Poor little sock....she's so lonely with her mate still rolled in a ball. Little sock got taken home by mistake so there was nothing to do but to start a whole different sock. She just came back yesterday so after I finish the sock I'm almost done with now I can start knitting the second one. Her second sock, not my second sock. There are now two second socks in the on deck circle. Trouble is that the sock I'm working on right now is a quick knit. Knitting poor little sock is a long journey that seems to take forever. It's a beautiful sock but it does go on and on.

The pattern is from Woolgirl's Alice in Wonderland sock kit 'Mad Hatter' and turns out one of the prettiest socks ever. It also fits like a glove and feels wonderful on my feet. I adored the Wool Candy yarn I knit my own pair with and I also adore the Becoming Art EOS yarn in shades of sephia that I'm working with on these socks...er...sock. I just can't make myself start that second sock. I even dreamt about working on the second sock the other night. In my dream I was furiously knitting the sock but because I was in such a hurry I was knitting very sloppy and loose so when I was done I had myself a giant messy blue sock. The sock in my dream must have turned blue out of misery because it was a nasty mess. Sigh.

I'm sure if I dig deep enough into my knitting corner I will come up with a third second sock. During this time of year I tend to stuff things down into that corner until I can't stuff no more. There's a partially knit hot water bottle cover right on top but who can remember what's on the bottom? I think my New Year's resolution should be to finish up or tear out everything in that corner and start over fresh. Knitting is a lot like life. You either need to finish it up and get on with it or tear it out and start over. I believe I will be doing a lot of that in the new year. Finishing up and starting over. Happy New Year!

We had a wonderful Christmas...Chevy Chase style...in spite of all my real or imagined trauma about the knitting and the gifts. Everything got wrapped. Everything got unwrapped. Everything was loved. My daughter got only one sock and a ball of yarn. She was fine with it and we all laughed about the fact that somebody ALWAYS gets a gift of unfinished knitting. My other two daughters loved their finished socks and the American Girl doll socks were a hit. I don't know why I sweat this all so much.

At our Christmas I force the grandkids to only open one gift at a time. I never liked the 'tear through everything' method of present opening. I like to see what everyone got. This is the only house in the ever-widening cirlce of relatives that is like this and I'm going to keep it that way. I love the anticipation, I love the treasure hunts that happen every year and I love that it takes 3 hours to open all the gifts. I also love that I got quite a few handmade gifts this year...the sweetest one being a watercolor painting from my 8 year old granddaughter. Oh, it was a fun morning. There was a lot of running around, eating, a little crying, and lots of paper and ribbon to clean up and the cat was terrified. I call that a success.

It started to get all Chevy Chase like in the afternoon. Number 2 daughter always helps me cook and always peels the potatoes. I love that. It's a big job getting a turkey in the oven no matter how you slice it and I was beginning to feel really tired. I thought maybe I had just hit the Christmas wall and needed to go lay down for a little bit but some of the grandkids were playing on my bed and the couch was full of people so I pressed on. I realized that I had been up late the night before wrapping, baking cookies and going to midnight service and had then woken up early to get the egg bake in the over so....yeah, I should be tired. However, I was ceasing to be able to have conversations that made sense. I would just string a series of words together and whoever I was talking to had to figure it out.

Hubby drove over to get my mom while I was basting the bird. Mom showed up with a box of stuff, a grocery bag of gifts and a suitcase. I had a quick terrified thought of her all ready to sleep over but then realized that there was indeed a cat in my house somewhere and she was allergic to said cat although I don't know if she remembered that or not. She had a mess of coloring and paint with water books for my grandkids in the suitcase but she also had her cordless phone receiver. Wrapped in a paper towel. 'Oh, that's where that is', she said. Oy. All I could think of was Grace from National Lampoon's Christmas Movie wrapping her cat up as a present and then the leaking box of green jello. Mom passed out her gifts, the kids loved the jammies and thanked her over and over, and then she had me haul the box over to her. There were a few more gifts in there that weren't to anyone in particular and kind of felt like water balloons wrapped up. Luckily they were those squishy balls that light up when they hit something. There were a lot of whoopie cushions in the next layer down and then a small bag of her underpants. The bottom layer was just junk that she had meant to throw out. I think. She had an arguement with my son-in-law about Justin Beiber and then someone thankfully turned the Wii on and the grandkids set to dancing while I tried to get the dinner on the table. 

