Holiday Knitting Pix and misc.

I'm finally getting around to posting pix of my holiday knitting and misc. I forgot to get a picture of Kim's Peekaboo Mittens, but here is everything else...

Socks for Mike. Double strand of Araucania Ranco...nice and thick, to keep his feet toasty warm when he goes ice fishing. (But with the whacky weather we've had recently, that might not happen for a long time, if at all this season! 65 in January? Weird...)



Here's Karen wearing her Fidget, and "Fidget Mitts" that I designed. I did the Fidget using Tahki Bunny Print. I had 2 balls in my stash, and used a little more than 1 for the Fidget, and decided that some fingerless gloves with a cuff using the same pattern and yarn would be pretty cool. I used gray Lamb's Pride for the main part of the gloves, and loved how they turned out.



Kim's Peekaboo Mittens were made from the same gray Lamb's Pride. I was supposed to knit Kaitlyn a pair of mittens too, but those didn't get done.

While Diane was here, we had quite a bit of fun. We spent a couple hours at Threadbear in Lansing after I picked her up from the airport the Saturday before Christmas. Mike had gifted us with a mini retreat, telling us to stay overnight in Lansing and have some "sister time". What a nice gesture that was! I didn't get any yarn at Threadbear, but I did get this lovely glass shawl pin, made by Moving Mud. Diane got one too, though hers is a little bigger.



After hanging out with Rob and Matt at Threadbear, we made a quick trip to Little Red Schoolhouse, where I got a few sheep themed items, then we had dinner at Los Tres Amigos in the same area. We spent the night at the Best Western down the road. It had a lodge theme, and we sat for a while in the log furniture in front of the fireplace in the lobby, knitting and chatting. Unfortunately I had no batteries in my camera at that point, cuz that would have made a nice photo to add right here!

We thought about using the hot tub and pool, but there were quite a few loud unruly children families there because it was winter break. We hid out in our room, chatting, reading, relaxing. In the morning we had breakfast at the hotel, packed up, went to Target and Macy's and then back to Threadbear for another quick visit. Diane wanted to show off the shawl she is knitting with the Targhee that I spun for her.

OMG THE SUN IS SHINING FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MANY DAYS OF GLOOM!

Sorry for the interruption but that was worth taking note of!

Anyway, the shawl is beautiful, and I was happy to see how nice my handspun looked and felt knit up. Of course, dolt that I am, I didn't get a picture of that either, cuz it would have been nice to add right here! (I really must start using my camera more!!!!)

After leaving Threadbear Sunday morning, we went to Andy and Karen's house to wait for Mom and Dad to arrive for the surprise. That really was fun.

On Wednesday, we tried to shop at 4 different yarn shops, but only one was open, being the day after Christmas and all. I have been wanting to get to Artisan Knitworks ever since it opened, and was happy that it finally happened when I was with Diane and Mom. Diane and I got the last 2 hanks of really great sock yarn from Autumn House Farm in PA. It is the Specs sock yarn, which is hand-dyed merino (sooooo soft) and has flecks of other colors spun in (and hanging out) I'm not sure how long the specs will hang onto the yarn when the socks are worn and washed, but it's fun knitting with them. Here are my socks in progress:



This photo shows the little specks better than the ribbing side:



So the rest of the week Diane and I spent knitting and just hanging out, which we get so little time to do. She and mom both loved the Fidget when they saw the one I did for Karen. Diane went shopping in my stash and found some Araucania Nature Wool Chunky and knit one up. Mom knit one too.

Anyway, before I knew it, it was time for Diane to go back home. I am so sad that we can't spend more time together like that. But I really appreciate the fact that she was here for Christmas. It was very special.

Speaking of special, I was definitely spoiled this year in the gift department. Here are my knitting/spinning related gifts.

12 oz. of gorgeous merino top from my friend Jane.



Jane always spoils me with fibery goodness. She also sent these two hanks of sock yarn. Aren't they purdy?



