Christmas!

Christmas Eve gift opening, traditional one gift each.

 YoYo with a Brain.  (Don't quite know why it's called that, just seems to be a yoyo.)

Gearmaster set that is yet to be mastered.

Vanilla egg nog and Christmas Chips Ahoys.

The loot, pre-opening.

The girls always get a stocking with new toys.  Jewel always rips the stuffed ones with squeakies apart in five minutes.  This year she didn't, they are both still intact.  Odd.  Must be mellowing out in her older age.

They got some new video games...

 New drumsticks...

The Big Bang Theory Trivia Game...

 Casino games...

 Christmas Lego sets...

 A new gaming chair...

 And a new record player.  Plus lots of other things.

Happy Holidays, and Happy knitting!

Oops!

In reviewing my FOs of the year where we're nearing the end for a tally count, I realized that I missed something.  I made a pair of ankle socks in Mary Maxim Twinkle Toes socks in candy cane.  I had knit a pair for my friend, M, and I was making another pair for a different friend, but I made them a bit too big.  I gave them to M for Christmas and didn't realize til it was too late that I had already given her a pair just like them.  She visited Christmas night and was wearing them, I told her sorry that I have her two pairs the same, but maybe she could give her daughter one of the pairs.  She argued at first that I didn't give her a pair already, but once she got thinking she remembered I did.  Not that she would ever mind.  I seem to have forgotten to take pictures of the second pair, but they're the same except the striping might be a bit different.  Details here.

Happy knitting!

Final Christmas FOs

For someone who wasn't planning on knitting anyone anything for Christmas this year, I seemed to manage to knit quite a few things.  Here are the rest of them:

First up is a pair of socks for step FIL.  The pattern is one I whipped up one time for Hubs, the yarn is Herrschners Solid Socks in royalty.  Ravelry details here.

Next up is another pair of sock monkey slippers based on this pattern.  The yarn is Patons Shetland Chunky in oxford grey and aran.  These aren't my favorite knit, I made the first pair as a request from a friend.  Then I made another pair as a request.  The friend that this pair is for, she saw the first pair I made and expressed her desire to have a pair.  Unfortunately, when she opened these there was yet another friend there who now wants a pair for herself and her daughter.  So it looks like at some point soon I will have to make two more pairs.  But first I need more grey yarn.  Details here.

Every Christmas I seem to make at least one Irish Hiking Scarf.  This one was knit with Patons Shetland Chunky in oxford grey.  The original pattern has three cables and uses worsted weight yarn, I usually change it to two cables and chunky yarn.  Details here.

 I whipped up a Be Kind hat for another friend using Kertzer Accent Worsted in seaport.  I used 4.5mm needles instead of 5mm needles (couldn't find 5mm circs), and I cast on 100sts.  Details here.

One of my hand knit sock junkies got himself another pair, these bring the count to five pairs now, I think.  Plain old 64st vanilla socks, the yarn is Mary Maxim Simply Sock Yarn in walnut.  Details here.

And my final Christmas knit is a Thorpe hat.  I modified it from chunky yarn to heavier worsted weight yarn.  I had found some Briggs & Little Heritage in a dark green in the stash that I had forgotten about.  I used 4.5mm needles, increased the stitches to 96, and fiddled with the earflaps a bit.  Details of my mods here.

Happy knitting!

Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas from All of Us!!

Happy knitting!

Nearly There!

It's nearly Christmas!  I've got two things left to finish, a pair of socks and a hat for someone, got faith I can get 'er done before Christmas.

I made a pair of ankle socks for a friend who had a birthday this month.  Just plain old 60st vanilla socks, the yarn is Premier Yarns Serenity Sock Weight Prints in purple spice. Ravelry details here.

Next up, and what chewed up a lot of knitting time this month, was an order for five pairs of socks.  One pair I already had knit, but the rest I didn't.  What made this knit so boring was it was all the same thing -- three pairs of plain old beige mens size 9 socks, and one pair of the same thing only size 13.  I would have run out of beige yarn at the toe of the second big sock, so I added some stripes and different color heels and toes just to be safe.  Details here.

I also had a request from someone for a pair of sock monkey slippers.  I got those finished, and mutual friends are delivering them to her this week, she lives a couple of hours away.  Details here.

I have more finished items, but I haven't gotten the pictures transferred from my camera yet.

Happy knitting!