Happy Winter Solstice!

Wow.  I am unbelievably behind.  I've managed to make a festive hat...

Husband got sick right after Thanksgiving with sinus nastiness that has lingered.  Between tending the invalid and lack of sleep, a lot of the holiday stuff hasn't gotten done on time.  Luckily, older kids are understanding and we're just going to celebrate through January. :-D 

This little gem arrived today...

This is my father's knitting bag.  It was re-discovered by my grandmother the other day.  She kindly gave him back the bag, holding his one, unfinished, project, should he wish to finish it finally. (It's been about fifty years.)

It was supposed to be a pair of slippers, in a cheery shade of olive green and minus the pom poms.

My father got about half way through one slipper. He was using the recommended needle size(the project was still on said needles), but looking at the fabric, I would point out I am not the only tight knitter in the family. The yarn is a thick and thin wool/nylon blend that has held up surprisingly well.  I would guess it was in a linen cupboard with scented soap to keep away the bugs.
The needles will likely be put with the wooden crochet hooks I have from my great-aunt, the yarn will be re-wound. 
Then I'll get out slightly larger needles and make some slippers. ;-)

I'll admit it....

I am a huge fan of Welcome to Nightvale.  I understand it's not for everyone. My entire household thinks me odd for even listening to it, laughing as I wait with eager anticipation for the latest episode.
But there are others, in ever growing numbers, who understand my adoration...and some of them, are knitters.  Annie over at The Saloon, is one such person.  She is obviously amazing. :-D (And of course we all knew Cecil had to be knitworthy right?)

So, we bought a rug...

About a month ago actually, but November happened and I got a bit preoccupied.  Here are the pictures we took of it, with husband added for scale. :-)

It's a big rug.

There's been the pondering of what to do for the holidays, plotting what to wear to the office holiday party, (leather pants, corset and gold heels, we'll see what happens).

I also just got yarn to start making hats for Halos of Hope. This was really brought to my attention through the Podcaster Throwdown (Ravelry link).  How many hats can these knitting, crocheting, and sewing fans of participating podcasts make?  We shall find out after Stitches West.

Near and dear to my heart

Even if it is kind of short notice, but I did only just find out about it a few minutes ago. ;-)
PoMo Golightly had the genius idea of Craft Friday as a counter point to Black Friday's mass, chaotic, consumerism.  I am so in! Knitting socks, mitts and toys plus a little sewing and baking, instead of dealing with hordes of humans possessed by gross materialism?  Hells yes I will stay home!  If I get daring and the weather is amenable, I may take a chair and my tea and sit on the front porch to knit! :-D  I am such a rebel. ;-)

A Bright Spot in the Day

Today has been...less than ideal.  Nothing drastic, just unpleasantness in various forms that decided to show up all at once.
Then the mail arrived, bringing with it sock kits from Knitter's Brewing Company I bought a little over a week ago.  Packaged in bright tissue paper, with a handwritten note from Wendy, I instantly felt better.
How could I not with kits like these?

They brought a smile to my face and lifted my mood, so I wanted to share.  How could you not get a grin from that fanged heel? ;-)

Keeping myself entertained

Husband has been exceptionally busy with work lately, which means keeping myself occupied...and sitting and watching television does not cut it.  Cue dance parties in the living room, (on the new rug), movie marathons (to knit to) and of course, new projects.
I hope to finish the sleeve on this sweater today.

Then I decided that I had a couple of embroidery designs that would be ideal on large canvas bags.

I still haven't decided on the exact colors I will use for the pieces.

The other most recent project is the final result of a personal quest.  I have spent more time than I care to admit in a search for a sheer nude and sheer red lipstick.  I found the sheer red, just at a cost that I did not want to pay for a day to day cosmetic.  And the nude...well, everything is always too orange or too pink or too tan.  So, I grabbed a basic red lipstick I liked the color of, put it in a double boiler with some coconut oil and cocoa butter and five minutes later, voila!  It turned out so well I fished out two lipsticks (one too orange and the other too pink) and put those in the double boiler as well(after cleaning it out) with similar proportions of oil and cocoa butter.  It was like magic.  Both are exactly what I had been looking for! Now instead of three lipsticks I would use once in awhile, I have two lip sheers I will likely use daily. I need to look good to work on all those other projects. ;-)

There's also the sewing patterns I need to cut out, the other embroidery projects still in the hoop, the two quilts I designed around finished needlework pieces, and the ever looming pile of in progress knitting projects.  I may be a bit easily distracted, but things get done...eventually. :-)

Now that the skulls are put away...

We were one of three houses on our street that went with more "scary" and less "cute".

I was let near a dye pot and green eyeshadow.  This was the result:

I raided my closet for everything but the hat and the stockings.  I had no idea being green was going to make so many small children nervous, maybe I shouldn't have sat partially hidden behind the rose bush knitting on a sock.  The knitting confused lots of people, but no one said a single word.
We had fun. There was also a ton of candy left, plus some homemade maple marshmallows sitting on the table.  We might be through all of it by Thanksgiving.

Hoping to be helpful, even if it's a bit random

I found this through Ravelry, courtesy of Cat Bordhi.  Even if you are not a knitter, it's a good cause.  Cancer treatment research is rather important. Read, and please, if you can, it certainly sounds like a good thing to support! :-)

Struck By Inspiration

I received an email from Urban Threads today and saw their new Pretty Poison set.  I was instantly smitten...but what to do with the designs? There are only so many things I can hang on my walls and throw pillows are heartily abused in my house. Inspiration struck! What about a quilt? I could find a few more designs that had an interesting plant motif to them, piece the lot of them together and have a lovely functional piece of art! Genius...at least it will be once I finally get to it.
I also found a few embroidery pieces that would help pull together the wall hanging quilt I have wanted to make with a set of elemental dragon cross stitches I finished a few years ago.  Tonight, I could finally see it put together in my head.  Yet another project that requires attention.
Did I mention I am trying to work through the about six dozen knitting projects I have waiting for me?  Yarn and patterns all ready to go, in bags and bins, quietly staring and patiently gathering dust.  In my defense, most of them are single skeins for socks or shawls.
Oh, and let's not forget the dozens of embroidery and cross stitch projects that also already await my attention.
And....now that it's cooling off and the roving won't be sticking to my fingers I need to get back to the whole practicing spinning thing.
Provided I don't get distracted by some new shiny, (highly likely), I should be good on projects for at least another year and a half!

And...now it's cold

I had teenagers making puppy dog pouty faces at me earlier this week whenever I picked up a knitting project that was not their fingerless mitts.  So, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday were spent finishing two pairs of said mitts.

Daughter had requested Wonder Woman and Green Lantern.  The yarn is wound for the Green Lantern ones.

Boy had requested War Machine,(yes, the design is on the palm like it should be) and Avengers logo mitts.  I had to size up the pattern a goodly amount to fit his paws, but it should make the next set go faster.
Husband announced that Boy's mitts were very cool and went so far as to try on one of them to show me that that size would fit him quite well too.  Laughingly, I let him know that I had left over yarn and he could have a pair too.  He is now eagerly awaiting his set.
Hopefully this will placate them for a little while so I can finish a couple of sweaters and a pair of socks or two...my toes are cold!