by Kat | Dec 13, 2007 | General
My Marie Antoinette kit arrived yesterday from Kim! I truly tried to not even look at it.
Really….
Okay, I would not believe that either!
I still have Christmas knitting to do….
So, I said I would just wind the yarn into a cake…. and read through the pattern….
Before I knew it, I was looking for size 1 DPNs and some waste yarn….
Here are 10 repeats of the cuff lace pattern.
I know… beautiful, isn’t it????
So, I can work on this again if I get my mom’s mitts done today.
I gotta go knit… have an awesome day everyone!
by Kat | Dec 12, 2007 | General
And, you wonder how he “sees you when you’re sleeping”…. In our house, Santa is truly everywhere!
I thought that I would share with you all today some of my favorite Santa’s… I have been collecting them for years. And, I truly adore them. If there was a way to keep them out all year, I probably would!
Here is “Gardening Santa” – my kids gave me this for Christmas about 10 years ago. Isn’t he divine? He is sitting on an adorable wooden bench. I love his woolen pants and his denim apron. After all, Santa only works one night out of the year – I figure he must have some amazing gardens!!
Next, here is “Nordic Santa” I got him LONG before I began to knit. And – Ihave to tell you, I love him even more since I have been knitting! The mittens and the “skates” are divine!
In front of Nordic Santa is one of the very first Santa’s I ever got. My ex-MIL gave him to me for one of my first Christmases with them. I have had him over 25 years. He normally has a place of honor on the “Santa Tree” – and since that tree is not happening this year, thanks to Thing One and Thing Two Noel and Maddy, I got him out and put him on the top shelf! I love that he has a shephard’s staff – it seems so fitting for the season.
My absolute best find ever though is a picture I found about 20 years ago in an antique shop. It is from the 40’s, I think, and it is HUGE. Getting a photo of it to share with you all was a bit of a challenge! It is about 5 x 4. I am telling you all -HUGE! There are 10 “Santa Elves” surrounding the “head Santa”. It is my absolute favorite piece. This is hanging in my bedroom – it fits beautifully over a dresser I have.
See, “head Santa” has the letters tacked to the tree, he is talking on the phone, and, I am sure, he is getting the scoop on whether or not you have been naughty or nice!
Here is “Ticker Tape Santa Elf” marking off the information coming in… and “head Santa” has good a handle on this too. See, Santa does not miss much!
Bags of toys are being hauled in – don’t you love the “snowmobile”? Oh… and in case you were wondering… yes there is a “Sheriff Santa”. Who do you think orders the coal shipments????
There is no artists signature on this piece. Someone who loved Christmas as much as I do used their creative genius to create this treasure that now graces my humble home. I have done nothing to this piece – it still has the same rough frame that was nailed on it when I got it.
What are your favorite things about Christmas…
Last night, my daughter’s Christmas concert did a mother proud! The evening ended with my daughter’s Symphony Orchestra (this is the zero hour class she takes – the one that she has to get to school at 6:30AM each day for…. Yeah, this is dedication….) played Sarajevo – ala Trans Siberian Orchestra… Holy cow, gentle reader… I cried. They were soooooo good! The audience sprang to their feet at the end, giving a rousing standing ovation. The evening closed with the choir singing Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus with the Symphony accompanying them.
Wow.
It was a spectacular ending to an amazing concert.
Here is to the abundant blessings that family brings and to finding joy in each day as we wend along towards Christmas.
I am off to get some Christmas knitting done. Have a great day everyone!
by Kat | Dec 11, 2007 | General
…and he is watchin’ your every move!!
So, the Santa’s are all out – for the most part. I am sad that there will be no “Santa Tree” this year, but the cats are altogether too interested in the tree that I use… I fear for my Santa’s well-being! And, I am afraid if we have “Santacide” that there will be no visit from that Jolly Old Elf – except from the coal truck!!
So, I have my step-back cupboard filled with my Santa’s and there are a few others standing as sentinels in my family room!
Yes, Santa is watching us, with a multitude of eyes!
Some of my “Tree Santa’s” are watching from the shelves here… I am not sure they like it as much, but it works!
I started my Christmas shopping yesterday. I got all of one present crossed off my list. I am certainly glad that my Christmas knitting is having greater success! I guess I just need to head downtown for a day and get everything crossed off my list – and hang the sales. What I pay in extra for the items I have, I believe I will save in gas driving from one store to another to find the items advertised.
