More Christmas Goodies

Dianne, Lara, Linda and I had a wonderful post-Christmas lunch on Monday afternoon. We met at The Station and I had a great time. It was so nice to just sit, chat, laugh and catch up. After the meal, we exchanged Christmas gifts and I was floored by my friends' generosity. Linda brought back an excellent, Rhinebeck mug that reads, "Yarns Knit Friends Together," a gorgeous skein of Katia, the sparkling snowman and

a car magnet that I had been coveting. :) Again, many thanks Linda!

From Lara, I received a bar of "Knitter's Cream" soap from Bradeen Farm in Maine. It smells good enough to eat and feels wonderful on my skin. The sheep & cart are now atop my yarn shelf in the corner of my living room and book thong (with attached teapot charm) will soon be used on a new book. Beneath these gifts is a Noro Iroho neck warmer (the likes of which only Lara could knit). :)

And last, but not least, a Lantern Moon sweater for my key chain. Thank you so very much Lara!
I was overwhelmed and again, Dianne, Lara and Linda, thank you!

I've been hard pressed to find knitting time lately, but I did manage to work on a couple of projects between Thanksgiving and New Year's. I cast on and have gotten this far on a pair of "Warmest Mittens." It's Classic Elite Skye Tweed on size 4 and 5 needles. I'm such a loose knitter that when I actually have to go something "tight," I switch to significantly smaller needles.

The pink pinwheel is all but done. My friend and neighbor, Muriyea, is going to teach me how to do a pretty crochet trim to finish off the blanket and then, at long last, I'll be done.
For the Knit Night I missed, I started a button flange cabled pillow. It looks very orange-y here, but it's a terra cotta color.
And then I indulged in a bit of 50% off sale yarn. Over Christmas, Andie ate hard candy and popped two of her braces-related rubber bands. Since I had to drive to Lynchburg to get the bands replaced, I made the trip worthwhile by stopping at Backstitches. The big red "SALE" sign was the hook and I just couldn't resist.

The four skeins are Cascade's Bollicine (wool, acrylic & alpaca) and I'm going to use them to make either mittens or man scarves. I also bought some red sock point protectors and a pair of scissors. The Fantasy/Dark Horse yarn is for more Pine Ridge Afghan squares.
I hope all of you have a wonderful New Year!

Christmas Weekend

Christmas was spent in Maryland (yeah, the sister pulled the "I'm eight months pregnant now. Are you really going to make me drive five hours to your house?" card), so the kids and I piled back into the car and had a great weekend in Calvert County.

I spent the weekend playing with Trevor (during battery charging periods). The highlight of his Christmas was his new truck.










Dad came up from Mississippi, all the kids were together and it was wonderful! Hope your holidays were great too. Happy New Year!

Hmmmm...where to start?

Friday, December 12th thru Sunday, the 14th
1. Skander's Braces: Check
2. Andie's Braces: Check, check
3. Midnight ER run for pain meds due to braces: Check, check, check.

Kids are fine now. :)


Christmas Presents!
This is the scarf that my friend, Muriyea, made for me. Muriyea recently learned to knit and she was already an expert at crochet. (See the scalloped edging?)

Jessi hand-dyed this beautiful sock yarn. Thank you again so very much! The colors are amazing and I'm now searching for just the right sock pattern. The sock mojo has returned. :)

And Dianne was, as always, incredibly generous. In addition to a desktop Yarn Harlot calendar, I also received a bottle of Eucalan Lavender, a Della Q tote (yeah, yeah, I'm the Imelda Marcos of knitting totes, I know), Persimmon Tree yarn in a beautiful colorway, a Clover counter and Mary Kay goodies too. This photo doesn't do the bag or fiber any justice. The lighting is totally bizarre so I'll photograph them again. The bag is silk and has the most amazing hues of teal and blue. The Mary Kay goodies included a "ocean sounds" CD and terry socks.

Thank you all for the fabulous presents; I love them!

