Knit One Quilt Too

Ta Da!

Well, I made it through National Blog Posting Month!  It was a bit of a challenge for me as I've never been this regular with posting. I did find it to be fun though.  Luckily I was feeling quite well through the month and was back to doing lots of crafting.  I hope to post more regularly in the future now that I know I can do it.

I was really hoping to have a pair of these Elf Clogs to show you, but I ran out of time before my trip to complete the second one.  This free pattern is just the cutest thing.  Total length is less than 3 inches.  There's even a Flickr group for them.  If you give them a try let me know.  I never tire of looking at all the embroidery variations.

I'll be back soon with more stuff to show you, but I might take a couple of days off.  Have a great weekend! 

One gift done!

I got the two left mittens done so I have two pairs of these ready for Christmas.  These are the Snow Country Felt Mittens by Fiber Trends.  I used two strands of Cascade 220 in a pretty red heather and size 10 1/2 dpns.  I sent them through the washing machine only once so we can custom fit them to Ryan's hands after he opens them.  They are really warm and soft and will be great for outdoors.  If they happen to be too small I will just make more!  I really like making these so it's no problem.  I've been thinking about making them in an adult size for Mark and maybe for me.  They even have leather palms you can get to put on them. 

Don't forget to check out the birthday contest here!

Lucky me

Remember when I mentioned sending in a photo of my handspun fingerless mitts to the Yarn Museum?  Well, I got it figured out and had my photo submitted a few days later.  Oh my gosh, you should see the gorgeous creations in the Garment District Gallery.  Go check it out right now, I'll wait..... 

Now you are back let me tell you I was thrilled to find out I won one of the prizes!  Just for posting.  Can't get better than that and it arrived on my birthday.  What a treat!  This is hand spun Blue Faced Leicester from Ruby's Daughter Handspun Yarn.  It is so soft and luscious and a color that has me dreaming of warm ocean breezes.  I'm not sure what I'll do with it, maybe just cuddle it for a while!

I'm soaking up the mineral springs in Sonoma for a few days, but with NaBloPoMo the blogging will continue provided Typepad doesn't blow up.  Remember to check out the birthday contest here if you haven't yet. 

Pay it Forward- Take 2

I just realized that I only have two signed up for the Pay it Forward exchange.  Please see the previous post about it.  You must have a blog to play along, sorry blogless readers.  If you'd like to be the third, be the first to post a comment here.  You can also email me privately with your address.  I'll be out of town for a few days, but will reply when I return.

** Edited to add: I've got my third.  If you are still interested check out my friend, Sarah's, blog.  She's a dynamo and makes lovely creative things.  You're sure to be pleased with whatever she sends!  Last I saw she had room for two more!

My Dad's Surprise

A couple of times over the past few days we've seen my parents for dinner and my Dad kept saying he didn't have my birthday present ready yet.  I couldn't imagine what he was making, but thought it might have something to do with a poem.  So, imagine my surprise when he brought over my present last night and it was something I'd told him he ought to learn to do a couple of years ago.

I've collected Santas for many years and have recently concentrated on hand carved wooden Santas.  I don't have a whole lot of them because they are harder to find every year.  A lot of them are now carved and then cast in resin- not my cup of tea.  I just love this Skiing Santa!  He's absolutely perfect and will look great with the rest of the collection.  I'll post a photo of them when they come out of the boxes.  This Santa is even more fitting because my Dad is in a Christmas play this year where his character plays the part of Santa. 

By the way, that little tree was made by Chloe.  She's got a red and white Christmas theme going this year.  The birthday card is from Mark and the candle is from my Mom.

Thank you so much for the birthday wishes, they really mean a lot to me.  And thanks for joining in the birthday contest.  We're having tons of fun reading about all your ideas!  If you haven't read it yet, check out the Nov. 26th post for a chance to win a little something from me!

43 and a little contest!

Well, I've lived to the ripe old age of 43 (ha!) and been treated for two cancers (so far)- yuck!  My doctors tell me that, of course, I'm not immune to getting others as I age which is rather a bummer.  This one really makes me thank my lucky stars for each and every day I have to spend with my friends and loved ones.  When you face your mortality it really makes you appreciate the little things.

For one, I have the adorable little Santa that Chloe made for my birthday. She made him at one of the camps she went to this summer.  It's unglazed and was fired right in a fire pit.  Most of the other items that were fired broke during or after, but this Santa survived and is so solid that I'm sure he'll be treasured for many, many years.  Chloe knows how much I love Christmas, Santas and all things handmade! 

I love how the colors of the books on the table looked so nice with the little Christmas table topper.  Anyone recognize the Sanna book above?  It's by one of my readers and favorite bloggers, Roxie at Sanna's Bag.  This is the first Sanna book which we just received and haven't started yet.  Roxie just told us the second one is available now as well.  Sanna's story involves a lot of knitting, so be sure to check it out!

Here's my other present and no it's not a small one!  I just love my new Bernina.  There are still many things I need to learn to do with it, but I've been using it for lots of things.  I have yet to use the Stitch Regulator, but it's the main reason for buying this machine.  My dear husband finally talked me into getting it for my birthday.  I stalled when he suggested it for Mother's Day, but now I'm glad he persisted.  Isn't he great!

