Holiday Knitting

Those of us who celebrate Christmas arrive at the end of Thanksgiving with a bit of panic, don't we? While I do have my fair share of shopping panic, my larger stress is the sudden realization that I intend to knit far more things than my hands are able to in the mere four weeks left to me. This year is no different, in spite of my best efforts not to start anything new.

I should have been done with that Muir shawl weeks ago. It looks so simple, and yet I'm beginning the fifth repeat and I simply cannot memorize that pattern. The lace is so spongey ( I don't think that's a word) I can't see the pattern to determine if the YO/dec's should slant left or right. So that keeps me enslaved to the chart. I've enlarged the chart so I can now at least read it without bringing it two inches from my eyes. I thought I'd gain some speed by making the chart big enough to glance at from a distance, so I could be in my comfy chair with the pattern placed on a nearby side table. I'm still not fast enough!

My Hild sweater is not sewn together yet. My future DIL's sweater from last Christmas is still not done. I'm altering it for the second time (that means third time to knit, counting my innocent first endeavor just following the instructions). Actually, this time I have undone the entire sweater and am starting from scratch. Boy did that hurt!

And I'm not even going to consider working on my niece's Marihone sweater. I will have to frog that back and redesign it. It will be fun to do, so I'd better not tackle that at this time of year or I'll end up hating it.


I haven't touched my historical tapestry in about a month now. I hope to get back to that next week. I hope to do all my holiday shopping online! I tried that last year, and it wasn't overly successful, but hope is so constantly optimistic, and I do so hope to buy everything without ever leaving the house!

Let the roller coaster ride begin. I hope it will be more fun than scary!