Mike got me this "Happy Pastime" Hummel. I have several knitting Hummels now, added to the collection of Hummels that Mike started buying me when we were first married.



And I had this Snowbabies "Hooked on Knitting" figurine on my wish list, and Mike came through with it for me. I also bought this for Diane as one of her gifts this year. It's so cute!



Mom and Dad gave me a Knitpicks gift certificate which I have already put to use and am waiting for my order.

Kim gave me the Debbie Bliss Teddy Bear book, and Kaitlyn gave me the Knitted Icons book (which is a real hoot!)I got Complete Feltmaking too. I love adding to my knitting library!

I also got several cute knitting-themed ornaments (including a few I bought for myself on ebay before the holidays)

And the icing on the cake....I got a Woolee Winder with not one, not two, but THREE bobbins, for my Joy wheel. I've tried it, and found there is a bit of a learning curve trying to get the tension just right, but once I get it, I'm going to really love it!

I am definitely going to do more spinning in 2008.

Happy New Year

The end of 2007 has been quite wonderful. I wanted so badly to write about my excitment before Christmas, knowing my sister Diane would be coming to spend the holiday with us, and that our parents didn't know about the surprise! But knowing Mom reads my blog, I had to keep things in check until the big reveal. We had such a wonderful time while she was here, and I miss her so much already!

Tonight we will have the last Christmas celebration (with hubby's side of the family) coupled with the New Year's Eve festivities. Mike's brother is up from FL for a week, so it will be nice to see him again.

We are having a Italian-themed dinner tonight...Stuffed Shells, Chicken Parmesan, Lasagna, Garlic Bread, etc. Lots of other appetizers, food, snacks and desserts will be loading the tables. There will be about 50 of us there, so it will be a great time as always.

We're expecting some snow this evening and overnight, so it's a good thing we've already planned on spending the night at BIL/SIL's house. Everyone will gather again in the morning for brunch and stick around to watch football and play poker, as has become tradition over the years.

I want to wish everyone a safe and joyous end to 2007, and here's to a wonderful, prosperous, healthy, fiber-filled new year!

(photos of holiday knitting will be posted very soon, now that all have been received...and photos of the knitting/spinning goodies I got for Christmas....there were LOTS and it was FUN!)

Oh the excitement is in the air!

Yesterday Kim turned 25 (HOW did THAT happen?) and tonight we celebrated her birthday. She chose Ruby Tuesday as the place to go for dinner. I haven't been there in about 15 years. I just got the soup and salad bar, but I was stuffed when I was done. That was THE BEST salad I've had in a very long time, maybe EVER. I love salad. Love love love it. I just hate making it! I wish I could have someone prepare me a salad just like that every single day of my life. That would be so awesome!

Afterwards we came back here for cake and ice cream (which I did not eat, I was too full of salad!) and presents. Then Kim, Jake and I played a game of Phase 10 dice while Drew fell asleep on the couch, and Mike was not long behind him. Kaitlyn went out with friends tonight.

I can feel the buzz building....Christmas is just around the corner, and I am getting excited. I can't wait to see how the kids enjoy their day. I think it's going to be a great Christmas.

The past few months have been much more comfortable and secure, with Mike's new job. I am so thankful for that feeling of peace, instead of the dread in the pit of my stomach.

I got a lot done today, and just have a few more things to take care of before the "big day". I will be so glad when Christmas is here, and we are enjoying the fun of the day. Then I can look back and say it was all worth it. But at this point, I am just plain exhausted. Which is why I'm heading to bed right now.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...............

ps...Christmas knitting is pretty much finished. In order to not make myself crazy with stress, I told Kaitlyn that her mittens would be late. Hopefully I will get them done before school starts again on Jan. 3. If not, shortly thereafter. I hope everyone loves their handknits that did get done!

Lots of knitting, no pix

Cuz, you know, it's Christmas time!

