Christmas

Santa is showing off the finish Auction scarf. I love how this turned out. BunkyBobo's merino sock yarn.

Red and Green Center Squares. One for MB and one for me. BunkyBobo's Worsted, Pattern from knitty.
There are more of these hats but I sent them off before pictures. Maybe I will get pics after the holiday.

As for the rest of the holiday gifts I have added one hat to the list but I will make it no problem. I love that feeling. I wonder how long before I decide to add something else?

Somebody stop me!

So remember the Center Square hats from the last post. So I am almost done with #9 with at least 1 maybe 2 more to go! The good news is that all gifts to be shipped will then be finished. Teacher gifts are done, auction scarf is done, and Grandma new hat is all done. Grandma is getting a Malabrigo hat. I'll show you when its blocked. Then the only Holiday knitting left is whatever I choose to make for Hubby and the kids. Hubby is going to get a new hat. After 2 years of wearing his We call 'em Pirates hat his boss told him he couldn't wear it to work because of the skulls. He loves it because it is thick and lined. I have some DK weight wool in stash. I just need to find/create a chart for it.

Still looking for a job

More gifts done!

2 Matching Center Square hats for my Brothers 2 boys. The yarn is Cascade 220 and Patons Classic Wool. After a soak in the wool wash they are soft and warm. I have also knit this pattern for my Brother and Sil in different colors. I love this pattern. Super easy. Great hat.

The Birthday Cowl. Yarn is BunkyBobo's Worsted wool, left over from the gold shawl. For Grandma S.

There is more to come...

More Knitting

Top photo is the Christmas Auction Scarf. I love the graphic stripes. I dyed the yarn, 2 ply superwash merino. I really want to keep this one but I promised so off the the school auction it goes.

The other pic is 2 little felted monsters. I have these 2 bodies stashed in my knits o shame box. Some buttons for eyes and a little bit of felted yarn for the hair. The kids love them. Bobo runs around with his all day. I need to take some more pictures. I have 8 fo's sitting here to show you. I have knit 4 hats and 4 cowls in the last week or so. I am very close to finishing the gift knitting.

GAL will be here for Thanksgiving! I can't wait to see her! I have a box of BunkyBobos yarn here for her. Can't wait to see what she has planned for it.

btw I can hear Bunky reading The Lorax to MB. Very cute.

For Teacher

This came out so well I want to keep it for myself. The purple yarn is Frog Tree baby alpaca sport. The Grey is a dark grey alpaca I got at the Estes Wool Market 2 summers ago. Just 1 row stripes in the same triangle shape I have been knitting all year. It is soft and cozy. Bunky asked me to give it to her teacher for Christmas so off it goes. I do have enough grey left to knit another. I have a few other gifts done and a few to go. I really need to finish the scarf for the school auction and the Log Cabin Blanket before anything else.

A Very Merry

Bunky got her Easy bake Oven. She is very happy.
Monkey Boy got his Gorilla Island. It took Mommy 45 minuets to get it out to the box.

A little alpaca for my tree. I love him.

Before the unwrapping.

It is turning into a very Merry Christmas here indeed. I wish all of you and all of yours a Very Merry Christmas!

A Very Merry Indeed

The kids are happily playing with the Wii and other new toys. MG is the champ of Wii bowling, MB is reading his new Degio books.

Me? I started a new pair of socks.

The Yarn is Socks That Rock Heavy weight in Metamorphic.

The pattern is Thuja from Knitty. These should be nice and warm.

Here is the current state of the Cobblestone:

Very close to done. He should have it for Valentine's Day.

I have yet to get pictures of the many knitted gifts the MK's got this year cuz they will not stand still. When I get them to calm down we will get some pictures.

I am off to see if I can get my wheel to spin something.

The 24th Day

Have you ever used Santa Tracker? NORAD puts it up every year. It works with Goggle maps and is really cool. My kids love to see where Santa has been and where he is going next. It gives info on different places he has been. This morning we learned all about what Russian kids do for Christmas. There is also a bunch of fun games and stuff on the website. Check it out the kiddos will love it.

In other news I got no knitting time this weekend so the Cobblestone is not done. I am so close.

Last night as I wrapped the gifts Hubby made fudge. Yummy! Alton Brown never steers us wrong! No the trick is to not eat all the fudge in one go!

The 23rd Day

The Christmas cards from family and friends have been arriving for about a week now. I love reading the letters and catching up on what everyone is doing. I suck at getting cards out. I still have the box I bought last year and in the box I found cards I wrote last year and never sent. Who knows why. Up until this year Christmas was my busy season, with dozens of events and things to set up for clients. This year I have no excuse. I had the time to do them I just spent that time doing other things. Things like playing in the snow with the MK's and baking cookies.
So sorry to friends and family who did not get cards from us this year. I really do care about you I just did not get the cards done, Maybe next year.

only 3 more inches of yoke and I can bind off the Cobblestone! It will be good to have this project done.

