Watch out, Christmas, I'm gaining on you!

When I tell people, knitters and non-knitters alike, what I have to knit before Christmas, they get this kind of glazed look in their eyes. "Really?" they say. "Just eight pairs of slippers, three pairs of socks, one hat, and one baby sweater? No partridge in a pear tree?"

It's easy, I try to tell them. The slippers are easy, they're on size 13 needles with bulky yarn, the hardest part is being patient while they felt. Two of the three pairs of socks don't have to be done until after Christmas, as Mom's shawl was possibly also a Christmas present, and I won't see my sister until March or April. And the other pair of socks is worsted. The baby sweater is with easy yarn on gigantic needles as well, almost done there. So really, it's just the boredom factor while I knit slipper after slipper after slipper.

Observe:

Two pair done. Big green ones for Dad and little turquoise one for his wife. They are easy-peasy, requiring approximately two and a half episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer per slipper. Six pairs to go, three gigantic for boys, three dainty for girls. Cinch.

But the boredom. And the handcramping from the gigantic needle. Remember me, the girl who thinks size 6 creates stitches too big to be worn in public most of the time? I'm in agony with that thing. The gauge is also a little on the small side, but they're felted. What's half a stitch every two inches between fulled friends, right? Don't tell me if I'm wrong about that, I can't take it.

But, after two pair of slippers -- one yesterday and one today -- I needed a little break. So I cast on Topi regardless of my brother's lack of interest in the circumference of his head. We all have abnormally monstrous noggins in my family. If I make it big enough to be loose on me, it'll fit him.

So I cast on (Blue Sky Cotton, brown) with my dpns and that nifty crotchet cast-on dohicky that let me make no hole in the center of my hat. Good times. Got almost all the way out to the sides of the hat, too, but I'm going to do one extra row, because it was specified that the hat should be "kinda wider" on top.


I started out with DPNs, but can you see what happened? Those are not 16" circs, people. Those are 32" circs.

Do you know what this means?

I'm magiclooping.

NO!!!!

I know there are people out there who magic loop everything, who love it more than life itself. I always respected people who made that decision, but said it wasn't for me.

And then I was stuck between needles -- too many dpns made my head spin, but the 16" circ cramped my hands. Not enough stitches for a 24". So I was brave.

And I don't totally hate it.

I'm kind of afraid.