We popped our Christmas Crackers, we ate, we ate somemore, we talked, we laughed and it was a good meal fortified by a glass of Christmas wine. Hubby and the daughters cleaned up the whole mess...because really...the kitchen was a mess. I had just been tossing things into the sink or on other counters and not taking care as I usually do. I sat my tired ass on the couch to watch Wii dancing and talk with mom. Then, the next thing I know 2 of my daughters are having a giant hissy fit in the kitchen. There were tears, finger pointing and yelling. Really? Really?  

I decided to get my mom out, nicely, and had hubby drive her, the underpants, and her phone home. As I was helping her out the door I could hear doors slamming and a little yelling. The grandkids thought this was all fascinating. They were rallying and running back and forth to the kitchen amid the mele of trying to get mom out the door and the sons-in-law not knowing what to do but stand around and hope for the best. There were pleas of sleeping over as the hissy fit turned into a big arguement. The 5 year old grandson hid under the table and nobody could find him for awhile. It was swiftly turning from Cheve Chase to Woody Allen. I tried to referee but soon came to the conclusion that everyone was over tired, too full of turkey and good cheer, and apparently wanted to be in a reality show themselves. We pushed everyone out with promises that it would be fine later on and no, you can't sleep over tonight but maybe in a couple of days. I sat on the couch in stunned silence. When my ears stopped throbbing I went to bed but I had such a stomach ache that I coulnd't get comfortable. I dozed on and off until 5 when I got up and flushed the whole days worth of food down the toilet. Oh, I was one sick puppy. I ached and threw up and just generally felt like hell. Yesterday, which is usually a good day of turning over Christmas in my mind, was spend semi-comatose on the couch.

All my fears and torments about not having enough gifts and not getting my knitting or my wrapping done were over. The beginning of the day was fabulous. It only turned into a bizarre reality show after dinner and that I can live with. We all don't have the perfect Christmas but this is the kind of Christmas we have. And that's as good as it gets.

Oh man. The sock still isn't done. Sigh. It's a very intense sock and I'm trying to remember why I thought it would be a good idea to knit this particular pattern. I made a lot of headway the other evening and am almost, almost to where I can start the toe shaping. Almost. However, last night I knit a tiny pair of American Girl doll socks. Tonight there will be another pair on the needles. I have the sinking feeling that number 1 daughter is going to get a sock and a half this year. And believe me, those knitted hot water bottle covers are no more. That was just crazy talking.

I have taken my number 2 pencil and slashed the hell out of my to-do list. The tree is not going to have ornaments on it this year. Just lights. The cat won't leave it alone and takes nice little naps amongst the branches during the day. He managed to break a string of lights so the tree is now lit on the top and on the bottom but not in the middle. I am not up for chasing him away every time he goes near it and really...who is going to to that while I'm at work? Next year we are going to remedy the situation by getting a real tree. I hear that cats don't like the prickly branches of a real tree. I'm hoping that is so.

My Christmas cards are mailed out but my village houses are nowhere to be seen. My Santa collection is coming out of storage today. I have had to make a lot of decisions about what gets decorated and what stays in the basement. The Santas got the nod. The cards almost got slashed but I rallied big time and cranked them out. I know...they shouldn't be cranked out. It's not in the spirit of the season but it was either cranking or nothing.

