I admit it

I am unreasonably fond of my little countdown machine over there in the sidebar. Not because I'm one of those smug people who will have all my Christmas knitting/shopping done by Thanksgiving, but just because I love Christmas. There's a neighborhood in our town called Winterhaven that goes all out every year. There are carriage rides and hot chocolate and amazing displays of creativity. I can't wait to take The Bug back. I can't wait to get him a new ornament, and see him play with the wrapping paper on Christmas morning, and all that stuff. It's the best. This year I may have to go up to Phoenix early and buy my dad a Christmas tree. Christmas was my mom's favorite time of year, and he hasn't decorated once since she died 11 years ago. If The Bug will be there at Grampa's for Christmas, there will be a tree, and lights, and the whole deal. And I'll skin my brother's dog if he does anything to it. (Okay, not really, but I really dislike that dog.)
I HAVE already started my Christmas knitting. However, since my knitting speed is set to Glacial, it will take me ages to finish the few projects I have going, and I won't be able to do half the ones I wanted to do in my head. The other night I worked on Tendrils and did 2/3 of a complete repeat. 8 rows total. At the end of it, my shoulders, arms and hands were throbbing. I didn't figure it out until the next morning, but those beads are heavy and they make a difference! I had grand plans of a repeat (one full cable twist) a night, but those plans are gone. This one will take me until the very end, I think, if I knit a few rows a night, alternating with other projects to give my hands a break. I have 7.5 repeats done, and I need somewhere between 25 and 30. Figuring for the most repeats and giving myself three weeks for dyeing, blocking and wrapping, that means I need to do four rows a day. That is completely doable, since I usually do a full repeat (12 rows) each weekend day. Yeah, this one is in the realm of possibility, even without killing myself.
I also cast on for double-knit socks after Kory Stamper's recent Knitty article on the subject. I overcame my mental block about doing proper short row toes (five tries for two toes, people) and put them all together. It's difficult to work with right now. I am not crazy about alternating each stitch, but someone mentioned in the comments on Kory's blog that she'd been taught to knit one round of sock A, slipping the B stitches, then switch. I found this very easy and convenient, except that I didn't remember to move the A yarn to the front when slipping the B stitches. I am fixing that stitch by stitch, but the nature of this dark yarn means I must do it in full daylight. These socks are a killer learning experience, and I am loving it completely. I may knit more this way, who knows?

And a meme, from Grumperina. Ten knitterly things you don't know about me:

1. I learned to knit about two years ago, by taking a class. I'd tried to teach myself from a book the way I did with crochet, but it didn't work out. After I learned to knit, I realized I HAD been doing it right from the book, but I'd been using size 10 needles on sport weight yarn, and it just didn't look like it was supposed to.
2. I will try anything (that I like the looks of) once. If I don't like it, I won't do it anymore, but how will I know if I don't try?
3. I don't understand why people say they are afraid to try a knitting technique. I am afraid of scorpions. Needles and yarn? Not so much.
4. Frogging frustrates me, but not too badly. I like knitting well enough that I'm generally happy to knit even if I've done the same bit before and screwed it up. (See five toes for two socks, above.)
5. I like acrylic yarns. There, I said it.
6. I also like ridiculously expensive hand dyed silks, qiviut, llama, etc. (Someday I will knit with qiviut, and someday I will knit with buffalo.)
7. Noro feels ungodly scratchy to me, to the point where I wonder why anyone would bother knitting with it.
8. I never hide craft purchases from my husband. I work my @ss off, I pay the bills, I put food on the table, and once he bought a boat without consulting me. He owes me.
9. I am afraid that, between my knitting and quilting stashes and that little obsession with buying cross-stitch kits on eBay, I may be close to the end of the boat excuse. He got a good deal, and I have a LOT of craft stash.
10. I am slowly amassing bits of roving stash. Someday soon I will learn to use a drop spindle.