Happy Holidays

Well, I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! We had a great time here. There have been lots of great gifts, wonderful food (yes, I indulged), and good times with the family.

The last two weeks have been busy, but not too stressful around here. I was good and started preparing gifts way in advance; I started the knitting in May and purchased most of the rest of the gifts on-line at the beginning of December. It made things a lot easier.

We celebrated Julius' 11th birthday with a few of his friends. Julius and Michael baked the cake themselves!



Julius was a little confused when he opened the first gift from Michael and I. We'd each bought him a video game - Metroid Prime III and Mario Galaxy for the wii. He informed us that we'd gotten the games for the wrong platform, but it would be okay since we could just go and exchange them. We, of course, acted surprised over our "error." But after he'd opened a few more gifts containing wii accessories...well, that set his friends out on a "treasure" hunt and one of them noticed a gift-wrapped box on the living room coffee table that hadn't been there when they arrived. Needless to say, mayhem ensued. All in all, a great birthday.

Considering all the different game systems we have around here, I originally didn't see any need for us to add another. However, I must say that the wii is lots of fun. Michael and I had a blast playing with it while Julius was out in CA celebrating the holidays with his mom.

I finished all of my holiday knitting! Unfortunately, I got sick right before the holidays and so I still have gifts to give out. But the ones for my co-workers were delivered on time and they received a good reception. I especially got a lot of compliments on the lace scarf for my boss; that was the one I was most worried about. I guess I can now say that I'm officially a lace knitter!

Here are the finished hats for my best friend's daughters:

I've already started a new lace scarf for myself with the yarn my friend brought back for me from her trip to Scotland. If I get a chance, I'll probably start my first fair isle project tomorrow. Michael got me Elizabeth Zimmerman's Knitting Workshop dvd and book. The first project is a fair isle hat and the second one is a nearly seamless yoke sweater. That's going to be my first sweater project. I'm also going to get back to knitting squares for my Learn-to-Knit Afghan by Barbara Walker. I also have plans for learning to knit mittens and socks, as well as getting back to learning to crochet. So lots of exciting new projects for me to delve into now that the holidays are over. Can't wait!

Snowbound

You would think that I would have learned to check the weather report at least daily in the winter, after all, I've lived in Ohio for quite a number of years. I apparently still haven't learned that lesson well enough. So, of course, I pushed off most of my errands to the weekend...only to find out last night that a winter storm was expected for most of the weekend. So last night's outing included a long stop at Kmart to get all the gift wrapping materials.

The weather forecasters were predicting the snow would start about noon today. Well, they were off, but not by much. I, believe it or not, was up and out of the house at 10:45 a.m. ON A SATURDAY! And the snow started just before I walked out the door. But I got the most important errands run before getting back at noon. Good thing too, as this was the scene from our balcony:
It's gray out with lots of the white stuff. It looks calm in our back alley, but the roads are all slushy and people don't seem to understand that you should NOT tailgate in this kind of weather! Visibility was poor and the roads were yucky...and we're going to get freezing rain tonight. But I made it home and I'm going to rest today and drink lots of hot tea. And knit of course. I'm just not a winter person at all.

I got the buttons sewn on to one of the hats for my best friend's daughters:

I had to look up how to sew a button on the internet. I was pretty good by the time I sewed on the last button! This is the Button Up Hat from Weekend Crafter: Knitting. The yarn is Lion Brand's Jiffy in violet and fuschia. The buttons look much better up close, they're a delicate lilac color with a raised, decorative pattern.

And I also finished this scarf:
I look horrible, but I think the scarf is pretty. The colors are more muted in rl and that's actually a gray, not blue yarn. It's the Diagonal Striped Scarf from Fig and Plum (knitting blog). The yarn is Knit Pick's Wool of the Andes Bulky in Pewter and Taupe. I would never have paired these together - Michael chose the colors - and he was right, they work well together. I've already had a few guys try to claim it as their own. Alas, it's for a co-worker. I used nice big needles to get a more relaxed fabric and I'm glad I did. I like the way it drapes and it only curls a little at the very ends. So I won't have to do much blocking on this one.

Now, it's time for me to go knit a little. Hope you're all safe and warm wherever you are today!

Cookies and scarves

Today was cookie baking day. Two friends came over and while the kids played, we baked. Unfortunately, we were not very organized which meant we ran short of butter before we got to the oatmeal chocolate chip bars. :( But we did make great spritz cookies and these sugar cookies filled with Andes mint chocolate:

There was lots of laughter, talking, screaming (this would be the kids chasing each other through the house), cookies, and Mudslides for the bakers. Everyone had a good time. I'm ready for a little rest.

I even managed to finish two more scarves for the holidays. This is the Diamond Lace Scarf from Kurrajong Handcrafts designed by Diane Mulholland. The yarn is Knit Picks' Gossamer in Sweet Pea.


Below is the Lacy V Scarf from Twin Willows Farm designed by Pegg Thomas. The yarn is Sensations Bellezza Collection Tesoro in Blue. It's a nice, 100% wool yarn that is sadly now discontinued.



I'm almost ready for the holidays. I just need to do cards...well, I might do cards this year. I have lots of cards...from all the years I bought cards and then woke one morning in February and realized that I'd never gotten around to sending any. I still need to sew buttons on two hats, finish the scarf currently on my needles, and then knit three more washcloths and another hat. And there's a few holiday gifts to buy once I figure out what I'm going to buy. But I think I'll make it...well, maybe not the cards...I'm not willing to promise those.

Meet the team!

What a lazy day! Wasn't feeling too well this morning, so I eventually went back to bed. The extra rest helped out a lot.

I did manage to get up, showered, and dressed for bowling. I was hoping for some good scores since I did so well last weekend. I had brought my average up from 118 to 119 last week. Our team had moved up a spot to 25th place. I did great in the first two games, but failed miserably in the third. I'm not even going to mention my score. Needless to say, my average dropped back down to 118. :( But all was not lost, as we still managed to win three points for the team. Oh, and here is the team...it's the Ruby Slippers (and yes, the team was named after me...and the fact that one of the team members is a huge Wizard of Oz fan) :

In front is Matt and Sarah, and Ron is in the back next to me. We're a fun bunch and we even win sometimes!

A Quiet Gray Day

It's been gray, rainy, and gloomy here today. We're all tired and sad; it's been a long week. We're just vegging out at home the rest of this weekend.

I'm exhausted from the charity event last night and my legs are completely worn out. The event was a success! I did pick up a few things in the silent auction including this beautiful Egyptian crystal necklace and bracelet set:

I did manage to be productive this week and finished (all except for the blocking) these two scarves:
On the left is the Zigzag Stripe Scarf (with slight modifications in the striping) from the book Scarf Style. The yarn is Knit Pick's Wool of the Andes in Chambray, Winter Night, Blue Bonnet, and Rain. On the right is the Scrunchable Scarf by Susan McConne. The yarn is Knit Pick's Wool of the Andes Bulky in Emerald.

I've already started two other holiday gifts. So I'm doing pretty good at this point.