be true to your school

...or your parents' school, if that's who you happen to be knitting for. I hereby ruin a Christmas surprise:


Here's my latest acquisition, Illini sock yarn from Scout's Handpainted Swag! Sadly, the colors, which are the whole point of the photo (do you hear me, camera phone? I'm talking to you!) are distorted--the orange looks quite pink, but it's actually a true school-colors orange. The Illini colorway was originally created as a custom order for someone else. I saw it on Scout's blog and knew I had to get some and make socks for my dad, who (along with my much-less-enthusiastic mom, also a U of I alum) roots for the Fighting Illini. Even if he only wears them on game days, I know he'll like them. I can't wait to see how this puppy knits up. (I like to call things "puppies," don't you?) I think I'm going to break with my time-honored tradition and do a swatch. When I do, I'll post it here so that anyone who doubts Ms. Scout's amazing yarn-dyeing prowess will hang their heads in shame. It'll make you say "Oskee-WOW-wow!" (super-cheesy and obvious Illini-fan inside joke; yes, I'm ashamed of myself, and also reminded of the Continental).

ETA that today (now that it's past midnight) is my parents' 36th anniversary. They met at U of I. He took her out for pizza. She knit him a sweater. They managed to put up with my sisters and me. They still hold hands in public and won't let anyone sit between them at restaurants. Awwwwww.