Life, Knitting and the Pursuit of Roller Coasters

So, I have a photo tonight. And I apologize in advance if my brother decides to read this and I “ruin Christmas” for him. But, this is too massive a project and had dominated so much of my week, that I have to show it off. So, Adam, you’ve been warned. And you should be used to it, I’ve been ruining the surprises at Christmas our whole lives.  I’ve always been a “peeker” when it comes to holidays and as a kid we would usually find an afternoon home alone to go scrounging through closets and get a preview.

Anyway, back to the massive time-dominating project that will only ruin my Christmas gift for my brother from me and not any of the other things he’ll be getting…
(even if he doesn’t read this, I think he already knows that I’m attempting these, the “surprise” will be if I actually pull it off and finish them in time).

My brother is about the furthest thing from a little guy around. He’s tall. Very very tall. And with his brand of tall, he also has tree trunks for feet. So, I’m knitting the largest pair of handknit socks ever. 80 stitches, on size 2 needles. And after two attempts that were larger, now I’m worried that they may be too narrow. This third attempt was cast on on Thanksgiving, so I’ve knit the better part of one sock in about a week. I still have about 5 inches to knit including the toe for the first sock to come off the needles. Fortunately, they’re a mindless knit in straight stockinette, so they’re actually going along reasonably fast. Still, massive socks. I’ll have to get some better photos once the first one is done to give a better scale representation but if it helps represent it any, the photo above it is sitting on and covering most of the armrest on my couch. The cuff fits around my bicep. Yup, I’m insane.