Christmas Blitz 2012 Wrap-Up

Whew.  I did a hella ton of Christmas knitting this year.  Well, for the Queen of “I-Don’t-Knit-For-Christmas” anyway.  I know it’s way past the fact now, but I haven’t shared any of those FO’s with you before now and I figure it would be nice to see some pretty knit pictures here on the blog, not just shots of my cutie son and my not-so-cutie face.  Warning, this post is project heavy, but I’ll try to keep the details to a dull roar.

Every year my husband makes an agreement with his Dad that only the kids will receive gifts. And every year his Dad’s girlfriend still buys us stuff. Usually we don’t worry about it too much because we don’t see them until January or February anyway and then it’s not quite so awkward to receive without gifting in return. But this year we went to see them on December 22 and I wanted to be prepared. Currently we are also despairingly broke, so everyone got hand knits whether they wanted to or not.  My friend Troy has this great attitude about his handknits.  He figures that once they leave his hands he doesn’t need to be sentimentally attached to them anymore.  If someone doesn’t appreciate it, gives it away, lets the dog sleep on it, or puts it in the dryer, he doesn’t get hurt.  Once he gifts it he’s done with it emotionally.  This year I strove to do the same.  Because I used stash yarns that weren’t being used anyway, it didn’t really break my heart to think someone might toss this into the closet and forget about it.  Realistically, it was doing the same thing here and there was just the smallest chance that my hand knit would end up with someone who would truly wear and enjoy it, whether or not it was the original recipient.  That’s more of a chance than it would have hanging out here in one of my rubbermaid tubs.  And besides, I got the fun of knitting it.

Without further ado…..  Christmas Knitting Blitz 2012 Show And Tell begins!

The Boys (my Father-In-Law & Brother-In-Law) received simple, but not plain, hats in black.  I really didn’t know what each of them would wear and figured it would be best to play it safe.  I used black yarn that had been in my stash since dinosaurs roamed the earth: Valley Yarns Berkshire.  This is a nice all purpose sort of yarn, a bit like Brown Sheep Lamb’s Pride, but possibly softer.  I don’t know how it will wear because it is pretty fuzzy, but hopefully it will last a while even if it pills.  In retrospect, I wouldn’t choose a fuzzy yarn like this in the future for either of these patterns.  The design elements were sort of lost in that alpaca halo and would have been more crisp and well-defined with a plied yarn of some type I’m guessing.  Oh well.  Lesson learned, stash busted.  Moving on.

Berruti Hat

• Pattern: Berruti by Wendy Neal (Ravelry Link)
• Yarn: Valley Yarns Berkshire in Black
• Needle: Size 7 circ, worked with Magic Loop
• Comments: This is my second hat in this pattern and I still really like the way it looks, not to mention the fact that it’s a super quick knit without being stunningly boring.  I knit this on a size 7 to stay true to the pattern, but I think in the future when I use this yarn I wouldn’t use anything smaller than a size 8 needle.  It felt stiff and was a little hard to knit on needles that size.  Still like the finished product though & expect it will be warm.

Man Thing Hat

• Pattern: Man Thing by Justyna Lorkowska (Ravelry Link)
• Yarn: Valley Yarns Berkshire in Black
• Needle: Size 7 circ for ribbing, Size 8 circ for body, worked with Magic Loop
• Comments: Really liked this pattern and thought it made a very handsome hat.  Nice & stretchy, & perfect for the guys. The halo of the Berkshire didn’t swamp the design as much on this hat as it did on the Berruti, so pretty happy with how it turned out.

Another Stacked Eyelet Cowl

• Pattern: Stacked Eyelet Cowl by Ami Madison (Ravelry Link)
• Yarn: Rowan RYC Cashsoft DK in “Cream”
• Needle: Size 6 circ
• Comments: Second one of these for Christmas 2012.  I love this pattern and simply adore this yarn.  So sad they’ve discontinued it…. sniff sniff.  I was worried about this one because the upper edge was curling inside out before blocking, but luckily that curl blocked right out and it looked great afterwards.  Not as drapey as I would have liked, but still pretty in its own way.

