Santa Claus Came to Town

Okay, it was really my dad, but I think we already knew his true identity.

I got a great package from my dad and stepmother: a knitting book from Nicky Epstein, a retro Barbie to go with the book (unfortunately they gift wrapped it, so customs sliced the box with a box cutter to check under the wrapping), some KnitPicks yarn, size 9 needles, and cash! I have to say, getting cash makes me feel like a kid again. ;-)

It came at the perfect time-- I've been sick for about 10 days. Last week, I had a headache that would not go away no matter how many painkillers I took. This week, the headache has been replaced with a head cold and no voice.

Now, for some long overdue FO shots:

This is a Noro hat that I knit top down using a Feather and Fan stitch pattern over 72 stitches. I used an entire skein of Noro Kureyon (uhhh...153?159?), when it got close to to the end, I knit 10 rows of k2p2 rib. It only took a couple of hours.

My sister goes to LSU, so I knit her an LSU Tychus. This is from the yarn I got from the yarn and fiber company (free international shipping!) a couple of months ago. I could link back to that post, but that would take too much effort. Another quick, fun knit.

I finally knit up the MCY Eternity I got this summer and have been swatching with extreme regularity ever since. There was a mini-skein, thanks to a knot, that looks quite raveled and worn, but it all turned out all right. I used a scroll pattern, like the one used in various sock patterns, but I only wanted to have patterned legs. These were knit toe-up, of course. They are pretty tall, but I've got a lot of yarn left over. They are very pretty. The colors don't show up well in the photo, but there are all shades of blues from teal to periwinkle.

Since I finished the Eternity socks and was drooling over their perfect lack of flashing and pooling, I quickly balled up the other yarn I had ordered at the same time. NOT HAPPY.

You may notice that there are three balls in the photo. That is because the yarn came in three pieces. No knots, pieces. Still, the eternity socks are beautiful, so I cast on, undeterred. I got about two inches in and realized that I will have to alternate skeins (handily, I have pre-divided yarn), because the color repeats are too short and one side has no yellow. So, know I'm contemplating frogging and starting over, or living with a toe that will not match its mate.

If you know me, and most of you do, you know that I can live with a lot if it means the difference between starting over and carrying on. Toes stay in shoes, anyway...