Here is some retailer brilliance – they must have ONE object in stock per store from the sale flyers. There is a way to endear your customers to you. Phoey on all of them, I say! Downtown Holland will benefit from my frustration yesterday. Fortunately, I have only a few items on my list that I need to get.
I have been enjoying our tree this year a tremendous amount! How pleasant it is to sit and knit, listening to Christmas music. The hours of knitting have certainly been a blessing. Decorating the tree this weekend was also a very nice thing to do. It was a good reminder to me of how much my teenagers savor the season as well. I heard some interesting comments from their mouths as they remembered ornaments they made for me. I was sad to hear that the ornaments they made for their dad that were sent with him do not grace the tree at his house. I cannot imagine a tree without these tiny treasures. They warm my heart!
I am off to get a wee hair cut… be blessed in your day today! Tonight I have Heidi’s Christmas Concert…check here for the review tomorrow!
by Kat | Dec 9, 2007 | General
Or, what happens when you spend the day with Obi Wan and Yoda Rob and Matt!
So, bright and early the two Jedi’s in training yarn dyer wanna-be’s headed over to a galaxy far, far away Lansing! There was little traffic in the galaxy on the highway and we traveled at warp speed, oops – we are Jedi’s not Treker’s!, made excellent time! Upon arrival, we were rushed back to class to find our Jedi Master, Obi Wan Rob, had already begun class! With quick work we quickly prepared the tables for dying and with some amazing explanation from our Master – we all had cold, wet, yarn in our eager hands!
Our first explanation was for dying a multi-colored skein of yarn. We each picked out our colors and like devoted Jedi’s dyer wanna-be’s we attacked our skeins.
Okay, gentle readers – here is my first attempt – I present to you “Indian Corn”
The weather was not so cooperative today here in West Michigan – overcast and not much good natural light, but this is a very good representation of the colors in the skein. (Rob, what do you think of the brown – I think I like the Logwood “au-natural”….)
A bit of a close up. Not bad, huh? I am feeling the “force” and it’s aura surrounding me.
We continued on with the amazing help from our Jedi Master Rob and here is my second skein….
Sea-spray, gentle readers.
The Jedi in training Dyer Wanna-be is gaining confidence.
For our last task in training – we talked a bit about runs of color – there was some amazing knowledge imparted from our Master and as a good student, I listened closely and allowed the force to “be with me” as I did my third skein….
I present to you …. Chocolate Covered Blueberries, gentle reader. There is no way to describe this color, and while this is close, it is no where near the vibrancy of the true shades. This is truly gorgeous yarn!
And, lastly, I brought my BFL that I had spun to see about dying it…. and I had time to dye. And, I did….
Indigo Dreams was born….
It was a truly amazing, inspiring day. I truly wish I had a camera to share with you all the picture of all of the Jedi Knights Dyer Wanna-be’s finished products! When Yoda Matt came in to look at all of them, even he was impressed with our ability to connect with the force!! We all could have dyed all afternoon and on into the evening (and maybe even the next day!!!) My fellow knights dyers created even lovlier fiber than I did!!!! A truly creative group of women!
To top that all off -my tree is decorated and is looking just lovely. A perfect tree. As for the artificial tree downstairs – hmmm, not so well. It seems that Thing One and Thing Two the cats cannot leave it alone!! The live tree they don’t care about – but the tree with removable branches – hmmmm, a much different story! I picked it up for the last time this morning. It is back in storage… no Santa Tree here this year. But, we do have a plethora of Santa’s to take it’s place… stay tuned for pictures.
Have a great evening all! Blessings!
by Kat | Dec 7, 2007 | General
Hello and Happy Friday Everyone!
I have photos of my completed tam!! Oh – I am so in love with this little hat! I want, I want, I want!
So, without further adieu…
My little pile of ends.
Inside -I did a good job of weaving in the ends, huh? I love the standing…. I am just smitten!
I am truly in shock that this turned out so beautifully! I would neve have classified myself as a “good knitter” – never. People – this is some good knitting! I am so in love!!! And… my little fingers are just itching to cast on some more Fair Isle! Just itching, I am telling you!
Self-portrait – and this is when I truly fell in love with this little tam. I am not a hat-wearer, gentle reader, but this hat is just perfect! I cannot tell you how happy I am that I have enough yarn left over to knit another! There are more photos here if you are interested.
And with that I will leave you with this little bit of Holiday Cheer from the Turtle Creek Chorale. If you need a chuckle, this will more than provide it.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D09DCZryG2U]
Have a most blessed weekend everyone! I will be back on Monday with details from my Dyeing Class at Threadbear!!
by Kat | Dec 6, 2007 | General
And, I have a cold inside!