The 20th day

The Red Kettle. My kids love the bell ringers at Christmas. I try to have a few coins on hand for the kids to give. This year MG really understands that the money goes to help other people. She is very cute about it. She will tell her brother he has to put his dime in the pot because it is nice to help others. What a great kid. 7 years old and she gets what Christmas is all about, Peace on earth and good will to men. I love that kid.

There is a bell ringer at our local supermarket who is always singing. When you put $$ in his pot he sings his thanks. MB calls him That Singing Guy. He loves to put his coins in and do a little dance with Singing Guy.
With the changes I've made this year I don't have as much to give as I would like, But I can always find pennies for my kids to put in the red kettle. When I think about all the red kettles out there and children putting their pennies in I know my little family has done some good. And I could not be more proud of my kids for knowing it too.

A Note from the FMC

Dear Santa,

I have been such a good dog this year, I really think I deserve some treats. I mean have you met the kids I live with? Boy are they loud. The little one climbs on me and the big one makes me go where ever she goes. But I love them and they are good pals for me. I help Mom too! I lay on her feet to keep them warm and I leave piles of warm fur all over the place. I am loyal and friendly and cute! Please don't forget me this Christmas. I promise not to wake the kids when I hear you come in.

Your Pal,

Winston

Update

Here is the yarn form my SITM2 pal. it is much brighter than the picture. So pretty! I may pair it with something from stash and make some mittens.

In knitting news I have joined up the Cobblestone and finished the first short rows. Hubby is taking the MK's to see Alvin and the chipmunks today (isn't he great?) so I can get the gifts wrapped and make sure we have everything. After that is done I will plant myself in the chair with the sweater. Looks like it will be a good day to sit under a big pile of wool.

The socks I am working on are going to be for my sock pal. I think she will love them and I think they will fit her. I have smallish feet and these are a little big for me. This means that I can't post them for a while...sorry.

The great 2007 bake off is in full swing here. MG had a bake sale at school so I made 4 dozen cookies for that. There have also been new cookies this year. I tried Scottish Shortbread the other day and it is melt in your mouth yummy. I sent some off to Moms. Last night I made Mint Chocolate Brownies. I really just switched the chips to the mint kind. Yummy! I only find the ch mint chips around holiday time so I always stock up. Today I will make Hubby's favorite, Andees mint/toffee. I got some Heath Bars to smash up.(This is the fun part!) These are the cookies people ask me for every year. Hubby went out and got the candy bars when I couldn't find the chips. He wants his cookies! I'll post these soon.

The 15th Day

We woke up this morning to a blanket of fresh snow. A new layer of white to cover the now dirty snow from last week. I love snow until about January 2nd, then I'm done with it. After the holidays are over I just don't see the need for it any longer, I can deal with the cold. I think this is because we are all in love with the idea of a White Christmas. I blame Bing and Danny.
So today I will reinforce the White Christmas love with the movie. How can you not love this movie? Rosemary Coolney is to die for. I still get a chill when she sings "You Done Me Wrong".
And Vera Ellen with the dance numbers! I bet very few of today's starlets could dance some of those numbers.(Let alone fit into her outfits) I love the "Blessings" song too:
If you're worried and you can't sleep, Just count your blessings instead of sheep...

Here's to a White Christmas!

The 8th Day

One of our favorite Holiday cd's is the Barenaked for the Holidays Album(2004). The cd features many holiday standards as well as some newer songs that crack me up. My favorite track is The Elfs Lament. This track features Michael Buble.



"A full indentured servitude can reflect on one's attitude

But that silly red hat just makes the fat man look outrageous

Absurd though it may seem, you know, I've heard there's even been illegal doping

And though we're coping, I just hope it's not contagious

You try to start a movement, and you think you see improvement

But when thrown into the moment, we just don't seem so courageous



I make toys, but I've got aspirations

Make some noise Use your imagination

Girls and boys, before you wish for what you wish for

There's a list for who's been Naughty or nice, but consider the price to an elf"



Other fun tracks include:
Snowman Lyrics

Do They Know It's Christmas? Lyrics

Hanukkah O Hanukkah Lyrics

God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman / We Three Kings Lyrics

Footprints Lyrics

Deck The Stills Lyrics

This last one is pretty funny. I think I spit pop out my nose the first time I heard it.
Enjoy!

The 7th Day

With the Holiday season in full swing now and the weather turned cold Hubby and I are always looking for things to do with the kiddos. One our favorite things to do is pile everyone in the truck(doggy too) and go look at the lights. One of our local radio stations puts together a map of the best decorated houses in the area. Hubby maps out our route and I put on the Christmas cd's and off we go. The kids love seeing the houses all lit up and singing along with the Christmas music. When we get home I make hot chocolate for everyone and Hubby reads the Kids a Christmas book. All in all a nice family evening with no tv. The nice thing about this kind of evening is we can do this more than once . Hubby just picks a new part of town and off we go. We our planing our first such trip for tonight. I have my Muppet Christmas and Bear Naked Ladies cd's all ready to go.
We have a nice layer of snow now. Everything looks so pretty covered in snow, at least for a day or two anyway.
I hope you can all get out and enjoy an evening of sight seeing this Holiday season. After all spending time with family is what Christmas is about, and when they are all trapped in a moving car they pretty much have to get along.(or you could just leave them on the side of the road! hehehe)

Elf Hats

So I made this silly elf hat Saturday. Just sort of made it up as I went along. I kinda like it. The stripes are BunkyBoBos Hand dyed and the red is something from stash. Patons classic merino I think. That's a gold bell on the end. Adds to the silly. The color in the flat picture is really good. I like it. Sort of fun in a campy Christmas sort of way. This is going to a friend who I did not knit a campy Christmas hat for last year. I hope she thinks it funny.

