Faint hope

Christmas knitting: done!

But of course, I have something else up my sleeve, a forlorn little hope that didn't quite die even though this week went sideways downhill into the depths of cookie baking (and consumption, leading in turn to more baking I will have to begin in about ten.)

See, I wanted to knit my mum a pair of socks.

Not bed socks, because those were fast and easy, but actual socks with a leg and a pattern and all that. Something that really shows love and devotion, you know? I asked her one time in the fall when I was knitting a pair for me whether she would ever want me to do a pair for her and she said yes, in a thoughtful considering sort of way as though she would love a pair but knew perfectly well exactly what goes into making socks even though she's more of a crochet girl, which is probably true because she's watched me knitting the same pair of socks every Saturday for weeks at a time before they finally make it onto my feet.

So even as I was wandering off and knitting hats and cowls for myself, I was plotting away at sock ideas for mum. I picked out my least crazy Vesper yarn, because mum and I take the same shoe size and I know exactly how many stitches I need to fit my foot comfortably in a Vesper yarn. And I thought about the easiest pretty pattern I've knit, which is Monkey, except I was thinking about the No-Purl version in which there you just knit all the purl stitches, which seemed to me to be probably faster. Faster is one of those things that really appeals to me as a sock knitter, since it takes me a month to churn out a pair as it is.

The socks currently look like this:


and I am giving mum her present tomorrow, so obviously they are now officially Not For Christmas.

However.

There is always New Year's. I've done the math and there are only about another 16 hours' work in them. If I actually worked at these socks without allowing myself to be distracted by other pretty things they would totally be ready in time, even if I block them before presentation.

Speaking of presentation, I just stitched up the hem of Manhat and I'm pretty sure there is only a 12.75% chance I will not be laughed out of the room when it is unwrapped:

Two key problems leap out at me, one being the size (bigger than intended) and the other being the inadvertent gathering that's visible above the stranded colour band. If the hat is small enough to stretch over Man's ears the gathering will disappear, and if it isn't, it won't, and it will look like a Ladyhat.

I will keep you posted.