My 12 Days of Christmas Vacation

Technically it's only 11 days, but I am counting tonight as one day. The minute I walked out of work tonight, I was in the holiday mood. After dinner, shopping with the Tall Guy, a glass of wine, a cuppa mystic chai tea and some knitting on the great nephew's sweater, I am ready to hit the hay.---the first day of my Christmas vacation!

Tomorrow, I get the house to myself as both the Tall Guy and Baby Boy B have to work. I'm going to get up when I feel like it, drink some coffee and open the drapes when the mood strikes me. he plan tomorrow is to chill, finish knitting the little nephew's swearer and start the little niece's sweater. Also, on the list for tomorrow is some wrapping while there aren't any prying eyes.

Oh I've got lots of plans for my 12 days of Christmas vacation, mostly involving knitting and doing what I dang well please!

Wednesday Website

Now, if I had a yarn shop, I would so have one of these next year.  Seriously, this is such a cool video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-h7TnO6TBx4

Will It Fit? 

The last time I tried knitting for my great-nephew it was a bust.  I think he could wear it all of five minutes.  Since he doesn't live close by, and my niece is not to handy with the measurements, I thought I'd go another direction.  Armed with the size he is currently, I went to our local Walmart and bought a t-shirt in the same size.

Voila, I am knitting it to the t-shirt's measurements.  When finished, I'll either return the shirt or give it to him as part of his Christmas presents.

Pretty smart eh?!

The Goodie Bag Hat

  by Cheryl Oberle

 The Yarn - Classic Elite Liberty Wool.  I love the feel of this yarn, well and of course the colors.  So much that I went back for the rest of it, for a scarf and if enough a pair of mittens.

 When off the head, it doesn't look like a hat,

And from the front, it isn't the most flattering of looks, but on me there aren't many hats that do look good on me.

Best of all is the back.  I've been wanting a hat like this for sometime.  It will be a great hat for walking in the winter when it gets colder.  Normal hats, the hair gets in the way and more times than not, I was trying to keep the hat on with the pony tail.  Then, I'd get warm and pull it off and then cold and try to get it back on.

If you are interested in the free  pattern, pop on over to http://www.cheryloberle.com/The%20Goodie%20Bag%20Hat%20.cwk%20(WP).pdf

My hat took me 5 days to knit, but in reality, there is still time for you to knit one before Christmas!



The Countdown Is On!

No, not for Christmas, but the countdown until no work....5 Days until 10 days off! Technically, it includes weekends, but for me it is a straight shot of  doing only what I want to do.  At this writing, I am still noodlin taking Friday off.

I've got a little list going on in my head of what I would like to accomplish while on break.  I'm working towards our family celebration on New Year's Eve so I have plenty of time to finish the two top down sweaters for the great-nephew and great-niece.  And then I am seriously going to try and get some things off of needles for me.

This time off for the holidays are going to be so different.  Since both eves land on a Saturday, the regular knitting at Knit 4 Together won't happen.  There will be a little withdrawal there.

It will just be the Tall Guy and Baby Boy B for both Christmas Eve and Christmas day as everyone else we usually get together are going to be in Iowa or Aurora.  Something similar happened a couple of years ago, and I swore then that wouldn't happen again.  I think though, I can almost unequivocably say that this is the last year that will happen.

Next year, we will definitely be in Iowa for Christmas, because wait for it....it will be our grandchild's first Christmas!  You heard it here, and you know what that means...baby knitting starts soon.

I Love Getting Mail

From the days when I was a kid, I have always loved getting mail.  In the summertime, mom would let me get the summer edition of Weekly Reader.  Now, the first thing I look at when I come home is the mail.  Sometimes, I'll even call and ask if we got any good mail?

Good mail for me is something knitting related.  Could be a magazine, could be a catalog or could be something I ordered.  Yesterday, the good mail was my new autographed copy of the new Schoolhouse Press book.

I'm so excited to sit down this early a.m in the quiet of the house with a cuppa and look/read my new book.

Good mail indeed.

I Might Have To Make Me A Pair Of These

But not until the new year.  These are by Kate Spade, cost $65.  Only problem with knitting these is that there seems to be a real lack of finger weight yarn in white or as close to white as I can get. 

You have to admit these are kind of cool, even if it has a dirty four letter work on them.  They just scream ME!



I Just Couldn't Resist

There I was knitting along on my great-nephew's sweater, when I felt the urge.

To cast on Cheryl Oberle's Goodie Bag Hat.  This pattern is perfect for those of us with long hair who need something to cover the head when we are out running/walking.  I've tried the ear thingies before but just haven't been happy with them.

Then Cheryl comes along with this freebie pattern and I just felt the need to cast on for it.  And the perfect yarn is some Liberty Wool that I have had waiting for a scarf, but I think it really wanted be this hat.

You can read more about the hat over at
http://knitaway-one.blogspot.com/2011/12/goodie-bag-hat.html

Happy Wednesday Website!

This Just Says It All

Thank you my dear friend Debbie.  You know me too well!