Elf hat #2 is the Peppermint elf hat. Same red as before with hot pink and white Wool of the Andes from Knit Picks. Green bell this time. I love this one. I can write up the pattern if anyone wants it.

The 3rd day

As part of my holidays I am allowed to eat whatever sweets I want. I watch what I eat the rest of the year, I give myself December off.
I use real butter in all my baking too. None of that low fat good for you junk for me thank you very much! Bring on the fudge! the cookies! and Party mix! The cakes! the breads! and candies!
I know, I know its bad for me. But all the extra Holiday running around and the chasing of Monsters helps keep the poundage down and it is only once a year.
So my wish for my friends on this 3rd day of Christmas is this. Is for everyone to put the scale away and Enjoy the goodies of the season, forget your diet and treat yourself. We will all spend January worrying about what we ate over the holidays anyway so have that piece of fudge, and enjoy it. You'll burn it off in the parking lot at the mall in no time. Guilt free snacking for all!
What is your favorite holiday treat? Stay tuned for my favorite cookie recipe!

The 2nd day

I am short on time today so this is a quick one.
The family and I were trapped in our home most of yesterday due to the weather so we had movie time. I love my holiday movies. There will be more on the list but today's movie is A Christmas Story. How can you not love Ralphie and his pals? And that lamp? I have been looking for one for 10 years now! I have a burning desire to knit Flick's stocking cap. (I am in fact working on this design as we speak) If you have never seen this movie go see it. Today, you won't be sorry.(Unless you hate Christmas then I would suggest not seeing it) If you have seen it it is time to pull it out again. My kids love it and it still makes Hubby and I laugh out loud. He and I can do nearly every scene. We are a hit in the living room.
Its funny how my kids love this movie so much. This is one that came out when I was still a kid. It really is timeless. Favorite Holiday Movie anyone?

The first day of Christmas

Today begins the 25 days of Christmas series.

One of the things I love about the Holidays is putting up all of our decorations. Each year we pull out the boxes and enjoy rediscovering each item. The last thing to go up every year is our Stockings.

The group of 4 belong to my little family. These were Knit for us by my GAH. She has knit hundreds of these over the years. I know quite a few families who hold GAH stockings as their dearest Christmas treasures. Each one is a little different. I love these stockings. I have never even considered getting others. These stockings were made with all the love that Christmas time brings. For the Knitters out there. GAH has a large notebook of patterns for these. Most are made with Red Heart Sport yarn. Santa's beard there is some kind of soft fuzzy yarn. They are knit flat to the heel then foot is knit in the round. I'm not sure if she ever made 2 alike. The MK's each have a Gingerbread boy(or girl). The design possibilities are endless. I have never seen another like mine.

The 2 stockings in the other picture belong to my Grandparents. They passed away before my kids were born but having the stockings up at Christmas time makes me think of them and I feel like a little part of them is here to have Christmas with their Great Grand kids. I know they would have loved being great grandparents.

Maybe in the future if I am very lucky and do enough things right, My stocking will hang in my great grand kids house to remind them at Christmas Time...

What is your most precious Christmas Treasure?

Holiday list/Holiday blog

As we jump full swing into the Holidays around here I wanted to take a moment to list what in need to get done knitting wise before Christmas. So here goes:
1 Finish Cobblestone for Hubby
2 Finish sock#2 for MG
3 Finish tam
4 Knit 2 pair fingerless mitts
5 Knit 1 (or 2) drawstring gift bags
6 Knit and felt 1 pair slippers
7 Stuff 2 knitted balls
and if there is time:
mittens for the kids
and two more knit balls

That is quite a list. I think I have the yarn for everything on it but do I have the time? I have to ship a bunch of this stuff so I figure I have until December 20 to get it out. Should be doable. Keep telling me that....

I am using my own hand dyed yarns for some of these. The first project is coming out really nice. Now I just need to sit and knit. This sounds simple I know but the MK's are not really interested in letting Mommy knit when there is a tree to put up and cookies to bake. I am looking forward to the cookie baking time. I have not had enough in recent years and this year I am doing all my favorite Christmas cookies and sweets. MG's school has a bake sale coming up and there will be cookies for gifts as well. Yummy!

One more thing before I go. I am going do a series of post for December called the 25 days of Christmas. Each post will be about something I love about this time of year. Recipes, movies, music. All kinds of little things that make life a little sweeter during the holidays. What are some of your favorite Holiday things?. Feel free to join me in the 25 Days of Christmas. Drop me a comment if you do. I would love to read them and maybe discover some new things. I will start December 1. Happy Holidays.