And now, for your viewing enjoyment, here's my office:

The face of the building is being restored to its original storefront and it's going to be lovely. In the meantime, however, it's bum ugly and freezing cold! Do you see the plywood? Do you see where the light is shining through (and the artic air and dead leaves are wafting in)? LOL

My desk faces this door and there's about ten feet between the two. Fortunately, I have a little space heater and it's keeping me warm enough.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS & NEW YEAR

I Have....

The norovirus aka "stomach flu" is kicking my butt thoroughly. I'll post again as soon as I can.

Andie decided to dress the cat for Christmas. Libbie was NOT pleased to be an elf. ;) I hope you all have a wonderful, happy & healthy holiday! XOXOXO

Thanksgiving in Maryland

On Wednesday, the kids and I finally returned to Maryland for a Thanksgiving visit with my sister, Denise, and her family. We stopped along the way, both going and returning, at my grandmother's house and had nice visits with her too.

This is Denise's backporch view (you're seeing the Patuxent River).

This is my youngest nephew, "Bedhead Trevor." I had an absolute ball playing with him!

Thanksgiving Dinner (Denise refused to serve hot dogs, so we had ham instead).

Photo-taking was mandatory since it was one of the few times where all of the kids were together. This is the "We're sick of pictures!" photo.

and this is the "Smile...or Else" photo. ;)

And a bit of knitting content. I finished the first "Warmest Mitten." Once the second is done, I'll felt them down and see how they turn out.

Want some candy little girl?

...eye candy, that is. LOL

Here are a few of the photographs taken by the Richmond Marathon official photographer, Brightroom Photography. The "old ball & chain" does make my heart flutter....

Crossing the finish line...
Somewhere along the course....
The finish line again.

ISO Knitting Time

The family and I have been running around so much lately that I'm starving for some quiet knitting time. Y'all know the drill...cooking, cleaning, trips, grocery runs, and work (the salaried version) have just taken over lately. I was able to squeak out my cousin's scarf in time for the marathon trip.



I'm taking another plunge into something new...mittens. I've never done them before, but seeing the lovely ones that Dianne and Linda made really inspired me (they and the cold weather too).

Finally, here's Wyatt in my first BSJ. By next winter, it should fit well. :)

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving everyone!

Marathon Highlights

We had a great weekend. Mohamed ran in the 2008 Richmond Marathon (26.2 miles)! Here are the highlights:

We stayed with my cousin, Kori, in Richmond. It was great to spend time with her and she was the soul of patience & hospitality as she guided us through Richmond.

Mohamed did the marathon with his friend, Bill.

The starting line.

Pumped up before the race.
Almost time.

And they're off!

Resting afterwards.

One of the reasons why I knit....

...is because I get to cuddle the person for whom I've knitted. :)

This is Gabrielle Elizabeth just last night.

She burped like a drunken sailor and went to sleep on my shoulder. ;)

And here's Libby enjoying Gabrielle's play thingy.

Little Things

Hi all,
We're busy getting ready for both the Richmond Marathon (Mohamed's gig) and a Thanksgiving trip to Maryland (my gig). Mohamed will be in the marathon this coming weekend and he's very excited. :) Because I've been swamped lately, I've just been knitting small projects. This weekend, I worked up two calorimetries; one for Andie and the other for my niece, Taylor.

I also found a handspun scarf pattern on Ravelry that was designed by the Yarn Harlot, Stephanie Pearl-McPhee. It's one repeat and so very easy.

Have a great week!

Post Election Day

YES!

Election Day

(and I pirated this from Noolie's site). ;D

Last night I finished Larry's waaaaay overdue slipper. Becky and I had trouble getting our hands on Wool Pak's Bracken colorway and I literally waited eight weeks or more to get a hank. I'm going to felt it tonight and ship it to Larry this week. It's mate is already finished and felted.

This was a weekend Calorimetry project for my boss, Linda.

And my first 8-Hour Encore baby blanket. Dianne shared her

wonderful book with me and the patterns are excellent and easy to do.

Halloween Kids

Here's a parade of assorted Alexander "babies" at Halloween. Enjoy!

Wyatt


Hannah the Jaguar, Sabrina the Butterfly and Olivia the Elephant



Andie the Witch (with friend)



Hope you had a safe and fun Halloween. :)