Santa came... but no help from the elves!

Santa came and left me some great knitting gifts. However the elves were short handed and didnt make it to help with last minute knitting. Gifts of socks on sticks were given... and pondered over "How are we supposed to wear these? and Are we supposed to finish them?" My dad asked if he was going to have to knit the toe himself? (He who doesn't knit) I said "Sure if you like.. I'll teach ya !". He opted not to learn.. so socks on sticks were returned to the knitter for finishing process. Oh well.

Well Santa left me some 100% Merino fingering weight.. so I can dye it with my nephew using the Kool-aid process. I also got some solids to work in on toes and heels... a cool new book and #2 circ's to try the socks on circs method.. after of course sock gifts are completed. I'm tired of knitting for others.. I want to knit for ME! I'm a bit selfish with my knitting.... I can't help it.

Santa needs more elves...

Well the Christmas knitting has fallen behind. I don't see 100% completed socks for Monday. There may be gifts of socks on sticks made. But hey they put meat on a stick so why not socks?
I'm holding off on the toes of my dads socks... so I can have him at least try them on and check the length. He's got those ugly step sister feet ( I call them anyways) so I'd prefer him to try them before I start the toe decrease. I figure I can finish the toes Christmas afternoon. My brother on the other hand is further behind. He has one sock with no heel and no foot. I figure tomarrow I'm off and nothing else to do so I'll dedicate my time to getting his second sock up to speed. My mom has one scarf completed that just needs a little blocking.
I'll be so happy when all this holiday gift knitting is OVER. Then I'm gonna knit socks for ME, in some of the cool yarn I've been receiving from all these cool swaps! I'm totally itchin' to knit with it! Plus I think Santa is bringing my circ's in size 2... so I can try socks that way. !!

Package Number Deuce

Today in the mail I got my winnings from the drawing for the State Fairalong from Larissa. She sent me some really yummy candies, a skein of Lumpy Bumpy Yarn in the Black Cherry colorway... so pretty, 2 skeins of Katia Buffalo in a cool greyish brown color, very cool and a sample of Stash tea in Chocolate Hazelnut. Its cool that she sent me this flavor because in the grocery store I would definately be skeptical about trying/buying chocolate tea. But this sample I will try. I'm curious to find out how strong the chocolate flavor is. The bulkly yarn will go perfect with my down winter coat.. though I'm thinking of maybe a muffler rather than a scarf. The coat is fitted around the shoulder and neck area and doesn't leave much room for a bulky scarf underneath. But a muffler might be just enough. I love the browns and pinks together!
Thanks Larissa, it was definately worth waiting for!

Why hello there Sir? Come here often?

Sir Francis Drake came callin' . All tuckered out from haulin' his booty across the United States.

He showed me his...

I showed him mine ; ).....and we traded our wares....(his Thanks to the wonderful Jennifer at craftylilly.typepad.com)

I got lovely Merino sock yarn from Spunky Eclectic and lovely cotton Sockotta yarn....
then Chai Tea and Green Tea scented soap from places far far away....
and last but not least there was handy purple measuring tape, knitting needles, Hello Kitty ribbon and markers........


alas he had no postcard to share but I sent him packing with one.

We laughed, we shared, we told jokes... we drank...got drunk... He passed out on my couch
as any weary land bound sea traveler would...


I woke him up and got one final picture of him with my crew before he left........

He is now refreshed and new booty aboard for travels far far away! A good time was had by all. (Especially Sir Drake.. man can he drink!) He gave me his digits.. said he might by stop my way again. I said "My couch is always free for weary silver tongued devils such as yourself good Sir".

Thanks Jenn!

new links

whats been going on?

I finally finished the Larissas' Meathead along hat. Here it is. I just embroidered a flower on a piece of felt. I was going for a postage stamp look. Its hard to tell that in the picture. I think it would look equally cool with a vintage brooch pinned to it as well. My mom thought a wool/plaid skirt pin would look nice attaching the felt square to the hat. I meant to search around for one for this shot but it never happened. Anyway its a completed item. Yeah!

I was looking through some past posts and I mentioned the Gnome I painted mom for Mothers's Day.. here he is. Along with him is a flea market of this Summer. I mint shape sugar bowl that matches my new teapot perfectly. This Gnome is much smaller than the larger one that I've shown in the past. This guy stands maybe 12" or so high. A far cry from the nearly 2ft giant on my back deck. I gave this one green eyes (eyes of the forest) and a green shirt, just to mix it up a bit. He almost looks Christmasy. Speaking of the Giant Gnome, he's currently in the shed hybernating. When the cold and snow is gone he'll be back. Until then he's watching over the rest of my ceramic/garden/clutter/people/animal menagerie in my shed.

Coffee yarn swap questionaire

I meant to post this a few days back.. in case my swap mate wanders over here.

Knitters Coffee Swap


QUESTIONS
1. Whole bean or ground? Whole bean.

2. Fully-loaded or decaf? doesnt matter

3. Regular or flavored? I like both (anything except choc. rasberry )

4. How do you drink your coffee? Hot with half and half

5. Favorite coffee ever? green moutain coffee lake and lodge

6. Are you fussy about your coffee or will any old bean do? not fussy, but fresh is nice

7. Favorite treats to have with your coffee? Chocolate, cookies, pretty much anything.

8. Anything else about your coffee preferences? Don't think so...

9. What treats do you enjoy with your coffee? Umm... Repeat question?

10. Yarn/fiber you love? Natural animal fibers of any sort.. something soft

11. Yarn/fiber you hate? I try not to work with acrylics, but will do so if they are mixed with natural fibers.

12. What's on your needles? check out the side bar

13. Favorite colors? I like most colors, but I tend to buy a lot of blues and greens, purples and browns lately

14. Allergies? none

15. Anything you really love, really don't like, or just need to get off your chest? not really

catching up

It's been a crazy week and I just haven't had a chance to post. I've got plenty to blog about but no pictures. Mostly I've been plugging away on Christmas gifts. I finished a scarf last night. I'm about halfway on a pair of socks for my dad.. and one sock for my brother is half done. Still a mate to go for my nephew. Doesnt seem like I accomplished much this week on that. I participated in the second Meatheadalong so that took up some time. I'm about done my Christmas shopping, minus a couple of gift cards.

I'll get some shots of my WIPS and post later on.