It's beginning to look alot like Christmas...

The socks for my Dad will probably end up being bed socks due to the abbreviated cuff. Or maybe he'll start a new trend of men's cuffed ankle socks. This was the amount of yarn leftover from each sock: Now I did use 3mm needles, and the hybrid heel does use a fair amount more yarn than a short row heel, but still! My dad has size 9 feet! What if I'd been knitting socks for The Gambler with his size 11 feet?!? The yarn is Stomp by (the now defunct)Needful Yarns. Other than the yardage, it was pretty good to knit with. I'm sure that if you used 3.75 mm needles, and were knitting socks for a women's size 8 foot you'd have no problems at all. Definitely a good buy if it's on clearance somewhere. I finished my Dad's socks just in time - the morning that we returned home from a short visit to Winnipeg (when it's -25C without counting windchill, a short visit is all I can stomach!). On the plane, I worked a bit more on the first Stick to Your Ribs sock: I'm quite happy with the Garter Rib - it's nice and stretchy, so I'm able to continue the sock up a bit past the point where my calf widens. I do like the look of it with this yarn. But there are still more gifts to knit - I picked up some Bamboo Alpaca blend yarn at the Royal Winter Fair this fall, and am knitting it into a cowl for my Non-evil Stepmother-in-law. The yarn is loosely spun - the label calls it "Lopi yarn", and it is wonderfully soft. The pattern is The Diagonal Ribbed Cowl. The yarn fuzzes up a bit, so I think it looks better this way than it would as a simple stockinette. After that is done, the only Christmas knitting I have is to finish the Cow-IL, and knit a shawlette for The Gambler's Nana with 3 bulky yarns held together and obscenely large needles. And I am on call from Friday morning through 'till Wednesday morning. Luckily we won't see Nana and the Non-evil Stepmother-in-law until the 26th!