A Little Yarn On The Side

Thanks to--you guessed it--another set of mitten ornaments, I need only 19 more projects for the year.  I had thought about trying to make a mitten ornament every day until Christmas, but for right now that project has been put on hold to make a set of Christmas stockings for some friends.  There's a name on the flip side, but that would ruin the "surprise" part of the gift.  Originally I thought I might sew them, but I haven't knit stockings for anyone in years, and after some discussions with mutual friends, I decided to knit them instead.  I used to knit personalized Christmas stockings for close friends when they got married, but after going through a period of giving stockings that were never used, I sort of lost confidence in them.  It's sort of silly, really, as more of them have been happily used every year than the ones that weren't, but  it is really hard to know that you've spent hours on a gift that someone didn't like and doesn't app...

Thanks everyone for your kind thoughts.  The online knitting community just simply rocks.  Today I am just thankful I have so many friends in so many avenues, and I'm thankful that I have special people in my life who mean so much to me that I genuinely mourn them when they're gone.  I don't think everyone has that. So today I am doing things that make me happy.  There is now a second red mitten to make a full "finished project." I got the garlic out of my closet (which is a long, rather weird story). I have a new music ornament for our tree: and my Christmas bin is slightly fuller than yesterday: Okay, REALLY slightly as one mitten and one ornament do not take up much space.  But in VERY happy space-related news: I have used up so much yarn from my fingering-weight bin that three  bags of yarn that were not originally IN the bin are out of the closet and into the bin.  This is even MORE exciting because my temporary wire shelving is starting...

Andy and I have jokingly referred to my online knitting friends as my "imaginary" friends, as I've never actually met  any of them and only know many of you via blogs and Ravelry.  Friends all the same, but friends I wouldn't actually recognize in person, and when people ask me how I know this or that person, I have to say, "Well, I haven't." Tonight I realize how very real these friendships are to me, as I found out tonight that one of my online friends passed away last month.  I knew Janet had cancer, and had been undergoing chemotherapy on and off for as long as I had known her, but she always seemed so upbeat about it that even though it sounded  serious, part of me hoped maybe it wasn't. And it was. I suspected she was sick early this summer because I hadn't heard from her for a while, and no matter how sick she probably was, she seemed to spend as much time as she could posting encouraging comments on other knitter's blogs.  I sen...

The mitered mittens from Elizabeth Zimmermann's brilliant pattern are finished and blocking: and I have continued my mitten mania with these:  Mitten ornaments !  I started these yesterday and am up to 5 now.  I'm counting 2 for a finished project, so I'm one mitten away from finished project number 90 , so of course that makes me even MORE obsessed with them.  The mitten ornaments aren't doing much for my stash-reduction as they use up so little yarn that they don't even make a dent in the monster balls of Red Heart and Carion acrylic that I'm using, but at least they're counting as finished projects AND filling up my Christmas bin.  If I start to talk about having an entirely knit-themed Christmas tree, though, you are to immediately send a therapist!

86 days and 25 projects to go.  AND the garden is almost over.  We've started covering the peppers at night because it's dropping into the 40s at night, and we're currently planning on covering the tomatoes at night for a while to extend the growing season a bit.....but the knitter in me is thinking maybe we should just let everything die.  I think Theo is appalled by my thinking.......... Or he's just sick of the sight of all the canning equipment..............

* 16 pints of vegetable soup * 11 half-pints of roasted red pepper spread * 12 pints of multi-use tomato sauce Yep, I'm ready for vacation again.................

There's a garden with a very  long to-do list waiting for me after my 4-day vacation from it, but before I get to that, it's time for "What I Did With My Crafting Vacation:" As you might remember, I'm planning to do a music-themed Christmas this year, so I played around with an idea I had been toying with as a decoration: which aside from the slight puckering where I slip-stitched it shut turned out pretty well for a first attempt. I also got back to my mitten project, and am counting these five as a finished project: They're a bit addictive, really. Speaking of addictive, I am obsessed with these mittens!  Usually variegated yarns never end up looking as good on a project as I always hope they will, but this might finally be the answer.  I love how it looks with the cream stripe in-between.  Good thing I've already finished a lot of Christmas gifts for this year.  Otherwise I'd be embarking on a mad mitten-making rampage.  Of course, I might ...