Knits 'n Stuff: December 2025

It may be the very last day of December, but it is STILL December. And this means it is the very last day of 2025. This past year has had good times and memories. It has also been a cluster-f**k of major proportions. To celebrate its end, I have procured a box, labelled 2025. I have been writing things on slips of paper, things I wish had not happened, that brought pain to me or the folks I love, and to the world in general. That box will be incinerated with prejudice tonight before I go to bed. Additionally, the front door and the old bathroom window will be opened for 5 very long and cold minutes to welcome 2026 and be sure that 2025 is well and truly gone. Does this all count if I do it before midnight?

Having gotten that off my chest, let us move on to an actual knitting post!

A while back I had a customer inquire about having an afghan knit from combings from her recently deceased dogs which had been combined and spun with sheep wool. Because she was a fan of Aran styles (one of my favourite styles) and loved the picture I showed her, I agreed to make it for the princely sum of $25 per skein. There were 12 full skeins of 125g and one smaller skein.

Back in September I cast on. The original pattern suggested making 5 panels, two with bobbles. Once I started a bobble panel, I realized I would be woefully short of wool. I rather grudgingly frogged the 4 skeins worth of knitting. I reworked the pattern to make it a bit more narrow, and to be knit in one piece.

And started again. The customer was hoping to have the blanket by Christmas. I did not promise, was knocked back by a month due to the restart, but was close.

To get this close to finishing, I had to devote myself to this project. Every night I was home, every day I was off work. My own sock knitting suffered tremendously. I still have three pair of children’s sock to finish … at least I have started the first of them.

Since this was not store wool, I had to work on a separate project there. We had received a beautiful superwash wool from Lang, and it definitely needed a sample.

This is the Multidirectional Scarf, worked in Infinity on a 5.0mm needle. I even worked the optional square ending! This wool is SO pretty and soft. I heartily recommend it for all kinds of uses!

At home I was still devoted to the afghan. I knit, and I knit, and I knit. Looked at the remains of the 12th full skein and realized it was time to be done. Top border completed. Maybe enough left to finish the bottom border? Yeah, no. and silly woman that I am, I didn’t start by doing the bottom border so I had to pick up all those stitches.

(And just like that, I have lost the formatting. Argh! Technology is a pain in my tush!). I am done! Not wanting this afghan to clog up the recently cleaned washing machine, I opted to take it outside and roll the blanket around in the freshly fallen snow. Doug’s comment was that least the dogs got one last romp in the snow!

Careful inspection of the blanket reveals that it is indeed combings from two different dogs. There was no way around it, and it was not visible until it got laid flat over the bathtub. In my knitting corner the variations were far less visible. Attributed to not great lighting, even.

The pattern is Aran-Stripe Afghan published in McCall’s Super-Book of Afghans, circa 1975 or thereabouts. I loved this publication and have made several projects from its pages. I loved it so much that it fell apart, as magazines are prone to doing. I loved it so much that I kept the magazine even tho it was falling apart. I loved that magazine so much that I found another copy on e-bay and purchased that one too! Some collections are just too precious to let go.

Any way, I am done. To my absolute surprise and joy, I won Yarn Chicken!