MY MARINE'S FEET ARE SAFE AND WARM ... AND NOW THEY'RE COMIN' HOME!!!

Last October I did something that changed my life. I adopted a Marine through Soldier's Angels. If you can commit to writing a letter a week and sending a care package a month - I highly recommend it. If you cannot commit to this for 6 months to a year - go check out the site, there are plenty of one time giving opportunities. I was very lucky in that I received several letters back from my Marine and we exchanged e-mail on a regular basis. My proudest moment as my Marine's Angel was when he was promoted from Corporal to Sergeant and talked about applying for an officer's program! Today was a great day too. I received official word that he will be returning home sometime in late March or early April (dates are kept confidential for security reasons)
The first thing that I knit him was a wool helmet liner. It gets very cold in the desert, especially at night. It is a really great pattern and since it calls for Cascade 220, it's relatively inexpensive to knit. If you want to learn to knit socks this is a great lead up project - it uses many of the same skills, but on a larger, easy to manage scale. I'm sorry for the scary head - it was my old roommate's, and the only model I had available at the moment. There used to be two of them, starring down from on top of the kitchen cabinets!
For my Marines Christmas present I really did out knit myself! In Interweave Knits Special Holiday Gifts Issue, they had a spread of some of their favorite things. As soon as I saw it I new I needed the American Red Cross Knit Kit for One Pair of Serviceman’s Socks!

It arrived in this really cute tin, which I now us for my knitting notions.









The tin contained one 4 oz skein of yarn, plastic size 5 dpns, a plastic embroidery needle, and the sock pattern that the Red Cross distributed in 1940. I just loved the idea of turning the same heel, of the same sock, of many of kthe nitters who have come before me. I also loved the idea of my Marine receiving the exact same sock as all of the servicemen that came before him. There was only one problem with the kit, the yarn was way too thin for pattern. I had to knit with size 5's in order to get gauge, but it just seemed too flimsy. Unfortunately I did not make the decision to double up the yarn until I had already turned the heel of the first sock! I had to frog the entire thing! The other problem arose after I had finished the ribbing of the second sock. Even though that 4oz skein looked like 3 times too much yarn - it wasn't even enough to complete both socks with doubled yarn. I called the Red Cross store to see if they would sell me just yarn, but no, I had to buy another kit. (It really was almost worth it for the cool tin, the second one holds my sewing notions!)Anyway, I had asked my Marine for his foot measurement, and the finished product was worth all of the frogging - and most of the hair that I pulled out has grown back in!


Now, for them to go from socks to "Christmas Sockings!" In theory I wanted to put oranges in the toes. Typical WWII era stocking would have had an orange in the toe. I don't want to think about what actual oranges in the toes would have looked like by the time they got to Iraq! - My solution in the next post.

.... to be continued!