Still eating leftovers...

just having to go a little old-fashioned at this point.  No complaints though, as homemade turkey soup with cheese tortellini(dried) and spinach(frozen) is really quite tasty.  Chuck in a handful of quartered cherry tomatoes picked this morning and it's kind of amazing. 
I think next time I will let the soup simmer away in the crock-pot instead of having to tend it on the stove, fewer interruptions to my knitting. ;-)

Non-holiday stuff

Okay, so I will admit, it's not really "stuff", most of it's knitting.  And...well okay it all involves knitting.  And while maybe that lovely green fluffy ball is being made into a shrug to wear for the office holiday party that is happening in December.  The rest of it is totally selfish knitting or reading and knitting as the case may be,and as such, also completely deadline free.
The book is called Needles and Artifice from the lovely Ladies of Mischief   and I absolutely adore it! Steampunk and knitting! In one book! So very outstanding!
Sadly, with all the gift making I am doing, (there's a backlog at this point, sorry all),  plotting which projects to make (almost all of them) and yarn acquisition for the lovelies in the much beloved book will probably end up waiting till at least February, with April being more likely.
The striking band of blue lace is the border for the Rivendell shawl designed by the wonderful Erica of Fiddle Knits.  The pattern has been nothing short of addicting and just beautiful!  It's being worked in Dream in Color Smooshy, Nightwatch colorway, that I dug out of the yarn stash.
The heathered red ball is  Full Circle from KnitPicks, in the Robin colorway, and is being used to work up The Lonely Tree shawl,  which I am also enamored with right now.
One of the things that makes these projects perfect to work on in between gifts, they are all worked on fairly large needles, the smallest being on U.S size 8's for me to get gauge, so my hands get a bit of a rest from the much more fiddly projects worked on finer needles.

Just as an aside, I would like to point out that only one out of the three projects is green.  For those who notice that sort of thing. ;-)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Celebrating the U.S. holiday with the required excessive amount of food.  I console myself with the knowledge that even the orange flavored marshmallows that topped the sweet potatoes were handmade (courtesy of my talented daughter). 
Happily, no one seems to be adverse to leftovers for the next week. :-D

Lots of knitting...

I just can't show you most of it as it's of the holiday sort.  The sweater is Irish Coffee from Baby Cocktails. The gray mitts are the zombie viXen pattern (Ravelry link) from Susan Claudino. The brown mitt awaiting a mate is the District 12 mitts by Bethany McRae (pattern can be found on Ravelry as well).  Love these patterns!
It's been a practical way to break up the holiday knitting marathons, (still not sure I will get it all done), since most of my fingerless mitts were in need of replacement and most of my sweaters got bequeathed to others.  It does slow down the holiday knitting output...but on the plus side, my brain doesn't melt and ooze out my ears. :-D
I may have joined another knitalong this past weekend (that puts the tally up to three for November/December), though I think I should be forgiven as it's Hobbit themed.  I have almost no willpower against things Tolkien.  It also encouraged a stash dive, which yielded beautiful results for a colorwork cowl and a shawl, which have been set aside for when I can start knitting them.  Probably in January. ;-)

Knitting Wallflower

Okay, probably just "wallflower" would work, but today the focus is on knitting. ;-)
In case you hadn't noticed, I love knitting.  I am also rather fond of knit alongs.  The latest that have caught my attention are the Crazy Knitalong  from the Stockinette Zombies and Fat Squirrel Speaks and the Jane's Ubiquitous Shawl knitalong mentioned over at CraftLit   
Yes, I am fond of podcasts as well.
Sadly, there is a problem with me and knitalongs.  I can work to deadlines.  The ones that catch my attention involve patterns or concepts that make me happy; Alice in Wonderland, dragons, stash busting, pretty lace patterns and an assortment of other things have been on the list before.
The problem is putting myself forward.  Attention of any sort (positive or negative) tends to make me uncomfortable.  Having people notice what I have made, especially if there is a compliment involved, disconcerts me.
I love what I make.  I enjoy that people like what I make. Apparently, I just can't handle hearing about it.
That said, I will still participate in the knitalongs, even if I don't say much.  I am still knitting! :-D