Holiday Heels ~

Well, one can't spend all one's time in the race up to the holiday by asking questions, can one? As Fred and George would say, "Get back to your knitting" and I did....So, here are the heels turned, and now we are on the straight-away to the cuff pattern! Hurrah!

Holiday Questions ~

Here's a holiday question for you ~ What do you do when you have several projects still waiting to be finished before the Christmas deadline, and you have less than seven days to finish them?Here's another question ~ What do you do when you keep casting on projects in your sleep? OK, let me clarify, not "casting on while you are asleep" but dreaming about casting on projects, with yarn that you truly have, and patterns that you really like.....waking up and you are certain that you've cast on, and those projects are nearby....hmmmmm...Try this one ~ What do you do when you have 3 skeins of Natural Dye Studio yarn that have patiently been waiting to be cast on...plus Signature Needles that are empty and whispering to be used?These are the questions I'm asking.....

Happy Birthday ~

There are some friends that are just the best, ever.... Jitteryknitter is one of them...and I'm so blessed that our paths crossed and now we are stuck on this crazy knitting path together!Here's to a happy happy birthday ~ let's go celebrate with some yarn and holiday fun!
(can you believe this picture we found from 2005!!!)

Holiday Sweaters ~

As part of the last week of Junior High before the holidays, there was a "Tacky Holiday Sweater Day" which seemed like a great idea ~ except that my 13 year old asked if she could look through MY sweaters to pick one....*ahem* ... I don't have any tacky holiday sweaters, truly I don't.She picked out this lovely number by Michael Simon, and she said she had rave reviews at school - not a sweater, but a vest. No way could anyone think this is tacky ~ when I wore this to my kids' elementary school holiday parties, the kids all loved this vest!!! :)

Farewell Socks ~

Dear socks at the corner of our high school and Starbucks. I will miss your whimsy and brightness. I wish you could have stayed. I loved you in all three phases of your creative loveliness, winter, with a news report, spring and this autumn scene below....Many thanks to Suzanne Tidwell, the creative genius behind this lovely art!! I will miss these lovelies!

White Elephant ~

At holiday time, our office celebrates with a white elephant gift exchange. There are about 20 of us that participate, so it is my strategy to find something that will cause some "stealing" of the gifts when they are opened. Our rules are that the opened gift can be stolen 3 times, and belongs to the person that steals the gift the third time. A great gift is one that gets stolen three times!!! Since we have a major Packer Fan in our office, I found one of my daughters very small dresses that she wore when she was in preschool.... with big beads and fringe, very fun to dance in when you are 4 years old.... Nancy opened it first...(she is almost 5 feet tall) I wasn't sure it would fit Nancy, but it looked great!Then Mark stole it...(he is 6 feet 7 inches tall)I couldn't believe it fit him - but it looked great as well.I guess Jerry didn't think it looks so great - he was horrified!!!Very fun, indeed (and our Packer Fan did end up with it...a good ending, and we all lived happily every after!)

Spinning Silk ~

Now that I had success with spinning the merino, I've begun spinning a lovely blend of merino and tussah silk that I purchased from the Desert Charm shop in Sisters Oregon in 2010. I bought a 4 ounce bump for just $3.45 per ounce, so a great deal at $13.80 with no sales tax! The color is a lovely mango, and so pretty.In my first try, the spinning seems to be working out, although I still seem to have a bit more twist than needed....a tension problem?How could there be tension when working with merino silk that is so soft and beautiful!??Plus the color is so lovely! I love practicing with my sweet wheel and lovely fiber!