My New Pattern!

My Lasa Socks pattern is now available from Three Irish Girls!

I'm so excited!  3IG always makes my patterns look so good, I feel like a REAL designer :-)

Seattle Report

I'm here visiting with Mom this week.  Not much exciting to report.  She's chipper!  We did 3 crossword puzzles at one sitting yesterday, including the Sunday New York Times!  My brain was fried by the last clue.  We bought her a new toothbrush because "someone keeps taking" her old one :-)  She had a hissy fit when the line was too slow at the store.  So pretty much life as usual for Lo-bug.

I don't have any big plans for the week, the weather is kind of chilly to take her on any outdoor outings.  But she does love to go places (though she usually wants to leave as soon as we get there), so maybe we will go to the mall or I'll try a museum.  Suggestions welcomed.

Love That Zaide!

My sister B-Z is amazing. This lady comes up with the best activities for her grandchildren and great-nieces,  while graciously entertaining a house full of people for the Thanksgiving weekend.  She helped the girls make these wonderful gingerbread houses.  So cute!

Hats off to you, B!  May your glue gun never run out of glue sticks!

No Longer Ginormous!

The slippers are now regular foot size :-)

An English Christmas

The British Christmas, so veddy different.  Here are some things I gleaned from Anglotopia's "info graphic" on how the Brits celebrate the season:

Food We (Americans) do Not Eat at Christmas:

1. Smoked Salmon with Buttered Brown Bread
2. Chipolatas (evidently some sort of sausage?)
3. Roasted Parsnips

We do, however, share a love of the roasted turkey and the roasted potatoes.

The Queen's Christmas Day Speech: I'd gladly add this one to my holiday list.  But no BBC here in the States alas.

Symbols of Christmas Good Will and Cheer:

1. Mince Pies and Mulled Wine.  Not Ever.  Cara & I tried Mince Pies when we were in London.  And immediately spit them out into our napkins.  Ick.  Ditto on the mulled wine.
2. Pantomime (or "Panto"): Okay, I might love this.  Classic stories and fairy tales performed for a family audience.  I would definitely go if I could see "Nowadays, a pantomime occasionally pulls off a coup by engaging a guest star with an unquestionable thespian reputation, as was the case with the Christmas 2004 production of Aladdin that featured Sir Ian McKellen as Widow Twankey".  Or Dame Edna as anyone.

And I'd definitely be up for celebrating Boxing Day (December 26).  More presents!

So Cute!

Here's Hadley's Mama and Baby Doll Sweater Set all done!  And my feet at the bottom of the picture (damn this Mac and my inability to crop pictures on it...)  Anyways, the sweaters turned out super cute I think.  And I hope Hadley's will fit her for a day or two...

"A Year of Weldon's" is a GO

My Year of Knitting Weldon's Practical Needlework Projects is a go!  I think (this will rely on my getting organized to start this project & blog by January 1).  Piecework Magazine has asked me to submit a proposal for an article, which I've done.  Waiting to hear back from them, and then I will get going on the project.

I'm excited, and a little nervous.  Because committing to a whole year of projects is a little intimidating.  Especially when said projects are done mostly on tiny needles.  But it should be interesting, and give me something to blog about on a regular basis.  Whether you, Dear Reader, find said blog posts interesting is another question.

Ginormous

I'm knitting a pair of Felt Clogs.  I have one done, and it's huge.  So silly looking :-)  It will shrink in hot water, then hopefully fit a human foot, not Hagrid's.

It's Almost Thanksgiving

Wow, fall has flown by.  And Katie  is nagging me to blog something new.

P, Katie & I will be heading to The Cabin to share Thanksgiving with relatives, yay!  Oh. Lulu is coming too, probably much to Logan's horror (5 year old Logan is terrified of all animals.  That's my girl)

This group is tons of fun, always loud, always ready for a game or a drink.  Just don't think that Zaide will be kind to the small children when they play games.  She's cutthroat.

We are waiting for our Turkey Day food assignments (hurry B!)  and also plan to cook a breakfast, so that we can use some of the yummy recipes from the "Good Montana Morning" we bought at our Knitting Retreat in Whitefish.

I'll then be heading over to Seattle to spend the week with Mom.  And maybe get a little Xmas shopping done.

So I Have This Idea...

If you aren't a knitter, you can feel free to skip this one.

I love Victorian knitting books, and I have most of the "Weldon's Practical Needlework" collection published by Piecework.  These books are full of wonderful (and weird) patterns for all kinds of things to knit.

