It got cold and I finished hats

Where I live right now, cold that requires you to wear a coat is something that happens between December and January, edging into February.  A dusting of snow, (a suggestion really), or a bit of actual ice, is enough to shut down the city. 
So  imagine my surprise at seeing icicles in my front yard yesterday.

Today, it's thirty degrees warmer.
I finished my charity hats for Halos of Hope  They are going in the mail today.

I kind of love that they are going to a yarn store down the street from my in-laws old house.  A store I've been to and very much enjoyed.  Thank you Purlescence Yarns!

Feeling mildly productive

I've been knitting.  A lot.  I've also stuck to knitting strictly from the stash, while not purchasing any new yarn.
Husband's socks got done.

My first hat for Halos of Hope got finished.

I also finished a sweater that just needed sleeves.

And put a few more teeth on my Fires shawl.

I may have started planning for the warmer weather that's on it's way with a cotton skirt on the needles (right now a boring bright teal tube), three linen skirt kits have been put together, and a list of tops appropriate for the coming seasons, (a few out of my beloved Doomsday Knits).  The skirts are all yarn from the stash.  There is also a pair of merino/silk day gloves on the needles in a bright red, with more to follow in other colors (also from stash).  And I may have decided a bit of nerd wear would round things out nicely, so a space cowboy inspired long coat from Knits for Nerds in brown superwash merino(stash yarn again) jumped onto my needles.
Oh, I also decided it might be a good idea to finish this, as it's been languishing for a bit:

It's the Wrapped in Leaves from Botanical Knits and I'm hoping to have it completed soon. The leaves are so much fun to knit!  Yes, you can rightfully guess that it uses yarn from my stash. ;-)
At this rate I may successfully work my knitting project collection down to something manageable...or I may just insist on finding more things to add to it. :-D

The new year so far....

Is it any surprise that my new year has been wrapped in yarn? 

There's the push to finish Husband's socks.

Please note that each sock has a  10.5" foot with a 6"leg, for a grand total of about 33" of knitting.

There's the charity knitting, only just really started.

And then, there is the I really really want that project that got me to buy the actual suggested yarn (last year).

Our family holiday gift has also figured largely into things lately.

As a household of outrageous Terry Pratchett/Discworld fans, this game has been a huge hit.  We played three games back to back New Year's Day, with me giggling every five seconds at the cards in my hands.  It's quite difficult to plot a winning strategy that way. ;-)

Mostly, I've been trying to be consistent.  Scheduling knitting time for particular projects amongst the other daily things so I actually make progress and finish things instead of becoming intimidated by (and/or forgetting about  thus casting on even more things for) the leaning tower of unfinished objects is the big one. 

So far so good, even if it is only day four. ;-)

Happy New Year!

I hope you have enjoyed yourselves, whatever you celebrate!
Around our house there were stockings.

A lovely dinner.

And the cat nuzzling my new box of Welsh tea, (which is delicious!).

Today, there was much cleaning.  Tonight, there will be champagne.  And probably knitting. ;-)

Now I feel like less of a slouch since I managed to get this post up before next year.  Barely. :-D

Be safe and do enjoy the New Year!

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. :-)