And Back to Knitting . . .


I've finished the Christmas knitting - well, I've finished the Christmas SOCK knitting! The GIFT socks I'm mailing away are on the right. I enjoyed making Frankensocks for my Giftee this year. Frankensocks is a term created by Gail - one of the Wednesday Sock Knitters - to describe socks made up of all the leftovers from other socks!! I try to group my leftovers in 'color themes' so that they relate somehow. My Giftee loves bright colors & her fav is PINK so I took all the leftover yarns with pink in them & found a couple that went well with the solid Sisu pink & black I bought. Aren't they wild?? I hope she'll love them.

The BT's DAD's socks are also finished. He gets socks three times a year & has come to really appreciate them since his ankles started to swell. He's bothered by the elastic in regular socks now. I make sure to knit them on the 2.5mm needles so they're just a little bit looser than my regular ones on the 2.25mm needles to give him a little more room. These have that Norwegian flavor to them which will delight his heart.


And, I'll continue to knit washcloths for my male buddies - they get new ones every year & whine if they don't!! I make them extra large for the guys, you see. They're about twice the size of most knitted washcloths, I like them that way and so do the Boys apparently. Last year I made them in a nice thick cotton in a white & fresh green with just a touch of purple in it. Sounds girly?? Wasn't!! The combo was surprisingly fresh & attractive. This year, the color choices were dismal. I couldn't find any of the big balls of cotton in any colors that didn't knock your eyes out. And, of course, they always have the usual light oatmeal or white - very unappealing to me! So, I dug in the stash & found a couple of Big Balls in 'Jewels' - a purple & pink combo that I've used before. One of my Guys reported that the color runs enough to produce pink bubbles in the shower but doesn't dye underwear when washed . . . . Well, thank goodness for that!!

This week I have time to shop for my Annual Bum Bags. The BT & I got to know 5 or 6 people who band together with a shifting group of other homeless wanderers in an old shack at the back of a grubby industrial area. Ronn felt really sorry for them because they fall thru the cracks in our society. They're a sad little group with mental, physical & addiction problems who choose to live "in the rough" as the Brits say. And they ARE rough. They work hard to survive by picking cans, collecting junk, dumpster diving for food & working when they can for a few bucks. It's cold, wet & miserable in the winter where they are so I buy Mcdonald's coupons & socks, ponchos, tarps, gloves, candy, oranges & tea bags at the dollar store to fill the Christmas bags. They expect nothing so it's a hoot to see the surprise on their faces when they get a bag with their name on the tag!!


So, I've dug out Arvik. The cat's worn it more than I have since I started it!! Every chance she gets, she lays on it or curls up in it so I'll have to make sure I put it out of her reach when it's done!!! If she gets really lucky, I'll knit her a small blanket to cuddle up in . . . . So, I've opened the bag & pulled it out. Poor Arvik. I intend to get back to finishing it this week so I have a warm sweater to wear. I love the color & the softness of this yarn. I really must get back to spinning the rest of Arvik's fleeces. This is the year I intend to wear WOOL. For a change.