Yes, gentle readers, over night I knew something was not right – and I woke up this morning with all the symptoms of a cold brewing.
So, I am sipping on some nice hot coffee (no tea – I am a coffee in the morning kind of girl) and figuring out what I need to get done today to stay “on track” for Christmas.
I finished the December Lights Tam last night and I have about a bazillion ends to weave in before I can give it a little bath and get it blocking! Seriously, when I say a bazillion, I am not kidding! That will occupy a good chunk of the morning – and seems like a good activity to do while sitting on the sofa under a cozy blanket! This is my first real foray into Fair Isle – and I loved it! This hat only took about 20 hours of knitting time! A nice project to start on. I definitely want to knit more Fair Isle – watch for more in 2008!
And, I can finish sock #2 for daughter #1 as well. A nice mindless knitting project.
What is left on my Christmas Knitting plate? Socks for daughter #2. A hat for son #1. Mitts for my dear mamma. Mittens for daughter #2. and Dashing for son #1!
Not a long list by any means – it will be some fun daily knitting!
We got our tree last night also. We put it up in the living room and it needs to be decorated. But, I wanted the kitties to get over the “newness” of it before putting lights and ornaments on it! There was a GREAT deal of interest in it last evening – and I debated about sleeping on the sofa to keep an eye on any kitty lumberjack events! But, after a bit of time, they seemed to be bored with the entire process. The tree was still upright this morning and the branches have all “relaxed” quite nicely! I love the smell it brings to the house – and yes, as of this morning I can still smell!
Alright, I am off to begin the “weaving ends in marathon”!
Have a good day everyone!
by Kat | Dec 5, 2007 | General
Hello everyone! We got some snow last night and it is so beautiful outside this morning! The sun is shining and the world is all sparkly white!
Do you remember the first days of snow – especially when you were a child? The anxious anticipation you felt as you wished for snow to fall – mostly because you wanted a “snow day” from school, but you were so eager for that first snow.
What are you anticipating this Advent season? Are you waiting for something?
My holiday decorations are going up nicely – I hope to have my tree up tonight. I have an artificial tree that we put up downstairs – the cats had a field day with it, let me tell you. I went downstairs in the morning and it was all in pieces all over the floor.
After a few expletives and some shaking of my fists at the cats – I gathered up the branches and began to put the tree back together. They have left it alone since then. This is, of course, without lights and ornaments. I am going to try the lights today and see how that fares over night.
They seem to feed off each other in the mischief that they get into!
And, the looks of innocence on their faces in the morning is most comical!
Well, decorations are calling – I better get at it. I will leave you all with a link I found on Ravelry this morning.
Knitter’s Advent Calendar
Enjoy!
by Kat | Dec 4, 2007 | General
…or how I got my Christmas mojo back!
Hello everyone! How is your December opening up? Are you feeling some anticipation for the arrival of Christmas? Or, are you stressed to the maximum and overwhelmed by the tasks you have to complete before December 25th?
I confess, I was feeling decidely un-Christmasy. My Christmas mojo was gone. With how I was feeling, there was not even going to be a “Charlie Brown” Christmas here…
I worked on my Christmas cards, but no spark of enthusiasm appeared. As you can see, they are almost finished – I need to put ribbon on the remainder – along with some words of Christmas wisdom…
But… lest you fear that the Grinch will be successful in stealing Christmas from me….
One of Santa’s little elves helped me find my mojo! Sunday afternoon, Marie gifted me with pure inspiration!
So, Christmas is arriving on my doorstep – and I have opened the door wide and welcomed it in!
Without further adieu, I bring you my new Christmas Mojo!
We have the North Pole all set – aptly set upon the top of my antique step-back cupboard. This is pure Marie genius. I am ashamed to say that in all the years I have lived here in my condo – I have never set up Santa’s village. In my home, there was a “perfect place” for this – on top of the mantle. No mantle here in the condo – and evidently, no mojo either!
Next up – Dicken’s Village – set up in my kitchen on my antique sideboard! Again, this is the first time this has been out and set up since 1999 when I moved into this condo. Oh, the houses have sat as silent sentinels on top of the amoire that houses the television. But, they were unlit and had no people to bring them Christmas cheer! Now, Scrooge has been blessed with Christmas wonder and he shouts out – “Merry Christmas” to my home!
My brain has been whirling away with dozens of inspired ideas. As I worked away yesterday, Christmas music filling the air, I began to feel some of the “Advent Anticipation” in my preparations. So, as I work today to continue to get my home ready for Christmas – I will also be working on getting my heart ready for it as well.
