Dogs'n socks

Weather like this calls for warm clothes. Hence, my urge to finish some of the winter items. Additional motivation came from nona's Peaceful Palms KAL. Not that I participated very actively and for the record: the five tipless finger's I knit after nona's brilliant instructions for gloves, respectively fingers on straight needles are still 'lost' - really, lost!
No further dwelling in failures for now. Iit's all about cherishing achievements - et voilà the Nordic mittens are finished.

Unfortunately, I am not able to track down the pattern anymore. I made a copy from a book years ago and couldn't possibly think of the need to have reference information handy for blogging purposes. How short-minded! This mysterios unreferenced copy got lost halfway through the second mitten anyway, so no luck there.
The same somehow applies to the yarn: It is just some (very) scratchy wool. I suspect it to be Peer Gynt from Sandnes Garn. I for my part had even problems knitting with it. Uch, scratchy! But the recipicient chose it himself in as far as I could see full awareness of the lacking softness. It did not soften up after gentle hand wash and because the complaint was that the mittens were a tiny bit too long (>1 cm) but not too wide, I was challenged by the recipicient 'to wash them smaller'. Well, challenge accepted: They took a joyride in the washing machine with spin cycle and everything. Out they came not only in perfect size and softer but also perfectly 'blocked'.
That's a finishing technique I could get used to!
(The picture is taken before - you don't think I through any handknitted stuff in the washing machine without documenting it before!)

Anybody remembering the Icelandic 'sweater' for dogs? (the latter should stand in inverted commas as well...)
I thought I had met a VIP dog when I came across 'Lappi' the other day. But then, at least six bus stops later, the same sweater made it's way through piles of snow - and apparently the same dog. Could it be? When I saw another coloured but same tiny-sized dog in the same fashionable wool coat the next day again, the penny dropped. So this was the most popular holiday knit over here! After getting used to the sight, I have to admit now that they look kind of cute on those mini-dogs.

Touching the subject dog already, it is probably more or less common knowledge that the Chinese year (going to start soon, 29 Jan) is the year of the dog. It appears that the current knitting year seems to continue(?) being the year of the sock. [Woohoo - this rhymes]

This will definitely be true over here. And elsewhere? Of course, there is no need to announce the next round the sock KAL/swap, Sockapaloooza hosted by the goddess of socks Alison from the blue blog. You all have heard about that one, isn't it?
Another sockalong I found (thanks to Amanda from clothesknit) is the Red Hot Socks (initiated by Becky from Knitting Interrupted), which combines fabulously two of my favourite 'things' (the colour red and ...socks!) How could I resist!?
I think, the (current) Jaywalkers almost fit the bill, but there are some more red socks in the pipeline already.

And then, there is of course the Jaywalker KAL, still running!

I'll leave you with some snowy pictures and the breaking news, that the spotless white, beautiful, airy, 40cm deep snow layer is about to dissolve in rain at the moment. Which creates a terrible mess of ugly mud all over and almost enables wild water rafting in some of the hilly parts on my daily trails. Not for long, though: it is going to freeze over later. That's NOT how I like winter. So, enjoy with me the snow as long as it lasts.