Moko Moko Cowl

• Pattern: Moko-Moko Cowl by Olga Buraya-Kefelian (Ravelry Link)
• Yarn: Valley Yarns Stockbridge in “Deep Red”
• Needle: Size 7 needles
• Comments: I loved this pattern the moment I saw it. And when I realized I had enough stash to knit it, I bought it. Love the pattern & love the result – definitely making one for me eventually. This yarn is pretty nice & works well for this design I think. My only issue was that, despite having 327 yds of worsted yarn (the pattern calls for 330 yds) I was only able to knit 6 full repeats of the pattern. That means I was 2 repeats short! It still works as a cowl, but won’t drape over the shoulders like it shows in the pattern photos. Not sure if the yarn was mismarked, or what happened, but that was kind of a bummer.  I want one of these that’s a bit skinnier (and maybe longer) perhaps with some of the Bugga! I’ve been hoarding over the last couple years.

Deck The Balls

• Pattern: Deck The Balls by Kelly Jensen (Ravelry Link)
• Yarn: Assorted Sock Yarn Partials
• Needle: Size 2 needles, using Magic Loop
• Comments: So thrilled with how these turned out!  They were fairly quick, though owing to the slightly different weights of the fingering yarns I was using, I had to modify things a little to get the decreases at the top to fall in the right place.  But it really didn’t take long to rip back and finish again when I needed to do that.  I see a whole pile of these in my Christmas 2013 knitting future.  Fun!

Wow, that’s a lot of FOs to share!  And guess what’s totally nuts…..  I still have more to photograph and show you!  Not from Christmas, just from this year’s stash knitting so far.  It’s been kinda fun seeing what I can make with what I already have on hand.

What are you knitting this year so far?

 

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!  We hope you had a joyous holiday and are looking forward to a New Year filled with peace & love!

A little Christmas gift I thought I’d share with you…..

Tin Can Knits (Ravelry Designer link here) is gifting people with one free pattern from their collection until January 1st 2013.  Check out the details here!  I’ve been admiring their patterns for a little while now, so here’s the chance to tell all of you about it and get to try something new at the same time :)  The pattern I chose to download is Snowflake, so hopefully that will appear in 2013′s FO’s somewhere.  Thanks so very much Tin Can Knits, for sharing your lovely patterns with all of us!  And be sure to pass this on to your friends too for a little holiday/New Year goodness :)

Happy Knitting, Happy Holidays, Happy New Year, & much love,

Knittymuggins

 

Merry Chunkmas!

And Happy Winter Solstice too!

Today was always one of my Dad’s favorite days of the year.  Though the first official day of winter, my Dad made a point of focusing on the best part of this day, instead of the fact that there are several long months of cold ahead.  The Winter Solstice falls on the shortest day of the year and that means that from now on the days are getting longer.  Something special to hold onto when it seems like the dreary dark days of winter will never end.  I love that I have another occasion to remember my Dad and how special he was.  We always had Christmas together too, seeing as we were both complete and total Christmas freaks. I’ve been thinking about him now that it’s the holiday season and I miss him more than ever.

There’s been some intrawebs silence from me for a while because I have been on a freakishly frantic Christmas knitting blitz, the likes of which are rarely witnessed here at Chez Knittymuggins.  Many of you long time readers know that I don’t knit for Christmas.  After many failed attempts to engage my family members in the joy I feel gifting them handmade lovelies, I decided it wasn’t worth the trauma I was causing myself when my gifts were rejected.  But this year, with our budget in a state of crisis, I decided it was time to break out the needles.  I may not have cash, but I’ve got stash!

