Friday, December 26, 2014

Knitting Socks and Holiday Happenings

As I'm writing this tonight, the house is so quiet.  After a fun filled two 1/2 days of festivities, everyone has gone back to their places and it's just me and Lilly tonight (rest of the family went to the movies).  My Christmas trees are still up.  Usually I take them down the day after Christmas but this year I think I will let them stay until the new year and enjoy them a bit longer.  They've been up since Thanksgiving weekend!

We had a very nice Christmas.  In our family, the main festivities begin on Christmas eve and continue through Christmas day.  This year we attended Christmas eve church services for the first time in five years!  I grew up going to church but my family never attended on Christmas.  My husband and I started a new tradition years ago and that was to attend Christmas eve services.  I remember one year it had been so cold with snow coming down all day and the wind  blowing.  My parents always celebrated with us and we had eaten our dinner and opened our gifts.  We didn't make it to service that evening.  Until, my daughter and I decided to go to the 11:00 PM candlelight service.  I remember driving in the snow in our small town in Eastern Washington.  The fresh snow under the tires made such a lovely sound and it was so quiet outside with the new snowfall.  We had a big sedan car back then and it did very well in the snow.  The service was beautiful that evening with the moonlight coming through the stained glass windows of the church.  It's a Christmas eve that I'll always remember.

Now, that I live in sunny, warm, southern California, we don't have snow but we do have lighted palm trees!  But, I am thankful that we are together here as a family and can celebrate together too.  It really warmed my heart to attend my daughter and son-in-law's church on Christmas eve.  It was a beautiful, traditional service, like we used to have in the Lutheran Church.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not here to preach my religion, but it is a big part of who I am and since moving to California, I haven't really found a church family like the one I left back in Washington.   Maybe it's because I'm an empty nester or because I live in such a large metropolitan area.  It's different but that's OK.

Speaking of church, each year there are a couple of churches that host a huge New Year's party.  My husband and I have been going the last six years.  One is held at one of the local Orthodox parishes and the other is at a local Catholic parish.  Both of these churches are comprised of  Middle Eastern parishioners so the party comes complete with mezze, (appetizers), main course, dessert, beverages and live Middle Eastern music!  It should be a fun filled evening.

I've been so focused on getting my Christmas schedule in order that I haven't had much time for my knitting or crocheting.  I'm working on a fun crochet project that I will share that with you at a later date.  In the meantime, here is a picture of the socks I'm almost done knitting:

They are for my daughter.  She brought me the yarn and it was Red Heart worsted weight!  Not sock yarn but never fear...I looked online and found a simple quick  pattern * for socks using worsted weight yarn.  I'm not sure how they will wear but we will see....*note...I cast on 40 stitches instead of 44 stitches and it seems to be perfect measurement wise....

 I came across a new blog the other day entitled Winwick Mum .  She mentioned in her blog post about knitting socks and giving them in person to the one she made them for.  I so agree with her.  Socks can be time consuming but they are truly a work of art when made with the finest sock yarn and a beautiful pattern to match.  I love knitting socks but I must admit, that I haven't knitted any for about two years now.

My daughter had brought me some beautiful sock yarn from Germany.  I found a pattern I liked and started knitting.  This one sock went on a couple of vacations with me and even crossed the ocean one or two times.  I finally finished one sock.... only to try it on and see that the pattern had caused the tension with the yarn to be extremely tight and nonwearable.  Now, that one lonely sock sits upstairs in my craft closet all alone.  I need to get motivated again and start a new pair with a different pattern.


Here's a close-up of the herringbone pattern.....

The pattern for these socks was originally published in Interweave Knits, Winter 2008 under the title "Herringbone Rib Socks".  I'm afraid the pattern to me was a pain in the neck since you knit a stitch and then place the stitch back on the left hand needle to pass a stitch over it; thus the herringbone design is made.....

I'm afraid I've rambled on and on tonight.  If you don't hear from me again before the new year, I wish you all a Happy New Year and all the best for 2015.  And, more importantly, thank you so much for visiting Lilly My Cat and also for signing up to follow this blog.

with my best wishes for the New Year,
Pat






18 comments:

  1. Hi, Pat. Thanks for visiting and taking the time to comment on my post with the pine cone cheese ball! I'm glad to stop by and visit you, and I'm so impressed with your knitting. I know nothing about knitting, and can't imagine creating anything as perfect as you have! I hope you'll let me know if you make the pine cone cheese ball for New Year's! I wish you the best in 2015! ~Zuni

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    1. Hi Zuni, thank you so much for visiting my blog and your kind words. My best wishes to you for the New Year!

