Getting Ready

Oops. Haven't posted for quite a long time--but this time it's good.

With one week less for holiday prep (Thanksgiving being so late this year), I'm sprinting. I have been busy. In addition to the cleaning and planning I have been baking and knitting.

The knits are still on the simple side. I just can't get the hang of the lovely "Thorin's Armour Socks"; one day, maybe.

But I did finish the shawl for my MiL. And I made a few other gift knits. I still have to block one, and I've made simple socks with really simple crochet trim and there are a few other things in the works.

This cloche is from Boutique Knits. It was made for a friend's birthday present.

This is the shawl I made for my MiL.

 Simple, heavy socks for me

Just for fun, in honor of the US opening of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug...

I made him for a swap. He now lives in England. (I think he's been posted on this blog previously.)

As for baking: gingerbread reindeer, orange snowballs, noels, cranberry orange brownies, whiskey thumbprints, peanut butter kiss cookies. So far. And two kinds of fruitcake--my basic light fruitcake, and an experiment, a tropical fruitcake (papaya, mango, kiwi, macadamia nuts, pineapple, rum). The light fruitcake will be the base for this year's Christmas Cake.

I also managed to pack up the first Christmas box today; it's got to go out soon.

But today--tonight, really, I'll be at the cinema! There be dragons. One, anyway. Speaking with the voice of Mr. Cumberbatch. Which is no bad thing.

Colds and Knitting

You'd think the two would play nicely. But with my sinuses all mucked up my brain seems fuzzy. The pumpkin hat was simple enough. But I don't even want to work on the easy lace socks I'm making. And the 30s dress is out, thinking is necessary for that one.

Here's the pumpkin hat before it got to its real owner. Tommy agreed to model, but he looks a little confused. I'm not sure what he thought he was agreeing to wear.

I made a simple garter stitch shawlette for my MiL and am working up an easy ruffle for edging. I managed to make four dishcloths for my SiL's Christmas gift. That seems to be the extent of my knitting ability presently.

Here's hoping this rotten cold will vacate the premises, and soon.

Still. It did provide us all with at least one photo of the Prince of the Harvest. Maybe it's not all that bad.

More Apples

There's still a bag of RI Greenings in the kitchen, but I've made pork & apple pie (very good), apple marmalade, applesauce, crab apple jelly, and green tomato mincemeat. More to come, naturally, but I'm getting our winter treats, jellies, jams, and Christmas presents well under way. There are so many more I'd like to make, but I'm not sure just how much I'll manage in the next month or so. After that I'll be thinking about things like candied peel and plum pudding. Not to mention the sadly neglected garden and house!

I've also been getting back to the Christmas knitting. The latest FO is blocking right now--can't write about it at the moment, the recipient sometimes reads the blog, but I hope she'll like it.

OTN (on the needles) now is a two color scarf for my MiL, from "Boutique Knits", a feather & fan pattern. I'm using alpaca/silk and alpaca, in tan and lavender, and am plotting out a scarf for one of my nephews, per his request.

The Starboard Cape (from 'KnitScene' magazine) turned out beautifully. I'll try to get a photo up soon. I like it so well that I'm thinking about making another,in a different length and color. I got to wear it with a 30s outfit to an exhibit of 30s clothes a few weeks ago, and have been wearing it with modern and vintage clothes ever since. It's very versatile.

Now if I could just be a bit more versatile and get some laundry done...

Christmas in August?

Christmas knitting in August, anyway. Can't show it, of course, as some recipients might see it.

But I'm on item #2 now. If I can keep on the trajectory, the holidays should be a snap. (Except for the wrapping and shipping...not the easiest part of it all.)

This year most of our gifts--to the adults, in any case--will be handmade...knitted things, marmalades, etc.

I don't know whether I'll bake myself into another cookie coma, but it's just possible. I can feel the "putting up" (as in canning) urge settling in firmly, too. And today is Saturday, so off to the farmers market in a few hours....

Christmas Knitting 2010

I have photos of most of it. This is the tea cozy I made for DH. It's based on an online pattern but the color work is my contribution. It's specially made for the Danish teapot from the 30s, made of pewter, which he uses nearly every morning.

These are the boot socks I made for him. They're from a 40s pattern I've used before; in fact, I made a solid cream colored pair for a friend of ours, too.


This is the Wurstwaermer dog sweater. (You can purchase the pattern on Ravelry. It's about $3.00 and the profits go to a shelter in Michigan.)
The friends who have the dog for whom it was made told us that as soon as they put it on her, she curled up and went to sleep, happy as could be. So those of you who have doxies, or doxie mixes, it's dog-approved!

This is a Kindle cozy, for the latest version. I made it for my mother's new Kindle. The yarn is cone yarn from the stash, and the button is a hand-carved wooden button, Art Deco in period. This is my own pattern.

I also made the large Cozy for my MiL, and a neck warmer from burgundy homespun for a friend, but I don't have a photo of the neck warmer. I forgot to take one before wrapping it, and we didn't have our camera when she unwrapped it.

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and Boxing Day.

Final Knitted Gifts

All done! And it's December 23. Not bad, especially considering that some of these were rather last-minute ideas.

Here's the set I made for our friend Chris. The mitts are his Christmas present, and the hat is for his birthday...the poor guy's birthday is December 26.







These are the potholders I made for our neighbor. I think they'll serve very well. I'm thinking about making some more for myself, but in red (my kitchen is red and white).



Here's a close-up of the texture. I used linen stitch, so they're quite dense. This would make a good hot pad, too.


It took about two days to make them. Boring knitting, but I like the end result.

An early Merry Christmas, everyone!

Three and Four Are Blocking

(To any non knitters out there, I apologize for the post title. The knitters understand, especially at this time of the year.)

The socks for my sister are done, washed, and in the process of blocking.

I decided that the mittens for MiL were not working out. I don't think they'll be warm enough, etc. BUT they would be good liners. So they're a start to next year's gift. I have some chocolate brown alpaca that will go well with the fawn colored silk/alpaca on the go. I'll make heavy mittens with a lace motif on the back of the hand and tack the two together.

With that in mind, I made MiL's gift this afternoon! It's a lace cowl. The pattern is out of Knit Two Together, the book that Tracy Ullman put out a few years ago. It's exquisitely simple; just a feather & fan pattern in the round. Very forgiving as to type and amount of yarn, to boot. I made one for myself a few years ago from some Lorna's Laces in merino & silk. The cowl I made today is in an alpaca/silk/cashmere blend and it's very soft & warm. She'll love it. It's washed & blocking right now, too.

Pictures soon. When they're all dry...provided I remember to take photos before I wrap them up!