Turns out I'm bad at November.

The idea, I think, was to plan to get something done, then do it.  But things keep coming up.  Also, I am easily distracted.  Instead of working on my sweater design, I have finished my pair of mittens, sewn a dress for myself (it doesn't fit right), made up a crap ton of invoices, begun figuring out about selling hard copies of my patterns, (gasp, pant), and, FINALLY, started a swatch for my sweater.  Sort of.  I mean, it's only two rows long, and I haven't started any of the stitch patterns I need to test.  Also, my husband's family will be staying with us for Thanksgiving, so I have to get ready for that.

So, short version: November seems to be kicking my butt, rather than the other way around.  Boo.

Mmm, lanolin

If you are a cloth diaper mama, you will probably have at least heard of lanolizing.  It is the process by which lanolin is reapplied to a knitted or crocheted item (having been washed off in the scouring stage, before the wool was even yarn).  It's usually done to wool diaper covers to improve their waterproof properties, and to keep them from getting stinky (the ammonia in urine reacts with the lanolin to make soap!).  But I must tell you, lanolin rich wool gear is not just for cloth diaper bottoms!  A lanolized hat will repel water.  Lanolized mittens will keep the snow out better.  Lanolin is, all around, great stuff!

So for those of you who don't know, here's the process:  First you put a small amount of HOT water into your basin (don't use your sink, the lanolin can clog up your pipes).  Mix in about an inch of lanolin, depending how many woolies you need to do.  You can find 100% lanolin with breastfeeding supplies at most stores.  Just get whatever's cheap - brand makes a difference to nursing moms, but for our purposes, as long as it's 100% it'll work fine.  Once the lanolin is melted into the water (this will take some stirring), mix in a bit of your favorite wool wash or baby shampoo.  Slowly add cool water until your water is just lukewarm.  Slowly submerge your finished item into the water.  As the water continues to cool, the lanolin will adhere to the wool (as well as the inside of the basin, frankly).  I usually let mine soak for about half an hour.  Squeeze out the excess water and dry flat as usual.  Ta-dah!  Lanolized, water resistant winter gear.

Design break

Due to poor planning on my part, I am taking a forced break from actively designing anything.  (Altho I do still have one pattern in testing.)  That is not necessarily a problem, because all of a sudden, it has gotten COLD.  Bitterly cold.  Mazillions of snow cold.  They don't plow our street cold.  Which, of course, means everybody needs warm woolies.  Only to have me realize that my kids are distinctly lacking in what I consider proper winter wear.  Which means that I had to turn these out in a day:

Of course, they turned out too big in spite of my best efforts, but hey, that just means they'll fit next year, too.  And then this hat out over a weekend:

 And this, my friends, is why I need a stash.  Stash wool has rescued my children from certain chilliness!

Socks!

Crochet socks!  This is hilarious but I, who has crocheted all manner of things, had not thought it possible to crochet socks.  It never occurred to me.  Well, maybe bed socks.  Slippers for sure.  But real honest to goodness fits in your shoe socks?  Seriously, go search Ravelry for crochet socks right now.  I can wait.

See?  So, here's my question, my blog minions - have you ever crocheted a sock?  Did you like them?  Did they fit in your shoes/boots?  (Because in all honesty, the reason I'm interested is I need boot socks.)  If not, I am going to try it.  The pattern I have selected is Origami Turkish Socks (because hey, if you're going out of your comfort zone, you may as well go ALL the way!).  I will tell you how it goes... but right now, I have samples to knit, as well as a very, very belated birthday gift for my brother to finish.  To finish on that note, learning to do magic loop on two at a time trigger mittens was a BAD idea.  When I finish them they will stand as a testament to the fact that I do actually like my brother.