Desperate Measures

It's 5pm on Christmas Eve. I'm finishing up my final knitting project/gift - a pair of felted mittens for my dad. I am loving this pattern, and I've used 75% stash yarn for all my gifts this year! I have about one inch on top and the thumb to go the last mitten, and I've run out of yarn! It was yarn from my stash, there isn't any, and even if the yarn shop was open, it's very doubtful they would have this lot number in stock (I bought it last year). What do I do??
The only solution? Rob Peter to pay Paul:


The thumb is done with a separate piece of yarn, so I carefully undid the thumb of mitten #1, and started knitting with that yarn. I'm very careful to only pull out as much as I need, so I don't undo the entire thumb. I finished the top of mitten #2, and picked up stitches for the thumb. I knit up so there are an equal number of rows on each thumb, then change to another color to finish each thumb. They look OK. I threw them in the washing machine, and 14 minutes later - nice warm, thick mittens for dad! I've got them speed drying on the boot dryer!

I'm getting there

Things are coming along with my handmade gifts. I got 2 pairs of mittens felted this morning (felted = intentionally shrunk so they're thick and warm, for you non-knitters). Now the house smells like wet sheep. I finished Karl's Christmas socks yesterday, then started the third pair of mittens. I didn't get very far on those, but there's still time. Today I'll start and hopefully finish a knitted coffee-cup sleeve, then go to town on those last mittens.

I'm on day 6 of a 7-day work marathon (2 different jobs), and I'm looking forward to tomorrow: it's a fun job, and I'll have a day off after it's done. I found my backbone and said "No" to working an extra day at the store and "No" to playing at the Xmas Eve church service (mostly because she called 6 days before she needed me - um, yeah, I might need time to learn the music?).

What's left to do before Christmas? Wrap gifts, bake cookies and bread, get a christmas tree (hopefully happening today while I'm at work) then decorate that tree, and probably a bunch more. THEN, I can relax, and it will be "Happy Birthday to Me"