Teacher Gifts & A Little Holiday Spirit

I finally got around to finishing the teacher gifts. I am not at all happy with the tops but I am forcing myself to just let it go already. None of them are knitters so I know they won't know any different but it just isn't my best and I can't stand it! I don't realistically have time to change it anyway so why stress about it. Just another reason why I wish I could get the hang of crochet, then I wouldn't have this problem.


I knitted these with Sugar & Cream self striping in Holiday Stripes. They're cute but again, I wish I had done a little better with the trim and "handles" on the top. At least now, I can get on with the rest of my gift knitting and get this stress over and done with. The soaps behind the dresses are part of the gift as well. They're from Bath & Body Works...Sparkling Peach Hand Soap. They smell delicious and we usually have one flavor or another by the kitchen sink (thanks to my awesome sister). If you've never tried them...DO! they are yummy!

If you're a knitting blog junkie like me, you may have already seen this video. I thought it was cute and wanted to share a little holiday spirit with you so here it is. It's Indiana University's men's a cappella group

It's Was A Yucky Day!

No Saturday Sky yesterday...it was too cold and wet to go out and take the picture. lol Saturday kinda went like this...


This has been one cold, rainy, yucky day. At the moment it's 38 degrees and wet. We've had rain all day long and you would think this would be a very productive knitting day but NOT. I don't even have a good excuse. I did finish one of the tops of the teacher's dishcloth dresses and hope to get the other two done when I finish posting. It's just dang cold.

I sent the boys to the barn for wood so we could enjoy this (see photo above). There's nothing better when it's cold outside than a toasty warm fire in the fireplace. I love to hear the wood crackling and the glow....ahhhhh, awesome. It was begging me to take a photograph so of course, I did. I thought I would share with you so it could warm you all a little.

I did however have to do one that just could not wait. Now, normally I wouldn't be bathing the dog on such a cold day but....."Ms Thang" informed that "THE DOG HAS TWO BUGS ON HER!" Sorry for yelling but that's how she said it. lol I checked and sure enough, Ms Diva had a couple of fleas on her. Well, I'm not having no stinking fleas around here so off to the tub we went. Needless to say, Diva was not happy. Since she has very short hair, it wasn't hard to find those little buggers and dispose of them. While the two little ladies warmed up by the fire, I cleaned her crate and made sure there were no more relatives hiding out in there. For all this drama, I think she deserved a treat.

This is your typical "Oh, can I please have the treat now, huh? Please, please...." She will actually stand up on her back legs and dance around for it and I got a photo of her doing this but....her eyes looked so creepy with the flash that I couldn't post it. Just too scary...lol
I'll try again later during the day and maybe get one I can use.

This is what you do when you get your treat. Run like heck to the back of your crate and leave the little dinosaur dude by the door to stand guard so nobody can get their greedy little hands on your doggie treat. She is serious about the treats and not those little wimpy small dog treats. She likes the "big dog" treats. The ones almost the size of her head. No, really....look...it's sticking out the side of her mouth. She got another treat for being such a sport about the pictures.

Now, if I just had a French Vanilla Cappuccino...all would be right with the world. :P

Friendship Award

I just received this Friendship Award Badge from the talented and very sweet Isabelle aka Tricotine
I feel special...I've never received an award badge before. *smiling & blushing*
So, I now and going to pass this award on to some of my friends whose blogs I read religiously.
Cat (a wonderful friend and such a big heart...just wish we lived closer)
Tea (very entertaining...she's got an awesome sense of humor and some nice patterns there)
hakucho (she's always very encouraging and I do appreciate that and patterns here too)
MissMandyGirl (she's just so darn sweet...love this girl)
and last but certainly not least....
Froggie (partner in crime...you hear about the Frog a lot and she's got some awesome freebies)

There are so many more people who deserve this as well but I have to sleep sometime. lol
I love all my online bloggy friends and non-bloggy friends. Thanks to everyone who reads my little 'ole blog and all the wonderful comments...makes a girl feel all sappy and stuff. :)

Big Hugs All Around!! Now, go spread the love!!

A Christmas Surprise & La Dentelle Belle Progress

My daughter has THE BEST interpreter there is...I have proof. Today when "Ms Thang" got home from school, she ripped into her bookbag like a mad woman. She was signing a mile a minute about "V" saying to open this now...DONT wait until Christmas! ("V" is her interpreter.)
She opened the card first...this took a LOT of willpower....inside "V" said that since my dd and I have such a close relationship, she thought we should both have this same gift. How sweet is that? We had identical little wrapped boxes and this is what was inside.....

This is "Ms Thang's" necklace. Oh yeah, we put them on immediately! Her chain is just a tad bit shorter than mine. They are so much prettier than the photos show. The reflections of colors and lights in the room distort the finish in the photos.

This is mine. I took it off hoping I could get a better photo. This is not quite as bad as the other with the colors reflecting on the necklace but it still just doesn't compare to the real thing. They're just dainty little things but the detail is pretty good. I just wish I could have gotten a better shot.

It was a really nice early Christmas surprise. "V" always gives dd a little something but I was totally not expecting a gift for me. She is awesome!

Now, the La Dentelle Belle progress...well, it's not so much progress but I will get there. I've had to set this aside to get those teacher gifts finished and they almost are...YAY ME! I love this yarn and even though I wasn't too thrilled with the colorway, I am more than happy with it now that's taking shape. I don't normally buy bright colors but this was a super good deal. I have another hank and I'm already trying to decide what else I can knit up with this. I may even make a scarf for myself with this. If my sister is reading this, don't worry, this one is yours. I promise.


I have two dishcloth dresses done and just waiting on the crochet edging at the top and another just OTN. It will done tomorrow, I hope. I'm using the Sugar & Cream striping yarn in the Holiday Stripes. So far, the first two have been a pleasant surprise in the way the striping has worked out. You know you're gonna get photos.

A Tree, Some Dishcloths And Honest Abe.

I thought I would post a photo of the decorated tree since there are some who wouldn't believe it without proof...it took forever to get around to adding the ornaments. I think the tree was up for two weeks just waiting on the final additions. I got tired of it giving me dirty looks so here he is in all his glory. (covered in little snowmen) There's even a little snowman standing just underneath the edge of the tree but you can't see him in this photo. He's in my profile picture right now though.

This is a Christmas gift for one of my neighbors. He owns a few horses and has let my kids ride them. Froggie designed this one and I thought it was perfect for him. This pattern is available on her blog. http://frogiezplace.blogspot.com/
I knitted him with Sugar & Cream in brown...not sure of the actual color name on the wrapper. The wrapper has long since gone MIA. I used a US size 7 needle...not sure of the size on the pattern. Hop over to Frogiez Place and look for Giddy-Up.

This one is for my cousin who is a big kid regardless of his age...which is in his 20's. He has always loved a certain comic book super hero. The cloth is a much prettier, brighter shade of blue. I was apparently having a "crappy picture day" as you can tell by this series of photos and YES! it's driving me insane but I will deal with it. :P Anyway, I think he will be very happy with this one.

I finally feel as though I'm making progress with all this Christmas gift knitting. I got these two finished, have a Nubbins OTN and two more dishcloth dresses OTN for my daughter's teachers. Now I just have to pick out a nice one for her interpreter...I realized that these 3 cloths need to be done first (as in now) because school is out for the holiday next Wednesday. I have until Christmas Eve to finish everyone else's.

I just check with Froggie and this one (My Hero) will be posted soon. Just check back on her blog...hopefully tomorrow and it should be there.

Now, the finale. I would like for you all to meet Abe Lincoln the sock puppet. Isn't he a handsome fella? lol My oldest daughter had to do this as a project for school. She's in high school no less, go figure. His mouth does open but you can't tell it in the photo. Her hand was tired....read A LOT of whining in that last sentence. I think we did an awesome job. Credit for the face goes to my youngest son, Skaterboy the artist. He's a talented kid if I say so myself. I can't wait to see what kind of grade she gets for this one. lol He really is very dignified in the photo. Always a proper gentleman. Honest.

Okay, I "talked" your ears off. You must be tired so I will shut up for now. Don't get comfortable because I will be back.

Wordless Wednesday

Pay It Forward

I have seen a this a few times while blog hopping but I guess the holidays really make you think about being thankful and doing things for others more than any other time of the year. So, in the spirit of Christmas, I have decided to Pay It Forward. I signed after reading a post on Cat's blog

http://craftyncer.typepad.com/cats_crafty_corner/

This is how it works...."I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I don’t know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days, that is my promise! The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog."

If you'd like to join and do something nice and sort of unexpected (they won't know when they get it or what it is), just be one of the first 3 to leave a comment on this post and make this promise on your blog. Come on, it's Christmas after all, Pay It Forward.

La Dentelle Belle Scarf KAL

I know everyone is probably so much farther along than me but I was just proud to make it through the first 13 row repeat. lol This scarf made a very valiant attempt at kicking my behind. We finally called a truce and this is my first day of knitting. I frogged only once...cuz I missed one stupid stitch at the stupid beginning and had to frog the stupid thing and start over.
I decided to go up a needle size for the cast on (US size 6) and then intended to go back to the size 5 but I like the look of the 6's so much I just kept on knitting. I wasn't entirely satisfied with the look of the scarf on 5's anyway and I have to say...I like this look much better.

I'm using KnitPicks Gossamer in Sunrise. This is the first time I have knitted with a lace weight yarn and it took me a little getting used to...I think I have the hang of it now. Let's hope so anyway. lol
This is my youngest daughter, "Ms Thang" trying her best to make me want to take the kitty home. Two little kittens have taken up residence at my sister's house and being the animal lover she is, my daugther carried this kitty around all afternoon except for the time she spent playing with my nephew or the dog. Yeah, the kitty is cute but we have so many animals already. I'll keep you posted...we seem to have a habit of taking in animals.

ILOVEKANDCALONGS Update

I wanted to pass along some information for anyone who was a member of the SASE group which has been deleted without any warning whatsoever. There was a KAL planned (The Icelandic Shawl) and kits ordered and then the group just mysteriously disappeared so...our wonderful Cat has re-opened the ILOVEKANDCALONGS group for anyone who wants to re-join. This group was closed when SASE supposedly resumed out of respect for the owner. We are back up and running with the Icelandic KAL scheduled for January and a beautiful scarf KAL that starts Friday (tomorrow). Please feel free to join us...Cat has tried very hard to send invites to anyone who was a member before and to other SASE members as well. If you didn't receive an invite, please don't think that you were forgotten or ignored. All the information in the SASE went POOF along with the group itself. We do want you to join and hope you come with us. If you were not a member of either group, that's okay, too. Come on over and join in, we'd love to have you there. The more, the merrier!

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ILoveKandCAlongs/

I'm A Snowman....I mean person

You Are a Snowman

Friendly and fun, you enjoy bringing holiday cheer to everyone you know!

What Christmas Ornament Are You?

I saw this cute little quiz on Isabelle's site ( http://tricotine.typepad.com/) and thought I would give it a try and.....YAY ME! I'm a snowman...no, wait, snowperson. Snowmen are my favorite! I have a select few up in my house all year round. Go ahead, see which ornament you are...you know you wanna. lol :)