Two More!

Given that much of the gift knitting was done and then put aside, my pictures are all over the place. Today I found another photo on my phone that I should have posted yesterday and I was finally able to snap the last knitted gift today!

For my brother's girlfriend I made a little pencil - she's an elementary school teacher. Of course the Lorax wanted it to try out.

I can certainly see making more of these in the future.

Over the last several weeks the Lorax has been taking the knit dishcloths that are all over our house and "dressing up Puppy". Poor puppy, having to wear dishcloths! Santa was kind enough to bring a present for puppy (and I think that really sealed the deal for L!) - a new sweater!

Holiday Hangover

Ahh. December 26. A day I look forward to especially since we have had the Lorax and have a Christmas marathon starting on Christmas Eve through Christmas night for the last 4 years. We travel to see family - and there is a lot of family to see. This year was probably the best yet - the Lorax is excited to see everyone, is social too (as she puts it "I'm going to go talk to some people") and is independent enough that we can let her roam about our location without too much worry. It was a very nice Christmas and we are so blessed to have such a generous family.

And I can finally post about some things that I made for gifts!

A Koolhaas hat for my youngest brother - I love this pattern though it took me several attempts to find my rhythm with the cables. Eventually I will make myself a hat like this. It is so cozy!


A lump of coal (pattern is on the knitpicks website) for my older younger brother, who one year as a kid actually did get coal in his stocking!


A pair of "Bella's Mittens" for my cousin. I had made this pattern earlier in the year as a sample for a class and loved them. I wish I could wear these - they are warm and snug just they way you would like them to be - however, with the lorax I find I do often need use of my fingers, so I don't do mittens too often. My cousin seemed to like them - she's a college kid - so I hope that she does get a lot of use out of them on campus.


Ok, so this isn't knit, it's sewn felt, and it's BACON! :) This was made for Dan and is just so cute and silly I had to make it as soon as I saw it online. I tend to take photos involving Jackson when he's been asleep because then he is quite compliant - seems like many photos lately have all caught him yawning!

And now I can look forward to non-gift knitting. I have several personal projects ready to go, two different samples that I hope to tell you about soon, and I'm considering a create-my-own-sock-club-thing, but that is still uncertain / in the works. Still need to deal with the Christmas aftermath. And I was lucky to receive a few knitting related gifts that I look forward to sharing here on the blog and putting to good use asap. Along with my new snow boots - apparently there is a big storm coming our way today / Monday! We will probably postpone picking Jackson up from his vacation until Tuesday or so due to the storm. He is so missed! The Lorax has been talking up building a snowman for a long time so some snow would be quite nice!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Christmas Wishes

The hustle and bustle are in full swing - I think it is going to be a very exciting Christmas - one that certainly will go by all too fast. If you can, try and slow down and enjoy the good stuff. Things like:

Enjoying a good viewing of The Yule Log (while it lasts - apparently our "Free On Demand" subscription to the Comcast Yule Log has run out?! Makes no sense to me, but we got to see a little bit of it!Anyway.)


Have a cup of hot chocolate with marshmallows. Homemade if possible. Need a recipe? I mixed up the hot chocolate mix from Under the Table and Dreaming for gifts along with marshmallows from Our Best Bites. Of course I had to sample to make sure it would work for gifts - delish!


Thank an elf! Isn't this great? My local apple orchard / farm market, Bishop's, posted on Facebook yesterday that "Buddy the Elf" was working there! On a whim, we stopped in this morning and asked one of the people working if they had seen Buddy. They said he was around and went into the back to find him. He came out and was adorable. I think Lorelai didn't know what to make of him - she was quite shy, but she did give him a high five. When we got home she found our DVD of "Elf" and said "This is who was saw at Bishop's". Gotta love local businesses!!

Looking forward to posting after Christmas when I can finally blog about things I've been knitting - the recipients do sometimes come across my blog and I didn't want to risk any spoilers! Merry Christmas!!

"Best" and Best Christmas Presents

I was just talking about the Best Christmas presents ever with my MIL the other night at dinner - and then today I read WifeMomKnitter's post about her "Best" presents (cringe worthy!). It got me thinking - Great blog fodder!!

Starting with the Best. The true best gifts ever - two immediately stand out in my memory - the year Santa brought my Cabbage Patch Kid, Garnett Lenore (oy. What a name. Side story - maybe I've shared this before? My uncle used to tease me as a kid that "Garnett Lenore would so become Coleslaw" and I was totally clueless until high school when I finally realized that coleslaw is made from cabbage.) And the year Santa brought a Care Bear - Cheer Bear. Each year those were the specific items I really really hoped Santa would bring and they were left under the tree - unwrapped! so they were the first things I spotted on Christmas morning. I have been pretty lucky with the gifts overall - one year my husband bought me cashmere yarn! What a guy!

The "Best" present that stands out? One year there was an aunt who glued a picture of my face onto a little wooden doll - the sort of thing you would find at a craft-sale / church bazaar. I don't know what she was thinking. I was in my late teens, so it just seemed odd. Certainly there are other gifts that were swiftly donated / regifted / swapped away as Bad Santas... clothes that aren't me, knick-knacks that seem so odd, the random items that make it obvious that the gift giver doesn't know you. And now that I'm a grown-up I can pretty much get the things I want and I don't need more things (though I do like my stuff. no question there. De-cluttering is going to be huge again in 2011.)

Speaking of gifts I should get on wrapping the items that are piling up around the house. And weave in the ends on some projects (and photograph said projects!). I always think there is more knitting time for all the things I want to do - or that I knit faster than I really do. Something needs to be done about that!!

Photo Cards

photo.JPG
Originally uploaded by nutmegknitter

There was a surprise photo card in the mail today from my mom. Vintage 1984 "Greetings" from the Children. Circa 1984 - my brothers (who were 3.5 and 6 months) and I (6 and a half). I don't think we've changed one bit.

Wedding shoes

Wedding shoes
Originally uploaded by nutmegknitter

(Nearly Wordless Wednesday)
Found my wedding shoes while cleaning out a closet. Gave them to the Lorax to play with - "Mama, I love your wedding shoes!" :)

Family Photo

Family Photo
Originally uploaded by nutmegknitter

Lazy Sunday. Putting up the Christmas Tree. Good photo opportunity. Of course, when using the self-timer on the camera it is a good idea to take a lot of photos to be sure you get a good one. And then you can also be surprised at what you get. This is my favorite photo - not a perfect shot of our family, but a fun one. Jackson was yawning, not trying to snap at the kid!

Older, Wiser and Way More Active

Yesterday was the Lorax's 3rd Birthday!

We had a jam packed day. Dance class, a coffee break and then a stop at the toy store - she had been given some birthday money and bought some stickers and a Hello Kitty facecloth. A quick trip the library and run around outside. Phew.

My mom came by later with presents from other family members - one of which was this polka dot skirt that she immediately put on (and plans to wear today).

Dinner was spaghetti, her favorite, and I made cake. I think by the time we got to dessert it was all just too much - she didn't want to blow out the candle on her cake - so she enjoyed the sprinkle donut my mom brought earlier.

Happy Birthday to You! Keep on Smiling!