I've gotten a few things done (YAY!) One pair of mittens is yet to be knit (or designed) and hopefully will get started in the next few days. Silly me, added a Fidget to my list. That knit up fast though...one evening and it was done. I used some Tahki Bunny Print that was in my stash. It took a little more than one ball, and I'm thinking some wrist warmers done in the same stitch pattern/yarn for the cuffs and then some gray Lamb's Pride (ribbed) for the rest would be REALLY cute, so I'm working on designing those too. I have no idea who's going to get them, or why I thought it was a good idea to just add them to my knitting list. I still have so much to do and Christmas is HOW MANY days away? 12? TWELVE? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

The tree is up, the wreathes and candles are in all the windows. The garland is hung on the porch railings. That's where the decorating has stopped. I don't know how much more will happen at this point.

The shopping is going OK. I have to focus on getting the out of town gifts in the mail VERY SOON. This is always a problem for me, the eternal procrastinator.

Knitting continues. Christmas cards? Well, I have them....whether or not I (or someone) gets around to actually addressing and signing them I have no idea. Baking? I got as far as stocking up on eggs and butter and sugar and flour, but no baking has happened...yet. Will it? Who knows.

I'm trying really hard to convince myself that what gets done, gets done. What doesn't...well, it'll probably only be missed by me. I stress out so much some years, and don't enjoy the process much. Then when Christmas comes and goes, it is such a let down. "All that work and it's over already?" So I'm trying to tell myself not to "work" so hard to make things happen, and to let go of the things that don't get done.

Mike is working a lot more hours at his new job, and is usually worn out when he gets home. So the shopping is falling on my shoulders, as will most of everything else. He did help with the tree on Sunday and did put the garland and wreathes up by himself. So that was a big help. I need him to get some more boxes off the shelves in the garage so I can do at least a little bit more decorating around the house.

Off to knit some more.....

Finished this today

My SIL asked me to make a felted bag to give to her grand-daughter (my great-niece) for Christmas. This is Amanda's Squatty Sidekick pattern. I used Ella Rae Classic yarn. It took less than one skein to make this really cute little bag. It knit up really fast and I love the shape of it. I just need to find the perfect button for it.

Holiday knitting continues. Socks. Mittens. More mittens. A couple hats. Who knows what else I can fit in. I hope my knitter's elbow doesn't flare up!

Easy-Peasy Crowd Pleaser

I made these snowflakes today to take to a function at Jake's school. The moms all went totally nuts over them. I have to admit I walked past the cookie table several times to listen to their comments before I finally confessed to making them and told them how. (They really DO taste like Girl Scout "Thin Mint" cookies!)

Easy!

1 box Snowflake shaped Ritz Crackers
1 bag white chocolate Wilton Candy melts (14 oz or so)
Wilton peppermint oil to taste
Wilton edible glitter

Melt chocolate according to pkg. directions. Add peppermint oil to taste.
A little goes a long way!
Pour some into a small squatty container so that
the crackers can be dipped at least halfway.
Let drip a little and scrape back of coated cracker on the edge of the container.
Carefully place on waxed paper.
Do about 10 and then sprinkle with edible glitter.
If you sprinkle the glitter on while the chocolate is still really warm,
it will basically soak in. So let them cool a bit.
You want the glitter to stay on top so it's pretty!

Refill small container as needed, reheating chocolate if necessary.
1 bag of Candy Melts should do a whole box of crackers.

Let harden and arrange on holiday tray.

Stand back and collect the accolades!

Sending you....

Pay it Forward

Ideas blow around in blogland...some are knit-alongs, some are memes, and here is something that is going around right now that I would like to participate in, and I hope you do too!

Here are the rules:

I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I don’t know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days, that is my promise! The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.

I don't know what the handmade gifts will be yet, I am going to wait and see who my first three commenters are and then choose something appropriate to them ;-)

All I ask is that is you commit to the idea wholeheartedly and pay it forward on your own blog!