You Know The Drill

It's Sunday.  It's a new week.  I have an agenda/list albeit it is in my head at the moment.

I went to Weight Watchers yesterday.  They rolled out the new 2012 program.  I have committed myself to lose during the holiday season.  I am also giving myself a month from today to see some weight loss and some changes in my exercise program.  If after a month I have not changed my ways, I am not paying WW anymore $. It will be time to reassess.

The Tall Guy is putting the finishing touches on the bathroom downstairs today, painting the walls that are still blank.  Then in a week or so, he will put up a coat rack down the outside walls so we can hang towels there to dry.  I saw that idea on Pinterest and thought it would be a good way to get rid of a towel rack that is taking up room in front of my sewing machine that I would like to ge to.

I'm excited to get the bathroom downstairs done too.  I'm moving the make up and hair stuff to the bathroom down there from the bedroom too.  The bedroom is a spring project, but I am trying to get a head start on it and de-clutter through the winter when I get a chance.

After the painting, the Tall Guy is moving upstairs this afternoon to that bathroom to finish up the light switches and outlet covers.  I've already started this morning in both bathrooms putting things in the cabinets and drawers.  I bought a shower curtain and other cool stuff for the upstairs bathroom.  Once we get it all together, I'll post pics of both bathrooms.

The real plan for today was to clean the upstairs and put my tree up, we'll see if I get that done or just the other decorations.  I've also got some work to do for the real job, but may leave that until tonight. 

It's the beginning of the week and time to jump in.



Everyone Loved Their Scarves

It was a once in a lifetime deal.  Never to be repeated.  We did it Norma!  

Wednesday Websites

I have probably posted this before, but I have to tell you about what I did tonight.  I belong to the Planet Purl email list.  Earlier this week, Beth sent a note out letting us know about a video chat that she was doing with Connie Chang Chinchio.  I know the name from some patterns that I like that Connie has designed for Interweave Knits.  I have never really taken advantage of the video chats with Beth, but since there really isn't anything on Wednesday nights that I want to watch, I decided to tune in.

It was a fantastic chat.  Beth showed some of the patterns from Connie's new book "Textured Stitches"  Can you say I am ordering the book for me???  The first six cardigans we saw tonight are perfect for my work wardrobe.  Enough stockinette and texture to keep it interesting.  The next four we saw were okay, but not my faves.  Then the last six were accessories.  I could see myself knitting some of those!  So I am off to order the book for me!

I'll check back in with Beth over on Planet Purl for her happy hours real soon.

In the meantime, check out these websites:
http://planetpurl.com/planetpurl/search.htm
http://www.conniechangchinchio.com/blog/

Conclusions

About a week before Thanksgiving, it seems like Christmas is quite a ways away.  Then all of a sudden, Thanksgiving is here and oy, Christmas is just around the corner.

It becomes way evident to me that if I want to knit things for Christmas, that Thanksgiving is not the time to start!  This year, the twoper scarves kept me a little busy right before Thanksgiving.  Now that Christmas is in sight, I can't help but wish that I had started earlier on my Christmas knitting and had some fun things to blog about.

So, tonight, I am going to pick up the great nephew's top down sweater and knit a bit on it.  Even though we are not getting together with them until New Year's Eve, it may be possible to knit on this to get it to a point where he can try it on and then I can finish the rib.

There are a couple of striping options that I have seen over on Ravelry that I might try out on his sweater.  One has them right at the armpit, the other a combo of thin and chunky stripes towards the bottom of the sweater.

I'm still not sure where I am going with the great niece's sweater.  That may be a between Christmas and New Year's knitting project.

I think for next year, I need to put on my google calendar now, to start my Christmas knitting around October 1st.  When do you start your Christmas knitting?

I Know It's Not Wednesday!

I seem to be blogging lately about websites and not on Wednesdays, but they just seem to come up and in the interest of not repeating something you may already have seen, I just had to blog this little youtube video. It's just too darn cute to keep until Wednesday.
http://www.youtube.com/embed/GzxkNRvujiw

Not sure what is going on but, it's 3:30 pm on a Sunday and I am just getting around to feeling like doing anything. I've just been hanging out in my fave chair enjoying the cleaness of the house right now.  I really need to get serious about doing something.  I have not even knitted yet today.  Just been watching HGTV.

Sometimes you just have to chill.

No Not Yet

Despite that the guys who are remodeling our tiny bathroom worked from 8am this morning until 8pm tonight, the bathroom is still not ready for me to use.  I say me, because I sort of made a decision that this is not going to be the bathroom that we use every day.  We are going to keep using the new bathroom downstairs for our showers so this one can look good for awhile.  Can you say she must live in house with men?

Anywho - here is the course of five days work.

 They completly gutted it!  Took out our old moldy window, installing a nice new vinyl one and pulled the old tub out.  Glad I wasn't around when they had to do that.

 New plaster and walls. In the exposed area is where a tiny little cupboard was when we bought the house.  On the first bathroom remodel, the Tall Guy boarded over it.  It was kind of a hoot to see it again.

