Christmas '09 Recap

I hope that everyone had a very Merry Christmas. I sure did even though we had three separate gift openings this year. One on Christmas Eve another on Christmas day and the last Christmas evening. The company was wonderful and the food fantastic.

I didn't finish all the scarves but the brothers were pleased anyway. I ordered a beading kit to make mom's gift and when it hadn't been shipped out after a week I was afraid that it wouldn't arrive in time. The mailperson delivered it on the 23rd and I finished it the morning of the 24th. I would have finished it on the first day if I hadn't started so late and wasn't doing other things. The kit is the Circle of Circe (which is no longer listed) from Earthfaire.


She loves it and put it on as soon as she opened it on Christmas day. I must say I'm a little envious because it is truly gorgeous but as always she'll let me borrow it.

I gifted four of the beaded bracelets and everyone loved them. I'm glad that I made them for specific people otherwise it would have been hard for me to give them away.

One of lys' in the area, The Needler, had their after Christmas sale on the 26th. I purchased a Halo sweater kit by Jojoland, enough Berroco Lustra for a sweater and found a closer source of the Kreinik Metallic Braids that are used in the bracelets. Now I need to find a source for the Silk Serica used in the necklace. I'm already assembling beads to make a kit so that I can knit another one.


Once again we will be hosting a New Year's Eve get together. I kinda thought I had gotten out of it this year since I do all of the food preparation but when mom asked me for the grocery list I knew what was coming. It will be a fun time and I'll be taking it easy on New Year's day.

I haven't made any resolutions but I'm going to try to buy less yarn and knit more especially for me. I didn't do much charity knitting in '09 some I'm going to try and up that also. In other words I hope to have a very knitterly 2010.

Caera and Green Thumb

I needed something fairly quick that would give me a break from the Christmas knitting and Caera was indeed the right pick.




Specs:
Pattern: Caera by Lucy Sweetland downloaded from a black pepper.
Yarn: Sublime cashmere merino silk DK
Needles: 6 circular needle and dpn's
Size: One size

I like the feel of the yarn but it has given a strange cast to the hat. I could see the small fibers coming to the top as I knitted. I'm glad this is a hat that won't be subjected to the rubbing that would cause it to pill. I've already picked off several tufts of fiber today.

I searched high and low for the fingerless gloves that I'd made for mom and finally came to the conclusion that she must have taken them with her on the cruise. She said she used them on the bus to and from Miami to keep her hands warm so I'm finally getting around to taking pictures.



Specs:
Pattern: Green Thumb by Mooseknits
Yarn: Knit Picks Telemark Bayberry
Needles: 3 US dpn's
Size: Medium

She loves them and has worn them regularly since I gave them to her. I have another pair in the works but she probably won't get them until after Christmas. I highly recommend this pattern.

That's the update for now and thanks for the gingerbread suggestions.

Clickety Clack

The knitting needles have been clicking away at Chez Morris. I finished one scarf set and cast on the second scarf.


This is an in progress shot of the first scarf. I need to block everything so I'm saving them for one blocking marathon. I've enjoyed knitting the hats and scarf and didn't find the 286 stitch pick up as tedious as some have indicated. This is truly an inspired design and I've enjoyed the details that went into making the scarf.

To give myself a break I cast on the Caera hat by of Zebraknits of {a-black-pepper}. It is available as Ravelry download.


I'm using Sublime cashmere merino silk DK. It knits beautifully but is already beginning to show some of the tell tale signs of pilling as I knit it. I keep having to dislodge little bits of fluff. I'm at the crown shaping so this will soon be in the FO column.

I thought I'd add another photo of the cactus since I only included close ups in the previous post.


This is always the first bit of holiday cheer that we have in the house. We put up the last Christmas tree yesterday and the in-house decorations. I'm almost finished with the shopping and will soon start wrapping.

I'm looking for a good gingerbread cookie recipe. If you have one please share or direct me to a good one. I plan to make cookies with the boys on the 19th and this will be my first time making gingerbread cookies. I was tempted to purchase a couple of the copper ones at Williams Sonoma but at $8 a pop we're opting for a cheaper version. Thanks in advance.

Countdown

I've been diligently working on the first Mars scarf. The shaping and construction is far from normal and consists of two ribbed panels that are picked up along a central strip. One of the panels is shaped to form a collar that fits snug around the neck. It is this design feature that drew me to the pattern.


The 8-row repeat works up fairly quick but it is still taking a good bit of time to knit the 45+ inch center. I'm hoping that I can get all three completed before Xmas and finish the sweater for mom, although I've already decided that if push comes to shove I'll give them the hats and they'll get the scarves later. I put mom's gift on hold last year and she didn't get it until well after Xmas so it wouldn't be fair to have her wait again.

My favorite plant, the Holiday Cactus, is blooming like crazy this year. We left it outside longer which allowed the plant to set almost 3 times as many buds. I've been practicing using the macro setting on the new camera to capture close shots.





The next thing I'm going to work on is re-organizing the craft room. It is in such disarray that I almost hate to go in there. I have maxed out all of the storage space in the room and with all the additional yarn and book purchases I made this year stuff is everywhere. I'm not into resolutions but I have to make a serious committment to use what I have. Wish me luck!