a little left over Christmas post

So, I saw Kim's post and the next thing I knew, I was buying this pattern searching my stash for this (shepherd worsted) yarn, and casting on.
I ended up giving it (reluctantly) to my mother in law. ( I really wanted to keep it.) If you are a first timer to cables, this is the project for you.
We use our cookie press to make cookies every Christmas. Just as my mother did for us and her mother did for her. Always using the camel, the tree and the wreath disc. This year we tried another disc after seeing a friends.
You press it into one long strip, sprinkle with the nonpareils, (which just by chance are small enough to get caught in the ridges and don't roll off your cookie sheet!) and then cut it into the size of the cookie you want. (All before baking.) These were a great addition. I also think these would be great for a birthday party.
Christmas Press Cookies:
1 cup butter::3/4 cup sugar::2 egg yoks::1 tsp almond extract::2 1/2 cups flour::1/8 tsp salt::1/4 tsp baking powder. Cream butter, sugar, egg, extract, flour, salt and b. powder. Mix. Add food coloring (optional). Press. Bake 375˚ for 8 minutes.
Almost 2010. SO hard to believe.

merry merry happy happy

Well, Santa came, despite some naughtiness that went on throughout the year. I currently have happy, content people and a very wonderful mess on the living room floor.
I wanted to pop in to let you know how much I appreciate each and everyone of you dropping into this space of mine. You inspire me each and everyday. The love of knitting is really a fantastic thing.
Merry Christmas to you and yours.
Cheers!
Leslie

his/hers

She loved mine so much, she started saving.
Hers and his sweaters, that no longer fit, have a hole or are simply worn a little too much.
I cut 13 x 13 inch squares out of ten sweaters. Using the front and back, this gave me 20 squares. I wanted it a little bigger and didn't want to waste any of those (cashmere!) sweaters, so I used the sleeves and pieced them together in order to get five more squares. At first I had reservations about using the front of the cardigan, and now that is my favorite square. Love the buttons. For the back I used some camel colored pendleton wool that I purchased for $1.00 at our church harvest fair.
This may be my favorite gift I'll be giving this year.
Two days left? Seriously?!
Have a great one!

new hats

It took them 2 seconds to pick out colors for their new thorpes.
And it feels really, really nice.

Oh, and Libby's boots from the previous post were purchased last year from the GAP.

oona's hoodie

Libby's new hoodie is finally finished. I don't know exactly why it took so long because on size 8 needles it should have been a breeze. However, that seed stitch hood put me on the slow track. (Probably a reason I haven't worked on that seed stitch throw.)
Let me tell you, this thing is WARM. Nice and heavy.
The pattern calls for 2 strands of Nordique held together throughout. You know how most times when you are holding two strands together at some point there is always tangling going on? Not with Nordique. This yarn unwinds beautifully. I wish I would have taken a picture and shown you. Because the balls were seriously beautiful when they unwound. I kept holding it up showing people.... look how pretty!
Pattern: Oona's Hoodie
Yarn: St-Denis Nordique (100% wool) 14 balls #5858 Red
Needles: size 8 US
Size: 32" chest circumference
Modification: Libby wanted it a little longer, so I added 2 inches. I also made buttonholes and used buttons instead of the snaps.
I made the smallest size for Libby who is twelve and wears a size 12. This pattern is written for size up to a 56" chest circumference. So, not just for young girls. I love that.
Have a wonderful weekend.

