See how I tried to make that exciting? I fear that it won’t work. I spent nine days knitting a sleeve, and now the sleeve is done, and it’s about as exciting as you would expect. It came out exactly the size I intended for it to come out. I am fond of it. That’s about all there is to say about that.
Here’s my pretty sleeve:
And here’s the sleeve with the cuff flipped up, so you can see the contrast color on the hem (which is called “chokecherry heather”):
The color in both pictures is fairly accurate, which is to say that sometimes the yarn looks brown, and sometimes it looks gray. It is both at once, which pleases me.
Next up: another sleeve. I know! It would be more interesting if I were going to knit, say, the back next, but I might need to order more yarn, and to figure out whether I do, I need to know exactly how much the sleeves are going to consume before I move on to the back.
Because I’m knitting the herringbone sweater on tiny metal needles, I have to make sure that I don’t spend too much time in any given day working on it. I grip the needles pretty hard when I knit, and with metal ones, this can make my right wrist hurt if I’m not careful. Thus, I have another project cooking on the side: I’ve started a Christmas stocking for my niece, Lucie. This is the same Christmas stocking that I knit last year for David –
– only it says “Lucie” on top. It’s knit flat from the top down, and I’ve managed to make it to the row just before the Santa heads begin.
I’m making this stocking for sentimental reasons. Almost everyone in my family has the same Christmas stocking, all of them knit by my grandma when we were younger — one for Mom, one for Dad, one for each of my brothers, one for me, a pair for my aunt and uncle, one for each of my cousins, and so on. I want all the newer additions to the family to have matching stockings of their own, so after I finish Lucie’s, I’m planning to do one for her mother, my sister-in-law Bethany, and then another for my other sister-in-law, Angelyn. I’m hoping that the three stockings will take me just about as long as the sweater, so that I’ll always have something to work on when my wrists need a break, and by the time Christmas rolls around, I’ll have a new sweater to wear and three gifts to distribute. Is that a plan or what?
Hmm, I hope that you don’t run out of yarn. The sleeve looks really nice. The plan of alternating between the sweater and the stockings sounds like a good one to me.
yay! ruth, you’re the best. i am so touched that you’d think to knit me a christmas stocking. btw, have i ever told you that i love the green birthday socks, wear them frequently, and receive compliments on them all the time? i’ve never before been complimented on my socks.
It’s a good plan
I love that you all have the same stockings and that you’re making them for the newer members of your family, what a wonderful tradition you’re carrying on.
I also love that contrasting hem and the subtle stripes on the Herringbone sweater. Beautiful!
What a beautiful sleeve it is
The stocking cracks me up! My husband, his brother, and his sister all have that same pattern of stocking. A relative (I can’t remember which at the moment) had knitted a personalized one for each of them when they were born. My husband is the youngest, and it seems that by the time she got around to knitting his, she had run out of the fuzzy yarn used for Santa’s beard/hair, so his is not fuzzy. Very cute!
Amber told me I’d find you here. This is some gorgeous work you have going on.
Those long Wisconsin winters are inspiring!
I was happily surprised to see this Christmas stocking on your website. My mother has the same Christmas stocking with her name which was made for her when she was a child. I have never seen another one like it so this was a fun surprise. I love your idea to make them for Christmas gifts. Are you willing to share the pattern?
Will you share the pattern for the Stocking or do you know how I can get it???…My children have these and now I want them for their spouses and the next generation….Thanks, Eloise in Annapolis
As children, my 2 brothers and sister received these stockings from a family friend. I grew up with a “store-bought” stocking and always teased my mother about my odd stocking. As a result of my annual prompting, she found this pattern, learned to knit, and made my matching stocking. Over the years, she knitted another 37 stockings for spouses, grandchildren, and great-children and special family friends. She was working on another four stockings when she passed away suddenly last December. Keeping with tradition, my daughter-in-law and I are going to learn to knit, and plan to make these stockings until the next generation takes over!
Wish us luck!!