Anna's Sweater

Well, now that Anna's birthday is over and we have given her her gift, I can post this picture. I used the Ashford Tekapo yarn for the sweater and knitted it from the top down. The basic directions came from a book by Cathy Carron, on knitting sweaters from the top down. The best part is she likes the sweater and it fit!!

The family met at the Cheesecake Factory for her birthday meal. We had a great time. I had their chicken soup, it was delicious and then I had the Godiva Chocolate cheesecake. Oh, it was good.

A New Ashford Kiwi!

Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, the sounds that were heard, above the Christmas music playing, were some hammers tapping, some drills lightly drilling and some sandpaper sanding. Not having a basement, cause we live in Texas, home of tornadoes and no basements, I came home from walking and what did I see? I saw an old purple quilt hanging on chairs as Jeff was behind there making these noises. LOL!

Eventually, the blanket came down and a large box stood in its place and hubby decided to take a break. Hmm, said I, "I could go there and peek." But, no, I didn't 'cause I like the surprise. On Christmas morn I rushed down the stairs and we opened the gifts, saving the largest for last. There before me, was a new Ashford wheel. Jeff had conspired with my SIL, Cathy, and they had come up with a new design for another Ashford Kiwi! Look at this wheel, it is absolutely gorgeous. Cathy, who is in New York, by the way, did the painting and Jeff did the building.

For those who know wheels, that is the jumbo bobbin set up on it. So, I can spin fat yarns, to knit with. I had that kit here, to put on another Kiwi, but hadn't finished it. So, on Christmas morning, Jeff finished it(ain't he great?!) and now it is on the new Kiwi. OH, and this Kiwi is christened Cathy. :) In honor of my SIL who put in countless hours doing this for me. The backside of the wheel is painted too. So, if you are ever around the Texas Twisters and we are spinning, you will see gorgeous scenery facing you.

Merry Christmas

Well, I spent the better part of the last few weeks, working at the store. It was fun and I enjoyed it. I loved being able to wish our customers a Merry Christmas and feeding them cookies! When I wasn't there working, I was either baking or knitting gifts. I actually tried my hand at making Baklava this year. I learned a lot and it turned out pretty good for my first try. Well, we think so anyway. The jury is still out on it, as several neighbors received some. I also made the butterscotch cookies that Martha Stewart has on her website. They were wonderful. I will be making them again. Then there are the ginger snaps, that were my Mom's recipe. Yummmmm! Thanks Mom! There were sugar cookies and brownies too. Why did I bake so much? OH, well it has been my thing to make up plates of cookies for neighbors and then Jeff takes them to the neighbors. It is a great way to meet neighbors and get to talk to them. Also, in our new neighborhood, we have been truly blessed with some of the BEST neighbors ever. They are great and they also bring us treats! Last Christmas when we were still in the throws of moving in, several of them helped unload the truck and then brought us treats too!

Well, the knitting is done, the wrapping is done, the baking is done, the laundry is done(well almost done) and the stockings are hung by the chimney with care. What to do now. Hmmm. I have several projects to work on now. I need to start weaving on a scarf, that I promised Jeff, years ago. The loom was warped, way back then. Of course, we bought a store and then moved, so it went to the back shelf. I am knitting a sheep, yep, a sheep. The pattern is from Knit.1 magazine. I have a shawl to get started, a pi shawl to finish, AND I have 5 skeins of NORO that I am still trying to figure out what to do with. Hmm. Any suggestions?

Merry Christmas to all! I thank God for the greatest gift of all, His Son.

More Christmas Knitting

Wow! Time is flying by. It has been a while since my last post. But, I have been knitting daily. :) Never fear. I have finished the mittens to go with the hats and have even embellished the hats! I tried to do fairisle knitting for the mittens, so they would be warmer, have two layers of yarn, but it didn't really work. So, I frogged the sample and went down several needle sizes and just knit them tighter. Not too tight, though, cause I wanted them to be able to bend their hands.

A couple of weeks ago, I drove over to Bek's home, to have a hair cut. At lunch, C prayed for Gramma and her Dad to have safe trips home. Wow! When I left their home, I stopped at the store and coming out from the store discovered a nail in my tire. So, I looked at it and thought, well, the tire isn't flat and I don't hear air escaping. I figured I had a good chance of making it to my favorite Discount Tire store. I did! They are so nice in there, let me tell you. They fixed my tire and did it for free. Oh, you are probably thinking, "Sure they did, you bought your tires there." Nope, I didn't. This is the second time, in the last 2 months, they have fixed my tires for free. When I asked, why, they said, please come back and see us, when you need tires for your car. You bet I will. They have a really nice and CLEAN waiting room, where I felt comfortable knitting on my project each time I was there.

So, if you have a Discount Tire shop near you, try it. You might like it. :)

Christmas Knitting

Wow! December is here! It has blown into north Texas with a lot of wind and warm temperatures. While some of you reading this may be under severe winter storms, we have sun and a balmy 70+ degrees outside. Not that I am bragging, because I do like snow and miss it. It is hard to believe that it is December and that we need to be thinking Christmas. LOL! Well, some folks on my list will be getting these great hats. I decided I could put the Christmas knitting on here and just not say who it is for. HO! HO! :) It will keep people in suspense, of course, there will be some folks who will know who loves these colors and make a good guess. I made these hats from my handspun and they are really soft and warm. The other little picture is a gift frogged. So, it is in the corner, since it didn't behave. OK, if you are not a knitter and are reading this you are thinking that I have gone mad. Frogged??? Yep, you know, rip-it, rip-it, rip-it. It was knitted and then ripped out, cause the idea didn't work. So, stay tuned to see if the ball of cotton will be able to be tamed or not.