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Well, it's done. The trees are down and packed away, as well as all the Christmas decorations. It took a full day and a half. The old outdoor lights that didn't work very well any more went into the trash and the garage finally got somewhat reorganized -- at least we can walk in there again. It's always kind of a sad thing to take the decorations down. The house always looks so plain afterwards, although definitely a lot neater. But I know that it will all come back again, probably sooner than I will be ready for it. I keep saying that I will start Christmas preparations early, and each year I am actually doing better at it.

I spent some time this afternoon working on the ribbed socks. As you can see, I'm working on the heel flap -- but it still seems to be going pretty slow on those tiny needles. The pattern calls for US 1's, but I always have to go down at least one full needle size to get gauge. And this despite knitting what I feel is rather tightly. I made my first pair of socks last summer. It was so cool to turn that heel! But they came out somewhat too loose for me, even though I made the woman's size. I probably could have made the children's size and it would have worked much better; I just seem to always knit loosely even though I concentrate on keeping the tension pretty firm. I bought a bunch of the Kroy yarn on sale with the intention of figuring out a good size for me, before I start using the really good sock yarn and making some of those really cool patterns that Sockbug and others have.

Just as an aside, I'm finding it very enlightening to read Yarnstorm these days; she is in the midst of difficulties with Cherry Tree Hill yarns. I looked at some CTH sock yarn in Tucson but didn't get it because it was a bit pricey for me at the time. Now I'm congratulating myself on not having gotten it.

Wendy had an interesting post about all the projects she knit last year, and how many have yet to be worn. I'm overwhelmingly impressed by how much she gets done, but also rather bothered by the thought of how many projects stay put away so that they won't get dirty. I don't think, in all the years I've knit, crocheted, embroidered, or quilted, that I ever kept anything put away so that it wouldn't get dirty. But I've also only made things that I would be comfortable using on a regular basis. I mean, I love the look of crocheted tablecloths, but I would be afraid to put all that time into one and then have something spilled on it and have it stained. Therefore I will probably never make one. (And yes, I do know about putting a plastic cloth over it.) But I have made many crocheted lace doilies and runners and you will find them out around the house. And I could certainly see making something just for the challenge of it, but then I would want it to have some usefulness after it was made. Most of the things I make I give away; maybe the recipient uses it or maybe they choose to keep it put away, but I know that I had the pleasure of making it for someone special. I guess that makes me a process knitter; I enjoy doing the process, and I can let go of the finished product with no strings tied to it.

Unfortunately, it's ten days into the new year and I have no finished project yet to show for it.