Merry Christmas!!!

I hope all of my blogging friends have a very Merry Christmas. I have knit a total of 11 mittens for my children so far. A Christmas song along these lines might go (to the tune of "The Twelve Days of Christmas")....On the first day (okay it took more than a day...play along) of Christmas I knit for thee a pair of worsted weight socks. On the second day of Christmas I knit for thee another pair of worsted weight socks. On the third day of Christmas I knit for thee another pair of worsted weight socks and a pair of mittens for my second to the eldest child. On the fourth day of Christmas I knit for thee a hat for someone that only turned out to be too small. On the fifth day of Christmas I knit for thee a pair of pink heart mittens for my only little girl. On the sixth day of Christmas I knit for thee a pair of leg warmers and some fingerless gloves for my eldest child. On the seventh day of Christmas I knit for thee a pair of "fetching" mitts for the piano teacher. On the eighth day of Christmas I knit for thee one lone mitten for my second to the youngest child. On the ninth day of Christmas I knit for thee another pair of mittens that I don't know who to give to. On the tenth day of Christmas I knit for ME one Norweigen Stocking by Nancy Bush.

Getting Things Done

The weather is definitely cold now. I am finishing up painting our neighborhood signs. I'd like to finish them before Christmas. I have knitting projects that need to be finished before Christmas also. I actually had a few requests this year for knitted items. That must mean that they aren't tired of getting them for presents yet??? I wonder how many other knitters out there give knitted items for Christmas gifts? Wanna share?

I finally finished Honeycomb. The cabling was a bit time consuming, but I am very pleased with the fit. Maybe I'll post a picture of me wearing it later. My kids requested mittens this year so I'm working on that. My sister requested some leg warmers that I have already finished and my sister's daughter requested a slouche hat. So there is plenty to do between now and Christmas.

Cheers all you Christmas knitters...may your cup (of coffee) be full and your needles be swift!

Happy Birthday To Me!

My mother in law sent me this great sheep knitting card. On the inside it says "To Someone Of Rare Ingenuity And Resourcefulness". It cracked me up. She is also a knitter and understands.

The dog is my sister's dog. "Rufus" (after Rufus Wainwright) is staying with us for a while due to my sister's life being in transition. It has been rather cold out and the little guy had lost some of his fur. So I felt sorry for him and designed him a sweater.

The folks in Montana finally sent me a picture of the baby in her hat and booties. She's such a lovely little thing.

New Baby In The Family

So my husband's sister in law (a good friend) just gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. I had been waiting on knitting needles to hear whether it was certainly a girl before I knit her something. I finished these in a couple of days. I was so excited. Saartje's booties were so much easier than I had anticipated. The little matching beret just birthed out of my brain as something that might match the cute little booties. I am waiting now for them to arrive in the Northwest and for them to send me pictures of her wearing them.

Red Argyle Mittens Free Pattern

This design started as an expirement as most of mine do. My son has already claimed them for himself. There were made in lion brand cheapy worsted weight yarn from Walmart. It is a very easy pattern.

Lion Brand worsted weight yarn (100% wool)two contrasting colors, 5 size 5 dpns, one stitch holder

knit gauge is 21 sts= 3" down, 18 sts= 3" across

cast on 42 sts in mc, divide sts on three needles, needle no 1 should have 10 sts, needle no 2 should have 22 sts, needle no 3 should have 10 sts, knit one round in mc, knit one cc purl one mc for five rows for ribbed cuff, knit two rows in mc, begin chart (i'll post later at request or you can just follow the picture)til thumb gusset (3 1/2" from beginning), put five stitches on holder (for right hand: five sts before your last three, for left hand it's the reverse (obviously) with one extra increased stitch in pattern between each stitch til you have 10 on your holder, continue in pattern til work measures 5" from beginning, knit rest of mitten in mc until work measures 6 1/2 " from beginning, begin deacreasing 1 st every other round at the end of each needle until there are 6 sts on needle 2, break off a six inch tail and pull through all remaining sts, secure on the inside by weaving the end, for thumb pick up your ten sts on the holder and cast on two extra stitches from inside of thumb, knit your thumb in mc rounds until thumb measures 3 3/4", decrease a few stitches in your last round, break off a tail and thread it through remaining sts securing on the inside of the thumb, turn inside out and weave in all the ends. (I know...not the fun part).

Enjoy! Let me know if there are any boo boos. I'll try to help.

His and Hers

What is cooler weather without Guiness??? It is like a meal in an of itself. It is the "stew" in a world of "soup" beers. My husband and I are so much alike that we both love Guiness. Of course there are always your little differences like...she likes Guiness Extra Stout, and he likes Guiness draught. We love our chuthers. What can I say?

Did anyone catch the debate the other night? I must say...I was quite unimpressed with Obama. I admit he was good about sticking to the topic for the most part. He was just not all that these liberals seem to be raving about. I really couldn't see the charm. Could anyone tell me please what you see in this guy...I mean without quoting me his very short resume? I really would like to know.

Fall is Welcome!

I actually finished this "Oregon Vest" last year. The weather is almost cool enough to wear it in the evenings and early morning.



Fall tends to drive me to bake. I am also dieting. While trying to avoid crusts and too much pastry I baked these apples with just a little cinnamon, brown sugar, a tad of butter and topped it off with some blueberries and Kashi Crunch cereal. Yum!

alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5252224861467977682" />


My son said it wouldn't be right to not post the main course which was dill pork chops and scalloped new potatoes. My guys love their meat dishes.





Anyway, all this to help welcome Fall.