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  2. Hello Pat, I loved reading your sweet post. We begin our Christmas celebrations on Christmas eve too but this year it was the group was a little snaller. Thank you for stopping by my blog and leaving me your kind words. Your knitting skills are very impressive. Those socks are perfect.

    Wishing you and your family a blessed 2015.

    Janet

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    1. Hi Janet, it's so nice to hear from you. I think my family's Christmas eve celebrations come from my Danish grandparents custom. And, we've just kept it going. I wish you and your family a very Happy New Year too :)

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  3. they look lovely! well done and look forward to the finished piccy :)

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    1. Thank you so much. I love to knit socks and see how they come together. I wish you a Happy New Year!

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  4. Hello Pat, thank you very much for the mention - and also for showing us your beautiful socks! Your daughter's socks look very cosy; I use 6ply (equivalent to UK double knitting and similar to your worsted yarn) to make boot socks and always have toasty toes! It's a shame your herringbone pattern came out so small as it's lovely. I've had to frog a few pairs for that reason but I've decided that it's all part of the enjoyment of knitting socks so I try not to get too frustrated by it. Hope you have a wonderful New Year and I'll look forward to reading more on your blog next year! xx

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    1. Many thanks for your kind words. I will look for 6 ply yarn as I order my yarn from three different online yarn stores in the UK. I will say that these socks knitted up very fast so it was fun to make such a simple pattern. I wish you too a blessed New Year:)

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  5. Hi Pat, your Christmas sounds wonderful, I too was able to visit with family this year, it was nice to see my great grandson, if only for a day.

    You are very talented to knit socks they are great!!! Lil is a wonderful cat, w have 2 that keep us in stitches.

    Thanks for sharing on Friday Feature this week. I am now following you on BL.

    Happy New Year!!!
    Karren

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    1. Hi Karren, thank you so much for your kind words. Christmas time is a wonderful time to be with our loved ones. I only have one grandchild and he is so much fun. I wish you and your family a very Happy New Year, too.

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  6. It's so nice to hear from you Karren. Thank you for your kind words. When the family leaves after the holidays, our Lilly will continue to keep us company. Cats are such warm, funny little animals. I wish you and your family a blessed New Year.

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  7. Sounds like you had a wonderful Christmas. I love reading how people from different countries celebrate Christmas.

    Your daughters sock is lovely. Shame it's too small. Have you thought about unravelling it then knitting it again using larger needles.

    I wish you a very happy and peaceful New Year xx

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    1. Hello from cold, sunny, California. That's a great idea to use larger needles to knit my socks. I will have to give that a try. I hope you have a Happy New Year, too and I wish you all the best for 2015.

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  8. There's nothing nicer than hand knitted socks. I love yours especially the green and brown ones. Thanks also for stopping by my blog and leaving a comment. I wanted to reply to your email but you must have google + because you are no-reply.

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    1. Hi Maria, so good to hear from you. I don't know what happened to my comment and I am not so computer savvy. I wish you a very Happy New Year and all the best for the upcoming year. Thanks for stopping by.

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  9. Hi Pat - so nice to 'meet' you and know that you are from my area! My daughter worked in Gig Harbor for the last couple of years - it is a beautiful place - about an hour or so from here. I am amazed at your beautiful knitted socks - so much patience! I don't knit, but I crochet and there are patterns for crocheted socks but I have not attempted them yet. I know it is difficult to adapt to new places and traditions living in a new area, but it sounds like you are joining in and making new memories. Thank you so much for your sweet comment - I am a new follower and will put you on my blog roll. xo Karen

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    1. Hello Karen, thanks so much for stopping by my blog. I appreciate your kind words. I crochet too but I haven't tried to crochet socks. I saw a tutorial on them awhile back and I think they would be fun to make. My family loves the warm year round weather here in California and it's a joy to be near our one and only grandchild so life is good to us. But, Washington will always be my home. I hope you have a Happy New Year and I look forward to chatting via our blogs. My best to you and thanks again :)

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  10. I still occasionally make worsted wt socks for my son and his wife....who both sleep in them! I usually make mine from a wool/acrylic blend and they do eventually pill and look nasty.....but I KNOW they are thrown in the washing machine and worn HARD. Just reason, then, to make more!!!! I'm sure those red hearts are going to wear like iron! :)

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