cameras and cookies

So, those Nikon camera fairies are the best! Guess what I go back? My camera! After only three weeks. I guess it pays to cry, cause the nice girl wrote "rush" on it and they took her seriously. (hmm.. wonder if she wrote anything else? crybaby? and then I thought maybe she sent along the mitts as a bribe or a thank you, which, in that case would have been totally acceptable.) Or maybe they weren't that busy, but either way, I couldn't have been more thrilled.
This was the last photo that shutter took. Yeah, I know. I have no idea why I was photographing bowls in my kitchen either. That's just it. I take so many random photos throughout the day. The girl asked if I was a heavy shooter. Could I have pushed that shutter 100,000 times? That is the average amount of shots these shutters have in their lifetime. (I may have laughed...if I wasn't crying.) Absolutely. And then some. I'm the girl that takes pictures of bowls. Anyhow, I have a new shutter mechanism, a new aperture control unit, a new grip, motor and they updated the firmware and cleaned the imaging sensor. She said I should be good to go for another 100, 000 shots. Hallelujah.
Speaking of shutters, did you see these camera bags over at shutter sisters?! I am completely in love with them. I guess they won't be ready until February. You can enter to win one here.
Last weeks cookies were Candy Cane Cookies. The recipe came from a dishtowel Keana gave me.
Have a great one!

saturday

12:10 p.m.
12:31 p.m.
5:00 p.m.
Although, I could have been wearing it at 3:00 p.m. Knit entirely watching kids basketball. I wore it the rest of the evening.
Honestly, you can make this in 1 1/2 hours. Instant gratification.
I used this yarn, color #9408.

A friend lent me her d80 over the weekend. A slice of heaven, I tell you. A slice of heaven.

our tree adventure

The kids and I decided to get the tree over the past weekend. With husband out of town and it being his birthday and all, we decided that having the tree could be a big birthday surprise upon his return. So, we ventured out. I'd love to say that while the snow was gently falling, thermos's filled with hot cocoa, Christmas music playing, we drove to our local tree farm to cut down a perfectly shaped fresh tree. That didn't happen. Instead, we drove (in the gently falling snow) to our local Home Depot and picked out a perfectly shaped 6-7 ft fraser fir for $37.50. It was one of the first ones we spotted, because of its perfect top. Perfect for our angel topper. The nice guys attached it to the top of my (tall) vehicle and home we went. In the driveway, Charlie (age 14) and I just looked at each other. Where did the nice guys go? It was now up to us to get it off the (tall) vehicle. Okay. I had a plan. We can sort of roll it off the side. It ended up rolling onto my head and hit tip first on the driveway. Oh no, the top! I reassured the kids it was fine.
Thinking of our next move, we left it to dry overnight in the garage.
Sunday morning I told the kids to get dressed and meet me in the garage. I would get everything we needed together in order to make a fresh cut off the base. Chain saw. Check. Axe. Check. Saw. Check. Except that the chain saw turned out to be a hedge trimmer (shhhh), the axe decided to hit 6 inches above my mark, and the saw had the dullest blade in town. We did it though. We all took turns sawing and finally were able to bring it in the house, put it in the stand and remove the netting. And darn, if that top really was broken. Charlie asked if we could tape it back on. I thought about tying a big red bow.
And then I remembered. In a smug sort of way. I am the girl with the hot glue gun.
Yeah baby, bring on the angel!

habit

December Days. For the month of December, I'm back posting again over at Habit. I really loved my month there back in May. This month I'll be joining the other 33 contributers that posted throughout the year. It really is a lovely peek into others lives. The photos are worth a thousand words although the actual wording is short and meaningful. Hope you'll come visit.

And, hey, have a wonderful weekend!

december 2

Hello December.
I'm really not certain how it rolled around so fast again. It seems like I just packed this advent away. I was happy to pull it out and place it on the white wall. In the newly painted white kitchen. It doesn't seem busy to me like it did last year. I'm assuming it is the white wall.
Although I really miss my baby, all is good on the photo front. I used shakeitphoto while away visiting my parents for my 365 project. If you have an iphone, check it out. It takes some pretty cool photos. This one makes me happy. I also found my old point and shoot that the kids have been using. Easy peasy to use. And I got to borrow my sisters Nikon D60 to take our Christmas card photo. No hand knit sweaters for the photo. I initially wanted to have the oona hoodie finished for Libby to wear, but that didn't happen. And that's okay. It's all okay.
Happy December.