Merry Christmas!

We have survived the last couple of days successfully. No major family dramas, just some happy news. The cousin-in-law is pregnant and due in August. So more baby knitting in the future!

While in the shower (am I the only one that has this happen?) I remembered that I had planned to do a Blanket Buddy for Jenna. She's 18 months old and I did the Christmas Kiss Hat for her last year. So I gathered supplies and took it along with us to the MIL's house. After getting a couple of Candied Apple Cheesecakes going in the oven and then popping in the Gingerbread Cake, I sat down and started knitting on the Blanket Buddy.

We were the first of the family to arrive and there was a partially completed 1000 piece puzzle on the dining room table. Since that's where everyone gravitated to, that's where I was working on the Blanket Buddy. I did pretty well at resisting the lure of placing puzzle pieces until they pulled out the second one. Even then it was out for a couple of hours before I got sucked into the lures of finding the pieces for the area that you're working on. (We did finish the second 1000 piece puzzle before dinner.)

Fortunately this is a quick knit. I opted to do the yarn doubled, using up some of that Red Heart and fast on larger needles. I didn't finish it last night though. So once we were back over there this morning and in between opening up presents and watching others do likewise, I was working on the Buddy.

I finished it up just in time for Jenna to get it and go home for a nap and then on to the rest of her busy day with her mom. Dad works for ODOT and was off to sleep before going back on shift. Here she is showing that it was instant love for her Bunny Buddy:


Corbin and Kaisha also like their knitted gifts:




The ladies all loved their necklaces and the guys their hats and fingerless gloves - success! Speaking of fingerless gloves I had completed one for my dad and still needed to finish the other. I had planned to do that last night but the whole Bunny Buddy sidetracked its progress. When we got home this afternoon and after getting things settled back down, I sat down with it and got the second one done this evening - yea! They go down to my dad on Saturday:


I've decided that the two hats for the nephews are going to become books. They'll appreciate them more than the hats I think. Plus I'll actually be able to get out of my neighborhood to do the shopping!

Thus my dad's gloves officially ends the 2008 Holiday Knitting Frenzy! I did join the Christmas 2009 Monthly group. It starts out with doing ornament miniatures in January and lets me get those ones that I really hoped to get done this year done for next year, and ahead of time! I'll see how much of the KALs I'll be able to follow along with that line up with what I hope to make.

Friday I get to go back to spinning. I've missed it! A little break from knitting is in order I think before starting up in the new year.

Progress!

What I've accomplished since I last posted:

1. Kyle's Fingergless Gloves - with half fingers, pattern from Knit Picks (omitting the finger cover portion)

2. A Spiderman Mitten - regular pattern:
Much too long to fit on a three year old's hand! So I needed to modify them.

3. Corbin's Spiderman Mittens - modified:


4. I was on a roll with the Spiderman thing so took the charts and alternated them for a hat and then used a modified version of the 'Turn a Square' raglan decreases to finish the hat. I think Corbin is going to be a happy little boy:



5. We found out when Aunt Debbie was going to do Thanksgiving dinner, so we planned to go there after my cousin's. I needed another gift, so made another Turkey dish cloth:

Still working on the Baby Love "Logan's Half Blanket" for charity. I've also added a few more rows, no where enough of course on the Razor Shell Scarf.

More gloves/mittens and hats are in store over the next few weeks.

Thanksgiving day was enjoyable visiting with my family in Dundee at my cousin's house and then afterward at Brandon's Aunt Debbie's house. I made a widely well received Candied Apple Pie Cheesecake. Brandon made a croissant style roll with cream cheese and prosciutto and cranberry sauce. The rolls were yummy and enough leftover that we can enjoy them.

I tried to take my next project with me in the car but was running late and didn't fully read the pattern requirements and so forgot the size 3 needles, but had the 4s. I hope to start them in the morning.

One step forward, two back

We drew Brandon's cousin, Kyle, as our person(s) for the family gift exchange this year. So I started Jared Flood's Turn a Square hat and used some leftover Lion Brand Wool-Ease and some leftover Nashua CreativeFocus. Actually both are leftovers from other hats that I've done. The hat pattern was fun to have a set repeat to follow for doing the striping and using the jogless join was a fun trick to learn too. Otherwise it's just a basic hat with raglan decreases. Kyle's hat from the top, with Brandon modeling for me. One shot is really dark then the batteries died so I haven't gotten Brandon to model again for me:

A trip through Jo-Ann's netted me a deal on more Wool-Ease for making Corbin's Spiderman mittens. Just the right red and blue and an extra navy blue to use with the leftovers to make some nephew hats. I tried starting the mittens yesterday and was diligently following the directions when I realized that there must be a mistake in how I'm reading them, but then going back to look a the two that are done I'm not sure....I frogged before checking. I think the floats of the black were a little tight the first few rows anyway and need to make sure that the next start is better about that.

Same trip to Jo-Ann's also had a trip into The Knitting Bee where I picked up three skeins of Berroco Pure Merino to use on Kyle's Fingerless gloves. Squishy soft yarn! Great deal too since it was the yarn of the month and I got 15% off. I had made it through a good portion of the thumb gusset when I looked at how big the hand is becoming. I tried it on and it seemed too loose. This meant I had to set it aside until I could have Brandon try it on as a size check. I was following the XL directions using the correct needle sizes. So I'll be frogging back that glove too.

Before I had started the mittens I started another Baby Love Blanket called 'Logan's Half Blanket'. The pattern calls for a chunky on US10, I'm using the DK I have and using US7s and I'm doing the 'larger' sized version. That thankfully is coming along fine so far and I'll take it again to public knitting today at Insomnia.

Have not yet started a batch of soap. I'm not sure why. I did get Brandon to take all supplies down off the top shelf of the pantry so that I could get started. Rediscovered that I had a full container of olive oil up there. Sigh. Not a problem! Means more castile soaps or ones with olive oil when I get them started.

Took the previously finished Baby Love Log Cabin Baby Blanket to Haggen's last night, but missed that Bobbie wasn't going to be there. Did have fun chatting with Susan and Gail, then Jeanette. Had not seen Jeanette for a while since she's busy taking classes Thursday afternoons to become a Civil Engineer when she grows up. I got to take a look and give Susan an idea for a name for one of her dyed sock yarns. She's doing a variety of dye experiments for future lines. An enjoyable couple of hours knitting and chatting!