Though We've Got To Say Goodbye

Good-bye 2017!  How quickly you went by, how slowly the knitting seemed.  I get a kick out of looking at what I accomplished in my knitting year every December 31st.  It seems like there should be so much more on this list in the field of sweaters.  Something as you will see below, I am going to rectify for 2018.  Here is the tally for 2017.

10 Shawls - Hospice included here

5 Blankets  - and here

1 Tank Top

2 Pullovers

1 Cardigan

2 Hats

1 Cowl

1 Christmas Stocking

1 set of Hand Warmers

1 Blanket Square

Wonder what 2018 will bring?  These are my goals (knitting and otherwise) for 2018:

Fish or Cut Bait WIPS, 1 per month.  Every first of the month, I am going to reach into my chest of WIPS and pull a project bag out randomly.  No shoving it back in if I don't like the project.  For that month, I have to knit on it or rip it out, re-purpose or toss the yarn and move on.

Knit sweaters for me from my stash, from patterns I have accumulated.  I've got some **nice sweater quantities in my stash and some great patterns and books in my library.  It is time to take advantage of them.  My goal is to knit at least two per season = 8 sweaters for 2018.

Knit from stash **see above.  Unless, I absolutely have nothing in the stash ( like a baby yarn in a particular color way).  The Yarn Stores are gonna miss me.  Side note - yarn souvenirs are acceptable.

Knit for Stitches Midwest 2018 - the Knit Wits have a little contest that we have to knit for next year's SMW out of the purchases from last year ( and someone sweetened the challenge by suggesting we do three items, one from each of the past three years, okay, that might have been me who suggested that part)

Knit for Knit Camp and get them blocked and ready for July before July.  To accomplish this one, I am reinstating my thought that every night, at 10pm, the t.v. must go off, and I work on my knit camp project for one hour in piece and quiet.  Then off to bed by 11 pm on work nights.

On the non-knitting front, well, it is the same ole thing.  Eat better, lose some weight (did I mention I am going to Florida for a girls week the first of March), get more walking in, prepare something besides an apple and peanut butter for lunch every work day, and just all the round prepare more for the work day.  Most of all enjoy life, laugh lots, have fun and try (emphasis on try) to not sweat the small stuff in 2018!  Life is just too dang short as I have discovered more than once in 2017.

Have a safe New Year's Eve and I'll catch you on the purl side!

It's A Wrap!

The end of the 2017 projects.

Another project from Espace Tricot, pattern and yarn

And Baby Boy A's new Christmas Stocking.

That's it for 2017, they are in the books!

Now For The Real Holiday

I have the entire week off between Christmas and New Years.  The Tall Guy does not.  The grandkids are coming on the first so we will celebrate one more Christmas then.

The snow arrived on  Christmas Eve and then it went to the single digits here at Chez PJKnits. Me, I am taking advantage of this week off and a quiet house.  Staying up late, sleeping in a bit, drinking coffee, knitting and watching knitting podcasts.  It is the best!  I love the quiet and just me during the day.

I've managed to finish a couple of things to show you on Friday.  They are all the way finished, meaning blocked and in some cases in the hands of the recipients, one other is for Baby Boy A who will get it after the first.

In the meantime, I knit something for me, and knit a bit on my Nice-capades sweater.

I cast on another Getting Warmer, but this is as far as it got for now.

I've got to get busy on my Knitmas gift (deadline February 1st ) and have made a bit of headway on it this morning, but, alas,  I cannot show it yet, as it is a surprise and I am keeping it under wraps or in the bag for now.  I'm documenting it as I go and later in February, I'll give you the play by play of it all.

Have a great Wednesday and stay warm with your knitting nearby!!

Merry Christmas!

Not Christmas Knitting

Really New Year's Knitting.

Baby Boy A's wife asked for a new stocking for him for Christmas.  I'm having some fun with this one.  When it is all finished, I'll show the finished stocking.

But, this was last night.  I needed a bit of quiet while I worked one of the color work patterns, and the fake fire place was perfect.

I'm hoping to have the heel worked out today.  It is snowing a fair amount today in Central Illinois, so there is definitely going to be a white Christmas.  I'm enjoying my day watching it snow, with some nice hot coffee and in a bit will watch my favorite Christmas movie, A White Christmas.

I hope you are having a nice little Christmas Eve!

The Last Day of Work This Year!

No work until January 3rd!

What a wonderful way to finish out the year!  Let the holiday begin!

Finally Finished Friday

A couple of Christmas presents for the celebration tomorrow.

Fingerless mitts for one of my great nieces.

And a hat for the other great niece.

Ho Ho Ho!

Sometimes We Have Fun

At work. 

Every year, we have Unit Parties.  There is lots of different foods and we go from department to department having fun, eating lots, way lots. 

 

It is such a great time of the year and always makes me so glad I work this bunch of nuts.

Happy Thursday!

The Countdown - 5 Days

Yea!!! Only five days left of work and then more than a week off!

In the meantime, I still am waiting on a couple of presents to arrive and I need to shop for the rest of Mona Lisa's present.  She is at the age, that if she doesn't have the same amount of presents under the tree as Poppy, that she notices.

I finished a couple of knitting projects for our Halverson Christmas next weekend, and I'll post about them on Friday.

In the meantime, today has been a busy day.  The Tall Guy and I made two batches of fudge and finished up tonight getting it cut and in the tins for my staff at work so I can deliver it tomorrow.  The making it goes so much nicer when I have help.  And he got in the spirit of it and queued up some holiday music on iRadio for us.

The grandkids are not coming home until the new year, and one of the requests from my daughter-in-law is that Baby Boy A get a new knitted stocking.  I've been procrastinating on it, having had just the rib on it for several weeks, so I decided it was time to get moving on it.