It actually started with preschool.  My son’s class has nine darling little kids in it (including Knittymunchkin) and I thought it would be sweet to gift them all something for Christmas.  Of course I decided this about 2 weeks before I had to have 9 things knit.  But such is the mania of Christmas knitting.  You figure you can rest on the 26th when all gifts have been delivered safely out of your hands.  I had originally planned to knit something for each of the mamas too, but that didn’t materialize when I realized it was about all I could do to knit for the kids & the teacher, and whatever else I had planned.  I chose the Monster Chunks pattern by Rebecca Danger & with a pile of brightly colored superwash wool gifted to me several years back by my sweet friend Kathy, I set to work.  What fun!  As I knit each little monster I tried to envision which child would like which combination best & each little creature took on its own personality.  I let Knittymunchkin pick out his favorite body (a red one) and then let him choose the color for the feet (purple).  I think he liked being involved in the creation process, though he was quite strenuously against gifting the rest to his preschool friends, saying “I no want to share with preschool friends!”  I used this opportunity to instruct him that Christmas is about giving & not getting, and then sneakily distributed these to his classmates in their cubbies so he wouldn’t have to deal with the sight of his little monsters being given away.  Counter productive?  Maybe.  But a meltdown was avoided and sometimes that matters just a little bit more.

Monster Chunks!

I also knit a little something for his sweet preschool teacher.  The Stacked Eyelet Cowl is probably one of the fastest gifts I’ve ever knit (in fact, I made another for gift giving this year, but more on that later).  I knit it with Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool which I’d bought at my LYS’ annual Stashbusting sale a couple years back.  It was my first time using this yarn and I really liked it, though I encountered at least 2 knots which never fails to disappoint me in a high end yarn.  I liked the yarn even more after blocking it, as it made the cowl drape quite nicely.  Interestingly, the silk in this doesn’t impart a sheen as I expected it would, it’s more tweedy like I imagine raw silk would be.  Also, I found it suprisingly itchy around my neck after a short amount of wear (but then again, my neck is a bit sensitive to wools).

Self Portrait!

Normally I have the unparalleled luxury of a personal photographer for my hand knits (thank you R. Darling!), so I have not perfected the blogger’s unique talent of photographing themselves successfully in a mirror.  As you can see, I need a lot more practice.  This is the result of at least 45 photos with closeups of my hair, my ear, or unrecognizable blue and red blobs.  Thank goodness for digital!

Hope your holiday knitting is going well too & your needles are ablaze with Christmas spirit!

 

iSpoiled

There was some major spoilage at Chez Knittymuggins for Christmas this year.  As in, my sweetest of sweet husbands bought me an iPad!  I was not expecting this and didn’t think I could possibly need one until I opened it up and started using it.  Call me deluded, but I somehow feel like this little hunk of metal is going to organize and simplify my life in about eleventy-billion ways.  And I barely even know how to turn it on yet.  I’ll keep you posted.
 
But despite all that material goodness, there was much love all around.  I mean, how could there NOT be, with this little face to embrace?
 

 
There is nothing like having a child in your home for Christmas.  It reminds you of all that is hopeful, joyful, pure and innocent.  I hope all your holidays were as wonderful as could be and wish each and every one of you the happiest of New Years!

 

Merry Christmas!

Our little family - November 2010

 
Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a joyful holiday season!  And best wishes to each of you for a happy and successful New Year too!
 
I’ll be hopefully returning to my less-than-regular blogging program sometime soon :)  But now that Knittymunchkin is mobile (!) finding time for anything other than chasing him around is proving to be something akin to milking a unicorn.  I hope that all of you have been well during this most longest of blog breaks, and I look forward to catching up with all of you very very soon!
 
Until then, Happy Holidays to you and your loved ones!
 

Totally gratuitous Knittymunchkin picture!

 

Dear Buddy….

