Re-cap

Well, I survived another Christmas........barely. Now all that's left is a ton of leftovers and a slowly dying tree.

Even though we kept gifts at a minimum this year, the kids seemed to enjoy what they got (even though some of it hasn't arrived yet - damn Fed Ex and snow). Hubby did surprise me with my own digital camera; even after I told him he didn't really need to get me anything. Still, it was a nice giftie, and a wonderful surprise.

Finally got all my holiday knitting done....OK, so it was three days AFTER Christmas, but my nieces and nephews will be enjoying their handknit goodies before the end of the week.

A recap:
Hat for Nephew Hans...


Hat for his twin, Evan.

Mitts for their big sister, Chelsea.




Mitts for Niece Heather.

Mitts for Niece Hailey (they're actually done, now).






And last but not least, a hat for Nephew Drew....which I gave to the recipient before I thought to get a picture of the hat. But he loved it. Which is kind of funny, because he was the one who said "I don't need a hat....you made me one last year." Silly boy.

Next year, I plan on starting my holiday knitting, BEFORE Thanksgiving!


I've even started two new projects, which I need to have completed before January 9 (why do I do this to myself?)

You will note from the above list of holiday productivity, that there is nothing for my own sweet DH (OK, don't laugh, I'm in a good mood today, and he's not here), or any of my own sweet sons (good mood splashover, sorry). I do owe all of them pairs of socks, at the very least. I also owe #2 son a sweater I started for him last year, and a graduation afghan - due in June. Actually, I still owe #1 son his graduation afghan (he graduated from high school in 2005 - do you think I can get it done before he graduates from college in May?). But I am 3/4 done with #1 son's afghan. OK, so it's been that way for 3 years. But hope springs eternal.

I'm considering a New Year's Resolution. I tend to be a dismal failure at these things - but it is something I really want. The only trick is to make the resolution managable. Small changes, big results. More on this later....when I get up enough guts to talk about it.

Dateline.....Christmas Eve 2008

Two Pumpkin Pies?......................Check
Cheesecake?............................Check
Veggie Pot Pie?........................Check
Mushroom Pie?..........................Check
Christmas Morning Monkey Bread?........Check
Jello Salad?...........................Check
Fresh Baked Dinner Rolls?..............Check


OK, so the cooking is done, but there are NO presents wrapped, two knitted presents yet to be finished, two presents apparently caught in the black hole that is Fed Ex delivery after the worst snow storms (plural) that Washington State has seen in nearly 20 years, and it's 50/50 that we'll be able to pick my mom up from the nursing home for Christmas, because of the weather (who the hell puts a nursing home at the bottom of a steep - and now icy - hill?).

And my 11 year old has been bouncing off the walls all day (all week....all the time....)

The Good News......we weren't going anywhere special for Christmas.

The Bad News.......we weren't going anywhere WARM for Christmas.

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Blessed Eid, Merry Solstice, and Best Wishes for a much happier New Year.

My Martha Moment

Well, the company Holiday party is this Wednesday. So late Saturday afternoon, I decided I should take a peek at the holiday decorations liberated from my MIL's to see what I had for centerpieces. Guess what there was for centerpieces? Jack-flippin'-shit! My Mother-in-law, the queen of "name that party theme" had given me a huge box of mis-matched random holiday crap. Nothing at all that would create a coherent group of centerpieces. Now, really, I know what you're thinking. "So your MIL didn't have any centerpiece decorations, what's the big deal?" The big deal is that this woman has multiple sets of Christmas decorations in multiple color schemes - and all she was willing to part with was a box of random stuff. Lord knows I wasn't planning on keeping it - cutesy just isn't my thing.

So there was a mad dash to my local craft store to come up with a centerpiece idea times 12, for the tables at the party. After of nearly an hour and a half of putting this and that together to come up with some kind of idea; this is what I left with:

2 cans of translucent spray paint in "MacIntosh" color - $7.99 each
12 large red plastic charger plates - $3.99 each
12 sets of battery powered Christmas lights - $2.49 each
12 pillar-type clear glass vases - $5.99 each
14 random picks of little Christmas ornaments in various designs, white and clear - $1.99 each
6 2-ounce packages of "fake" snow - $1.22 each.

I spray painted the vases with the translucent paint, creating red pillars, instead of clear......let them dry - thouroughly - placed a string of little lights in each pillar; placed a pillar on each charger; and decoratively sprinkled fake snow and a few ornaments around the pillar on the plate. And viola! A Centerpiece to make Martha Stewart envious!



Well, at least that's what I'm going to keep telling myself.

Two!

I finished my second holiday knitting project the other day. A pair of fingerless mitts for one of my nieces.
Sorry it's a picture of only one. There really are two of them, but I can't take a picture and model with both hands at the same time. They are Bee-YOU-tee-ful! And so wonderfully soft.

Started another pair for another niece right away, not much to show for it, yet, using a Knitspot pattern called Wiggle Mitts. Hoping these will come out as nice.

I guess I'm going to have to sit down and think about what I want to do for the other 'Phews and my own boys. How many knitting days before Christmas?

Lame....

Yes, I have been Lame. My content has been next to nothing lately....(did you try the recipe?) And my determination to successfully navagate my first NaNoWriMo came to naught. Please explain how first time novelists with kids, and husbands, and jobs, and REAL lives, ever get that first book down on paper?

I have been knitting, however. I have some finished projects, some half-finished projects, and some really good starts to show off.

In finished projects, I present the first of my holiday knitting. A hat for my nephew Evan. We visited Ravelry together and he fell in love with this Snowboarder Hat That Rocks pattern.
It worked up pretty quickly pulling two skeins of Cascade 220 Superwash. Nice hat, nice result, and happy teenaged boy at Christmas. Such a deal.

Also finished (about a month ago, sorry) is my Hey Teach sweater. I've been holding off taking picks of it because I need to wash it again, or the light is bad, or I'm not wearing the right top to show it off properly. If I wait for all the conditions to be right, it will never have it's own picture. So here it is.
Really, I love this sweater, Easy to make, fun to wear, and it goes with tons of stuff. I plan on making another one in cotton for the spring.

In half-finished, I have half a pair of socks for me done. Those will be going on the "Let It Wait" pile until after Christmas. Also on the "Let It Wait" pile will be my February Lady sweater. I wish I could get this done in time for the holidays....I love it already, but knitting for others always comes before knitting for self...right? When am I going to get over that bull-crap thinking?

On the starting block is a pair of fingerless mitts for my niece, Heather. It's a pretty straightforward knit. With this one, it's the yarn that makes the piece. This soft, "heathery" blue is perfect for my petite niece (pleeze, a light breeze could knock her over - but she's not afraid to shoo her mom out of the kitchen when there's baking to be done!)

I have a couple other small holiday projects on the horizon for the various "Phews" and "Ieces," even a couple for my own kids perhaps.

I also have a felting project due for an auction, but not until early January. That will be my "holiday break" knitting.

What, you don't plan knitting especially for vacations?