I'm in love with Big Foot....

Brace yourselves for the shock I'm about to deliver - there is no spinning today. Not just today, no spinning for three stinkin' days. I know! My hair looks like I've stuck all my fingers in a light socket, I haven't matched my clothes for days, and I may be permanently cross-eyed - all on account of the fact that I made a promise. I thoroughly hate promises yet I make them and then I can't live with myself if I don't come through.

For the last two handfuls of years, I have tried to knit for Hubster. "Nawwh," he always tells me, "make something for the kids, instead." Sometimes, I have listened and sometimes I have forced my knitterly-ness on him. Okay, I've forced other things on him a bit as well but that's not where we're going today. So, here's what happened. Christmas (and his birthday) were upon us and I suggested I knit him something. He already has a hat (the man gets attached to his clothing so another hat would just make him feel unfaithful to the one Thing 1 made for him last year), he knows I'll never actually finish a sweater for him, and he doesn't wear scarves. With his hard labor lifestyle here on the farm, gloves are strictly leather lined because he tears even those up and we go through as many pairs of gloves for him in a season as for the entire rest of the family. Sock? I added - presuming he'd say, "nawwh" - but he didn't. So, that is how I subjected myself to knitting socks for a person with feet at least 6 shoe sizes over mine (yes, STOOPIDT is apparently tattooed all over my forehead - in many different colors). I was patient about knitting the first but eager all the same to move on to my monkey socks (gypsy colorway) and then the Lady of the Lake handspun sock yarn. By the time I FINALLY finished sock 1 - I was starting to experience mild panic attacks. I knew the only way I could hope to ever finish the other one was to work on it and only it until the darn thing was done. I am sad to say that I also held a grudge. There was maybe an insult that sounded like , 'boat feet' hurled his way. Perhaps a grimace or look of disdain when I rounded the heel and he entered the room yesterday morning (I should mention that it was with a cup of coffee - a treatment I received every day even when I am growling and calling his feet 'clubby') and thought it would be funny (so he did) to say, "man, aren't you finished yet - you need to hurry up". Hee hee. I let him sleep in the chair in front of the stove last night. Alas, the big foot socks are done. No pattern - just made it up as I wrestled with the first one and managed to repeat it all again on the second. He loves them - which is why I am teaching him to knit his own damn socks.

I could get all sappy and tell you the many reasons that this good man deserves to have someone love him enough to knit him as many pairs of socks as he wants but you know me, sappy just isn't my thing and, besides, he'll likely say something that irks me later and I'll hate him all the more for having doted on him in public. Let's just say - roses are red and those big danged socks are in the 'seaweed' colorway I had in the shop a while back. They're on their way around in my dye schedule and after knitting them I am glad for it. I love the olive, green, rust that are the base colors - with little specks of light brown, mint, and deep cobalt blue running along behind. A perfect color for such a tree-huggin person as Big Foot.

Okay, I lied - there was a little bit of spinning. Somewhere in the fog of sock knitting non-stop, I pulled some 'dragonfly' batts from the shop and decided to spin a soft single (cheap thrills) just to be sure I wouldn't start foaming at the mouth and bite him next time he walked by.

The good news is that this sock knit did satisfy a month's progress in the 2008 sock knit along group on ravelry. And, because I'm a frugal one, it also is number 12 on the insane list I made for Jen's "Mission Possible 2008" on ravelry as well. The idea, if you're un-raveled - is that you pick 12 things in your 'stash' or in progress and finish them -upon penalty of having to donate, give away, or frog and gift the fiber for as many items as you don't finish. It's just my style. Alot of pressure (cuz I have a special bond with the stash) and a totally whacky estimation of one's ability. I, of course, jumped right in:

1. finish rogue sweater for dear thing 1.
2. spin the 2006 season Lady of the Lake Roving which I hoarded a sweater’s worth for despite groans from hubster because it was selling clean out at a show and I knew I wanted some. Who cares if there’s been two season’s worth of the same roving since then - this is a challenge - not a confessional!
3. Knit yarn from #2 into a sweater for me.
4. finish low neck sweatah. It’s handspun silk, it’s red, it has great fitting - who knows really why I continue to neglect it in the knitting basket.
5. finish fingerless mitts made out of a combination of my handspun beaded purple and the lighter handspun purple that Loribird gave me in the fall. Done!
6. Make a calorimetry out of the same yarns as in #5. done!
7. Spider Web Shawl from Victorian Lace Today in the ‘gypsy’ colorway of my lace yarns - you know, the two skeins that only me and omniscient beings of your choice knew I hoarded in my stash bucket and claimed to have ‘accidentally’ put it there instead of the store totes? Yeah, that one. And for the record - this project will not leave me whilst I can still bite, scratch, growl, or curse - so don’t be looking for me to donate this one!
8. LOL socks which are from the handspun yarn I featured on the blog a week ago. Still, in the interest of being honest - I didn’t really know about this project then so I guess I’ll only count the knitting of them and not the spinning even though it was done in 2008
9. WAIT - I lied, counting the spinning unless someone gets me in trouble with the moderator over it.
10. Dream Coat out of some noro in the stash and some handspun singles I’ve had for two years.
11. Make something out of the laceweight shetland yarn that I spun last year from one of the lambs. If I don’t knit it this year, I am sending it to Jen since she just became a mom to some awesome looking Shetlands!
12. Finish socks for Hubster Also done!

Of course, the observant ones may have already noticed that I exhibited the true traits of a shiftless bum by knitting and spinning the easiest things on my list first. Twisted though it my be, it is my logic so don't give up on me just yet!

There's still time to enter a funny song for the drawing of fiber or yarn. All I have to say is a big ole 'thank you' for all who have sent in their funny songs - and there have been plenty. Drawing is on Tuesday.....

I'm off to knit on some monkey socks, slosh a stew in everyone's bowl for dinner- and reacquaint myself with 'rose' - she's all pouty in the corner with last weeks batts hanging off of her like wilted tree limbs.