Dear Buddy,

Is it Buddy?  Or is it Buddy The Elf?  Maybe I should just call you Mr. Elf and keep things formal.  I know that Santa is busy chillin’ in his speedo on the beaches of Rio right now, so I thought I’d better write you instead.  Granted, he sees me when I’m sleeping and he knows when I’m awake, but that’s probably kinda hard with all those hoochies in Rio letting it all hang out.  Anyway, I wanted to make sure that someone noticed I was a very very good girl this past week.  There was a huge clearance sale on Sundara Silk Sport yarn and I had 6 hanks of it in my shopping cart at one point but then had the presence of mind to remove them all from my shopping cart all on my own.  Yes, I know I dithered for a few hours and would most definitely have come back to purchase something if the site hadn’t closed down, but that’s really not the point is it?  The point is, I didn’t buy yarn.  And then over the weekend I was faced with two more opportunities to buy yarn.  I even had a hank or two in hand at the second shop I visited, but instead I used an old gift card to purchase one set of addi lace turbos that were on sale and ended up spending only a whopping $2.99 in total.  I mean, I think that’s pretty good isn’t it?  And I’m getting an early start.  Not like those other kids who only think about being good right after Thanksgiving. Not to toot my own horn or anything, but I hope my extra effort will be duly noted and brought to Santa’s attention.  I’d really love some yarn-related goodness under the tree on Christmas morning.  Thank you so much Mr. Elf!  I hope you are staying healthy sticking to the 4 main food groups – Candy, Candy Corn, Candy Canes, & Syrup – I know I am.  Say “hello” to Papa Elf, Arctic Puffin, & Mr. Narwhal for me too :)

Sincerely,

Knittymuggins

 

Farewell To Warms

29 weeks 3 days!

 
Hard to believe that Christmas is over already.  It went so quickly and I never felt I got the chance to really enjoy it.  Could be that my cold from hell is still getting me down (come on Booger King – you’ve been in there well over a week already, it’s time to clear out dammit), or that R. Darling had to work Christmas Eve so it felt like just any other day, or maybe I’m just feeling a teeny bit sad knowing that this is our very last Christmas with just the two of us and we really didn’t do much to make it seem special.  Or maybe it’s those pregnancy hormones (get a load of that belly up there!)?  Whatever the reason, I’m feeling a little bittersweet over this holiday.  So maybe I’ll stretch it out just a little bit longer, watch my favorite movies one more time and bake that Christmas cake I never got around to.  It’s still December for another few days….
 
This December also marks the end of another aspect of my knitting life that I’ve been working on nearly as long as I’ve been knitting.  Warm Woolies has officially shut its doors as of December 24, 2009 and will no longer be operating or receiving donations any longer.  As most of you know, I’ve  been contributing to Warm Woolies for quite some time now, and I truly believe in the great work that they do.  It’s been a pleasure to knit for them, knowing that one garment at a time, a whole army of knitters has been able to keep children here and abroad just a bit warmer each winter.  Though I understand that good things don’t always last, I am sad that this wonderful charity won’t be able to operate anymore.   Unfortunately, I didn’t make my goal this year of contributing to their 10 for 10 challenge (knit 10 items for children ages 10 and over) since morning sickness completely derailed my knitting efforts for close to 5 months, but on December 18 I did send off a final batch of 3 pairs of socks, 2 vests, 1 sweater (sized for approximately 6 years old), and 2 sweaters (sized 10 years old and up).  It felt good to mail off that last set of items, even if a little melancholic too, knowing that it’s the last time I’ll be doing it.  I wish all of the people from Warm Woolies the best of luck wherever they head after this endeavor!
 
And so, my final 2 projects for Warm Woolies (and probably for 2009):
 

Comfy Socks

 

• Pattern:  Comfy Socks from Knitscene (Ravelry link here, My Ravelry project link here)
• Yarn: Twilleys of Stamford Freedom 100% Wool; Color #408; 3 balls
• Needles:  Size 10.5 dpns

 
This pattern was super simple and instantly gratifying (super bulky wool + big needles = turbo knit).  I actually loved these so much I considered keeping them for myself, but that kinda defeats the purpose of charitable knitting ;)  Good thing I have more of this yarn left (thanks Troy!) so I could make myself a pair if I really felt like it.
 

