I guess this isn't the year either

But I'm so close!!

Last year a pieced the Five Year Tree Skirt together (It's made in 4 pie pieces), so it was fairly functional for the first time ever.
This year I added the button band and actually BLOCKED IT!

You can't tell here, but it is actually a circle!

This was a great relief to me, because I was really worried that it would be a wonky cone shaped blob forever.  I used lots of very random yarns, very few of which are the same size or come to the same gauges.  This was also where I learned to do stranded colour work LOOSELY, and where I first messed up intarsia.  You can tell which quarter I made first by how bunchy it is.  I did cut some of the  lines behind and sewed them in on that one, but it's still a little bunchy.   And there are more than a few holes where I failed to twist the yarns properly at the edge of the flowers, BUT it did block into a fairly flat circle so that's awesome.

It's actually still drying.  I did this last night, and it was very big and heavy and I tried to get as much of the water out of it as possible, but it is super thick, so I have a feeling it's going to be drying until tonight.

Now the only thing left to do is attach the buttons (very doable) and knit on the lace border (maybe not).

You see, reality finally hit me last night as I contemplated our place in the Advent season.  Today is Gaudet (Joyful) Sunday, the third week of Advent.  Which means there are only two weeks until Christmas.  Luckily this year we have a full fourth week, but still, I have to finish up the other "finished" knitted gifts, make the non-knitted gifts, WRAP the gifts, clean my house, rectify our serious laundry situation, bake a little, AND I have a very active and needy toddler.  Two weeks is not enough time to do those things and finish the skirt.  Which is ok, there's always next year!

I was also hoping to make myself some Christmas socks.  This is how far I am.

Have I mentioned I hate knitting ribbing?
I especially hate it on DPNs.
I hate ribbing.

They will hopefully look like this sometime in the near future.

Green on top and red on the bottom.
And much less ribbing.

I am trying to be optimistic, but also... I don't really think I'll be wearing these on Christmas day.  Maybe New Years!  Or for the Epiphany!  We'll see.