Home Sweet Home

I am home, J is home, and I am so happy about that. Last night was horrendous. A combination of snow, cold, and a football game combined to make SJ one very unhappy commuter. After spending an hour in the car and only moving about a mile from my office, I was one big stressed-out mess. Assuming the road were okay (which I wasn't convinced they would be), it probably would have taken me another hour or two to make it home -- ridiculous when you consider that I live a mere nine miles from work -- so I threw in the towel and spent the night at my parents. Not the ideal situation, since all my clothes and personal items were at home, but there are still enough old clothes of mine there that I was able to put together a somewhat decent outfit for work today and spent time working on these rather than sitting in the car:

Yep that's another Fetching pair of wristlets, along with the leftovers from the one skein of Cashmerino Aran (noticeably less that last time, but I think that's because I was a tad bit more generous with the ends to weave in this time around). The specs are the same as the last pair. These are for J's brother's girlfriend, and -- more importantly -- these officially mark the end of my holiday knitting! (No nasty comments, please. Remember that I'm on my own during the week so all I've been doing is knitting.) You want a reminder of everything I've knit, so you'll be sufficiently impressed? Why, of course!

• Lady Eleanor for my future MIL
• Clapotis for my mother
• Socks for J's stepdad
• Socks for my dad
• Felted slippers for J's brother
• Socks for J (completed and blocked on Wednesday; can't show you the picture yet 'cause he might peek!)
• Ornament for family friends (with whom we'll be spending Christmas)
• Fetching for J's brother's girlfriend (see above)

I still have a few things to knit, but they aren't strictly for the holidays. The first is J's Cashmerino Aran scarf, of which I've already done about seven or eight inches, but I'm going to be frogging and starting with another skein of yarn. I've already encounted two knots in this skein, which is pissing me off, plus I've made a couple of mistakes (I was paying more attention to Heroes than to the scarf, apparently). J requested the scarf, and he's already seen the yarn, so it's not a big surprise. I've also just started another pair of wristlets (so fast, so addictive!) for my best friend, whose birthday is next week. Finally there's a pair of Broad Street Mittens for the brother -- another request. Yarn was purchased last weekend at Knit One (Dale Baby Ull) in semi-Michigan colors, but I can't really start until he comes home for winter break and I can measure his hands. He's 6'1", so I don't want to estimate, especially since this is officially the first time he's actually asked me to knit him something. (He says he needs these because he doesn't get cell reception inside his dorm, so he needs to go outside to make a call, but he can't dial his phone wearing regular gloves.)

Other news ... Well, the new Knitty is out/up, but you probably knew that already. I'm going to do these to teach myself Fair Isle with the Telemark I ordered from Knit Picks on Wednesday. And of course you know I want to do these as well, but, as I told Cookie, I really feel like I should make a mate to my poor lone Pomatomus and do a pair of Baudelaires first, as they're in my mental "socks to knit" queue. (Cookie has informed me, however, that she operates under the premise of knit what you want, when you want, so I guess I can do the same.)

While on the Knitty site, I happened to spot a banner ad for the 2007 Rockin' Sock Club. It took me all of about 30 seconds to register. I've been wanting to try Socks That Rock for months now, but never got around to buying any, so I figured this was as good a way as any to get my hands on some. It's a bit pricey, but probably no more than what I'd spend on yarn in that time, so I'm going to strictly enforce the yarn diet and only knit from the stash. Totally realistic, in my view. I've got plenty of sock yarn and enough yarn for about four sweaters. (An absolutely reasonable exception to the yarn diet, needless to say, is any fibery holiday gifts I might receive!)

I'm off to -- well, you know. Looking for something interesting to read until my next post? I suggest you see who was in my area yesterday (I'll bet they salted the roads for them!).