July Mystery Sweater for Warm Woolies

 

• Pattern: Mystery Sweater KAL for the Warm Woolies (now Wool-Aid) group on Ravelry; for the pattern, you’ll have to look through the archives for the July Mystery Sweater at the group and collect all the “clues” (My Ravelry project link here)
• Yarn: KnitPicks Wool of the Andes Bulky; Color “Scuba” #I141; 6 hanks (?)
• Needles: Size 10.5 circular

 
This was such a wonderful pattern!  While I was knitting the neckline I was absolutely confused as to how what I was doing would produce something like the photos I’d seen, but it turned out beautifully.  I opted for the “easy” version of the sleeves as I was sort of down to the wire finishing this on time, but I still think they turned out nice looking.  I won the yarn for the sweater in a contest on the Warm Woolies Group back in July and knitted faithfully along with each clue up until about clue #4, at which time I started incubating a bun in my oven and was so sick I could hardly stand to look at yarn for the next 5 months.  But when I found out Warm Woolies would be closing up shop and wouldn’t be accepting items past December 24th this year, I knew I had to get on it to finish this.  Not only for the little one who will be kept warm in it, but also out of obligation to the pattern designer and her generous gift of yarn to me.
 
So farewell Warm Woolies!  I will certainly miss you.
 
As for Christmas, I’ll miss you too.  I dearly hope that each and every one of you had a wonderful holiday and got to celebrate each moment to its fullest!!
 
And now, I think I heard someone say cake?

 

Christmas Is Coming & It’s Time To Celebrate!

The Bellagio Casino Christmas Display in Vegas - December 2009

 
I love going to the Bellagio Hotel in Vegas whenever we visit.  They always have a seasonal or holiday display of some kind inside the lobby and I make sure I drag R. Darling there whenever I get the chance.  Last time we were there it was autumn and there were gorgeous displays of apples and pumpkins to put us in the harvest mood.  Imagine my excitement this time to realize that we would be there in time for the Christmas display!  Oh how I love Christmas and love all the decorations and good feelings involved.  It was quite the kick-off to our holidays to be able to stroll through the conservatory and catch a glimpse of polar bears made entirely of white carnations, reindeer made of pecans, and the biggest Christmas tree I’ve ever seen in my life (only because I’ve never been to Rockefeller!).  I just wanted to share with all of you who couldn’t be there and hope that your holidays are off to a great start too!
 
Besides Christmas, there’s something else I’m celebrating here at the bloggy.  This is my 300th post!  And I also missed commemorating my 3rd Bloggyversary in October.  I guess it’s all about the 3′s today :)  Because I have so much to celebrate and because it’s the season of giving, I’m going to have a little contest.  If you have a blog, leave a comment telling me how long you’ve been blogging, what you love most about it, and what you do to recuperate if you have a little bloggy slump (I could use the advice!).  If you’re not a blogger, tell me what you like about reading blogs and what keeps you coming back to the ones you like best.  Comment with your answer(s) by Midnight (PST) Friday night, December 18, 2009 and you will be entered to win a fabulous prize!  The prize?  I knew you’d ask, since it’s really all about the prize, isn’t it? :)  Ravelry has just announced a new pattern gifting feature and I can’t wait to try it out.  If you’re my winner, I will purchase a pattern of your choosing (up to $7) and gift it to you on Ravelry.  I’ll announce the winner on Saturday, December 19, 2009. Hooray for gifting!
 
I’m so looking forward to all your answers and thank you so very much for all your support over the last 3 years and 300 posts!  It really does mean so much to me and I’m so very grateful for each and every one of you.  Happy Holidays!

 

Warm Woolies 2008 Finale

So, the holidays are over.  I always get a post-holiday blueness the first few days after Christmas, so you’ll have to forgive me if there’s not much sparkling commentary on the bloggy today.  It’s not like there’s a huge holiday build up for me like there is when you’re a kid, but I still feel sorta sad when it’s all over.  Winter has only just begun and really, there’s not that much to look forward to.

Overall, we had a really nice holiday.  We had the first white Christmas since I can’t remember when, and though the roads were hard to navigate, we were still able to take Christmas dinner to my snowbound parents on Christmas Day.  On Christmas Eve we took time out to build a Snow Slug in our front yard (wish I could show you a pic but R. Darling has the camera out kayaking with him today so it will have to be another time), and snuggle together on the couch.  Hope all of you had a lovely holiday too!

