FO: Socks and Oven Mitt



pomatomus socks (free knitty.com pattern by cookie a.)

The kids are finally back at school this week.  And I have to admit that this year I wasn't ready for them to go.  I miss them already.  They were in school up to the 23rd, so the holidays were quickly, and furiously upon us.  There was constant celebrating, eating, travelling, and present-opening for a week straight.  Then the new year. 

Then the quiet.  The reading.  The game-playing.  The sleeping in!  The lazy breakfasts.  The laughter.  The hugs and kisses.  The park visits and walks in the woods.  [The WI weather has been creepily mild, more like Thanksgiving than mid-winter.] 

And suddenly we became a family again.  I was Mom - not the morning John McEnroe-ish referee throwing backpacks, sack lunches and gym shoes across the living room.  My daughters were my sweet babies - not whining procrastinators who sprang from the earth to spill my coffee and draw on the checkbook.  My husband was my partner - not the blur moving out the door to catch the bus, nor an e-mail address I send mid-day planning e-mails to.

And I miss us - us as a family.  I am glad that we are going into this new year together - all of us holding these fantastic memories, collectively.  I hope that they can sustain us through the chaos that will unfold as these first weeks back descend.

My first two knitting projects of the new year are off the needles however.  I put the finishing touches on my pair of pomatomus socks.  And I am so happy with how they turned out.  The look like chain mail - like silver pillars of strength on my feet.

And my very own oven mitt (pattern here) came off the needles and was felted on New Year's Eve.  It took about 2 days to dry completely, so I didn't actually use it until after the new year.  I love this mitt, however.  It is very thick and works great with my style of baking and cooking.  I rarely go above 450 degrees F, and this mitt has worked great so far.  I did felt it quite a bit.  You'll see from the photo that it is considerably smaller than the standard mitts sold at stores, but I like that it is more fitted to my hand.  There's no bulk to get in the way.



out of the frying pan (oven mitt pattern by amy e. anderson)