Now, onto the contest.  My favorite holiday has always been Christmas.  The lights, the songs, the chill and possibility of snow (I grew up in Massachusetts) and of course the presents. Though as I've gotten older it's much more about the giving than the receiving.  It's been important enough that both my kids have middle names that reflect a love of Christmas.  Now, I'll tell you right now that they are pretty normal American names, not something like Jingle Bells!

So, here's the contest.  Guess Chloe and Ryan's middle names by commenting on this post.  I'll award prizes to two lucky winners.  One will be for a randomly selected person among those (if any) who guess both names correctly.  The other will be randomly selected from all the guesses.  If no one guesses correctly at all, then I'll pick two from all the guesses.  Now, anyone who knows us closely is exempt from the guessing, so don't even try!  The prizes will be whatever I come up with in the next few weeks.  I'm thinking something handmade by me and perhaps some other little goodies, but you can guarantee that they will have a Christmas theme!  Deadline for entry is Sunday, December 2nd at midnight.  Good luck and Merry Christmas!

PS:  The last three photos are from the Sisters Christmas Parade on Saturday.  It's a very small home town parade- my favorite kind!  There are always llamas and alpacas.  Scrabble got a lot of comments in his little striped shirt! 

A shot of color

I needed some new potholders and whipped these up last weekend.  I love the bright colors as you can see, so these are nice for a shot of color in the kitchen.  I used Warm & Natural's Insul-Bright which is recommended for oven mitts.  I think it's a bit thin for my taste, so if I make more I would probably add an extra layer of thin batting.  I do really like these though.  I think they'd make a great Christmas gift.  I also tried doing a machine stitched binding on the second one.  This was a good exercise for me and a reason to try more of them.  They certainly make good use of scraps. 

I hope you all had a great weekend.  Ours was especially busy with the start of the Christmas festivities.  Tomorrow is my birthday and I'm feeling like it's time for a contest.   Stay tuned!

Little Trees

 

I can't explain why these trees appeal to me so much, but I'm on a Soft Tree binge.  I've got these 3 to finish and several others just started. 

This one  is my favorite so far, but the next ones probably won't be so elaborate.  Check out the Flickr group here for more of these.  I love the linen ones, so will be trying that soon too!

1. button tree, 2. no. 2, 3. tree-o, 4. trees, 5. because of stephanie, 6. 127_2747, 7. Soft Trees, from The Purl Bee, 8. Soft Trees Forest, from the Purl Bee, 9. Soft Trees, 10. Soft trees 1/ Sapin en tissus, 11. Soft tree 5/ sapins en tissu, 12. and then a trio, 13. Soft tree forest, 14. IMG_1551, 15. plaid deer, 16. 01-02-07

Goodies in the Mail

I've gotten a few goodies in the mail lately, plus something I picked up in person.  My bookshelf is groaning a bit more nowadays with the addition of these treasures.  I finally ordered Jane's book, The Gentle Art of Domesticity, from Amazon UK because all the reviews about it were so amazing.  I just love it so far, though I'm only part way through.  It's one that you can pick up for just a moment and savor over a cup of tea.  Lovely!

I ordered the Selbuvotter book after an ongoing discussion with Jan about her gorgeous Latvian mittens.  I am also working on some stranded mittens and was glad for Jan's experience in this matter.  The Selbuvotter book is really well done and has some gorgeous patterns.

I had a pre-order for Kristin Knits going for a while- how could I not get that one!  I am a fan of Kristin Nicholas' blog, Getting Stitched on the Farm, and knew when this book was mentioned that I'd be getting it too.  The patterns and discussions about color are really glorious.  Kristin even signed it for me!  When we were in Portland I also picked up Colorful Stitchery and have found it to be quite inspiring too.

Last, but not least, is this pretty little pouch by Glittergoods.  I'm not sure how I came across her blog, but I did and found that she has some lovely items in her Etsy shop.  I ordered this to keep in my purse for all the little things that roll around.  She also sold some nice hand dyed twill tape that I got in my favorite chartreuse color.  I'm a happy camper and now I have plenty of reading material for a while! 

I hope your Thanksgiving was a good one.  Today we are getting the house ready for Christmas.   The elves are busy setting out the Christmas lights!

 

Thankful

I sure have a lot to be thankful this year!  Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays because I was born on Thanksgiving.  My birthday this year is not until Monday, but we are celebrating today with my parents as they are hosting the Thanksgiving dinner. 

I'm thankful that my cancer was found early and that the worst of the treatment is over!  Yippee, yahoo!

I'm thankful for my incredible family who supported me and loved me in the worst of times this year.

I'm thankful for my dear husband, Mark, who has been there every step of the way for 27 years!

I'm thankful for the love of my children.  Chloe and Ryan make everyday special!

I'm thankful for friends near and far who helped us, sent encouragement, brought over meals and cheered me up on days that seemed bleak.

I'm thankful for my sweet puppy, Scrabble, who is always happy to see me!

I'm thankful to live in such a fabulous town with lots of community spirit.

I'm thankful I have a warm and cozy home as the weather turns to winter.

I'm thankful for my art and craft and that I can still do those things that make me happy.

I'm thankful for the inspiration I get from all the great blogs, magazines, books and other resources out there. 

I'm thankful for all of my readers and commenters, even those who are only lurking.  You make this all worthwhile!

Happy Thanksgiving if you are celebrating!