Now that the year is winding down, and my stamina is too, I think it’s about time I recap my Warm Woolies goal of knitting 100 items this year.  It didn’t go so well.  I knit quite a lot of stuff, but didn’t make my goal.  I think perhaps I could have, if that was the only thing I knit all year long, but there were other responsibilities that needed attending to.  I know I shouldn’t feel guilty about that, but I do anyway.  If you look at my accomplishment in terms of grades, I’d only get a C.  I passed, but barely (this would be funnier if all of you were Jack Black fans like I am ;) .  But since I’m laying it all on the line here, these are the final stats for my year of Warm Woolies knitting:

* Knit 70 items total

* Knit 55 pairs of socks, 5 Hats, 5 Vests, 1 Cardigan Coat

* Completed sections of 3 Oddball Baby Blankies

* Seamed 1 Blanket of 36 squares

* 22 squares for the Knit a Square, Join a Swap Group on Ravelry.  However, I’m not counting these in my final total because it takes 36 squares to make one blankie and therefore, these do not count as one item :(

My 1st Seamed blanket for the Knit A Square, Join A Swap Group on Ravelry

Crocheted Cuteness: My last contribution to the Warm Woolies Baby Oddball Blankets Group On Ravelry

I met so many wonderful people this year working towards this goal, and among them was my blog-free pal Kathy, who sent me a ginormous box of yarn to use for WW projects.  What a generous and thoughtful gesture, and I’m so glad to have gotten to know you this year Kathy!  I promised that I would post a few pics of items I’ve made from the yarn Kathy sent, so here are the last 2 vests I’m mailing out this year.  The blue/grey/black one is made entirely from yarn she sent, and all the brown yarns in the second vest came from her stash as well.  Thank you again Kathy!

My knitty friend Troy, also contributed to my endeavor with 10 adorable hats that he knit for me to send to WW.  He tells me that I should count them in my total, as he knit them for me to do so, but it just doesn’t feel right since I didn’t knit them myself!  But I would love to claim them as Troy uses only the most beautiful fibers and gorgeous colors for his hats :)  Thanks so much for your generous gifty Troy!!  Here’s a pic (which just doesn’t do them justice):

With that, my Warm Woolies goal draws to a close for this year.  I’ll keep contributing in the years to come but I think I’ll try less to focus on a number for 2009, and more on the joy I experience in the projects I do.  It’s not supposed to be work, right?  It’s supposed to be fun and make me feel soft and fuzzy inside to be able to warm up cold little munchkins.

Thanks so very much to each and every one of you who has cheered me on during this year as I worked towards this goal!  It means so much to have all of your support and good wishes and I can’t thank you all enough for that :)  Hope your 2008 was joyful and that 2009 brings you all that you could wish for!

 

Let It Snow…..

Mr. Nelson isn’t sure about all this cold, white stuff

 

It’s been snowing steadily for over a week now, and the temperatures  haven’t been above freezing for at least as long.  Up here in the PNW we usually have a green Christmas and I can’t remember the last time we had this much snow that stuck around for this long.  There’s something peaceful about all of it though.  People seem to take life a little slower, being more content to stay at home than is usual.  To me, there’s something joyful about having snow before Christmas.  Holiday spirit seems easier to achieve somehow, now that it looks like Christmas does on all the cards we send each year.

This morning we rose at 5 AM, bundled up, and headed out to help deliver presents and food to local needy families via Project Santa Claus.  Though the cold was bitter, my heart felt warm to be able to do something for others who need it so much this time of year.  After we left one particular house, I could hear the squeals and giggles of excitment from the little ones echo across the snow before their door closed.  R. Darling looked at me and smiled and said, “Now that’s what it’s all about.”  I tried to choke out a “yeah” but instead burst into tears.  It just breaks my heart to think that these people have so little and there are so many times when I bellyache about doing without, when I really have nothing whatsoever to complain about. 

