July 4th

Happy 4th of July!

Has it really been 20 days...

since I last blogged? Well, there have been some big events in the past couple of weeks.

First there was a wedding shower;

 a night out with the bride;

a fabulous meal out with said bride (me and my sister);

 (yes that would be my Multnomah shawl)

 and a total of 34 inches of snow in the past 2 weeks;

I was able to take that photo this afternoon. I'm glad we do not have any close neighbors that would have seen me sticking my head and camera out the window!

Phew!

Unfortunately, even with all that snow, I still had to make it into work, so I just started back on the shrug today. I need to work quickly as the wedding is in 3 weeks!

Christmas Stash Enhancements

Starting from left, we have 2 (edited - try 3!) skeins of Ty-Dy Cotton, Interweave Knits Holiday Gifts, Mission Falls Illustrator, Great Adirondack Yarn Company Bamboo Cotton, Artyarns Regal Silk & Artyarns Pearl & Sequin Silk.

Fabulous stash enhancements from a wonderful man! (the husband, verses Santa!)

I hope you all had a nice holiday! We still have a couple of Christmas celebrations to still get through. In the meantime, the weather shows us in quite a snowstorm with the potential of up to 2 feet of snow...great knitting weather!

Merry Christmas

'Twas the night before Christmas in a knitters house....

A Knitter's Christmas Eve,  a poem by Nancy Massaroni 

’Twas the night before Christmas and all around me

There was unfinished knitting not under the tree.

The stockings weren’t hung by the chimney with care

’Cause the heels and the toes had not a stitch there.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,

But I had not finished the caps for their heads.

Dad was asleep—he was no help at all.

And the sweater for him was six sizes too small.

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,

I put down my needles to see what was the matter.

Away to the window I flew like a flash.

Tripped over my yarn and fell down in my stash.

The tangle of yarn that lay deep as the snow

Reminded me how far I still had to go.

When out on the lawn I heard such a noise,

I was sure it would wake up both Dad and the boys.

And although I was tired and my brain a bit thick,

I knew in a moment it must be St Nic.

Yet what I heard left me very perplex-ed

For nothing I heard was what I expect-ed.

"Move Rowan! Move Patons! Move Koigu and Clover!

Move Shelridge! Move Starmore! Move Spinrite! Move over!

Lopi, don’t circle around, just stand there in line.

Pay attention you sheep and you’ll work out just fine!

I know this is hard, as it’s just your first year,

But I’d hate to go back to 8 tiny reindeer."

I peered over the sill.What I saw was amazing!

Eight wooly sheep on my lawn all a-grazing!

And then in a twinkle, I heard at the door

Santa’s big boots stomping on the porch floor.

I rose from my knees and got back on my feet.

As I turned around, St Nic I did meet.

He was dressed all in wool from his head to his toe

And his clothes were hand knit from above to below.

A bright Fair Isle sweater he wore on his back,

And his toys were all stuffed in an Aran sack.

His hat was a wonder of bobbles and lace,

A beautiful frame for his rosy red face.

The scarf on his neck could have stretched for a mile,

And the socks peeking over his boots were Argyle.

On the back of his mitts was an intricate cable.

And suddenly on one I spotted a small label:

"S.C." in duplicate on the cuff.

So I asked, "Hey, Nic, did YOU knit all this stuff?"

He proudly replied, "Ho, ho, ho, yes I did.

I learned how to knit when I was a kid."

He was chubby and plump, a well-dressed old man,

And I laughed to myself, for I’d thought up a plan.

I flashed him a grin and jumped up in the air,

And the next thing he knew, he was tied to a chair.

He spoke not a word, but looked down in his lap

Where I had laid my needles and yarn for a cap.

He began then to knit, first one cap then two.

For the first time I thought I might really get through.

He put heels in the stockings and toes in some socks,

While I sat back drinking a scotch on the rocks.

Quickly like magic his needles they flew,

Good Grief! He was finished by two!

He sprang for his sleigh when I let him go free,

And over his shoulder he looked back at me.

I heard him explain as he sailed past the moon,

"Next year, start your knitting sometime around JUNE!"

Hope you have a very Merry Christmas!

Shrek, Macy's Parade, CO

I hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving!

I was able to watch a couple hours of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and thank goodness during that time Shrek came on!

You know my love of that ogre!

DH ended up taping the rest of the parade for me, so I could watch it later, as we had to leave for dinner.

 

During the parade I was able to CO my next project:

This is the Ripley hat kit from Knit Whits. I found them originally in the vendor flyer for Stitches East 2010. So, in researching my Stitches market day out I was determined to shop there! They had these hat kits in 100% cotton and I was pleasantly surprise that they brought them to Stitches.

I'm currently on the 10th row, which is the ripple row, you can see the difference between the right and left sides in the photo. It is an interesting technique that I am glad to learn, as I can see doing a couple more of these in my future. Although this stitch does make my left ring finger cramp up!

My goal is to finish this within a week...you know how I am with goals.

Happy Thanksgiving!

For me my annual tradition of watching this has already begun. I love it all, and can't wait to see Santa!

I hope your day is full with all that you are thankful for!

Happy Thanksgiving!