*Creative Pun Filled Title About Presents*

So! Presents have been gifted and now I get to show them off!

First off are the socks I made for my grandma.

Pattern is Traveler's socks on Ravelry.

They were done in Sweet Georgia Worsted in color Mink.

You know, for hating cables so much, I actually didn't mind these too much.

Next up is the pillbug for Emmy!

He wasn't supposed to be felted, but I was in the mood for experimentation.

He's done in Wool of the Andes Worsted from KnitPicks, though I din't recall the colors off the top of my head.

I *nearly* ran out of the dark purple I used for the shell. I was DEFINITELY sweating on that one.

Also in the cute and cuddly category is the crab in a jar I did for Mom.

He was mostly improvised, especially as the original pattern had you using FRENCH FUGGIN KNOTS for the legs. And that is NOT in my wheelhouse.

He was made with the little bit of Rios I had leftover from my hat.

A hat for my grandpa was next, which if I'm honest, was pretty dang boring.

BUT! BUT! LOOK AT THIS COOL THING I MADE!

SEE IT?

IZ A LIL BLACK GOAT LABEL!

And on the back...

I used a scrap of leather and my wood burner. I'm pretty damn proud of myself.

And rounding out the presents for the year is this wee little scarf for my Hufflepuff husband's Christmas present: a little plush badger.

I *technically* have one other present, but I can't show it because it hasn't made it to the recipient yet. But you'll see it next month!

For now, though, I'm going to contemplate the like 80 different things I want to cast on right now before I inevitably end up doing another shawl.

Can I Get a Thicc-ness?

Last year's Great Trail was marked by John and I shivering our arses off, huddling together under a dozen blankets, trying to pool what little body we had between us. As I sat there, contemplating offing a buffalo and crawling inside its carcass (hey, it worked for Mr. Skywalker), I vowed that this year, I WOULD NOT BE COLD.

No, we're not going to discuss the fact that it is currently 85°F out and will only be steadily rising for the rest of the weekend, okay? Just... just... just look at the damn shawl!

Meet Squish Squash, my third completely original shawl pattern. And the second one that was designed, knit, and finished in less than a week.

I had 400 yards of a bulky weight cotton/wool mix that I wanted to use for this shawl. The plan was to use as much of it as possible without running out because there wasn't really a way to get any more. And, well.... I ran out.

So I had to improvise a solution. I grabbed two random balls of browinsh-grey worsted weight from the scrap basket as well as a ball of Eco Duo that I've had for years, held them together and prayed to Henry that it would work.

Happy to report that it worked beautifully. And I absolutely love it now. Wasn't too keen on it at first, but after seeing the finished thing, I adore it.

It also came out to be the perfect size. Just enough to wrap around without any bits dangling down into "catch on fire" territory.

I also really enjoyed doing the cables on this one. And I may actually be craving doing some more???

Who the hell even am I?!

Someone who's goddamn warm as feck right now, that's who.