New underlayment went down on the floor, something the tall guy and his dad didn't do in the first remodel about 30 years ago.

 Brand new slate tile done in an offset pattern.  Funny thing is though that one odd tile.  Of all the tiles left in the box, one wonders why the tile guys used it?  It's not terrilby offensive now that the toilet is down.
This sure is a change from my little one inch tiles that were always popping up and having to be re-glued down all the time.  There were times when I just would pull the rug over them and forget about them for awhile.

 New paint!  It is not as blue as this picture would indicate, more aqua but not a deep caribe.  Later this week, I am going to go shopping for a new shower curtain.  Not sure right now what direction I am going with that, but it will be fun checking out Bed Bath and Beyond or Kohls for that.

 A new medicine cabinet, vanity and sink.  The sink is not operational yet because it was missing a piece so that will be finished later.  Tomorrow is a trip to Menards to get lightbulbs for the medicine cabinet. These are not your normal lights so that might be an experience.  Not sure what I was thinkin when I told him to put the towel bar up there, I think it might of had to do with not wanting to mar the wainscoating with it.  But I am going to live with it.

And finally a new tub surround.  I wish I would have taken pictures of the before, but actually it would be way too embarrassing to post them!  The shower and window was bordering on gross and I am surprised the DIL ever wanted to take showers in this one.

The guys will be back next week to caulk and finish up some things.  Also the painters need to come back as the paint job was not up to par, but we will deal with that as it comes.

It's been a long day.  After the guys left, I started dusting and sweeping all that fine dust that remodeling creates.  I was just going to do a bit, but once I got going, I just wanted to be done with it.  Tomorrow, I'll vaccum the furniture and kick back after that. 

This remodeling stuff is hard work.

I'm Still Here

It's just that last Monday, the contractors started on the remodel of our bathroom.  All the furniture had to be shoved to one side.  The Yarn Room is full was shut down and sealed as best I could to leave out the dust.  I shoved the laptop in there as well so I've been functioning on my iPad all week long.  They are not done yet, telling me that they will be here most of tomorrow, but will be finished.  We'll see about that.

In the meantime, here's a website for the Holidays:

http://www.garnstudio.com/julekalender.php?lang=en

The Holiday Weekend Is Over

Baby Boy A, wife and grand dog are on their way home.  The house is quiet.  We had 17 in the house to eat last night.  We were filled to the gills, but still it was a nice evening.

I've ate my way through the weekend and my body is feeling it.  It is time to start back on the program, some exercise and decent sleep patterns.

All of the twopers are done unless, tomorrow we get a lot more reservations at work.  If that happens then there will be a mad dash to knit more in a week and a half.  I am pretty confident we are okay with what we have.

Time to knit for me. Ahhhh.  What to knit first?

It's Small Business Shopping Saturday~

It's going to be a busy day.  Going out to Dunlap to Knit Four Together to shop my fave local small business yarn shop!  They are having a sale today so of course I have to go.

Then, home to set up our liv room dining room for 17 people and a dog.  Baby Boy A said there is now way we can get that many people in here.  Well, we are going to give it the college try.    We are going to be up close and personal, but we are going to have some chili and fun!

The holiday weekend continues~

                                                I am thankful  for all of you my knitting friends.

Have a great Thanksgiving!

Just A Little Catchup

My Duffers don't fit me.  I'm not as crazy about them as I was last weekend.  I think I might like them better unfelted.  I'll revisit that later.

Saturday, I will be shopping at my local small business.  Knit Four Together, of course, and they are having a sale.  Lots happening on Saturday - we are having everyone here for a second Thanksgiving celebration for Baby Boy A and his wife and my neice and her family.

I just have two more scarves to knit for the Girls Holiday Bash.  The total is going to be around 47 which will be more than I think we are going to need, so there will be extras for the giving tree at work.  The one on the right is the Eco Duo that I love and it may stay in my bag for me.  I have a brown jacket that it will go with.  But, what I really looking for is a brown wool coat.  Do you know how hard that is to find?!

I cast on a child's neckdown this morning before work.  There is another in the bag that I would like to cast on and get knitted far enough down to let my neice, her mom and friend knit on a bit after I teach them how to knit on Thanksgiving.  At least that is the plan.  Neither of these are Christmas presents.  The nice part is that we can try them on as we knit on them to make sure they fit.  In the past when I have tried to stealth knit sweaters for presents, it doesn't always work out quite to my expectations.

I need to finalize plans for Beginning Knitting on Thursday.  I bought both of the young gals this book on the suggestion of a fellow knitting teacher.  This is going to be an interesting experience.  I don't think I ever taught anyone from the start.  Always in the past, they have a little basic knitting knowledge.

Last Sunday, I cast on for the Cranberry Capelet out of Berroco Flicker.  This is going to be so cool and I am anxious to knit more on it.  But for now, it will have to wait until Saturday.

Lots of knitting on this front.  Once the twopers are done, it is going to be back to knitting as usual.