5

the number of fingers on one hand
the number of toes on one foot
the number of people in our family

how many days left until Christmas.... ACK!!!!!!!!

What a great weekend... Friday night was the MoCo dinner dance.. the theme was China. Culinary mix of Chinese and American food. Entertainment was Chinese dancers. DH gimped on the dance floor with me for a bit.. what a trooper.

Saturday brought playing Santa... finishing up the last minute shopping. I must be crazy. Next year, I swear it will ALL be done online!!!!!!!

Although I found a nice JCrew sweater at the thrift store and it was the right color tag so it was 75% off.. bulky 100% wool.. should yield some nice stuff :) and a set of Crate and Barrel 7" discontinued Christmas plates new in the box for $5. I may gift them... very cute. There's a set on ebay for $30.

Saturday night brought the Boksan's party. Thanks to our awesome friend Heather we were able to go. She had the kids over to her house.... our 3 and her 2 to play for a few hours. The hostess at the party gave out wine this year as a gift.. and her sister made little cute cozies for each bottle. caps and capes some bags, som with caps and scarves, one had a santa suit on. All knitted. VERY cute!

Sunday, ah the day of rest. Not quite! DH left for church early and I got up shortly thereafter. I ordered more gifts online, made chocolate pretzels with the kids, peanut butter kiss cookies, wrapped teacher gifts, made a gift for the GS leader, helped decorate the tree, and made this Eucalyptus wreath for my mom to give my SIL.

I hope she likes it. She didn't want mom to spend a lot... I understand now why they're $50 and up... never again!


Also have some knitting to show:

Pattern: Maggies Mitts
Needle: US3
Yarn: Recycled Abercrombie and Fitch and 100Purewool
Colors: Smokey Black and meloncoton (think Flyers)
Recipient: Mr. Beaman

This is DS2's classroom teacher's gift. Also from recycled sweaters. I bought the little red balls at Target in a container that looks like a round ornament. There were plenty in the container for the GS leader's wreath and a larger one for us to hang here at home (just need to get the balls on it and a bow!)

Now to address the Christmas cards.. I've had them for a week. DH sent his to Argentina and did no more :-/

And I have a few more things to make... some things for the girls. They're on their way, just need some extra time... and more cookies of course!

just an old bag

well I have 3 bags to show you actually

the latest is for DS1s teacher... this one she'll be getting as a gift ;-)


Pattern: Bag it Up! by Vicki Mikulak Holiday Mystery Gifts 2009
Yarn: Recycled Abercrombie and Fitch sweater 80 wool/20 nylon
Color: Oatmeal
Needle: US 10.5
Lining: Cotton Flannel from stash
Recipient: Mrs. Austin

The sweater cost me $4. As you can see, the yarn felted up very nicely... and this yarn is really soft. And I have 3 full skeins left. So for $2 worth of yarn I have this bag. I wanted to line it to put a couple of pockets in and stiffen up the bottom, but I had nothing to stiffen the bottom with. So I cut out the fabric to line it and lo and behold in among the toys laying around from DS2 was this piece of plastic packaging from an over the door wreath holder that the boy had taken out of the Christmas box to play around with, and left it lie (as is his usual MO) I took it as manna from heaven and checked and low and behold with about 1.5" cut off the length would be the perfect size for the bottom of the bag. Thank you very much :) Before I added the lining I cut letters from a navy felted sweater and appliqued them on the bag (the teacher's initials) as per DS1's request.


This WAS the purse she was going to get... I don't like the shape so I don't know what will become of it! It's too wide and not tall enough... lesson learned from Paton's chestnut merino.. so sad.

This little bag fits in my möbius purse to put whatever in that I don't want to lose!
Also Paton's merino in chestnut brown with worn denim trim

It's from the Bordhi book. I learned to make it from the bottom up so I can use that technique for toe up socks someday.

Speaking of socks. I finally spent a gift certificate DH and the kids got me eons ago at yarn market for a set of Lantern Moon onyx sox stix and a skein of noro kureyon sock yarn. I'll make DH a pair of socks.. Doubtful they'll be finished in time for Christmas. I still have DD's teacher's gift and some AG stuff for her to make. But maybe by 3 Kings day.. if I'm lucky.