I have also slashed my gift list down to the bare bones. I hate that. The money just isn't there this year. I've been doing mostly pro bono work this year and, although I love the work, not being paid doesn't help with gift buying. The list has been gone over and gone over and then gone over again. I almost can't read it anymore what with all the slashing and adding. I've had to cut out the 'crazy' gifts. Gifts that I usually buy just because I can.

I'm not in the spirit of things this year. We have had a tough year and my mom is going downhill fast. I have the feeling that this year is going to be her last lucid Christmas and that 2012 is going to be filled with tough decisions. In the grand scheme of things my decision to let the cat control the tree isn't bothering me all that much. The fact that I am trying to make this a memorable Christmas and am falling short is. Today I am going to try to pull myself up by my bootstraps, take the cash I have and get out there to finish my shopping. I am going to get my Santas out. I am going to finish up some sewing and then some knitting. I am not going to worry about what I can't do.

I found out that I can see how many people read my silly little blog. I don't know who you all are but thank you very much. I'll try to be more interesting and more funny now that I know you are there. I thought I was out here all alone.

I seem to have lost my mind a tad and have gone off the Christmas Train rails. I'm supposed to be knitting that one last pair of socks for number 1 daughter but something happened and I ended up knitting wee sweaters for my tiny dollhouse residents. It might have been that lunar eclipse. 'Dave's' sweater was all done and I was thinking about how cute a little hat would be as I was trying to shove the sweater on 'Betty' last night. She wasn't cooperating like she should when I came to and realized that there are only 10 days left until Christmas Eve, I don't have my cards out, I'm not done shopping and I am NOT DONE knitting for humans. And, I hate to admit this....the tree only has lights on it. No ornaments as yet. What the hell was going on here?

I might be (ahem) a little behind because our snow is gone and it's just rainy and gloomy outside. I kind of need snow to get me into the spirit of the season and I guess I thought Dave and Betty looked cold or something just laying on the table in their odd little dollhouse outfits. Or perhaps they looked as though they weren't ready for the season either. Betty just normally wears a light cotton top and is not the fashion diva she claims to be. I really can't say what came over me to think that they needed sweaters. I have made lists of things that need to be sewn and knit before the great present unwrapping but I seem to have misplaced those lists. During the lunar eclipse I imagine.

Today is another day. Another day closer to Christmas. I have taken a vow to be done knitting for Dave and Betty and get my train back on the rails. Today the ornaments are going on the tree, the stockings will be hung, and I will find my lists. They will be gone over with exacting precision. Dave and Betty will just have to take a chill pill and let me get on with knitting my last pair of socks.

I do this every year. Over and over like Groundhog Day. I knit socks, I knit hats, I knit doll sweaters and think, with self satisfaction, that I am all set for Christmas. Then, a couple of weeks before the big day of present unwrapping and good food, I decide that I must knit someone something like a hot water bottle cover. And then I think to myself...well, I could knit 4 or 5 of those. I've got time. Hell...I could knit up several pair of French Press slippers as well. I could knit my sister a pair of gloves! Nevermind that there are no Christmas cards purchased, hardly any gifts hidden away and the house is not decorated. Sh-h-h-h-h. I'm knitting in my mind. 

I think this is some kind of syndrome and I fall prey to it every year. When the decorations come out of the box, the lights go on the house and the bad Christmas movies start showing on the Lifetime channel I start digging in my patterns and think I can knit anything no matter how close I am cutting it. I believe it's called the 'I am the Santa of knitting' syndrome and that knitted items will magically appear if I just think about them. I start picturing them wrapped and then picture the glow of happiness as they are unwrapped. Oh, I am sick with the syndrome. I need a light box or a smack on the head. Or a calendar.
 

I am happier than I should be. I found a vintage classic mitten pattern that has just the right look to it. The look of the 50's.

