winter knitting!

this is a baby set that i made for my friend rochelle's little boy, grant. the pattern is all original and i love the colors that she picked out. i still have to acquire a picture of him dressed all up in it because it is pretty cute, but until then i hope you can picture it with a little kid body inside it, all squirming around.the hat has a little button band that comes up under the chin and buttons on the opposite ear...

and the sweater has a little hood and is lined with a soft brown flannel.

overall a very fun little project that turned out fairly well.

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!!!!