Christmas is a time for Friends!

Y'all know how TN Dawn saved my rear when she sent me the NSG #8...Bless her heart, and here is the finished project! I got the hat finished and decided the fishnet sarf I had been working should go to the same person ;)

'Cept Dawn was overly generous with her scosh of yarn that I now have to figure out what to make with the rest of it!!

Project Scoop

Pattern - Beret- had to wing this one and hope for the best!

Yarn- Noro Silk Garden #8

Needles size 7

Pattern- Fishnet Scarf - winged this one too!

Yarn- Noro Silk Garden Sock Yarn #S301

Needles...erm maybe a size 6?

Then, unbeknownst to her, CA Dawn gave me a great idea for a last minute gift to throw in the bag with the slipper gift. My friend at work loooves her Starbucks, so I asked one of the boys to use his considerable charm on the Batista's at our local SB and procure an empty grande cup for me. MMP looked at me and said " You're going to knit a coffee sleeve aren't you?" MMP thought I was going to do them in alpaca...I did not burst his bubble.

Dawns are crocheted and absolutely adorable of course, and I think thicker than these are. TG for friends with great ideas and extra yarn!

Project Scoop

Pattern- Another wing job, took me several tries to get the size right in the end.

Yarn- Left over Cotlin I had laying around

Size 5 DPNS

Here are the happy little packages ready to go to work with me last night.

As far as being in the Christmas spirit, this pretty much covers it. The only decoration I managed to put up was the Fireman Nutcracker I got from JT at work.

That Boy was over the other night, wandering around the house and said "Mary...(cuz he thinks it is cute to call me Mary), where's all your Christmas stuff?" "Under the stairs" I answered, cuz isn't that where we all keep out Christmas stuff this time of year? He just shook his head because he knows I usually deck the place out. I just wasn't in the mood to drag everything out this year. It seemed like I just got the house unpacked and I couldn't face the thought of doing all that extra work. It was hard enough to get the cards into the mail.

Next year, there is always next year...right?

Now to get the rest of the Christmas presents wrapped. Yikes!

Note to self....start earlier next year!

The Joy of the Christmas Card Photo

To start with... Dawn thank you for saving my butt!!

Just as I was about to put out an APB on Ravelry for a scosh of NSG #8, I get a message from Dawn, who just happened to have some leftover yarn.
Hallelujah, Dawn to the rescue!!!!
You know how it is when you put something away in a place you will remember it to keep it "safe", then when you want it you can't find it anywhere??? That is what happened with the beret. I put it away for "safekeeping" then looked high and low for the darn thing. Finally I found it this evening ( I coulda have been done by now) in Raine's knitting bag!!


The other day I got the terrific package in the mail from her, not only was the yarn there (yay) but also some Christmas goodies to include the cutest little Mr Snowman and Jingle Bells stitch markers (more yay). Dawn remember to tell you alittle story about that later.

Yesterday I took little man Brodie to the doggie parlor so he could get a new "do" for his Christmas photos. Normally as you know, he loves the camera and thinks he should be in every picture. That was not the case yesterday. I bought him the cutest little Christmas hat for his photo. I thought he looked adorable....Brodie? Not so much! We did get exactly two good pictures to use for our cards.

But pretty much the rest of them looked like this! He would not look at me to save his soul. More than a little upset that I made him wear the silly hat I am thinking. Not even laughing and blowing kisses would change his mind. And finally... Then little Elf Slippers (Rav link)are finto! It seemed like it took forever to get them to felt, curse of the front loading washer. Even with with dryer balls and a bath towel in there with them it took about 6 washings. At least I was saving energy with each load...lol.

Christmas knitting

Hoping every one's Thanksgiving was wonderful! Mine certainly was. To my surprise, I actually got to enjoy the entire day with my family (minus that sleeping thing I am compelled to do on occasion).

As usual, real time gets away from me. I've made a pretty good dent in the 'ole Christmas shopping game, very neatly avoiding Black Friday by hibernating inside my house and doing all of my shopping online. Now it is just a matter of waiting for the UPS guy to bring me my goodies.

Last minute gift ideas...again as usual. I have begun (twice) a beret intended for a gift, and darned if I am not out of that particular Noro, so I can't finish it at this time. Now I am on the hunt for Silk Garden #8, less than a skein...story of my life.

Other gift idea, a pair of house slippers from a pattern I found on Ravelry. I cannibalized my sweater ( that I'm never going to wear) to make these. By trial and error, I finally figured out that I needed to cast on 15 stitches rather than the 20 the pattern called for. It was the difference in yarn weights. It helped when I found someone else's notes stating the squares were 4x4 inches, which made calculating the size all that much easier.

Construction was a little confusing. I had to watch the corresponding YouTube video a couple of times when I was sewing them together.

Felting now occuring :) and since I have a front loader, I add those spiky dryer balls into the mix to help along the felting process. Still, it will take at least two washings. Hopefully I will have those finsihed slippers to show next. And if I find a skein of #8 maybe another beret too.