Make sure I have your email to get back in touch with you if you are one of the first 3 to join!

Let's have fun with this!

More socks!

Don't be fooled into thinking I knit these socks since Saturday when I posted the last completed pair. They were pretty much both in progress the whole time together. I actually started this pair first, for my sock class, then got the other pair going so they could be at different stages for the class, since all of my students seemed to be on completely different knitting schedules! It's hard to convince them to do their homework so they can all be ready to do the next step at the next class. That can be very frustrating.

I used Regia Multi Effekts for this pair. I had gotten this yarn at Mary Maxim's tent sale. I believe it was 2 summers ago, and I'm not sure this color is even still available. I used the "Stem" pattern from Charlene Schurch's More Sensational Knitted Socks book

I may have made these a little too long in the foot. I guess we'll see when I wear them. I like how they turned out though!

Today I went to the foot doctor. I have either a plantar wart or blocked sweat gland...he wasn't sure, but the treatment is the same so away we went. OWWWWW.
Anyway, the gals in the office AND the doctor were all smitten with my handknit socks (the ones in the post below). The doctor picked up the socks off the chair and was examining their construction, asking questions, etc. Kind of fun.

I have to go back next week, and possibly for more weekly treatments. I'll be sure to wear a different pair each week. :-)

I was really excited to be done with both of these pairs so that I could finally start a pair from Cat Bordhi's new book. But I'm thinking now that it's too close to Christmas, and I really should get going on a little holiday knitting.

BUT...I think I might have to do some swatching with this....



It's 100% silk from Colourmart. A whole cone for $16 including shipping, from UK! And it only took 5 days to get here. Pretty amazing.

Anyway, I am completely, insanely obsessed with the Hyrna Herborgar shawl, and I think it will be quite stunning in this silvery silk. The most beautiful one I've seen, and the one that had me clicking on her blog repeatedly for several days, is the one in the July 28th post of Beth's Knitting blog. That shawl is just stunning, and I must. make. it.

I have the book (Three-cornered and Long Shawls from Schoolhouse Press) on order through Threadbear, and hopefully I will get it soon. I've browsed through my friend's copy, and see that the charts are hand drawn, so I may use the Knit Visualizer software to create charts that are easier on the eyes.

Newest socks

This is the latest pair of socks I finished. I started them to use as my class demo recently. Online Supersocke 100 yarn from the Tropic collection. (I believe color #928, though it doesn't look exactly like the one on their poster, and I misplaced the ballband) I got this yarn at Knitter's Mercantile in Columbus when Kim and I went down for TNNA this summer.

I have another pair on the needles that will hopefully be done soon. I am really itching to start my next pair, which will be from Cat Bordhi's new book New Pathways for Sock Knitters. I want to make the pair that is on the right on the cover of the book...the one with the braid-y looking cables going up. Unfortunately this means buying sock yarn since I don't have an "almost solid" in my stash. I think I will use Ranco sock yarn from Araucania (since it's on sale at Labor of Love right now). There are some really pretty colors. I'm deciding between the last 3 on the color chart. I think I've eliminated the pink though, so it's the teal or the blue.

Got my invite!

So I'm officially on Ravelry now. My user name is BloominKnitiot (of course!) I've spent the better part of 2 days getting my profile and patterns pages set up, adding books to my Ravelry library, adding a few projects to my notebook. I've joined a few groups and read just a little bit on a couple of forums. It's an awesome resource...I can't wait to see how it evolves as more features are added.

Today should be the day!

I was really late in signing up for Ravelry, but I finally did, almost a month ago. At that time there were over 11,000 people ahead of me in line. This morning this is what I saw when I checked my status:

You signed up on October 9, 2007
You are #41619 on the list.
145 people are ahead of you in line.
11832 people are behind you in line.
76% of the list has been invited so far

Yeah! I'm about to be a Ravelry-er!

See you there! (I hope it I can be strong and not be sucked in for too many hours per day!!!)