I am off to work on more – and there is some knitting calling my name as well.
Have a blessed day everyone!
by Kat | Dec 3, 2007 | General
Hello everyone – How was your weekend?? Mine was just wonderful! On Saturday, Blogless Mary and I headed over to see Beth for her Anniversary Celebration.
It was a nice day for a drive – the sun was out and the road were clear!! And I had some Spinning Stash Enhancement to do!
Did you all know that yarn stash and spinning stash are 2 different things???
So, Beth had some great fibers on sale – I picked up some Shetland for a great price. I have not yet spun with Shetland – and I love the natural color of this!
Beth had a coupon for those who receive her email newsletter – so, I picked up some Llama roving too!
I wish you all could feel this – it is so soft and has great loft. I have only spun a wee bit of Llama that was a gift from Shannah, who I met at the class I took last month at Beth’s. I wanted to try my hand at the Llama again.
I also got this pound of Merino – the color is just fantastic. What is not to love about Merino!!
On Friday my package from Nordic Fiber Arts had arrived. I have to tell you all, if you have not shopped at her online shop – you need to. The service was outstanding! I cast on for the December Lights Tam from IK Holiday issue on Sunday morning and this is just flying along. Nordic Fiber Arts has kits available for this – you could get this done before Christmas. I am telling you all – I will be buying more from them!!
Mary and I stopped at my all time favorite yarn shop after we left Beth’s – Threadbear! They were having a HUGE sale! I was very restrained, I just picked up a skein of sock yarn and the needles I needed to knit December Lights. The prices at Threadbear cannot be beaten, and the stock of yarn is just amazing. Mary and I are taking a class there next Saturday!! So, we will be spending the entire day there!!
We arrived back in Holland just as the storm was approaching. Mary came over for some dinner and shortly the freezing rain started – we had a mini-slumber party and sat up knitting and talking until late!!
Sunday afternoon Ann and her husband picked me up and we headed to Marie’s for her Holiday Open House. Wow, the house was just gorgeous! Marie has an amazing talent for decorating. Great company, delicious food, and the amazing beauty of the decorations were just the icing on the cake of my wonderful weekend! Marie has definately inspired me to kick up my Christmas decorating a notch!
Lest you all think the weekend was without flaws – there were some dissappointments as well. And, while I try not to dwell on things negative – suffice it to say that I learned some things that were very upsetting this weekend. When you discover that you have been taken advantage of in a very blatant way, it changes how you look at everything. I can assure you that I won’t be quite so trusting in the future.
But, as I shared with Mary this morning – we need to look for the blessings in our lives rather than wait for them to ‘jump up and hit us in the face’.
So, I am heading off to bring Christmas cheer to my humble home – and I am so thankful for Marie’s amazing inspiration!!
Have a great day everyone!
by Kat | Dec 1, 2007 | General
Hello Everyone!
Ahhhhhhhhhhh! The weekend is here!
Last night I had a wonderful evening with Ann and Blogless-Mary, who is now a happy new member of Ravelry, she is “MarysFiberFun” so stop over and say hello to her! She still is blogless, but I am working on that!!
Well, last night we all got together and worked on our Christmas cards! I cooked some dinner for us all – a simple meal of steaks, oven fries, and sweet corn. Mary is house sitting for a friend and we went out to a truly gorgeous home near the lake shore. I also brought a few Christmas CD’s and before we knew it, it was after 11PM!
This morning Mary and I are heading over to see that Temptress Beth in Howell for her 1 year anniversary! She has requested the gift of our presence and, while my house is screaming at me to get some housework done, I am weak!! Plus, there will be prizes treats food in Howell. (Okay, Beth – I confess – I want to increase my odds of winning) Anyway, if you are in the Howell area – stop by and see Beth’s shop! It is really a fun place to be!
I have seen “Pay it Forward” on a few blogs over the past few days and I am a sucker for random acts of kindness. Somedays it seems like a thing of the past – so I saw an opportunity to sign up at Lisa’s and sign up I did!
So, here is the “Pay it Forward” pledge:
I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I don’t know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days, that is my promise! The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.
Also, it’s implicit that all participants have a blog (sorry, blogfree readers) since the reason behind this is to pay it forward through your own blog. Of course, if I don’t get three people that I can send a gift too, I will promise to pay it forward in my community.
So, you can either stop over to Lisa’s blog and sign up with her or you can sign up here! Join me in Paying it Forward!
Okay, gentle readers, have a great weekend!
