea.) While you’re at that shop? Get one of these ornaments and hang it on the tree. It’s too cool.  If  you’re still feeling festive after that, snag some holiday themed markers here,  or look around here. There’s stitch markers for every type. (Hint: These ones are tardises.)  If you’re the crafty type, you could even make some, and you’d pretty much win Christmas.  Good hunting.

 

Optimism is my middle name

With the advent calendar done – and thanks so much for all your lovely comments, I’m so very proud, I sat down with the spreadsheet to figure out what remains to be knit. We’re right properly into December now, and that means I’ve got 22 days to finish what’s left on my list, and lucky me, the list doesn’t seem to be too bad.  (Right now Presbytera is scoffing into her coffee mug, and writing down the date and time I’ve said that. She’ll be posting a link to the statement in the comments in about 20 days when I’m a crazy person.) I’ve got a pair of dress mittens to make (This is Canada. We have dress mittens, and shovelling mittens, and they’re not at all the same) and a wee sweater (that hardly counts. I started it last night and I’ve already got a good start, assuming the fact that I’m not really using a pattern doesn’t come back to bite me in the arse – but why would it) and a hat (that’s not due until just after Christmas) and a shawl/scarf thing, and maybe a pair of socks.  Not too bad, considering the size of the hole I usually dig myself this year.  Of course, there’s lots of other things to do (we have no tree, no cookies – and I haven’t wrapped a single item) but I still feel like it’s all going to go just fine. This is largely delusion on my part, but I’m keeping it that way for as long as I can.

A few of you noticed yesterday that I didn’t start my Gifts for Knitters list on time, and you’re right.  I didn’t.  Traditionally, I provide a little running list of presents that non-knitters can use to buy us the things we really want each year, and I’m totally not breaking with tradition this year – I was just so chuffed with the calendar that I wanted it to have it’s whole own post. With that out of the way, I’ll tack on the gift suggestion for the day to each post going forward – and today I’ll give you two, to be caught up.

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Dear Non-knittter who loves a Knitter,

It’s that time of year again, when you need to buy your knitter a gift, and want to make it something that fits with their interests, but near as you can tell, they only have one interest, and that interest is as cryptic and mysterious to you as golf is to them. We know about that time you went to the yarn store and tried to get them something “knitty” but there were too many kinds of yarn, and you didn’t know what sort they liked, or how much to get, and if they even like alpaca.  We know that you stood in front of the knitting needle rack, and you tried to buy some, but you know your knitter already had some needles, and you wondered if they even need more. We know that some of them are straight and some were short, and some were called circular, and for the life of you, you couldn’t figure out what was circular about them. We know that right after the shop owner asked if you needed any help, you realized you were beyond help,  freaked out and left, and bought them those slippers and a book on the way home.  We know, and this list is here to help.

Not everything on this list is going to be right for your knitter. You know them, and you’ll do fine.  Just follow the tips and hints, and everything will be okay. You’ll be a rock star this Christmas, and your knitter won’t have to pretend to like your gift. It will be better. I promise.  The first tip? If your knitter forwards you a link to this blog? Scroll down to the Gifts for Knitters section, and see what they’re on about. It’s a hint.

Gifts for Knitters Days one and two.

Does your knitter drink coffee or tea? If they do, then consider a knitting themed mug. For lots of knitters, sheep are an emblem – so mugs with sheep on them are knitty. (Just about anything with a sheep on it can be good, if your knitter is the type. You’ll have noticed other sheepy stuff around if they are.)  If they make you drive so they can take knitting and a coffee in the car – consider this one. (Trust me, it’s funny. Also true.) You might not know, but for many knitters, Elizabeth Zimmerman is sort of the closest thing we have to a patron saint.  You’d be hard pressed to go wrong with this mug.