OK... off to do some school work. I graded all my papers, now I need to plan for the week. I'm off Friday to go to my own children's parent/teacher/student conferences. These 4 days can't go by quickly enough My concert is Thursday night.. I'll be so happy when it's over!!!!!!

green for Christmas

one of the bus drivers in my school district teased me a while back that I should make her a scarf cuz her daughter absconded hers (was fun fur) and she likes green... a no nonsense kind of girl, whom I adore!
I present to you cowl 10

Pattern: simple fitted cowl by Leona Wiora
Yarn: Knitting Fever Cashmere Luxury Aran
Color: Green
Needle: US6 US8
Recipient: Roxie... bus 1


The cool part about this pattern is you can wear it over your ears instead if you like like this.

One more to make... I think it'll be the cha cha pattern on ravelry

so one of my internet friends completely surprised me yesterday. She lives in England (yes you Lesley) and she ordered a gift from the states and they sent it directly to me. It came with this lovely Christmas card and a little sock blocker key ring. Along with a pattern for a mini sock to make to go on the blocker. It's so darn cute. I LOVE it... so much. it came from knitcellaneous. I'm going to visit there to see what other goodies there are!

how did I miss this?

Forgot to post this cowl.....

Pattern: Darkside Cowl by Sarah Fama
Yarn: Lion Brand Wool Ease
Color: aran
Needle: US8
Recipient: Pam at daycare


This has been done for over a month... strange that I forgot to post it!

#9

is complete

Pattern: Basalt by Brittany Wilson
Yarn: recycled merino from Express sweater
Colorway: Blue waves
Needle: US 11
Recipient: tell you later
I made this much taller than the pattern calls for because it's much looser knit and I wanted it to fold over on itself. The pattern is super easy to memorize and completely reversible... I'd make this one again!
I hope the recipient likes it as much as I do... XD

it figures

I got up early, went down to work out and my Jillian Michaels Wii game is messed up..... WAH

OK... tonight is DD's GS Christmas party (yup it's early.. not the leader's fault tho) so I had to scramble to make a gift that was suitable for those ladies...


Recycled felted sweater trees didn't take much of the sweater at all... the two tone one is from two sweaters. The center is a piece of a wire hanger and I glued some posterboard on the bottom to cover the hanger







I think I'll make a big one for here at home. I grabbed the perfect star for the top from Ollies yesterday..... with some beads sewn on it it coud be fab! But I didn't have time... between the baby sweaters and everything else this month brings... YIKES!

I hope they like their little decorations.

fiber gifts of the season

from all my angels

From me to me:

2 pitch picker combs from ebay


From DH to me:

Starbucks cable knit mug. How perfect? Of course I gave the specifics. It holds a good amount of coffee and drinks well!

From my family secret pal (my nephew):

digital scale and yes I asked for it to weigh my handspun and recycled yarn.

From my Love2Knit Dishcloth Yahoo group pal, Amanda in two parts
Part 1:

purple sawtooth cloth, white lamb cloth and chinese take out filled with chocolates and 2 cloths seen below in part 2

Part 2:

2 red, white and green smaller sawtooth cloths, emory board and postcard from
Wheaton Arts Festival, magnet of the state of NJ (where Amanda lives), felt pointsettia pin, 2 candy canes and 3 candy cane pens and a skein of bright red Paton's merino! Thank you Amanda

I have some really cute students gifts I could post later. Tonight I've been frogging sweaters and deconstructing a leather jacket.

oops

well for me it's still Friday, cuz I haven't gone to bed yet.


My brother and his wife (and their son) got a yellow lab puppy from Santa. Boy is he cute. His name is Cody, but I won't hold that against him.






The girl's gift for the family was upcycled mittens. They had flannel linings like the ones for DS1's teacher.





My one brother loved his hat. He'll use it for running he says...I made it to match his fingerless mittens from last year








The kids got a Wii for Christmas. Santa brought Wii fit too... guess that'll be in my new year's resolution.

