Exhale! And "Bubble Gum Socks"

I hate to admit it, but something about the holiday season makes me grumpy. It all started the night before Thanksgiving when I found myself at the grocery store. The Salvation Army bell ringer was at his post outside the store and I rememered I had two one dollar bills and a few coins in my pocket. I crammed my cash in the red kettle, hoping it would cheer me up and get into the spirit of the season, while I thinking to myself, "Why on Earth am I so FREAKIN' GRUMPY?" I wrote it off as PMS, but this feeling has been haunting me for two weeks. Bah Humbug! It occurred to me yesterday that the last month has been filled with all the "have to dos" of the holiday season and I was not enjoying anything I was doing. Not cooking or baking or sewing or knitting. Nope, I wasn't enjoying any of it. They all felt like CHORES. Why even yesterday as I was driving to the park to take Sandy for walk, I had a list running through my head of all the things I needed to hurry home to accomplish. Even taking the dog for walk yesterday felt like a task to scratch off my list. Wrap Christmas gifts, make pillows, go to WalMart to get cleaning supplies, clean bathrooms with said cleaning supplies, do laundry, make lunch and dinner, address Christmas cards, walk dog, give dog a bath after getting muddy on said walk, and so on. I was even invited to a party last Friday but I just did not want to go... once again, it felt like an obligation and I was over it. So yesterday, when I was nearly in tears after the dog walk and the dog bath, I sat down on the couch with Sandy and I just knit and knit and listened to the TV.

The project was not to list and sell on Etsy, it was not a gift, there was no deadline. It was just a pair of socks. Just knitting. Just for fun. It was exactly what I needed. Sandy is a GREAT knitting companion by the way. I stopped to make lunch (a double recipe of chili) and I threw a roast in the Crock Pot for dinner. I still got the laundry and dishes done. The "have to dos" will be there for me tomorrow. Life is good! Ahhhhh. Here are my socks. Yarn from my mom. Thanks, Mom! Bernat Sox in a colorway called "Hot Tamale". Ummmm, what were they thinking? I am renaming this yarn "Bubble Gum" because it reminds me of bubble gum ice cream? Do you remember that ice cream? 

 

I used 3.00 mm needles for these socks (trying something new... ordinarly I use 2.75 mm needles) and I cast on 52 stitches per sock. This yarn, to me, seemed a little plumpy, hefty, squishy, so I thought the needle and stitch combination would work well. I think the leg portion is about 60 rounds after 10-12 rounds of ribbing. The foot portion is just 31 rounds after the heel gusset decreases. I think I have been knitting the foot portion a bit too long sometimes.

So there you have it: Bubble Gum Socks

Wishing you PEACE and JOY this Holiday Season!