Holly Daze

I'm such a bad blogger...sorry.

So, my birthday season came and went. It wasn't a particularly stellar one, as my birthday seasons go, but it wasn't too bad. I didn't get to see half the movies I wanted to see. I didn't try any restaurants that I've been wanting to try. I also didn't get to see many of the people I wanted to see. It wasn't as bad as all that. Here's a little something that I bought for myself. A girl's gotta buy herself a little sussie every now and then, you know.




I've been wanted to purchase that book since I heard about it. It has innovative methods for knitting socks. I've started reading some of it, and it makes good sense. I also bought some little stitch markers (pictured next to the book) that are needed for the formulas and methods. They have a different letter on each one, and make it easy to keep straight which marker marks which spot. I know, I know... I could've made my own, but it was a birthday sussie.

After the birthday season, we ease into the beginning of The Holidays.

First, we have Thanksgiving. Ours was nice. We went to the country club and had a nice lunch. I had a turkey breast roasting in the oven for turkey sandwiches during the Cowboys game later. (How 'bout them Cowboys?)

Secondly, there's Black Friday. I did the Black Friday thing once a few years ago. It was fun. This year, I scoped the sales ads and found two things that I really needed. One is a gift for the kid, and the other is a little something for me to block my knitting. I was able to score both items, and both were door busters - but I didn't have to get there at the crack of dawn to get them. Yay! Next, I went to the movies and had a generally wonderful day all to myself. Then, I came home and watched the Aggies beat the hell outta t.u. Whoop! (How 'bout them Ags?)

Finally - Christmas season begins. I really like to mark it on December 1, but since there is an extra week between Thanksgiving and December 1, I figure it's on! I put the Christmas CDs in the car, tuned in the XM Holiday station (103 for those who care) and got out the Christmas dishes.

All the husb has to do is put the Christmas lights on the tree. He chose to get it down and put it together last weekend. I told him he could wait until this weekend, but he wanted to get the lights on during the week and then I could hang the ornaments.

Um...check it out.




Yep...no lights yet. Tomorrow is December 1st, and the tree is lightless.

I made out the Christmas list a few weeks ago, but more importantly, I decided months ago that I would not be knitting any gifts this year. I needed a year off. However, this year was the year for "shopping the stash." I tried really hard to use stash yarn first when I got the urge to make something. The thing that I noticed was, I have some yarn - a good bit of my stash - that I bought because it was "a deal." In theory, it would save me money and I could make some neat stuff. In reality, I have some yarn that I am constantly trying to make work for the projects that I have in mind. I'm not going to do the "deal" buying anymore. I don't want a stash anymore. I just want to go project to project. (Yeah, yeah...We'll see how long that lasts.)





I've been eyeing this yarn that I bought three or four years ago. It's Naturgarn No 1 by Gjestal. I bought it originally to make felted purses, but a body can have so many felted purses. I'll show you what I end up making with it after Christmas. Until then, it is top secret.

On that note, I will end today's entry. The STARS are playing tonight; so, I hope to go watch them win.

Merry Karma out.

Fall Leaves Tour

Here's a shot from the lodge where we stopped to eat near the highest part of the Talemina Trail that runs from Oklahoma to Arkansas. It is noted for it's beautiful panoramic scenery, especially at this time of the year, when the leaves are changing colors. The weather forecast for Saturday was sunny and warm... It was neither.

I was hoping to be able to take you on the tour with some great pictures. Instead, here's some knitting:

First, FOs:
















The kid is modeling the hat that I made with the Blue Sky Chunky yarn he chose on our trip to Tricoter in August. The recipe is quite simple: I will come back and post it later.















I finally finished the socks!!!


On the needles:















This car seat blanky was inspired by this pattern . I thought I would shop the stash and make a little gifty for one of the many girls that my friends are expecting in the next few months. I am using Cabana by Reynolds. I cast on 38 stitches, using the first and last three for a garter stitch border. I knitted the first and last 4 rows in garter. I used the ridges garter stitch from the pattern in between the border stitches. Tres easy. It is knitting quickly.















Such a cute baby sweater. I've knitted it before. It's Daydream, from Rowan Babies. I am using Sirdar Snuggly DK in a pretty pink. I am finishing the right front tonight, and then I will knit both sleeves at the same time.

Jack and Hat

We have a joke in our family that our pumpkins wear the same face year after year. Husb carves them every year, except for the couple of times the kid and I carved an additional one to join Jack. So, here's a picture of said Jack Number 1-32.

Next to Jack is the hat that I started last night. All I have to do is run the tail through the top stitches and close off. It is made from Blue Sky Bulky. The kid picked out the yarn from Tricoter in Seattle. He has good taste.