Well, it's less than 36 hours before the presents get opened, and...I'm pretty much screwed. Grandma's Feather and Fan socks are finished at least, but not even the first sock of my Dad's pair are done yet. About a week ago I was going to blog about how I was nearly done the second of my grandmother's socks, so at least I'd have another pair of needles to start my Dad's second sock and wasn't too worried.

At least that's what I was planning before I went to hold the second Grandma sock up against the first to see how much longer the cuff needed to be and saw that the foot wasn't the same length.

By about half an inch.

Arrrrgh.

Needless to say I spent the fifteen minutes remaining before my shift started ripping back to just before I started the heel. So yup, it's pretty much confirmed now that dad's getting...well, hopefully one completed sock and the toe of the other in his stocking. At least that's not the main gift for him.

At the moment, Christmas knitting is all I'm working on, and all I've been for the last few weeks. For Grandma's socks, I'm using some Regia Canadian Colours that I had in my stash. Can't remember the number and the ball band is long gone, but it's a light blue/light yellow-green/dark blue/dark teal-ish colourway. They knit up pretty fast, considering the amount of time I've been able to devote to them, and the feather and fan pattern is a good one to stave off boredom.

For Dad's socks, I'm doing a plain worksock: off-white toes, heels and cuff, tweedy charcoal grey for the foot and leg, in a 4x2 rib. No need for really fancy work as I'm not sure he'd wear it if I did. Serviceable socks seemed a better idea, particularly as he'll ask for worksocks on his Christmas list, something my brother and I always tease him about.

Other than those, I'm trying to out together the afghan created by the girls in my knitting group at the library. Of course I had to take the complicated way of doing it (creating black sashing inbetween the squares, like a quilt), so it's going slowly.

Somehow over the last couple years I've always ended up doing Christmas knitting, though every year I've thought that I wouldn't. I'm not one of those people that has to make a knitted gift for everyone--particularly not one for everyone for the same holiday. I don't get the whole "I have to make something for everyone!" mentality, as I know that not everyone will want or appreciate a knitted item for Christmas; but then I think I can understand it if your family is the sort to compare gifts and keep score in the "they-got-something-handmade-so-why-didn't-I?" kind of way, in which case the pressure on the knitter is coming more from without than within.

My family isn't like that, and I usually try to focus more on what's the perfect thing for each person, rather than money value or handmade-versus-bought (though I try and spend approximately the same on my main family members).

Anyway, as I said I've decided I wasn't going to knit anything for anyone in the last couple years, but then Mom asks or grandma keeps hinting that she wants socks, or I decide "hey, it might be nice to amke this small thing for ____" and there you have it: Christmas knitting.

And speaking of giving, for those that don't listen to the podcast, Miss Violet of Lime and Violet is having some medical problems, which she can't even get diagnosed until she's found $1000 to pay for the testing. To help, Lisa Souza has created a special colourway called "Violet's Pink Ribbon", with part of the proceeds going to Miss Vi's medical fund. Any money raised over the amount needed will be donated to a related charity of Miss Vi's choosing.

Or to spread some more Christmas cheer, the Knitters Without Borders campaign, hosted by the Yarn Harlot, is back in full swing as well. I'm hoping to contribute this time, once the next credit card billing period comes along.

So if you have any disposable cash left, make one more gift, either to the ones I've mentioned or a charity of your choosing. After all, knitters know the joy of giving, with only warm fuzzies as the reward.