Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat!

i am so excited for Christmas this year. i always feel so excited every year to put up the tree and decorate and create that wonderful Christmas feeling in my house. i snapped a few shots from the other night when we put up our little tree.

this tree topper is kind of a funny story. i've been looking for something for awhile and i could never find anything to match the rest of my ornaments and look nice on top... and the other day i found this santa and he was a little messed up, his belt was broken and his beard all matted and he was actually a "fishing" santa, he was originally holding a trout in his left hand and the "staff" in his right was a fishing pole. not being a real big fisher, i took him apart a bit and pieced him back together and i just can't resist the big busy beard and the colors, he's a perfect match for the tree! (the tree is not huge, so maybe he's a little big, but that's okay!)


and for the first time ever we don't live in a basement at Christmas time so we had this space up above the kitchen cupboards, so we bought a garland, it really ties the room together in a festive way.

you may remember saint nicholas from an earlier blog, he finally gets his moment to shine underneath the tree on my new tree skirt. (okay, the skirt isn't really new, i made it last year but i made it after Christmas and never got to put it on display)

my last photo for today is just a little of the Christmas cheer i'm preparing. my friend rochelle and i had a jewelry night this week and it got the juices flowing, more to follow, soon.

there are more Christmas projects in the works, but as they are by nature Christmas "presents" i am trying to be secretive and not share the pictures with the world, so stay tuned to see what fun things i've got to show you... after Christmas, (or maybe littls hints at things before Christmas). Merry Christmas all of you!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

i wish we could all be together for the holidays, but since we can't i'll share a little of mine with you all. here's our yummy feast for the day.


so, at the 12:oo position we have garlic mashed potatoes with "the real deal" turkey gravy. following a clockwise direction we next have "sage-roasted" turkey. it was awesome and not dried out at all, something i was pretty stressed out about. next is the extra yummy cranberry-apricot relish (made with fresh ginger and orange juice!) and then the other red salad is a cranberry salad compliments of the midwife at the ob-gyn office i work for. at the 9:00 position we have brown butter and almond green beans. and then a good old crescent roll! it was delicious!!! and although it was just nate and i eating, it still felt like a festive Thanksgiving. I'm so grateful for such a holiday where we can reflect on all the blessings in our lives. i hope everyone else had an abundant holiday also. the day is not over yet, we still have pumpkin cheesecake in the fridge... better hurry back to the kitchen!

believe me, i know it is not christmas yet...

but, as a knitter, i have to get a headstart on some of these "Christmas" projects or else they will never get done. i found some discounted red tencel yarn the other day at my LYS and i was inspired to cast on this adorable father christmas. i just couldn't help myself. but i promise not to display until at least after thanksgiving. (but i will share, now!) the original pattern did not feature buttons on the front, but they really add character.

so, i think he will make a nice addition to the christmas decor around here. What do you think? he's super long too, the pattern said about 18" but i would say about 20" at least. i don't know why i thought he'd be a little thing... oh, i was definitely wrong.

okay, enough early christmas cheer, back to november now right? happy thanksgiving month!!

in the past few weeks... (oh, and happy halloween!!!)

so, yes, i've been doing stuff, just never getting around to documenting and posting. my knitting projects are taking over all my time, you won't find me complaining though. first, my little pumpkins are basically my only halloween decorations. a super easy, super quick little knit with some bulky brown sheep yarn called shepard's shades. i think i might use some more of it in a sweater i've been eyeing. it feels awesome to work with, and i love the soft bulkiness and rich colors.

a few other little projects are also jumping off my needles. i made this hat a few weeks ago after i saw the cast-on technique featured at the local yarn store here. it's a two-color cast-on followed by a chevron pattern resulting in what looks like a braid. i thought it made a really cute edge and wanted to try it out. this is definitely a "scrap" hat of whatever was in my bag during that specific car ride... i believe it was on a trip to the zoo. i was also trying a different decrease technique... came out kind of funny, it needs some tweaking, but it felt good to broaden my hat making horizons.

and last but not least of course, a few toys. i've been wanting to try this cute chicken pattern for awhile, from Itsy Bitsy Nursery... a little altered as far as the embellishments and attached pieces, but definitely just as endearing as the original was to me. destined for my shelf of knit toys that enjoy hanging out with each other. and the last picture is a peek at what is to come... what with Christmas and all... i'm getting a head start. stay tuned!!!

covered bridges of Parke county

took a tour of Parke County this weekend, the "covered bridge capital." the drive was beautiful with all the leaves changing, and the bridges weren't too bad themselves.

Applesauce!!!

it first started with the applepicking at a local u-pick orchard near indianapolis...

my friends Rochelle and Grant helped me collect some of the best ones

then i got the apples all home and washed them all up to look nice and pretty...

and on a nice friday afternoon i turned them into the yummiest applesauce. i only ended up with enough for three jars, but that's alright. i can't wait to open them up in the middle of winter and enjoy the fresh apple taste.

