Buying Fool

I've been a Buying Fool the last couple of days. You can tell Christmas is near! Gotta love eBay.

First I bought the Littlest One a set of Thomas the Tank Engine Lego to go with the rest he got last year. This one wasn't available in Canada according to the Lego site. Then I got the Oldest One a new PS2 game, and last night I bought the Littlest One a PS2 game. (Hopefully this stuff will come in time for Christmas. If not they both have birthdays in January.) So this morning I go here and buy these for me. (I've waited long enough.) And I also got this and this finally. (Got a really pretty new red Briggs & Little yarn in at the store the other week that would look great as these.) Hopped on over to eBay promptly after printing off this one to order up some brick red Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran, and I also am watching something I may pick up for hubby. (I did end up bidding, waiting for it to end in an hour.) My computer froze while downloading the second sock pattern. I'm waiting to hear from her on how I can redownload it. (Maybe that was a good thing cuz I could see my eBaying more yarn!) I've also got my eye on a couple of skeins of Rowan Calmer for two hats for me. (I think I decided on a new winter jacket so I can plan some new hats and mittens for myself. Didn't know what colors I should use.)

So if any of this yarn comes before Christmas I will put it under the tree (boxed to keep cats out!) from the boys. I also have a wishlist at The Sweet Sheep that is itching to be ordered. Four skeins of Cherry Tree Hill sock yarns. If I can manage to order that prior the Christmas then that can become a gift, too. (They always complain they don't know what to get me. I end up buying my own stuff or tell hubby specifically what to get me. This just cuts out the middleman, and I get what I want! I'm so easy to buy for -- bath sets, candles, Yankee Candle tarts, yarn gift certificates.) Oh, yes, did I also mention that I am awaiting an email from these guys on whether they have ball winders and swifts in stock? Been eyeing them on eBay. After the torture last night of trying to wind a couple of skeins of Briggs & Little I decided I really need a ball winder at least. Preferably both. Most of the sock yarn I've been getting lately is skeined, and all the Briggs & Little is skeined. This would make life much easier.

Hello to my Knit Mitt Kit Swap pal if she's lurking! I keep forgetting to mention it. I hope my recipient is still in for this. She hasn't posted on her blog for over a month, but the Powers That Be said since she posted the questionnaire I should still plan on sending her kit to her. I have it all planned, so I hope nothing changes between now and January 16. I'm glad she was thorough on her questionnaire. I'm not learning much else from her blog.

Speaking of mittens, I have five pairs finished. I made one pair for hubby, and I had to put stripes on the thumbs cuz I was running out of yarn. I definitely would not have had enough to finish both thumbs. Had I realized I would run out I would have put the stripes on the cuff. (Mental note that one skein of Briggs & Little Regal needs a stripe on the cuff for the men's size. One skein will do the ladies size no problem.) These took a whole lot longer to felt than the Patons Classic Wool. I'll get him to try them on when he gets home to see if I shrunk them enough. They are still wet in the bottom two pictures and haven't been defuzzed yet.

I also finished four pairs of gift mittens. It never ceases to amaze me how differently yarn felts, even the same brand. All four of these are Patons Classic Wool. Two pairs are aran, two pairs are winter white. I figured both light colors, close colors, they'd felt the same. (Unlike aran and burgundy, say, which I'd never throw in the wash together anyways.) The aran felted up way more and faster than the winter white. If I hadn't caught them when I did I think I would have ended up with child's mittens. You can see in the before picture that they are all the same size. I cast on the same number of stitches and did the same number of rows. Luckily the Littlest One's preschool teacher is only a petite lady, so she'll be getting the ones with the blue and pink stripes on the cuff. They turned out the smallest. The ones with the two pink stripes are for nephew's girlfriend, the solid winter white ones are for SIL, and the ones with the bit of blue are for the Littlest One's preschool helper. They are still wet and not defuzzed in the after picture.

Now I need a pair of mittens for MIL, another SIL, and a friend. I still need family mittens (me, the boys, hubby), but I doubt I'll be doing those til after Christmas. Once I get the next three pairs finished I need a break. I think chunky work socks are next. I still need felted slippers for Ma and Pa, but they only live up around the corner from me. I don't need those finished til Christmas Eve. Which is getting closer...

Picked this cute little guy up for MIL from the boys. She likes stuff like this. (I didn't knit the sweater. He came with it.)

Check this out. I can't even imagine.

Happy knitting!

PS I did get that second sock pattern downloaded. I think there's a nice color on my SS wishlist that will suite this pattern well.