If your knitter isn’t the mug type, or if you’ve noticed that the already have a mug that they always use, then look around for knitting needles.  Are they everywhere? Do they spill out of drawers, bags and boxes? Do several roam the bottom of your knitters bag, or poke out of random spots in the house? Then consider getting them something to keep them in. There’s a few kinds of needles, so look around, and get a case that matches.  If they have lots of short needles with points on both ends, then think about getting them this gadget – it’s pretty new, so I bet they don’t have one. It’s the Handwork Hardware needle sorter and gauge and it’s very, very cool.  The needles fit through holes on the top that are different sizes, and sorts them into slots that store them by size. They’ll love it. It solves a bunch of problems.  If you don’t see that kind of needle around, then you probably see short needles, connected by a plastic cable.  Those are circular (they aren’t circular themselves, but let you knit in a circle) and they’re hard to store.  Think about getting them a Circular Solution or this beautiful one from Della Q. (Warning, if your knitter isn’t American, they might be annoyed that a few of the metric sizes have no spots on those.) There’s lots to choose from, and a lot of them are handmade. (Your knitter likes hand made things. It’s part of their gig.) If there are LOTS of needles around, then the hanging one might be better, it holds more – but if your knitter really digs taking needles with them everywhere they go, those cases are awesome. Namaste makes a neat one that’s like a box, and one that’s like a wallet. If you see lots of long, straight needles around, look for a beautiful needle roll, like this one, or this one, or this one.  There’s lots. If you’ve heard the word “interchangeable” bandied about, or if you notice your knitter putting needles onto those cables and taking them off again (or heard them swear when one comes apart by itself) then a case like this one from Madsen Originals is the ticket, and if you’re looking for one that does it all? Look no farther than Graces Cases. Love that one.

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Finally, what’s Luis hanging today? Apparently all hell’s cut loose over there, because despite it really not being in the day 2 pocket, today the camión was hung.

camion 2014-12-02 (2)

Festive, right? Well, maybe only if you’re Luis, but he is.  Despite several upsetting attempts to knit a truck, this ornament was cut and sewn from felt.  I took inspiration from this tutorial, although skipped some of the details, because Lou’s truck was much smaller than the one that blogger made.  I sewed all the pieces onto the top piece, then blanket stitched the front and back together.

I think we’ve all figured out that Luis is going to hang these in order of preference. I wonder what he’ll choose tomorrow?

I give it a week til he loses one

The feeling of peace and calm I have around the upcoming holidays continues unabated.  I keep waiting for the moment when I look how much time is left, toss it together with what’s left to do and have the world explode into a white flash of anxiety, but so far, not so much as a cramp.  Perhaps it’s that I’ve already got so much done (thank you, spreadsheet of festive power) or maybe it’s all the knitting I did all year long, now ready to be wrapped up and tucked under the tree… or maybe it’s that last night, I finished the Advent tree, and delivered it to the lucky recipient – right in time for the first ornament to be hung this morning.

treedone 2014-12-01

Done. 24 tiny things all woollen, all charming, all tailored to be of interest to the wee guy they’re for – and that guy? Luis, of course.

helikesit 2014-12-01

I know he’s a little small to be really, really delighted with a gift – I mean, he’s only two and 3/4, but if I wanted to make something I thought he would remember having at every Christmas of his life, this was probably the last year to deliver, and he was more charmed by it that I’d ever hoped.  He took out all the little things, exclaimed over what they all were (“CAMION PAPA! CAMION!” –  Perfect validation for the Auntie who thought there should absolutely be a truck ornament) and tried hanging them on the little buttons.

camion 2014-12-01

He then promptly took off eight, snatched them tight in his wee fat hands, and threw them behind the chesterfield, prompting parents to scramble on the floor, and then hang the thing higher. (He also put one or two of them in his pants. It’s a current strategy for stashing his belongings when he has no pockets.)

helikesit2 2014-12-01

I’m so glad he liked it, and almost as good, I think Katie and Carlos liked it too, and I am so stinking happy not to be knitting anymore tiny things that I can just about drop dead of joy. Or exhaustion, or something. I love how it turned out. It’s just like I imagined it, and we all know how seldom that happens with a project.  I’m going to show you all the ornaments, with links, one day at a time. (You know, if you wanted to knit one a day…)  So…

What’s Lou hanging today?

star 2014-12-01

The star.  I’d originally thought the star would go last, but upon reflection, I thought it should be first. Something else was better last, and truthfully, it’s what I put on my tree first, so why not.  The star came from this pattern, and is knit out of a scrap of fingering weight yellow wool, on 2mm needles. (Most of the patterns I used, I had to downsize so they would fit.  Most of the time I did this by using smaller yarns and needles.

treedonepockets2 2014-12-01

With this project done, I’m off to consult the spreadsheet, and see what’s left to be done, knitting wise.  I’m sure counting that up will do a lot for my sense of peace. How bad can it be?