Merry Christmas!

As the sugar high leaves me ready to crash, I have to say that this Christmas was indeed a Merry Christmas. My family is all home safe and almost all in good health.

Dad is tuckered out from
the feverish excitement of the day and has elected to nap with a teddy. Mom says to heck with you all as she whips out the new Wii fit plus.














Shreds of wrapping paper litter the ground. We stare at them, as if some Jedi powers will be bestowed on us to aid in clean up.






And between the candy and the presents I have one thought.




What shall I knit next?

My siblings know me too well. I received beautiful yarn (alpaca!!!), wool roving to continue spinning, and wonderful harmony wood interchangeable knitting needles (#11 and #13). I'm spoiled! These needles are the ones I chose to make the dreaded sweater with. Of course from Knitpicks, these needles are going to solve all my issues with having tangled circulars and also having 3 different pairs of #10 in 16, 24 and 32 inch circulars. I love them! Only one cable and then all the tips you could possibly want.


And they couldn't have come at a better time.


My current project(s) are for my former roommates in Bellingham. Needing a #13 needle, I'm creating elf caps! Here my lovely sister models the final product. No I'm not that good, this cap was finished two nights ago. Simple seed stitch and a cable, a few tassels and you're done! The perfect cap for a chilly afternoon. So I have three more to make before the New Year!


















I also have a special creation that must be completed before the New Year for the last of the roommates. If you are aware of Doctor Who, then you will know who the Daleks are. I'm crocheting Dalek Sec. I have about a third done and must say whoever took the time to figure out a pattern for a Dalek is absolutely fantastic.

I feel sleep coming on. I must rest before I begin again to knit and crochet wonderful things.

The sweater lives!

Who knew that sitting down for 4-5 hours at a time would result in half a sweater? The absolutely ridiculous pattern and chart are no match for brains. I read through the pattern at least a dozen times, trying to conceptually understand the meaning behind every word. I do have to say that this pattern designer needs a ghost writer to fill in all the blanks where the lowly moderate skilled knitters, like myself, tend to get lost. I'm so excited that maybe in a week this project could be done forever! I must say that I do love the design though. If, IF, I ever try this pattern again, I'll listen to my fellow Ravelry members and use a smaller needle and not worry so much about the size yarn.

Oh the weather outside is delightful! Drat.

For being in the middle of December, Orcas Island is rather dry and chilly. And I must have a chat with Mother Nature because her definition of snow doesn't jive with mine. The meager dusting we got over night will not fill my snow quota for the year. Hopefully more will come.

I've risen to a new high. My schedule at the pharmacy allows for strange weekend hours of Sunday and Monday. And can you believe it, those happen to be the days the local yarn store is closed. It's truly ridiculous and has inspired me. After discussion with "Poppie" (nickname for yarn store owner, not my father) I'm the new Monday girl for the Holidays, and perhaps with some persuasion for the rest of the winter. My motives are of course to have access to the yarn, but also to have four to five hours to sit and knit! I never get to do that. And it will also force me to work on all my various projects.

Last Monday was the first. There were festive cookies on the table and pandora was playing a light and airy selection of classic Christmas music. I sat and finished knitting a pair of gloves that I began back in October for a coworker. I was down to finishing the fingers (I hate fingers!) and weaving in all the lose ends (I hate lose ends!). But finally they are finished! One project down. So today, I've brought the awful sweater that my Sister and I are trying to knit. As she has said, the author is a lying liar!! That should convey the frustration that I feel. It's been sitting in a bag in my living room for almost two months. I have no desire to go on and I've stopped at the beginning of the charts. I've already ripped the sweater out once, and I have no desire to do that again. I think that I've figured out how I have to knit with the chart, what direction to come from and all. The only problem is that I am going nuts with the whole knit from the neck down. It's all upside down and back wards and my mind may explode. If anyone finds me dead in the yarn store it's because of this sweater and not the absolute overload of all the beautiful yarn around me. P.S. I'm in love with alpaca yarn.

So I think I'll pull the darn thing out to try again. That is all I can do right about now. Good thing Poppie has Advil here, I'm gonna need it.