I mean, this country elects its first black president, Wesley and I find a new apartment, and I’m actually knitting on schedule. 🙂
I took a bit of a hiatus for a little while, but churning out gift knitting tends to do that to me:
The little elephant on the right is, of course, the Bella-phant, finished in plenty of time to give to Rosa to keep in trust until Miss Isabella arrives to claim her. And everyone was quite taken with her cuteness. I finished her during the VP debates, and the group of folks we were with were happy to have a representative Republican in the crowd. 😉 I wound up just re-purchasing the pattern (for another $7 USD. Ouch!) to make sure I would have things done in time, and seeing as I had to make another one (you’ll meet him in a minute), I guess it was worth it.
The gloves on the left are a pair of Broad Street Mittens that I made for my friend Nicole. She has moved up to Buffalo for school, and requested I make her some “purple gloves” to help her keep warm. I subbed the yarn recommended for some purple Koigu PPM, and some of the leftovers from the MissMatched socks. The result is both purple and glovelike. With some mitten thrown in. 😉 Here they are again, modeled so casually by Abima and BB, two of Ji Tan’s toys:
So, as might be expected, knitting a pair of glittens in a week and an elephant in two kind of sated the knitting urge for a bit. Then it dawned on me that Christmas is fast approaching, and I have a lot of work to do. But first…
This is Charlie, the other elephant. After Mom saw how cute the Bella turned out, she commissioned one for her friends Jake and Raven, who just welcomed their own baby girl into the world. Hence, Charlie. He is a testament to the magic of gauge. Bella was knit in a geniune DK yarn on the recommended needles and turned out to be about 8″ tall. Charlie was knit in Greenland, an aran-weight yarn, on the same needles, and is probably about 10 1/2-11″ tall. Wow. But they’re both super-cute and cuddly. So who really cares?
As for Christmas knitting, I did the smart thing this year and limited myself to about two really time-consuming projects: finishing the Peacock for Mom and another lace stole for my Granny. The next biggest projects down the line are a garter-stitch scarf for my Pappy and a Clapotis for my friend Lis. Then, my genius: the ladies are all getting hand-knit washcloths and nice soaps from either Sabon or Lush, and everyone else is getting tawashi and some kind of alcohol. 🙂 The washcloths are cute, stash-busting, and I can finish two on a good day. I’ve only got eight to make, and I have four done. I hope to be done with all of them by Sunday. Then straight into tawashi and Clapotis, hopefully another week for those. Then scarf. Then stole. And Peacock can be worked on during Christmas while the Banana is here. For everyone else on the list, I’m buying things… namely books and other items of entertainment.
The only wrench in this Christmas knitting plan is the time that will have to be sacrificed to packing, moving, painting, and unpacking. I did mention that Wes and I got a new apartment, no? 😀 It’s a great place, but since we have yet to give them the deposit, I don’t want to talk about it too much and risk spoiling things. But suffice it to say I’m trying my hardest to get as much gift knitting done now before the apartment is a reality and I’m obligated to start moving my whole life from one place to another. Ugh. So wish us luck, in any case, and the next time you read this blog, I might be posting from a brand new IP! 🙂
I leave you with a picture of the washcloths done as of yesterday morning. Happy fast-approaching holidays!
