Christmas Knitting and Turkey Canning

I was having a really hard time doing gift knitting. I came back from the beach with the turkey carcass and leftovers. We had one more dinner off of it that Sunday night for our gaming group. Then I popped it into two pots and started cooking it for broth. I had pulled off the excess turkey. Realized that I had leftover carrots and celery as well as a pressure cooker. Pulled out the pressure cooker, rounded up jars and lids and then started canning turkey broth and turkey soups.

This was the first batch out - notice the color difference?

This is the second batch out. Not sure why the broth looks so 'milky', might be less fat?

So ended up with lots of broth and enough jars of soup that I gave some to family as part of their Christmas gifts. Those along with jars of jam helped so I didn't have to knit as much! I did give some pre-yarn crawl knit along items as gifts. Worked out well for me that way!

This left me with knitting some hats for one niece and three nephews. Logan got a couple of books and Cole got a stuffed toy and a bunch of socks. His dad, my brother Scott, said that he really needed those too. A week's worth of fun socks to wear may not be really really exciting to receive, but parents ultimately appreciate it!

Bailey's hat:

Pattern: Making a Memory

She said she liked it. I'll have to see if I can get my sister, Tanya to take pics of her wearing it. ;-)

Garrett's hat, the Half-Pipe, I had planned to use the Berrocco Alpaca, but The Knitting Bee doesn't carry it any longer. Since the pattern calls for using two strands of DK together, Trish and I decided that using an Aran weight would work. I didn't want him to worry about washing, so got some 220 Aran Superwash in a nice Charcoal. I need to get a pic of him wearing it, just have him opening up the package at Christmas:

He's wearing a hat, so hats are good. ;-)

We had dinner with my dad and sister and brother with their families after Christmas, but before New Year, so still in the ball park. Here's Keefe with his hat:

I'm chewing, just a second! Pattern: Ola!

Nice big smile!

 Little brother Cole, liked the hat so much that he put in a request for one 'just like it'. He's three. He asked, so he'll get a hat. Not sure when I will see him next, because he's not always at family events. I'm also almost out of that green, so it may be in a different main color but same blue.

Adam got a Turn A Square Hat in a variety of colors. I think he likes it. He was wearing it for awhile. So it wasn't an on to make me happy, then right back off. I figure he can wear it under his helmet when he's four wheeling with his dad and grandfather.

Again, I was knitting this hat just an hour before giving it to him. I'm so burned out on gift knitting. Maybe if I saw things being worn, I may be more excited to knit and gift things to people?

I did chat with Carina at 12th Night. I still have the qiviut I spun for her. Confirmed that yes, she does want a cowl out of it. So found a pattern that I think will be nice, just need to get it knit up! First though, I really need to knit something for me!

we have hats & more snow.....

Sunday we had the snow drop a few inches on us. Then we spent the last couple of days with below freezing temps, thus ice on the roads. I haven't been out of the house really since Saturday. This morning it started snowing after 8am and other than maybe 15 minute periods it's been snowing steadily all day long in one form or another. (teeny, tiny snow flakes up to the big fat fluffy ones as a comparison)

Today, my couch potato (AKA Norbert) has been hearing things outside and so feeling the need to investigate these noises. While he can act like the biggest woos, be afraid of meeting new people, he finds moments of braveness (proven rat kill to his name).


Nessa joins him as backup whenever he leads the Charge! She, though she has that pesky cocker once past the lips forever on the hips, is the more active of the two overall. She's being a little more sensible about the need to really go out:


Over the last couple of days I've finished up a couple more holiday gifts - hats for an uncle and a brother-in-law. Same pattern done up differently than the one that I did for cousin-in-law Kyle - Turn-A-Square, a Jared Flood pattern:



What I still have left to make:
4 bead necklaces (I've done a ton of them already and if I'm lucky these will be the last ones I'll ever make!)
2 Swell hats
1 pair house socks (worsted weight, big needles, should go fast!)
1 pair of gloves

Wish list - mini socks, mini hats, mini sweaters ornaments (these are the last things I'll be trying to work on.)

We're supposed to get more either freezing rain or more snow this afternoon with lots more snow overnight. Looks like the winter vacation came a week early to the school kids in the area. ;^)

Back to the knitting!