Christmas came and went quietly here, but what colors it has left behind. The blue poinsettia is a gift from my son and daughter-in-law, J. They cooked up a prime rib, twice-baked potatoes, green beans, and apple pie dinner that left us full and satisfied. Thank you to them. Orson and Hunter gleefully got the bones to chew. Although I think Orson buries them after awhile. My sister, C flew from LA to Vancouver, WA and spent the holiday with her daughter. Other family joined them for Christmas day festivities. I made these scarves as a surprise gift - one for each female in the party- their choice.
These scarves were made from the stash of novelty yarn given to my by S from Willows. Thanks again. I used size 13 or 15 needles and garter stitch, drop stitch pattern. They went together in a flash. Would love to have a few pics of them being worn. I also spent some time in Redding with my other sister, H and her shadow, Bing Bing.
If you look carefully, you can see her tree is decorated with little shoes. If you knew my sister, H, and my other sister, C, you would know the significance of the shoes. Very fitting for those two shoe lovers. (sorry for the pun)
In-door cat, Bing Bing wasn't easy to photograph. She's usually on the move, her toys scattered through out the house for her to play with. Her favorite place for serious sleep is in H's closet on the shoes, naturally.
Back home the garden continues to grow even though we've had some freezing temperatures at night. This is lettuce which is ready to pick and the spinach will be ready soon. I think I'll make some vegetable soup. The roses continue to bloom, too. This one had fallen off the stem, but still retained its beauty as it deteriorated. Nature, amazing.
With all the shopping, wrapping, mailing, eating, etc. of the holidays, I've still managed to continue my knitting. Anyone who knits, knows you can't stop knitting. Even while you're working on a project you're thinking about the next one. The Internet has an abundance of knitting sites where people share the ideas, concerns, and patterns. One of my favorites is Ravelry which links you up to patterns submitted by knitters and crocheters from around the
world. What a concept!!
This hat is called Layla Classic Tam by Elizabeth Carls. The pattern can be found here: http://www.elizabethcarls.com/Layla%20Tam.pdf
It's knit in the round using worsted weight yarn. The pattern gives cute suggestions for using knitted flowers and vintage buttons as embellishments. Easy to knit.
You can tell by this scarf that I have a big stash supply of worsted weight yarn. I didn't have to buy any yarn to make this scarf. The pattern can be found here: http://vickiehowell.blogspot.com/2011/08/new-sheepish-pattern-color-card-scarf.html
Vickie Howell has a terrific web site with lots of free patterns for the needle crafter.
She's associated with Caron yarns. The pattern uses their Sheepish line of yarn and calls for size 7 needles. I had to bump up to a size 9 needle and made each stripe 1 1/2 inches in order to get a scarf that was a little over 60 inches long. Of course there are a lot of ends to weave in after you're done knitting, so I did a few as the scarf grew longer.
Another version of this hat was in my last blog - the Mandelbrot hat from the Knitty site. http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwbis11/KSPATTmandelbrot.php
I hope this blog finds everyone well and looking forward to 2012 even though it's an election year and the daily news about the candidates is depressing for showing their lack of class. I'd like to thank the person who invented the TV remote with a mute button.
Keep on knitting and crocheting - it keeps you calm - a glass of wine or beer works, too. See you next year.
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