TA DA!!!!

a wearable creation!

well, it can be worn. i've done it twice now. i just wanted to post a few pictures so you could all see it.

hope you're enjoying your wednesday!!

my sweater is...almost DONE!!

well, thanks to chunky yarn and big needles i finished up this little number last night with a success!! i'm excited that it actually turned out, and it's really cute on as well. i still have to graft together the underarm stitches, but all in all it's an actual sweater. i took good notes on all the steps so i have an actual pattern under my belt now. it's exciting to think that after applying some math and measuring skills i can actually create something that fits. it has started a whole slue of ideas in my head of sweaters and other things to create and make, articles of clothing that i can make fit like a glove!!! once i get it all done and blocked i will take a picture of it actually being worn, but i was eager to share. thanks for all the positive feedback.

the yarn makes a comeback

about a month ago i was going through my closet and sorting yarn and packing up. i found a sweater which i had knitted a few years ago and have since decided that i didn't like. so, being of a "reuse it" persuasion, i unraveled my hard work and started cooking up a new sweater in my mind. now, there have been many times that i've thought about writing my own patterns, but haven't actually done it. but now is not that time. i actually started to write MY OWN pattern for this sweater and am about halfway done. these pictures are from saturday night, i got about 11 inches knit. since then i've done the sleeves, started the V-neck and am about to start decreasing up into the shoulder area.

i even tried it on last night after i got up to the underarms and it's actually cute! that's the best part, it might actually be a wearable sweater! anyways, i will post more pictures as i finish up these next few days.

stained glass "quilting" square

i bought this stained glass about a year ago up in denali national park and haven't had windows in which to display it, i'm so excited that now i do, so i put it right in our front window and i love it. i love that it uses the same pattern as a quilting square and the colors are so fresh and green... everything about it is perfect. so, the house is still coming together.

The Purchase of New Stools

well, the move has been made and the search is now beginning for all the little furniture/home items which seem to be necessary. in lieu of a dining room table we are using our counter to eat at, which demands some type of seating. i found these stools today at a furniture exchange and they go really well in my new kitchen. i still have to clean them up a bit, but overall i'm satisfied and my kitchen is now upon the brink of completion. now that bigger things are getting put into place, such as seating, the yarn will soon find it's way out of it's current home and tempt me into starting all sorts of new projects. which i will of course share once they are started. til then.

the great yarn PURGE

Ideally this should never have to happen, but when you're moving across the country it becomes necessary to try your best to wittle down as much as possible. I went through all my yarn (no easy task i promise you) and sorted out the keepers and the less fortunates... and found all my purses too (i'm building up my inventory in hopes of securing a spot at a saturday market in the near future, maybe in Indiana). so, here is the process of sorting, and the mess i made on friday night...
these are my keepers, the yarns that had the most promise!

and another shot of the bags. i got everything now in just one of those monstrous plastic containers, which is great. and the other benefit of going through my whole stash is that now i'm inspired by all my yarns and have a million little projects stirring around in my mind... more to follow, i promise.

the demise of the sea monster

well, i don't have a photo to post today. the octopus i was knitting is no longer. i was too frustrated with the legs to continue and i didn't want to buy more yarn, so i frogged the whole thing. never felt better! i will still make it sometime, but i will buy yarn that is matching for the whole octopus and then i won't have to deal with the frustrations of a million different gauges. stay tuned for better projects to be up and running soon.

guess what this is?

i joined a "knitted toys" group on ravelry and agreed to test knit this pattern for a sea creature, which will be revealed at a later date as it becomes more defined in shape... and her version was knit with a fingering weight yarn. unfortunately, i have an abundance of bulkier yarn, more like a heavy worsted weight, and i figured i would use it instead and just have a slightly bigger animal. well, slightly bigger is an understatement, this thing is huge!!! the good thing is that it is eating up my stash that is probably due for some shrinkage.

this other photo is also a work in progress, a new bag that i am making.

they shouldn't take too long to finish. i promise to keep you updated with the finished projects, coming soon.

weekend accomplishment

so, here are some of the projects i finished up this weekend. friday night was our lys fiber night and i came really close to finishing up the zebra but didn't actually put the mane and eyes on until i was listening to nate's jazz gig on saturday night at a little coffee shop down the street.
but then i found myself on sunday afternoon without a planned knitting project, so i picked up a dishtowel that i started a few months ago and finished that up. and then for good measure in the photo department i thought i would include a shot of us at the bees game in salt lake with kate and jordan! it was an awesome night!
so basically, i finished some projects and will start digging around in my stash for something else to work on... who knows what will be next.
(i just love the little zebra, he's so soft and floppy)

this is my newly finished little yellow sweater.

the yarn is brown sheep's serendipity tweed, a cotton/wool blend... unfortunately the cotton doesn't make the wool part less itchy so i have to wear a t-shirt underneath instead of just a tanktop. oh well, it's still cute. i may redo the side seams to take it in a bit, i haven't decided yet. in the hot weather we've been having it's just a little on the hot side, so i haven't been wearing it a ton. but i love it and i think it turned out cute.