Alpha and Omega

The first and last.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!- drum roll please

As the title may suggest, I didn't quite finish the 2008 Christmas knitting in 2008, as Big Ben struck I was 2/3rds of the way down the foot. But, as of New Year in Hawaii and the other Pacific Islands I'm all finished.

Phew!

On the principle that the first shall be last and the last shall be first, these are the first socks finished in 2009 (but not the first finished socks of 2009):


I call them office stripes; interesting but subdued. The yarn is Regia Strato Colour 5747 Flannel and it does put me in mind of a pin stripe suit with braces. It's a 68 stitch sock to my standard pattern, plain and simple, and perfect for my FIL whose Christmas present these are - along with a promise to knit him a new head cover for one of his golf clubs!



They're certainly a hit with H who has earmarked them for poaching if they spent too long languishing in his father's sock drawer.

With a certain degree of symmetry, the last socks of 2008 are for my MIL. Are you ready for these? If it's still a somewhat tender hour of the morning (or afternoon) you may want your sunglasses. Don't say I didn't warn you because these are the Hot Hot Hopscotch:


Knit in Jitterbug in the colour Alizerine. The pattern is from the Socktopus Sock Club - although my club socks are almost unrecognisable as the same pattern, being in a much more muted mushroom colourway.

Before you worry that I'm on a mission to blind Beth with scary bright socks, fear not, she choose the colour when she came to visit about 6 months ago so hopefully she still likes it. This is after all the lady whose children include (a) my husband, well known for picking the brightest colours off the shelf and (b) my brother in law who chose the infamous neon socks. I think I'm onto a winner.

The Hopscotch pattern is very well written and gives a finished article that looks far more complicated than it really is - hopefully Alice will publish them for general release this year and you'll get to see what I mean - I can't recommend it highly enough.

The other advantage is that they are toe up, which means that I get to play around until I'm left with this:

That's ALL the leftover yarn from the skein!

So, Christmas is finished, a mere 7 days late, but without any IOUs or presents given with the needles still in - perhaps I ought to get started on next year, but first I have a little blanket to knit for a baby girl who (finally) arrived last Monday.

I hope that this year contains everything that you could wish for and more!

In Retrospect: 2008 in wool (and other fibres)

To whit:

31 (ish) pairs of socks, 14 of which were for me - I promise you I never run out of socks
17 Lizard Ridge Squares (still a work in progress)
9 mystery diamonds - which turned into a baby blanket for a friend
7 baby surprise jackets
6 hats
4 tops for me
3 tiny wee socks
2 pairs of mittens
2 dishcloths
1 baby Crocus cardigan
1 entire baby's layette
1 jacket designed from scratch
1 shawl
1 scarf

It's like a really wonky version of the 12 days of Christmas.

Most of the knitting has been showcased on the blog at some point or other. A late arrival, knit in the middle of frantic Christmas knitting and finished on 21 December was the wonderful Unoriginal Hat:



There may be no such thing as a new idea but this is a very good not-new idea. Anything knit on 7mm needles is never going to take too long and this was no exception. The yarn is Arucania Limari and I used a skein and a smidge.

Unlike my mermaid hat which is largely for show, this hat keeps your head warm and your ears toasty and I love it. It even got positive comments from a non-knitting new acquaintance which suggests that either (a) it is a good hat or (b) she is open to being introduced to the ways of the wool. Clearly whilst the hat is good, the answer is (b). Poor girl, she won't know what hit her.

The biggest hit of the year for me has got to be my Icarus shawl - I have worn it almost to death, certainly it is starting to need a re-block, but I need to wait until I finish something else that can be shawl and scarf and comforter all in one. I wear that shawl tucked up on the sofa, as my scarf on frosty mornings and at work to protect against the chill creeping round the window frames. In the summer it was the perfect early evening cover up - small enough to squash into a handbag.

In terms of knits that were given away, I like the Quarterpint cardigan jacket that I designed and knit for Mum and I think she does too. Of the 61 new projects finished (or mostly finished) this year, 35 have been gifts, so this has clearly been the year for knitting for friends and family, whether I realised it or not. If you get the right victims, knitting for family and friends is great (if I ever needed proof I just watch my husband showing off his hand knit socks) but hopefully next year there will be a few fewer babies to knit for, and a little more time to knit some bigger projects for me.

Having said all of that there's also quilting and spinning and .... and... life is good but it doesn't get any less busy.

Now then, before I can say "Roll on 2009", I have a sock and a half to knit to complete the Christmas knitting - anyone think I can do it by midnight?