The Roland Micro cube finally arrived. It's a great little amplifier that I'm sure I'll be borrowing now and again. And the guitar playing through the amp has started. Must. get. DS1. guitar. lessons!

I made a cloth today based on the stitch for Dec 25 from the stitch of the Day calendar. I think my SIL needs some for her house when she returns to Argentina. Her house colors are white so I'll make a group of white cloths... pictures to come.

I've started the birthday cowl and frogged it 3 times now... it's going to sit a bit before I cast on for another. maybe I'll make a different pattern. I am using the Moda Dea wool/silk blend which is really nice. Just my brain that isn't working well

calorimetry

or keeping heat in the body....

Pattern: Calorimetry from knitty by Kathryn Schoendorf
Yarn: Red Heart McIntosh
Color: Dublin
Needle: US8
Button: from stash
Recipient: DS2 preschool teacher Pam

Love the easy quick knit. Man I could crank these kind of gifts out and be really happy. It was a little boring to do though. I made it while DD had her gymnastics class last Friday night. She's there for 2 hours and I cast on in the beginning and got about 70% of the way through. I took several breaks to watch her though. So all in all I'm happy with a quick knit.

Here's a close-up of the button... kind of cute I think

I should be getting down to business now.. there are teacher gifts to wrap and the family gifts that still need sewing... plus the power point for school for Tuesday. When does it end??????

I just bought a little 2 watt Roland amp for DS1 from ebay. I think I got it for a great price. I checked out the youtube demos of it and it seems like a really cool little amp!

snow

It snowed last night that cancelled my chorus concert. Well I should say postponed... until Jan 13, which means I'll have the entire holiday to obsess about it. Two hour delay this morning and a very hectic day at school for me.

We had a sitter lined up, so DH and I went shopping... you know for the kids and one of our secret santas. Some Thomas the tank purchases, Ben10 and Prince Caspian for Blu-Ray. I hate to admit it but we shopped at Walmart and got some really fantastic prices.

I also purchased DD's AG doll. That in itself is a long story that I just don't want to blog about... but hopefully it will be here in time to put under the tree. The guitar arrived today and I surreptitiously snuck it upstairs and put it under our bed. I'll open it tonight after everyone is asleep (hopefully DH will be awake!) I'm wondering if we'll need to get strings for it. Picks are a definite stocking stuffer.

Tomorrow DD has her brownie Christmas party and we all take goodies. A colleague at school told me a super easy thing to make. I feel like a cheater, but in the sake of time (or lack thereof) it's a go.
Ingredients:
Slice and bake peanut butter cookies
Mini Reese's peanut butter cups, unwrapped
Preheat oven to 350° F

Take a spoonful of cookie dough
Roll dough into a ball
Place balls in nut tasse pan
Bake for about 9 minutes
Remove from oven and push unwrapped mini reese's cup into cookie.
Let cool
Remove cookies from pan

Enjoy!

ho ho ho

called and asked if this guitar

would fill DS1's Christmas request. I hope it will because he's bringing it for Christmas. I wonder if he's bringing along an little amp and gig bag????

He also said he's looking for AG Mia for DD but they're out of stock. If anyone knows where I might help Santa find one.... please leave a comment!

It's short tonight. I'm tired (late night, no snow, early start to school) and have LOTS of work for work this weekend. Soon I'll be able to sleep!

baby, it's cold outside

and sometimes inside too! So I made DDs piano teacher some fingerless mitts for a holiday gift.

Pattern: Lucky Warm Fuzzies by firefly
Yarn: Red Heart McIntosh
Color: Peat
Needles: US5 dpn
Model: DD


I love this pattern because I can whip it out in about a night. Simple 3x2 ribbing, only the thumb to put in... perfect to wear while playing piano. I need to make my grad school accompanist some I believe. I miss you Jenn!

I'm saving other things for later in the month to make sure I have enough to post. With school concerts and Christmas preparations, time is limited.

