Stealth No More

I know that once you had the chance to open your Christmas/Hanukkah/Festivus gifts, your very next thought was, "When will Bridget post pictures of the gifts she knit for Christmas, like she has been promising?"

Well, loyal readers (or those visiting for the first time and wondering how they got here), I give you:

A Year of Socks

Clockwise from the top: Crazy Cable Cuff Socks, Blueberry Waffle Socks, Go Redskins! Socks, Calico Confetti Socks, Bon-Bon Socklettes, Go Ravens! Socks, Amanda's Alpine Socks, Southwest Socks, Hedgerow Socks, and Fly Eagles Fly! Socks.

Yep, those are the socks I knit over the past year for my nieces and nephews and their respective partners, ten pairs in all! (Yes, I know the year has 12 months. Now go away if you were going to point that out.) And, I had all of the yarn in my stash, so I could just "shop" for yarn here at home ... I am really pleased with how they turned out, and that I actually managed to knit them all with plenty of time to send them to their respective recipients.

A couple of weekends ago, when my nieces and their families came up and we headed to Karen and Seb's to help decorate their tree, I was able to gift four of the pairs and see the reactions for myself. They were great, everyone was either a) truly thrilled/touched, or b) incredibly convincing in their acting abilities. (Personally, I chose "a.") Amanda's husband Pat actually started to cry, saying that no one ever made him anything before, and he couldn't believe that I took the time to do so, and Liz's husband Greg said that not only was it nice that someone in the family paid attention to people's sports preferences, but then that they "stroked it," which I find highly amusing.

If you would like details about any of them, and you are on Ravelry, you can look at my projects page. If you are not on Ravelry, and are dying to know, feel free to e-mail me (link on sidebar), and I'll tell you what you would like to know. If you want to see close-ups of the images, you can look at my Flickr set (my Flickr ID is thekittyknitter).

At the point when I finished knitting the last pair of socks, I still wanted to make a neck warmer for Karen (see this post). When I started that, The Tim said something to the effect that he thought it was great how much I'd accomplished this year, and the only disappointing thing he could think of, was that he was not likely to get anything knitted for Christmas.

Oh man. The guilt.

Then, after thinking about it, I remembered that about three years ago, I bought some really nice yarn, planning to make a hat for The Tim, and I never got around to it. I started to look for it, and then got frustrated because I was absolutely certain it was in one particular box, and no matter how many times I checked, it wasn't there. Then last week, my brain finally suggested another spot to me, and voila! - there it was! So I cast on, and on Christmas morning, The Tim unwrapped this:

Ta-da! It's a hat that I managed to start on December 18, and I wove in the ends the morning of Christmas Eve. Considering the fact that there were about three days when I didn't even knit a row on it, I was really excited to get it finished in time to give him.

Details:

Pattern: I call this Tim's Yak Hat, but the official name of the pattern is Mr. Yak's Hat.

Needles: US 8, 16-inch circular.

Yarn: Shokay Yak (100% yak hair), purchased at Rosie's Yarn Cellar (I don't think they carry it anymore.)

Started: December 18, 2008

Finished: December 24, 2008

Modifications: None.

Comments: A great pattern, and the cushiest, nicest yarn ever! It was very occasionally splitty in parts, but otherwise, it was really enjoyable to use.

OK, I have lazed around long enough - time to get dressed and get the rest of the day underway!