Merry Christmas!!

I hope all of you had a wonderful holiday, whatever you may celebrate.
We had a quiet weekend, with just my mom and step-father in town. Mostly we ate, read and knitted...

And behold the Christmas knitting.

First up is EZ's Ganomy hat for step-dad.

This knit up really quickly and easily in Cascade 220 in a lovely blue to match his eyes. I modified the pattern so that it decreased sooner, to achieve a less pointy hat. Oh yeah, and no ping pong bobble on the top...

Next, my pride and joy. Knitty's Hedera socks in Sundara yarn Somewhat Solid sock yarn in Slate over Pink. If you haven't knit this pattern, do it now! It is so well written and easy to follow, you can't help but end up with perfect looking socks. Really.
Well, at least if you read the pattern. You'll note below that the toe on the left is shorter than the toe on the right. Duh. It says to decrease every other row... which I did on the second sock, but not the first. So I had to rip that little bit back and fix. No biggie, but still dumb.

The man has clued in to my obsession, and got me just what I wanted for Christmas. Sundara's Tatami Kimono sweater pattern and enough yarn in colorway Drunken Plum to complete it. Yay! (Please forgive the craptastic kitchen photo. Does the sun ever come out?)

You may also have observed the lovely, freshly wound, center-pull balls I'm showing off... My mom gave me a beautiful wooden swift and a ball-winder. I think they've given up hope of ever seeing me again...

My wonderful secret pal also sent me something. Two skeins of yummy wool (sorry I don't have it in front of me, I will edit later.) and the funniest book I've ever read. I was reading some of it to my mom this weekend and we were laughing so hard we cried. Not kidding. Because it's all true. Frighteningly true.

Thank you so much Pal!!

And one more thing, and then I'll stop for now.

I finished my first mitt. Or hand sock, as the man calls it. I can't wait to finish the other. They are so warm and cozy, and they fit perfectly. Like a glove, if you will. If I really rush, I might be able to finish before my trek east over the weekend.

And the obligatory gut shot.

Thank you all for the kind words of congratulation about my graduation. It's very exciting, but hasn't really sunk in yet! I think once I find a job in a library, it will feel more 'real.'

Donesky.

Yep, it's finally true. I finished grad school!!!!

Thursday was my big presentation at my practicum location, which went wonderfully! It sparked a really interesting conversation, and the librarians brought up so many good points that I hadn't thought of. The project overall was a little tedious at times, but overall very worthwhile. I'm glad I had the opportunity to work at such a prestigious institution, and I hope that my efforts will be helpful.

Now, I just have to decide what to do with all this time on my hands. No more crazy work hours! All the time in the world to knit! Just have to find a 'real' job!

And, almost as exciting, I have officially finished my Christmas knitting. More next weekend, after the presents are unwrapped.

Obsessed Knitter in the making...

I had family in town over the weekend, and am now truly convinced that one day my little sister will be obsessed with knitting, just like me.

They arrived Friday night, and I was proudly showing off the %&(*%#(&*% that I made for a family member for Christmas. (Sorry, edited for holiday surprise. You never know who's lurking on your blog...) Sister was so impressed that she decided she needed to knit a sock. Just one.

So, Saturday afternoon we headed up to Noe Knit, and bought her some size 2 dpns and a skein of Lana Grossa Mellenweit.

No, she's never knit in the round, picked up stitches, or grafted a toe, or even decreased or increased stitches, and I had to remind her how to purl, but she has the drive to learn. I know she can do it.

However, she does need a little bit of training still to become completely obsessed, as I am. We were in the store, and I picked up a gorgeous skein of Manos del Uraguay. She looked at me like I had lost my mind and said, "Did you just SMELL that yarn?" Someday she'll understand.

Just a reminder

A terrible tragedy was discovered today. After 11 days, James Kim was found dead in a forest in Oregon.

Please be careful, and tell those close to you how much you love them.