Failed Christmas knitting

I have tried to write two posts on this already, but one got very long winded and way too detailed; and the other, I just got mad all over again looking at my pictures, and quit.

Which is what I do when I get frustrated. I quit. Well, maybe not so much anymore, motherhood has taught me a few things...

This year for Christmas, I wanted to make more handmade things for Chris and the boys. I elected to make a new beanie for Chris and slippers for the boys. I had things started in plenty of time and was confident all items would be done on or before Christmas Eve.

Hahaha...right. Isaac's slippers I did first, and they went pretty smoothly.

Danny's...didn't. These slippers are knit with an inner-sole attached to the body of the slipper, then a separate outer-sole is knit and attached. I wasn't going to have enough of the wool I'd purchased (from Conway Family Farms, on the Clark County small farm tour, and I can't wait to go back and visit them), so for Isaac's I'd simply used up some stash yarn for the sole. I had to buy some new yarn for Danny's, and bought an aran weight wool, when I'd needed worsted weight. And then I stupidly knit with it anyhow, even after I realized my mistake.

Danny's first slipper had to be fully ripped out, half-way through the outer-sole (ie- almost done). I ended up using different yarns for the inner- and outer-sole, but no one will see the inside, right?

Ha, no one will ever see any part of either of them because the boys hate them. That's right, they refuse to wear them.

I was felting the slippers the morning of Christmas Eve (very last minute, b/c we open family presents on Christmas Eve), but they were dry and wrapped in time.

I did manage to coax Isaac into them long enough to model--Danny couldn't even be persuaded for this and he normally loves having his picture taken. I'm pretty sure in the bottom picture that Isaac threw them at me after taking them off.

 

Chris' hat...was apparently sized for newborn babies. I knit the medium size, and when I had finished, according to the pattern, I was pretty sure it wouldn't fit on even Isaac's head. My fears were proven true. It was wayyyyyy too short, and as it had intarsia work (my first), I was worried that the stretching around the circumference was going to distort the pattern when Chris wore it (also proven true, later).

So I ripped the hat back to where the wave pattern had ended (it was knit from the brim up, and no way was I re-doing all the intarsia!) and added 15 rows, which translated to probably 2 1/2-3 inches. I have no clue what knitty was smoking when they published this pattern as it is. Furthermore, I have no idea what the model's mom was smoking to conceive a child with such a tiny head. Um, anyhow...

Chris' hat was completed, minus the weaving in of 80 bazillion strands (thank you, intarsia knitting) and in his stocking Christmas morning. It looks pretty just laying there, doesn't it?

As I said above though, the pattern gets very stretched out and distorted on Chris' head. So it's now Danny and Isaac's hat. *sigh* Chris was nice enough to wear it Christmas morning:

I asked Chris if he'd like me to make him another one, and he declined because "I don't wear hats when I have hair". He hasn't been buzzing his hair, but getting actual real haircuts--and looks, ahem, hot. Not that I didn't think he was before, but the hair...is nice.

Tonight, he left the house in a stocking hat. I guess that was his nice way of saying, "please, for the love of god, do not knit me any more hats."

So...my next knitting projects are for myself. :) Right now I'm working on Ice Queen #2. The first I am sending to Tracey, my BFF for her birthday (which was December 26th); this second one will be all mine! But the Ice Queen turned out beautifully; I didn't take any pictures after blocking it, just because it's a gift and I don't want my fat head stretching it all out and getting my dark hairs snagged all up in it. Tracey is very blond and has a phobia of dark hairs on her clothes and carpet, which I blame on my dorm roommate our freshmen year of college...but that's another story!

So if you want some of my knitting, and don't get it: blame it on Chris, Danny and Isaac. I've been rejected too many times recently!