Back in the swing of things.

I love knitting. I love taking a pair of sticks and some string and making something out of nothing. For the past 2 years or so, I've been knitting very regularly. Like, daily. But, for the past, oh, I dunno, 6 weeks or so, I've been distracted. So distracted that I actually went an entire month without knitting a single stitch. What could keep someone from partaking in a hobby which they love so dearly?
This can.



That's a picture of my baby, at about 9 weeks, which was 3 weeks ago. It's not the baby that's causing my lack of knitting, but the stress and worry that has accompanied this pregnancy thus far that has been the cause (but all is well!). And, ironically, stress and worry are the reasons I started knitting in the first place...

Anyway, I've had a hard time concentrating on anything for more than a few minutes at a time. Which may explain why S4, or the Super Secret Surprise Socks for Husband, were not finished in time for Christmas, although they were started in early November. I had the first sock done in just a few days, but the other one sat for nearly a month without being touched.
Notice he's wearing one lovely hand-knit sock, and one Hanes from Target. Well, at least he knew I was thinking about knitting him a pair, and it's the thought that counts, right?

Pattern: Globe Trotters

Yarn: Plymouth Sockotta

I did finish his second sock, just in case you were worried that he would have to continue to wear mismatched socks.

Speaking of Christmas, I got some great knitting related pressies.

First, Husband got me the Knitter's Book of Yarn. I've wanted this book for a while, and now that I have it, I'm not disappointed in the least bit. It's filled with so much great info on yarn, and even the projects are cute. Usually, there are only 1 or 2 things I would actually knit from a book, but this one has lots of things I can't wait to cast on.

Also, I got Malabrigo!!

I have to share this story, simply because I was so damn impressed (and so was Husband, who incidentally was not the Malabrigo gift giver).

This past Christmas, Husband and I participated in a Secret Santa exchange with some friends. Not one of these friends has a fiber-related hobby, by the way, so you can imagine how surprised I was to find that my gift was 2 skeins of my favorite yarn, and in my favorite color. But that's not the best part. The best part is the unlikely gift giver, a guy who has (I may be going out on a limb on this, but I seriously doubt it) never stepped foot into a yarn store. And what's more, his wife offered to swap names with him, so he would have the name of a friend that he knows quite a bit better than me, but he told her he'd keep my name. He had an idea of what to get me.

How on earth would he have any idea what to purchase a knitter from a store filled to the brim with lovely yarn? Why, he read my blog. The whole thing. And he took notes. Then he strode into the Knit Nook, list in hand, and purchased the most perfect gift for a knitter. Thank you Tom.