Stay warm!

and this is what there is

This lovely orchid was from the parent's of one of DH's students. The student was giving a recital and his high school music teacher brought corsages for the important women in his life. (Her husband grows them... incredible I know) At any rate I was supposed to go, but DS2 came down with a fever, so I stayed home but was still gifted with this gorgeous flower.

We had our department meeting yesterday. I'm still waiting to see what comes of it. Lots of time and work over the weekend to get ready for it. I think it went OK, but we'll see if the little man keeps his job or if that wasn't the purpose. I like the new super though. My impression of her felt good!

On the home front...tonight we finished the wreath we started on Sunday. That included dyeing three sweaters to make it. It's the bottom one.

Combined with the other two it almost is reminiscent of Mickey Mouse.





It all started out like this. Quite the mess I know, but I think the result is really cool. I'm envisioning a bunch of these as teacher gifts!















Now the pictures are pretty heavy. Just so you have an idea of how much I've been deconstructing.


60% lambswool, 20% angora rabbit and 20% nylon


100% cashmere


100% cashmere


85% silk and 15% cashmere


85% silk and 15% cashmere


70% lambswool, 20% angora rabbit and 10% nylon


48% wool, 22% viscose, 16% nylon, 9% angora rabbit, 5% cashmere


75% merino and 25% angora rabbit


All of these with the exception of one were long sleeved women's sweaters so they've yielded quite a bit of yardage :-) Guess I better get busy knitting now!

less important things

I've been harvesting yarn like crazy this weekend. Really feeling quite lazy of late. I have 100% cashmere, a blend of 85 silk/15 cashmere and 3 different blends of lambswool/angora rabbit hanging in the downstairs bathroom drying. lovely fibers reclaimed from thrift store sweaters :-)

So last night DD and I started the felted wool wreaths. I found the link here and decided to try ones that were all green. I'll decorate them with red felt flowers and a red ribbon. But that step has yet to come (stole the green idea from my cousin... thanks sarah!) I needed more green because I didn't care for the army green mixed in with the regular green, so we dyed some more sweaters today with food coloring.

All of the sweaters were purchased at thrift stores mostly on half price color days. I didn't get the steal on the rings from Joann's like Sarah did, but really, I can't complain about the cost of these gifts. DH says the jury's still out for him on whether or not he likes it. What do you think?


Just a word of caution. You need to be careful with those rotary cutters. I think this is the 3rd time I've rolled my finger as well. I also really can't be trusted with scissors of late. My poor fingers.





I leave you with the stack. That gives me another idea for a different twist with this idea! Hopefully we'll have enough for a smaller one yet. They are so fun and easy to make. Try it with your kids!

<3-felt(ed) wishes

The baskets are felted. The darker one took 3 times as long to felt as the pink. It's the kind wool.. Makes sense that Vermont aran (designed for fisherman sweaters) would be heartier and more difficult to felt than merino. At any rate, they're both drying but I thought I'd post some pictures for all to see.

The first:

Pattern: Heart-felt wishes by Carol Bristol
Yarn: Vermont Natural Wool aran weight double stranded
Color: Handyed by me with easter egg dyes and food coloring
Needle: US13
Amount: about 3 oz.

The second:

Pattern: The same as above
Yarn: Patons Classic Wool Merino double stranded
Color: 210 Petal Pink
Needle: US 13
Amount: about 2 oz.


Interesting to note the size differences between the two baskets. The only variable was the wool. The Paton's fulled in 1 wash cycle. The Vermont aran needed 3 cycles to full. The thickness of the wool has a result on size but the texture also had an effect on the final result.





All in all, filled with chocolate, I think it will be a lovely gift. One that I, for sure, would love to receive. It's a quick knit and the only part I didn't enjoy was picking up the stitches from the bottom to knit the sides of the basket, but that's always my least favorite thing to do, pick up stitches. I'd make it again for the right person. Unfortunately, I'm not sure if the pattern is still available online. I downloaded it quite some time ago and when I went to look for it the other night, couldn't find it online.

update: Carol's pattern is NO longer available online. If you're interested in it, contact her, maybe she'd sell it to you.