Merry Christmas!

Guess what made their debut in the airport screening line on Thursday?

The finished (Seedless) Watermelon Socks are lovely, warm and, ahem...too big. At least, the second one is. It's loose around the picot edging. And the heels don't exactly match. And they don't have the little dyed seeds that the knitted-up samples in the store have.

But I still love them in all their seedless glory. Here are the specs:

The Pattern: Judy's toe-up socks (always handy, always useful) on 56 stitches

The Yarn: Hand-dyed by Robin from Yarns Unlimited in Bloomington, a birthday present from the first KnittinSis

The Modifications: Picot edge cuff from this wonderful tutorial and short-row heels by Wendy and Lucia

Time: Dec. 1 to Dec. 20 (only two days for the first sock, longer for the second...isn't that always the case?) I think this is the first pair since the Socks of Doom that I have started and finished both in the same month for my Sock-a-Month challenge.

The guy who sat down next to me while we were putting our shoes back on at the airport kept checking out my socks. That's about the only checking out I get nowadays, so I appreciated it.

Thank you to everyone who commented and told me to keep my head up about the house hunt. I really appreciate it. I know it will get better. And it's amazing what a little sleep and getting over a sinus infection will do for your outlook on life.

So Slim and I have made the journey up to the grandparents in Indiana for Christmas, but since he's napping before the unwrapping, I thought I would catch everyone up on our trip. The socks were welcome company on the plane. And Slim made friends while we were waiting to board. The picture is blurry because it's frankly difficult to catch a 19-month-old and an 18-month-old in stillness at the same time.

The trip was uneventful, though much singing and reading was done on the plane to keep Slim entertained. We've actually had time to relax up here because the family parties don't start until today. So there is knitting content to share.

ALERT THE MEDIA: We have a new knitter joining the fold! Besides the first KnittinSis, we have KnittySissy (we'll maybe let her pick a new nickname) practicing her first garter stitch last night while A Christmas Story played.

Isn't it even stitching? Don't we hate her because her first swatch looks so cute? I think she may have the gift. But I was having trouble showing her different ways to hold the yarn because I'm so used to the way I do it now. Does anyone have any online tutorial tips for how to hold yarn?

And I have to say that KnittinSis has completely come over to the dark side. Check out what she travels with for a one night stay:

The little blue bag on the left (I love it: Will Knit for Tattoos) carries clothes and overnight accessories and the other two (the grocery bag and the giganto Tilli Tomas) carry her overnight knitting stash. You know, just in case she runs out of projects to work on.

Maybe a guest blog from her is in order so she can describe what she's working on???

I am practicing project monogamy on this trip, and it's already killing me. However, great progress has been made on my Child's First Sock in the Shell Pattern from Knitting Vintage Socks. I'm through the first heel and I think the foot will go even faster.

Mom has made a request for the next pair of socks: Child's French Socks also from KVS. She wants blue, green or purple yarn, so I think that will be my purchase at our planned yarn crawl to KnittinSis's LYS on Wednesday. Also, I'm thinking of making Baby Dos a baby kimono and hat from Mason-Dixon Knitting, and they carry Dale of Norway Baby Ull.

I better wrap this up before Blogger decides to kick me and my prolific mouth off this thing. Here are two final photos and a moral: The kid always decides when he's finished with a popsicle. Always.

BEFORE:

AFTER: