Merry Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas Liz!  
This is, per usual, a very overdue post!  I've had bunches to tell you but was pretty busy with all of the pre-holiday planning, knitting and babysitting!  First- updates on knitting... Remember the vest I made Drew?  Well here are some photos he sent me (with much prompting from my friend Jenna...).  They are equal parts terrifying and entertaining:

The Nice One:

The Naughty Ones!

I think it looks pretty good, if I do say so myself!  That night I got a message requesting a knitted pair of socks.  Ut oh...  Much still to catch up on though, including this vest for dad and maren's other glove... which I'm actively working on...  

I also did a little knitting for the tree- a ball for each tree in our family (Em & Tym, Maren, my parents and Franklin's mom.  Still need to make one for Franklin and I... but again, I'm still not finished with a bit of holiday knitting!!)  They came from Interweave Knits a while back- it was a multi pack of patterns for the holiday.  I liked this one the best and to be honest, they were really easy.  

I also got a photo from Patricia, our camp nurse, with a few photos of her little man wearing a sweater I made him!  I put them up on Ravelry, take a peek when you can!  In addition to the balls, I made Charlittle some special gifts :)  A tutu, which I found in a Family Fun magazine (such great crafting projects!)  which she hasn't warmed to in the slightest... She kind of cried when we put it on her, but hopefully it will grow on her!  These are some "in progress" shots...

I also made her a wee hat to go with her very Canadian snowsuit :)  Hopefully I'll get the full ensemble on film soon :)  but for now, here is the hat and little Miss in her Christmas outfit!  

More to update later, including some yummy food to share, but for now, I will wish you and Sheffy a Merry Christmas!!  

Love,

Charlotte 

More Spinning!

I've been doing a TON of spinning lately to make sure I have a nice selection of handspun for the next shop update. I'm aiming for 6 skeins and 5 are done already. The 6th should be done either today or tomorrow and then I have a custom spinning job to start (a whole pound of pretty, pretty fiber!).

During all of this spinning I realized I clearly have a new obsession: Two if by Hand fiber

Everything for the next shop update is spun from their fiber. I can't help it! I order, it ships quickly and arrives here all lovely begging to be spun up. They do a fabulous job dyeing and their choice of fiber bases is outstanding.

I think this next skein might be my most favorite. ever.

Merino/Cashmere/Nylon (80/10/10) in Two if by Hand's colorway "Comfort me with Apples" 

I wish you could reach through the screen and squish it. It's amazingly soft and squishy! 

I think I'm going to order some more of this for myself and knit some socks or mittens out of it. How fun would those be?! 

It's actually broken up into 2 skeins because I wasn't able to fit all of the yarn on one bobbin. 

Next up:

Falkland wool in Two if by Hand's colorway "Crucio"

While not as soft as the MCN...the Falkland spun up really nicely and is surprisingly soft.

This also had to be put into 2 skeins

The last skein I'm working on for the update is Merino/Silk and it's super shiny and soft...it should be really lovely when it's finished. 

Only a couple of more days....and then I can finally post about all the secret Christmas knitting that's been going on!! Everything went out in the mail on Monday, and although the post office lady only gave them a 75% chance of arriving on time everything has made it. Phew. 

Well, I'm off to make some progress on a pair of socks, finish up that skein of yarn and head to a neighbor's house later for drinks and cookies!

Merry Christmas!

Love,
liz :)

Last Minute Crafting

Talk about being down to the wire with gift making! Especially since everything needs to fly across the country. I finished the last knitted gift on Friday morning, but decided on a last minute sewing project that ended up taking all day.

All the cousins in my mom's family pick names for Christmas and this year I have Lily. I have it on good authority that Lily is getting a Nintendo DS for Christmas and I thought she needed a case to hold her ds, games, and power cord. Lily loves horses, so I found some horse fabric at the quilt store and got to work. It took several prototypes that didn't quite work out (lucky I actually had a ds here to test it out!), but I finally got one that worked.

Cute, eh?! 

 Way better than some plastic store bought case, right?

The drawstring bag to keep her charger in. Because, well, I always misplace my chargers...so I thought it would be nice for her to have a place to keep it.

The ds case is big enough to hold a game case, too. But then I woke up at 4:30am Saturday morning and had a brilliant idea for a case that could hold 3 game cases like this. I only have a crappy phone pic, but it turned out really cute. 

It has elastic inside to hold the 3 game cases, then it folds up and ties. 

I also finished another skein of yarn for the shop (actually 2 more skeins, but 1 is still drying): 

Nymphadora on Finn dyed by the ladies at Two if by Hand

It will be listed in the etsy shop during the next update (Dec 29th at 11am Pacific Time), and will be named "Perfectly Purple" 

That's it for now, I think! Back to the spinning wheel....

Love,

liz :)

Scary Gingerbread Cookies

Seth wanted desperately to cut out the gingerbread cookies. So I let him. Scary, I tell you. First, he decided he would cut out shapes using a paring knife....which was taking FOREVER. So, I made him use the cookie cutters, and he decided to improvise a little.

A turkey. We have a flock of about a half a dozen. Very festive according to Seth.

"Nearly Headless Nick" from Harry Potter.

Gingerbread man with hole. There are several of these. I was informed that when they are decorated he will have blood dripping from his wound. Again, very festive.

You might wonder what this is. I kept seeing weird shapes like this and then realized that Seth was just taking the scraps and throwing them on the baking sheet.

An ice climber. Obviously. 

An elf with a club. 

I'll be sure to post pictures after they are decorated! 

I'm very close to having my Christmas knitting done and I have a couple more projects I can share! 

Seth's office does secret santa each Christmas and he had one of the other doctors this year. She wrote on her little questionnaire that she loved scarves, and clearly a store bought one just would not do. 

Pattern: Circle & Stripe Scarf by Leigh Radford from the book More Last Minute Knitted Gifts

Yarn: MadelineTosh Vintage in Dahlia 

Modifications: None. I used exactly 2 skeins of the Vintage and the scarf ended up about 60 inches long before blocking. 

All the employees at the office have stockings and they do smaller gifts throughout the week and the big gift at the Christmas party. Since tea was also on the list of "likes", we bought a ceramic travel mug and I knit a cup cozy for it.

For the cup cozy I cast on 32 sts, joined to work in the round, and knit 2x2 rib until I was happy with the length. I used some MadelineTosh Rustication Worsted. 

I also finished a couple of skeins of handspun yarn...both from the roving from my last post.

Enchanted on Merino/Cashmere/Nylon spun from Two if By Hand roving.

Miss Granger on Shetland also from Two if By Hand roving.

Well...I have 2 more gifts that still need to be knit up! Yikes. Back to the needles....

Love,

liz :)

Oregon Gardens in Winter

I had a lovely visit with Mama Limmer this weekend! She arrived on Thursday and after a wee bit of yarn shopping we headed back to Corvallis to rest up for all the weekend festivities. On Friday night we attended a city function called Winter's Eve. The money raised goes to the Corvallis Assistance League  which provides services to kids in need (dental services, teddy bears for kids in crisis situations, clothes for kids in need, etc). The city blocks off one of the roads and has a huge heated tent with food, wine, and silent auction items. Tickets also included a coupon book for downtown businesses, most of which stayed open during the event. I ended up with a new pair of Dansko's that I've been contemplating for a while now. 20% off helped that decision! I've also come to realize how stretched out my black Danskos are...I think I'll have to replace those after this winter. 

Anyways...on Saturday the weather was gorgeous (chilly, but sunny!) and my Mom, Seth, and I headed to The Oregon Garden. Even though there weren't many things in bloom, it was nice to just be outside enjoying the nice weather and beautiful views. 

The clouds were absolutely gorgeous the whole time we were there. 

Who says that it rains every day in Oregon during the winter? Not true.  

We'll have to make sure we visit in the spring and fall next year. These planters on the water are just gorgeous with the cloud and tree reflections. 

Fun, gnarly tree. 

The Pac NW is really dog friendly. Dogs are welcome at The Oregon Garden and there is even a "Pet Garden". Sailor posing in the Pet Garden.  

Sailor checking himself out.  

Sailor striking a pose. 

The boys.

Friday night my mom and I whipped up a double batch of chocolate mint cookies (the kind with andes candies on top) to freeze for a cookie swap at Seth's office and for Christmas cookie platters. We made 2 more kinds of cookies on Sunday (raspberry jelly thumbprint cookies and shortbread chocolate chips) and my Mom did some Christmas wrapping. 

On Monday we headed up to Portland and met a couple of ladies from one of the groups my Mom is in on Ravelry (Pug Lovers) for lunch. We went to Twisted again and hit up Dublin Bay, REI, Powell's, and Knit Purl. I bought some lovely yarn at Dublin Bay as well as a skein at Knit Purl along with some adorable Christmas ornament kits! After our yarn shopping extravaganza we checked into the Crowne Plaza (gotta love free nights from Priority Club!) and hopped a shuttle to the Lloyd Center to make some returns at the Loft. 

Yesterday I dropped my Mom at the airport and stopped at the outlets in Woodburn to do a little Christmas shopping. I, of course, found a fabulous rain coat at the Merrell Outlet. Since we moved last year I've been searching for a cute, long raincoat with a hood. All the cute longer coats I've seen haven't had a hood, and well, it rains here and I don't like to carry an umbrella. Then I found this yesterday:

But in forest green with orange rivets. Completely waterproof and cute. 

And, because no post would be complete without some shots of yarn or fiber....here's a few pictures of some roving I've recently acquired from my new favorite fiber source, Two if By Hand.

Enchanted on Merino/Cashmere/Nylon 

Miss Granger on Shetland 

Nymphadora on Finn

I love that they do Harry Potter themed colors. I'm such a dork. :) 

Okay....I must go work on finishing up my Christmas knitting!

Love,

liz :)

Finally, some Christmas knitting I can share!

I decided I couldn't wait and gave my mom part of her Christmas gift when she got here on Thursday. I've had this done for what seems like ages, and it's been really hard to keep quiet about it! We went to the Oregon Garden (more pics of that to come in another post) and decided it would be a great place to take some FO pictures.

Pattern: Luciole by Anne Hanson 

Yarn: String Theory Caper Sock (merino/cashmere/nylon) purchased from the lovely Purl Diva

Modifications: None. I made the Petite size. I did have a moment of panic while knitting the edging because I realized the pattern called for 425 yards of yarn and I had 400 yards. Oops. Thankfully, I was knitting at a looser gauge and there was probably some extra yardage in the skein! I ended up with ONE YARD of yarn left over after the bind off. Phew. 

Knitting with the Caper Sock was a true pleasure. I think I finished the shawl in about a week and a half because I couldn't put it down! So soft! 

I was totally tempted to keep it for myself once it was done! I think another Luciole is in my future.  

I actually have a couple of more finished projects to show off!

My mom sent me some yarn for my birthday, and included in that package was a skein of Tosh Merino in Mansfield Garden Party. I couldn't wait to use it for something and was searching for the perfect project to show it off. On Thursday we stopped at Twisted and Vivian was working and wearing an adorable hat. I asked her about it and she happened to have designed it. The pattern was purchased, and 2 days later I had a hat.

Pattern: The Big Easy by Vivian Aubrey

Yarn: MadelineTosh Merino in Mansfield Garden Party 

Modifications: The pattern calls for size 7 and 9 needles. I couldn't locate my size 9 bamboo needles in 3 minutes of looking, so I knit the top portion on size 8s instead. The pattern is so super duper easy, and knits up ridiculously fast. I think I finished the whole thing in less than 4 hours. Probably more like 3 hours. It's fantastically warm and fits perfectly!

Over Thanksgiving weekend I had the opportunity to do a test knit for Ellen of Purl Diva. She designed a pair of super fast, super cushy fingerless mitts. These, too, were knit in less than 4 hours! Gotta love quick knits that you can wear almost immediately!

Pattern: Fast and Fearless Fingerless Mitts by Ellen Rodgers

Yarn: Malabrigo Chunky 

Modifications: Instead of size 10 needles, I used size 9 needles for a slightly smaller, denser mitt. The ribbing is super stretchy, though, and they also fit Seth! I've worn them a whole bunch already, and I'll definitely be making more of these. 

And. One more thing to share. I did my first custom spinning job last week! A lovely raveler sent me some fiber she wanted spun up. It was 8 ounces of BFL and she wanted it to be a 2-ply yarn and sportweight-dk. I'm so excited about how it came out! Unfortunately I only have a couple of pics that aren't the greatest....but they'll do:

The 2 larger skeins are 375 yards each (don't ask how I managed to have them be exactly the same amount! Pure dumb luck!) and the mini skein is about 55 yards.  

I've also acquired a whole bunch of fiber recently. Not quite sure how that happened ;) I'll wait and share those in the next post, though, since I haven't photographed all of them yet.

Looks like you and baby C had a good time! And it looks like Philo was just a wee bit jealous...what a goof. She's gotten so big, and so grown up looking :)

Love,
liz :)