I know. I know. You all knew it too. I was completely setting myself up for failure.

But I looked at the time available, and time necessary, so therefor scaled back my Christmas knitting by 75%, even breaking the news to the family, that from here on out, there will only be Carla's hand stitched loveliness for birthdays and new baby arrivals.
So I set myself up for FOUR knit items. Just four. Two pirate hats, felted wool chain, and a pair of felted mittens. In my defense the one pirate hat, is not really a Christmas gift, but a birthday gift (note the "new rule" above) And the birthday pirate hat is actually already done. Second pirate hat is slow going.. I'm getting there, and it should be done at some point today. A felted wool chain in primary colored Lambs Pride, to replace the over 34 year old construction paper chain that I made for my Gram in Kindergarten, which has now completely disintegrated with age. But, but..the felted mittens? The assumed key to my success, which could be knit in one day, felted and embroidered the next? ARGH!

Really how is it, that two mittens, knit from the same skein of yarn, with the same effin' needles, and ON the same freakin' day, end up so different? They looked the same when I popped them in the washer at 11PM last night, however after EIGHT cycles, one is remarkably larger than the other. Ok, wait.. I put the larger mitten in the wash again, without the one that has felted appropriately, albeit stubbornly, and it appears to be shrinking. But at this rate, it will require another 8 wash cycles to come out right. Tally up that gas and water bill, and folks we may just have this year's most expensive Christmas gift. (*note that the wool in question is Bartlett's, is not superwash wool, and from here on out, my least favorite yarn EVER!)
So I hereby solemnly swear that..

a) I will not ever again, knit Christmas gifts. If I suggest otherwise, I give you permission to slap me silly. And b) I am here and now swearing off all wool for felting except for Paton's Classic, which will felt immediately with only a mere THREAT of being thrown in the washer. Its not only inexpensive at the point of purchase, but I now consider it eco-friendly since I'm not over contributing to global warming by attempting to shrink it!

So what else do I have to do today? Lets look at the list:

• Fold three loads of clean laundry currently residing on the couch.
• Catch up on neglected laundry in the hamper
• Pack for weekend trip to Mom's
• Finish Pirate Hat
• Do last few links on wool chain and felt it
• Embroider mittens (if that freaking second mitten decides to play along - if it doesn't I'm going to have to brave the shopping crowds tonight.. please refrain from trying to imagine the look on my face right now as I contemplate that - its not pleasant)
• Wrap presents before trip (this does not include Santa's stash in the upstairs walk in closet for which I have not had time at night to get to. There is nothing like waiting until the last minute and doing it on Christmas Eve at 2AM when I'm finally sure the kids are asleep!)
• Bake nutmeg sugar cookies (my favorite sugar cookie recipe - dough made and refrigerated)
• Bake chocolate chip pumpkin squares to take to Mom's. I was going to make a cheesecake, though I came to my senses when I compared clock and calendar.
• Bake Dog Bones for myriad of family dogs.
• Dishes, toy pick up patrol, clean catbox, wipe down bathrooms, dress, feed, and play with the two boys who are home all day long.

All this.. after staying up until 3:30AM, struggling with the mitten from hell! What am I doing still sitting here? Off to check the mitten, re-load the coffee maker, and get to it.

Around a year ago on this day..

• recovery? - 2004