more yarn!

this year i don't seem to have the "christmas is over" depression i usually do. maybe because i can finally start knitting for myself! not that i don't enjoy knitting for others, but it is a lot of work during the holidays! i quickly whipped up a scarf using some patons allure and trendsetter aura i had leftover from a project earlier in the year.



last night i cast on for this great scarf, courtesy of sheep in the city. i am using lion brand landscapes. i was inspired by creazativity's use of the yarn. i had a couple balls of it stashed away so i figured why not? i don't generally knit with the less expensive yarns due to the acrylic content, and i am being reminded why as i knit this. don't get me wrong, i love the colorway and pattern, but the yarn not so much. we'll see when i get a little further if it will be frogged. it is curling slightly and i won't tolerate that :) if i don't think blocking will take care of it, i will frog. rumor has it this yarn can actually felt so it may be used for something at a later date. but for now it looks like this



i still have several of my knitted gifts to give out so no posting of my holiday knitting quite yet. not to mention my brother refused to model his new hats knowing they would be posted on the www. i did however receive some lovely gifts related to knitting. i was soo happy, i was really looking forward to my first christmas as a knitter! i wasn't disappointed. i got a few lovely balls of yarn (picked out by non-knitters, didn't they do a great job?!)




also received some great pink cascade 220. below is the most perfect sewing (knitting) basket and a ball winder!! i love it!!



it was a lovely christmas. i also enjoyed spending some time before i went to bed each night catching up on blogs and seeing what people were up to. lots of last minute knitting and baking. it was fun to read.

below are the obligatory pics of the kit kats. they had a good christmas and a little too much catnip! i didn't manage to get any pictures of them with their knitted dim sum i whipped up. they were more interested in the store bought catnip cigar.





hope you all had a nice holiday weekend as well!

happy holidays!

i plan on baking up a storm and spending lots of time with my family and friends this week so i am considering this my Happy Holidays! post. i will also be celebrating my one year knitting anniversary. last year for christmas i received the stitch n bitch book and after that there was no stopping me. i enjoy knitting so much but i also enjoy the wonderful knitting community on the web. especially all the blogs out there that share their projects and ideas! it is amazing and i look forward to another year of inspired knitting! for those of you who read my blog regularly, thank you! it means so much!

i do have a few things to share before i sign off to wrap the last of my gifts. first, is a project that is probably the most heartfelt gift i made this year. a beautiful felted sheep for my mom. she collects sheep, and although she saw it in progress, she has yet to see the finished product. this is my first attempt at anything like this. it was challenging at first learning to read the pattern and to make it through rows that included a ton of wrap and turns. my mom rarely pops by the blog so for your viewing pleasure i provide you with this



it definately did not shrink as much as i thought it would, but felted like a dream! i bought the 'special' cream yarn (i can't remember the brand) that actually felts (remember the white felting nightmare?). i left it in the washing machine for quite awhile to get it as small as possible. i finally took it out when i could feel how thick it had become. prior to felting, the sheep was not as pretty, too much garter stitch.



i am such a fan of kinder eggs i thought i would also post my surprise! it was very cute! i am hoping to have another egg in my stocking, i love the silly little toys!



ok friends, i need to get back to wrapping. i finally settled on my theme for wrapping this year and am enjoying the simplicity of it because they don't take nearly as long to 'decorate' as ones i did in years past! :)



i wish those of you who celebrate, a Very, Merry Christmas and much Peace and Joy in the New Year.

i love mail

this time of year it is always fun to go to the mailbox and see what goodies are inside. i love getting christmas cards and all the packages that come from ordering online. last year i got the sweetest thing, it was a kinder advent calendar. i loved it! this year there weren't as many on ebay and they were going for a lot more than i paid last year. so instead of the calendar i bought myself this bunch of goodies



if you haven't tried kinder chocolate you are missing out! very yummy, but hard to find over here. i actually only like the eggs for the toy inside (i'll post a pic when i open one up) because i don't like just plain chocolate. but there are other candies like the happy hippo and kinder bueno are delicious. especially if you like hazelnuts. okay enough posting about candy!

i have been knitting quite a bit but can't post due to the previously mentioned surprise factor. i have been taking snapshots though so i will have lots to post after the gifts are given. i will however show you what my couch has looked like for the past several days as i navigate between several projects



if you look closely you can see my constant companions, the denise knitting needles set and the last minute knitted gifts book.

i came across a fellow mini cooper owner's knitting blog today. she had pics from what looked like a new mini accessories catalog. i was happy to find my copy in my mailbox today! mini has the best marketing ever...check out their catalog, it had this funny board game on the back



super cool as is most of their stuff. including the car! :) alright i better sign off before i go on and on about how much i love my car, which no one wants to hear!!

serendipity

my family started a tradition a few years back in which we celebrate december 1st. we do so by exchanging small gifts (although each year they seem to get bigger!). it is mainly just my mom and i, but we started to include my dad too. my gift from my mom was ordered online and hasn't arrived yet, so she found a way to do it without the actual item. confused? this was my gift

yum, yum! frozzzen hot chocolate like they serve at serendipity in new york. apparently it was featured on oprah and so the mix that you can buy is backordered most places. mine should arrive next week possibly. but my mom was handy and did a web search and came up with the official recipe. she bought the bowls and all (though they were a bit smaller than the serendipity ones, but i think smaller is better in this case). she also bought me the movie serendipity - can't go wrong with a john cusack pic either!!

fresh whip cream went on top and so we shared with the other family members chase and abby


in return i gave my mom a gift that was based on her collection of yellowware. amongst the items was a tea cozy i knit in the same pattern as a yellowware bowl. the pattern (although somewhat altered) is from a local yarn shop, it is quick and cute!


after dinner, dessert and exchanging gifts i came home to my apartment to decorate my tree. eek, it is a lot of work decorating a tree on your own. i think i went a little overboard on the size this year. thank goodness for vaulted ceilings!


i continue to knit christmas gifts - but i did whip up a little hat for myself. it is starting to get very chilly here (well for seattle at least) and at night i have been finding it necessary to have something to keep my head warm. i have lots of hats, but found this to be the perfect project for some manos i had been hording for awhile. pattern is from last minute knitted gifts. this is the 5th item i have knitted from that book!