First Day of Winter

I'm sure those of you in Boston are thinking, "If 3 degrees ain't winter, then what season is it?" However, even if the weather doesn't cooperate, winter officially begins today. What does that mean for those of us in San Diego? Well, considering it was over 80 degrees yesterday in parts of the County, not much. However, it does mean that I had a heck of a time getting decent photographs because the sun is so low in the sky, today being the shortest day of the year and all. So, be prepared, all of the pictures are bad.

Christmas progress:

Dad's scarf - blocking
Joe's bag - see sidebar
Brother's sock - not finished
Flower washcloth - ends weaved in and on its way to its destination
In-laws' gifts - currently en route to Chicago
Joe's hat - almost done
Feline Dim Sum - one almost done, another in progress (photos on Friday)

I think that's everything, not including projects that were done ages ago. Anyway, here are some photos of my dad's scarf. The first one is of it blocking. I actually took the photo diagonally across it, so it's not that it's wide at one end and skinny at the other. I was just trying to get the entire scarf in the picture.

Here is my attempt to get a close shot of the pattern, not terribly successfully.

Stats:

Pattern: Men's Cashmere Scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts

Yarn: Decadence from Knitpicks in Tan (1.5 skeins)

Overall, my review of the yarn is pretty good. It definitely feels soft to the touch, but it has a mild itchiness to it. It's not really enough to avoid it, but it's definitely NOT cashmere. The color is drab, but since this scarf is for my father, I think it will be good. I chose it to go with his navy blue Burberry raincoat. To me, the color looks like the beige that Burberry uses for its linings, so it should match fairly well.

Finally, I made a shopping trip to Knitting in La Jolla yesterday. I went up there to try and find more Debbie Bliss Soho in the colorway I'm using for Joe's hat. Bear in mind that I bought this yarn a year ago. I figured it was a long shot at best to find it, but my best bet was going to the shop where I originally bought it. Well, she still carries the yarn, but apparently in every colorway but this one. I started digging through the bin to see if there was one stuck in the back, but all of the yarn starting falling onto the floor, so I just asked Suzanne if she had any more. She didn't have any additional bags in her backstock (although she had entire bags of every other color!). Despondent, I began picking out a coordinating shade of Manos de Uruguay (the two yarns are very similar in weight and feel) when I figured I'd take one last shot. Way in the back was ONE more ball! I quickly grabbed it and ran to the register. As I was bending down to pick up something I'd knocked over near the register, I saw this:

As many of you know, a black sheep tape measure from Lantern Moon is very difficult to find because there's only one in every bag. Here he is posing in my Dickens village. Anyway, my trip to Knitting in LJ was VERY successful.

Must get back to knitting! Don't forget to vote for the Airisaig knitalong if you haven't done so already. The poll is in Monday's post.