I wish I could crank out knitting as quickly as baking! Ha! I tend to let baking get in the way of my knitting, which at this time of the year is as hard to avoid as it is necessary to avoid! Between that dilemma and being on Time of Use pricing for our hydro consumption, I only bake on the weekends now, so knitting should pick up. I’m posting these finished objects knowing that the recipients may be reading this so I wont say who they’re for!

First up are these Wickerware Socks. They’re knit in Knit Picks Palette in Delta, two skeins and a bit and while my official time on them is November 9 to November 15, if I hadn’t taken two nights off for sketching up Christmas lists and baking brownies they would have come together even faster. Lovely!

The person I made them for had commented on my knitted socks last time we hung out and I know he really wants a pair. He’s the sort of person knitters love to knit for. He’ll be careful with them, he’ll wear them often and when he does, he’ll tell people I made them for him. I know they wont end up at the back of his closet. I never knit for people like that anymore, that’s one of the forces behind the sweater curse, dontcha know. 😉

Now, I couldn’t possibly knit up a paid of socks for this man and not knit up a pair for his wife, who is equally delightful. Really. We are so lucky to have these people in our life. This sounds like Gill and Andrew doesn’t it (minus the wife part)? It’s not you guys, even though you are delightful! Just FYI, I’m not knitting anyone a second pair of socks until everyone I love has a single pair – they got socks for Christmas last year!

These lovelies were knit in Knit Picks Stroll in Sprinkle Heather and I adore them. When Talea saw how fast they were coming together for me (I did the entire leg of the first one in a single day), she casted on immediately too! The pattern is called Duckies, and according to my Ravelry queue, I’ve wanted to knit them since Christmas two years ago!

My official time on these socks was horrible (November 16 – December 8) because I hosted a Gothy Tea Party for my sister’s 22nd birthday, and then I got obsessed with Christmas baking. Ahem. This yarn is delicious. Delicious. I loooooooved knitting with it and I will buy more in as many colours as possible this coming year. It’s my new go-to sock yarn. Ok, maybe Lorna’s Laces is still my top, but this is right up there.

Then this week, I’ve been dividing my time between Christmas crafts with the kids, baking, knitting and the usual to do’s of daily life. Facecloths are the perfect way to feel like you’re accomplishing a whole lot in a short time! Hooray!

I wanted to get as much as I could out of the yarn I bought from Knit Picks, so instead of the size 6s the pattern calls for, I used size 4s and squeezed out two facecloths from a single skein of Knit Picks Shine in Worsted – these green ones in Green Apple. I was feeling pretty pleased with myself until my husband pointed out that they look ‘mini’. Hmm. I can either block them and pray they’ll grow a little OR I can leave them as is and call them makeup remover cloths. Yes? You don’t need a whole facecloth to do the job, but you do need more than those little pads from the drug store. I haven’t decided yet, but they are lovely and fast and look great in green! Four more to go! Two in Clementine and two in Wisteria!

I will, at least, be posting my knitting on Wednesdays and just found these WIP Wednesday link ups at – Freshly Pieced, Tami Amis and Musings From The Fishbowl. Fun!

I kicked off my knitting this month with the most traditional knitting there is – a cozy! A hot water bottle cozy, at that! I found a wonderful pattern for a cabled one with a ribbed turtleneck-like trim so it really looks like a wee sweater. I made it from some Red Heart I got for Christmas for my Uncle Peter, the first birthday of the month!

It photographs a little brighter than it is, it’s only slightly darker and the brown is bang on. He’ll likely use it every night, I love giving gifts like that!

I got a random call from my mother just before I hit the bind off row on the cozy telling me she needed a pair of pink mittens for a friend at work. Since my days lately are mostly spent knitting and waiting for wee one #3 to arrive (when is that stork going to show up anyway?!), I had time to knit them up for her and still pretty much stay on schedule. She was happy.

I also just finished a couple of Transformers facecloths, I found the pattern on Ravelry, natch. These are for my dear friend Nichole’s wee one #1, Evan. He’s 5 today, and very much into Transformers. I hope he likes them! My husband machine and wee one #1 have asked me to make some for them since they’ve seen these.

I made wee cards for him and my Uncle Peter, and a larger one for Maeve, the daughter of another good friend, who also turns 5 today!

Last weekend was heaps of fun, loud and busy and congested in my kitchen. This weekend I decided to go the way of the quiet knitting evening, where just three of us gathered, ate and knit. A fantastic way to spend a Saturday night! I was making broccoli soup, and had enough for a whole pot all chopped up on the kitchen counter, when wee one #2 came over to help. She got her apron on, asked for a ponytail and promptly ate so much of that broccoli, I had to cut up some carrots too and make it Carrot-Broccoli soup!

Not that I am complaining about my kids eating veggies, it was just hilarious to be looking at about 1/4 cup less every time I turned from the pie I was also making.

This week’s pie was Red Plum Pie! I boiled the plums first for two reasons – one to help the skins slide off and one to cook them some before they were done up on the stove. I cut ‘Shh’ into the crust to underscore the difference in volume between last week and this week (and possibly next week), funny and yummy!

I’ve been procrastinating on knitting up a Brant toy. Mostly because I am looking for exactly the right pattern. I was going to make him out of Kimberly Chapman’s pattern (the one I made these guys from), but I’d like him to be bigger and I’m not sure the legs are right for this project. So I was thinking I could make him from the Kate from Knitty pattern, but I think it makes him too tubby! So I’ve moved on to Valentine’s Day prep instead.

After dinner I spent most of the evening leading up to bathtime on these little treasures. They knit up really quickly from whatever is on hand and they’re really cute. The pattern came from Martha Stewart, technically it’s to be stuffed with catnip but I’ve filled them with stuffing. I want to make a whole lot more, hang them in the window and make a garland from them!

I’m looking forward to getting the rest of the Valentine gear ready, while we wait for this wee one to decide she’s ready and make her grand entrance. I have to admit, it’s really unsettling not knowing when!