You Better Watch Out, You Better Not Cry...

When I was a little kid, I took piano lessons.  There was a period of a few months where I knew about eight songs, and six of them were Christmas carols.  I vividly remember one day where my older sister Lauren had had enough. 

"If you play one more Christmas song, I'm going to call the police," she said.  "You're only allowed to play those songs at Christmas.  It is against the law to play Christmas music this time of year." 

It was June.  And, because I was (and still am) a little sister, I couldn't resist.

Jing-le Bells.  Jing-le Bells.

Then I was screeching from the piano after her, "Nooooo, don't call the cops!!!  I stopped!  I stopped!" as she walked to the kitchen telephone. 

Ah, good times. 

Why in the world would I reminisce about that particular story?  Why would I put it on the blog today? 

Well, let me tell you...knitters, crocheters, weavers, lend me your ears eyes.

Christmas is only 167 days away.

Hang on, hang on.  Do not smirk at me, you.  I see you raising your eyebrows, thinking I'm crazy.  Do you plan to knit presents for your loved ones this Christmas?  Hmmmmm?  Christmas is coming, yo.  Santa Claus is COMIN' TO TOWN.  It may be 167 days from now, but trust me, you're going to turn around a couple times, and suddenly, inexplicably, it will be December 20-something and you'll be scrambling through your stash, wondering where the time went.  I only know this because I do it to myself every year.

This person is obviously married to a knitter. 

                                                            
This is an excellent opportunity to beat the rush.  My friends, there is a fantastic Christmas In July Event going on this upcoming Saturday, July 14th, at Great Yarns in Raleigh.  At Great Yarns, the holiday fun will continue on even after the store has closed (O What Fun It Is To Play In A Yarn Shop After Closing!  Do you know that tune?)  Yarns Etc will have its own little Christmas In July fun the following Saturday, July 21st, during store hours. 



Yes please, I'd like a cookie. 



                                                     

There will be Christmas cookies, there will be Christmas music (and no cops), and there will be fantastic little kits of yarny loveliness.  Each kit will come with every single little thing you need to make a fantastic present for a loved one.  And the kits are excellently priced, starting at just $10.  With the combination of knowing what you're knitting someone, actually having it on hand (in a kit, for Pete's sakes), and having plenty of time to knit it in, someone is going to be looking pretty smart and be cool as a cucumber.  It's YOU I'm talking about!



Baby Polar Bear is going to be there.  He's got this. 

 In other yarny news, I'm working on two projects right now.  Neither have been festering in the UnFinished Object pile (UFOs for you muggles out there) and I'm enjoying them both immensely.  One is an Elizabeth Zimmermann sweater, knit from the bottom up, and I'm toying with just knitting three quarter length sleeves and also trying to figure out how to knit a V-neck.  Any ideas out there?  Are three quarter length sleeves on a sweater silly?  Any thoughts?

I'm knitting with good old trusty Cascade 220 in Chocolate Heather.  Yum.  I love this kind of knitting.  Round and round, knit and knit.  Fantastic TV knitting.   

My other project is a little more complicated.  This one is the Twenty Ten Cardigan by Veera Välimäki of Color Affection fame. 

This one is being knit in Cascade Yarns Eco + in a super inky black.  My camera is freaking out here--it's like trying to take a photo of a black hole.  It's slow going, moss stitch-y, asymmetrical goodness.  I hope I'm that cool, edgy knitter chick who will actually wear an asymmetrical button band.  I like to live on the edge...sort of.  

On another note, a fantastic, slighty controversial note, I have another Knitting In Public story to share with you.  I have to admit, I love love love all the attention us knitters have been getting lately.  From the Olympics to World Wide Knit In Public Week, we have been a rather sassy bunch lately.  But this lady really turned some heads last week.  She was knitting in public.  At Wimbledon.  That is just about 47 shades of awesome right there.  If you click on the link, you'll see what is sure to be a handknit shawl thrown about her shoulders, too (I wonder what the pattern was....).    The press tried to encourage the public to tell them who the knitter was, and no one has been able to identify her so far (from what I've heard).  I bet she got in her little car, drove off into the sunset, and still has no clue that everyone was foaming at the mouth about her knitting at the center line at Wimbledon.  Good for her!