my head did not implode and knitting, at last

Buh-bye, Coke. You're out of my system and my head is, miraculously, in one piece. Of normal size, even, despite how it felt over the weekend.
I'm very happy to say that I got a bit of knitting done this weekend and even finished a Christmas present.


Fetching, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways. You are truly knit with one skein. The warning about having very little left over was true. I held my breath as I knitted the last few rounds and said a little prayer just before doing the picot cast off, on my way to the thumb. Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran was a pleasure to work with. So soft and pretty. I worry that it might pill up though. Anyone care to share their experience with it? I will be knitting another pair or two or three of these, for sure.

You know what I do when I'm knitting a pattern repeat? To keep track of the row I'm on, I count them by using my kids' names. The first row is Jake. The second, Hope, etc. I simply cannot keep track if I'm just counting by numbers (yes, I'm lame) and, heaven forbid I write out tic marks or use a row counter. So Ben was my cable row on these.

Blogger keeps showing this photo sideways, for some unknown reason. Anyway, here is the Double Cable Scarf from One Skein. Knit in a chunky wool that I have had for a while and cannot remember the name of, for the life of me. It's nice and soft and cushy. I have far more than one skein so I think I wll be making this a bit longer than the pattern calls for. This, too, is destined to be a Christmas gift, though I haven't quite decided on the recipient, yet.

And now, behold the loveliness that is on my needles. This yarn is from Khris, of the beautiful hand painted lace weight merino from the yarn raffle, over at Chewy Spaghetti. The colorway is Cherry Cordial Decadent (newly renamed) and if you are fast you might be able to snatch up a skein at her etsy shop. I am in lurv with pinks and browns right now and trust me when I say that this photo does not begin to capture the rich pink and brown deliciousness of this yarn. I can't stop staring at the subtle shade variations within each color. So, so pretty. They're knit in a simple 4x1 rib so as not to distract me from the purty colors. I think these socks would be finished by now if I didn't have to stop so often and just lovingly gaze at the yarn. If you buy this of hers and don't send it to me, I will be forced to hate you forever.

In other news, I have my Chocolate Swap package just about ready to go. I have one more thing to put in and then off to Australia and Lindy it goes. Want a tiny peek?