I'm using a Cascade220 that has no band so I'm not really sure of the color. Sage. That's what I'm calling it. I paired it with Misty Alpaca Lace in a lovely ginger color. Ah-h-h. They look just like the mittens I had when I was a kid. The ones my mom used to knit out of itchy wool and something called Orlon. I don't know where Orlon came from or where it went to but I remember a host of hideous colors knit into those mittens. I also don't know why they had to be knit with the two yarns combined. My mom doesn't remember either. Luckily, we both remember the mittens.

All the neighborhood kids wore these kind of mittens on a string around the back of our necks and running down the sleeves of our snowsuits. If a snowball fight turned ugly you could take the mitten off and slap some other little kid in the face with the snow encrusted mitten just by twirling around in front of them. You could play outside in them all day. After we all went inside the smell of wet wool hung in the air as the mittens dried out laid on the old floor heat grate. Perhaps this is when my love of wool and knitting began. Standing over the warm air smelling the heavy mittens dry and wondering if they were ready to be put back on yet. Oh, I love me my 50's classic mittens. I might have to make myself a pair and go outside to build a smowman.

Well, hell. The Oak Leaf Cardigan that took forever to knit is no more. It turned out to be such a weird thing. Was it a blanket? A goofy ill-fitting sweater? It certainly wasn't a cardigan. I couldn't make it be cute any which way I tried so it's a goner. I hate that. All that work and nothing to show for it but a big rectangle with a lovely panel of oak leaves and then a pile of crinkly yarn. Damn. I pinned it together when it was finished and went to the bedroom to try it on in front of my full length mirror. Gak. It was a nightmare. There were no fitting issues to fix because it fit so bad that I looked as though I was in a straight jacket. I couldn't move my arms to attempt to stick my hands in the ill placed pockets even if there were 100 dollar bills in said pockets. I couldn't get the two front pieces to meet. Okay...they weren't supposed to meet but I gave it a shot in an attempt to make some sense of the thing. Oh, I wish it would have been cute. The color I picked was lovely, the oak leaves were beautiful, and it would have been nice to wear on a not too cold day but no.....it was only cute in my mind. No matter which way I thought to turn it into something wearable wouldn't have worked. I stood there with my mind racing through options...I thought for a minute that I could cut it some way and turn it into something else. Crazy. Just nutty that I thought of cutting before I thought of ripping the whole thing out. I yanked the offending thing off, tossed it on the bed and stomped out of the bedroom. I felt like flinging it to the ground outside and jumping up and down on it then leaving it for the squirrels to chew on but I calmed myself before that happened. I had to keep reminding myself that it's not the end of the world as I yanked out those stitches. I can start over after Christmas. I have to quit thinking about it now.

I have managed to get some Christmas knitting done in spite of my obsession with the Oak Leaf Cardigan. I have two pair of socks finished and the dog sweater is done. I have another sock on the needles and a mitten that won't behave so I'm getting there. The mitten is for a long lost friend of mine who moaned the fact one day that she couldn't get any hand knit mittens anymore. The ones we used to wear as kids that were made out of whatever yarn our moms had on hand and were knit with two usually none complimentary colors held together. They wore like iron and looked like clown mittens but we were kids and our hands were cold. Our moms didn't run to Target to get mittens then. They sat down and cranked out a pair. I decided I could do the same for my friend. This, of course, was easier said than done.

I found a ball of sage green wool in the yarn closet and then made a quick trip to the yarn shop in order to find a complimentary color. No clown mittens for this gal. I hit on a beautiful shade of brown....a gingery brown...lace yarn that I thought would knit up perfectly. It did. The two colors looked so nice togehter that it was a shame to rip the mitten out and try again. Damn! The mitten pattern was bunk. Oh, I know I sound like all my knitting problems are being blamed on the patterns but this time...and the Oak Leaf deal...it was true. The mitten was so narrow that it was like a mini straight jacket for the hands. If a person didn't ever want to move their fingers it would have been perfect. I am going to have to keep searching for the right pattern. I wish I had my mom's pattern but that is long gone. I must persist because I want to give this friend a little bit of childhood for Christmas.