Because I can’t hardly say anymore right now without bursting into tears again (too late), I’ll leave you with a picture of my Christmas tree, requested by my pal over at Fond Of Snape:

 

Our 2008 Christmas tree

(and if you look real close, you’ll see a curious Nelson in the corner!)

 

Happy Holidays Bloggy Peeps!

 

Christmas Shopping & Friday Fill-In #102

Seen through the window at The Gap this morning in my local mall

 

This morning I knocked out a bit of my Christmas shopping while R. Darling was out testing a new kayak. It’s horribly dark and rainy outside, and I have no idea what could possibly be so interesting about sitting in a little tippy boat out there getting drenched. But that’s fanaticism for ya. And I seem to remember myself, freezing my ass off in my kayak last January on a snowy river anyway, so I guess I don’t have room to talk.

Anyhoo, back to the shopping. On a day like today, it’s good to be in a place where it’s warm and things smell good, even if everyone has to walk about 3 mph slower than you want to walk and obliviously amble along in front of you blocking every possible route around them. But what’s this? Much to my wondering eyes appeared a little yarny vision in the window of The Gap. My thoughts raced back to my stash busting plans for the upcoming year. This would be the ultimate scrap scarf! So, rather surreptitiously, fearing I might be hauled off for taking photos of proprietary fashion at the mall, I snapped a quick photo. What do you think? I loves it. Now, just to figure out how to make it! Oh and what is up with Abercrombie & Fitch anyway? I didn’t even go in there but for some reason I keep catching whiffs of myself and I smell like the prepster teenagers who shop there. Mall osmosis?  Yikes – what’s next?

 

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Friday Fill-In #102

(get yours here)

 

1. Friends, really true ones, are one in a million.

2. Good health; it’s so easy to take for granted.

3. I’m ready for a weekend without any running around to do (2010?).

4. Hillary Duff’s “With Love” is one of my favorite perfumes.

5. The oldest ornament I have is probably the ceramic Ernie I’ve had since I was about 4.

6. Take some cocoa & Bailey’s, mix it all together and you have one of the best holiday treats evah!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to decorating the Christmas tree with R. Darling, tomorrow my plans include sleeping in, and Sunday, I want to knit knit knit! 

 

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Happy Holidays Bloggy Peeps!!

 

Dashing

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  We had our very own holiday meal for just the two of us at home on Friday and it was totally relaxing and perfect.  Hope your weekend was too!

Remember that thing I said about not knitting any Christmas gifties this year (here)?  Well, I ended up breaking down and knitting one after all.  See, I think I found my Mom’s handknit achilles heel.  She’s a sucker for fingerless mitts all of a sudden.  Can’t seem to get enough of ‘em.  And now she wants Dad to have ‘em too.  I’m skeptical he’ll be down with the fingerless mitts (hates things on his hands and does NOT wear sweaters or knit items at all. Ever.) but I do think he could use a pair if he could just get over his initial doubt.  So, fingerless mitts for Dad, here we go! 

 

 

Pattern: Dashing by Cheryl Niamath (on Ravelry here)

Yarn: Plymouth Yarn Encore Worsted color #1444 (most of 1 skein)

Needles: Size 7 bamboo dpn’s & size 8 for BO

Mods: Just lenthened the portion above the thumb to 22 rnds instead of 18 for a little extra length

New Techniques: Nope.

Time Lapse:  October 24, 2008 - November 6, 2008

Comments:  Love this pattern!  But, naturally, hate this yarn.  As usual, I had to buy a mostly acrylic yarn so that Mom can wash these in the washing machine.  Yes, I know there are now washable wools, but there is no convincing my mother that they are soft enough against your skin.  She has a wool prejudice.  Whatever.  As long as these keep Dad’s hands warm and Mom can machine wash them, then they’re all happy and that’s what counts.  A super easy, super fast knit that looks nice.  Happy Christmas!

 

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Hope everyone had a great weekend!  And hope that all of your Christmas knitting (if you chose to do some) is going well :)