I figure the sooner I put this one to bed, then I can give some full attention to my Nice-capades sweater, other than on Saturday knitting.

With just a week away until Christmas Eve, I am not sure that my second Christmas sock will be done, but I'll work on it in between the stocking.

In Central Illinois this week we are having some unseasonable weather, 40s and 50s.  I am not complaining, but I think we need a good cold spell to banish all those germs that are out there.  I am doing my best to side track them as I don't relish being sick this close to Christmas, but who does.

Stay well Knitters and I hope you are almost done with your holiday knitting and baking too.
Catch you on the purl side!

Friday Finds

A little shopping for me...

This way you make sure what you are getting is just what you want....

Instagram's Best Nine 2017

Monday Mail Day

You know a lot of Mondays are just unreal.  But, today just flew by and when I got home my mailbox was full of treasures for ME!

From Espace Tricot --

From A Good Yarn in Sarasota, the first of the Purl Diver Club.

Are not these all just me!  What a Monday!  I'll take some more please.

Some days you just need to kick back and rest.  Today was that day.  The sun was shining in on this no makeup Sunday, and it was good after a full morning and afternoon to catch a bit of it on my cold feet.

I should have been knitting on these Christmas presents, but

I'm working on my Nice-capades sweater instead.

I'll work on my Christmas presents tomorrow.  Have a great week!

What's Up Wednesday?!

I've done a bit of decorating, but not our tree, that will be this next weekend.  I decided to put up a little tree in my late night room where I go to knit on some lace and have quiet time.

Snoop is out on the front porch!

My wreath is on the front door.

I've hauled out my Christmas mugs for coffee.

I've got a bag of Christmas knitting, but am not so compelled to work on any of it right now.

Because I just had to swatch this sweater for me!

Thats what's up this Wednesday!

Casting On

Those gals over at Espace Tricot tempted me again with a new free pattern.

I tried my best to get these same yarns for mine, but then decided to go with yarn from my local yarn shop, The Fiber Universe.  ( Funny how the polish of the week matches it!)

 I cast on yesterday as a bit of a palette cleanser after finishing my Hiro Sweater.  It still needs to be blocked especially in the yoke.  This one was a couple of years in the making.  I bought the yarn at January Thaw in 2015 and finally got my courage up to cast on last month.

It has been an unusual November and next week's weather is the 50's again.  I'm not complaining at all, the longer we can go without those sub zero temperatures and snow gives me more time to knit some more sweaters for my Knitters Wardrobe!

Have a great week!

A Knitter's Wardrobe

One of my favorite looks a couple of years ago from Pinterest.

My Knock Off of it.

I tried hard to find just the right pattern to go with some gray yarn that I have in the stash.  It just wasn't coming together no matter how many times I want to Ravelry.  I ended up tossing a cowl that I knit some years ago over a gray turtleneck I had.  And my fave purchase from the Mall at ZK last Summer, my Hers tote, matches it pretty good.

Unfortunately, the foot from a year ago's surgery is just not conducive to many shoe styles, but I've got a collection of Allbirds that gets me by!

What is your Knitter's Wardrobe like?

Shopping Small Business Saturday

Yes, I did --

And I came away with another project for me and a project for a Christmas present.

Hey, I thought you said you weren't knitting for Christmas this year?  

Fantastic Friday - My Old Cookbook

 I've pulled out my look book from several years back and realized that a lot of the looks I saved in 2014 still have relevance in 2017 and I'm doing a little shopping/dreaming for me this Friday after Thanksgiving.

Some of them can be pulled together from my wardrobe already, some require some purchases to pull them off and some are going to need knitted either from my stash or after I find some yarn for them.

Quite a few yarn and pattern vendors are offering up after Thanksgiving Sales and I might just as well take advantage of the savings to order what I need to pull my new winter wardrobe off for my 60's, you know.

Hope your Friday is Fantastic, whatever you choose to do today.  Mine is a lot of just what I want to do and no getting in the car to do it!

Catch you on the purl side!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Friday Friends!!

Up close and personal of my presies from last Friday's birthday.

This is so comfy cozy!

Yummo!  I had 2016 last year when I was off with the foot surgery, and was so pleased to get some 2017!!

Something to keep the tootsies warm and some cool snoopy notes!

My Florida project yarn for next year's knitting vacation!

And something for right now knitting~  Wooly Wonka yarn, this stuff is so soffffft!

Presents to celebrate the best decade to come!!

Everybody's Doin It

Almost every where I turn blogs, podcasts, instagram, they are all talking about sweater knitting.  What about you?  Are you sweater knitting for yourself??

And which way do you go?  

Are you a proponent of Amy Herzog? CocoKnits? EZ?  Cori?

And what kind of sweaters are you knitting? Pullovers, Cardigans, ColorWork, or Simple ?

Do you knit for your lifestyle?  Work, Casual, Warmth for outside, Comfy/Cozy for inside?

What are you knitting them out of?  Wool, fuzzy, cotton, very wooly, super soft  yarns?

Have you had issues with sweaters before and have you given up?  Don't!!!  Call them Learning Lessons and lets use those lessons to start again.

And if you have sweaters out there you have knit, wear them, tis the season!!!  And I don't mean Christmas.

Let's talk sweaters and knit some!!

Making It Last….

Some may not agree, but I am saying it is nice Sunday!  It's chilly outside, it's raining, but I am having the perfect end to a birthday weekend!

I am kicking back this no make-up Sunday in style.  A bit of the peanut butter and chocolate popcorn from the Boys Scouts.

Some of my birthday coffee present.

And some knitting on my Hospice Shawl while it rains.

And enjoying others cook on Food Network while I just enjoy the perfect of days before heading back to work tomorrow!  Not bad, not bad at all!!