So I am thinking of launching a project in 2012.  Working my way through Volume I of the series, knitting every pattern.  This would probably take ALL of my knitting time for the year.  And I'd end up with a lot of socks, plus various garments and accessories.

If I do it, I'll probably set up a new blog to record my progress (so as not to bore those readers who couldn't care less about my knitting life).  And maybe I can parlay this into an article or something for Piecework...

A Couple of Projects

I'm working on a few Christmas gifts.  Some are coming along great, some not so much...

Here's Hadley's "Bitty Baby" Christmas sweater (shhh, don't tell her she's getting an American Girl doll!)  I just need to sew on the buttons.  Turned out pretty cute!  I'm making a matching sweater for the Mama.  Meg says she will die.  Katie says this is almost as good as getting a horse.  And BTW "why didn't I get the horse I asked for?!"  I know Katie, we could've done it.  I mean, we had a back yard and all.  We were mean parents.

And this one is headed to the trash.  Tony (and Cara of course) LOVE the English Football League.  You can ask them for the standings at any given moment and they will update you.  They can instantly identify Tottenham and Wigan Athletic.  So I thought this Manchester United Hat would be a no-brainer for Tonsy.  Except it's BIG.  Even if you have a big head (which Pooh does), it's too big.  I will probably send it anyway, he can put it with all the other things I've knit for him that he will never wear.

I'm Not Ready

I just looked out the front door...and it's snowing.  I'm so not ready for snow!  I haven't raked the leaves up yet!

Turkey Lurkey

This guy was at the Spokane Farmer's Market this morning.  I'm hoping he was just there for display.  But I'm thinking he's on his way to the chopping block...

I'm SO Proud of My Sister!

My sister ran for school board, although I have NO idea how she was going to fit this into her already super-busy life.  But that's the B.  She has been going at super-sonic speed since the day she was born.  And if she sees something that needs doing, she plunges right in and gets 'er done.

Selfishly, I'm a tiny bit glad she didn't win the position.  Because that means maybe she will have a few free minutes to spend with me when I come to town.  Northshore's loss, my gain.

B, I am so proud of you and all you do.  You're a fantastic sister, daughter, wife, mom, grandma, friend and citizen.  Your house is always clean and beautifully decorated (ditto on your cabin), your garden is delightful, your gift dept. at work is the BEST in the state, you cook like a dream, you work out EVERY DAY (ok, that one is a little irritating), you are endlessly inventive in dreaming up activities for the babies, and you always have a funny story to tell.  Really, your only weak point is that you like "Survivor". 

I couldn't have gotten a better sister.  And the family is lucky that we'll have more time with you.  Yay for us, too bad so sad for N'shore.

Two of My Favorite Guys

Forgot to post this picture earlier.  Mikey riding on Tony's shoulders.  Two cute little guys!

It's Nice to Live with a Baker

I hate to bake.  Never have enjoyed it.  Except for the occasional pie, I stay away from baking.  Not that my current weight reflects that.

Lucky for me, Pia LOVES to bake.  She is a veritable tornado of flour, butter and cocoa powder.  And when I browsed through this month's Martha Stewart Living and saw this 6 Layer Salted Caramel Chocolate Cake...well, I knew it was synchronicity.

I showed her the mag, she did the rest.  And cleaned up her mess too :-)  I'm waiting for her to get home to have a piece of this for dessert.

Even though I'm not a huge cake fan, this combo of sweet and salty sounds perfect.

I Hate the Circus

So Pia and I were watching TV and an ad for "Water for Elephants" came on.  I tried to read that book and I pretty much hated it.  Pia asked why and I told here that "I hate the circus genre".  Well, that led to a lot of questions as to what exactly was included in the "circus genre". 

Here's my list:

1. Dumbo
2. Toby Tyler (Susna, you will be the only other reader who remembers this one)
3. Big Top Pee-Wee
4. a Charlie Chaplin movie called "The Circus"
5. anything with midgets or clowns
6. Cecil B. De Mille's "The Greatest Show on Earth"

I have kind of run dry so am open to more for my list so I can lay this debate to rest.

The Ghouls

Here are some pix of my favorite trick-or-treaters (not including Princess Lucy of course):

 Army Man Mike and his buddy Russell the Mummy.  Mike hid out in the bushes waiting for me to arrive, so he could scare me.  I was a little bit late, so no idea how long the poor guy had to crouch out there.  But I was terrified by his "boo" :-)

 It's not officially Halloween until you have taken the "dead bodies" shot

 Liam was some sort of Ninja-Clown mashup.  Terrifying.

 Al stuck with the classic Vampire.  Never goes out of style.  Especially when said Vampire is posing with 20 Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.

RJ in the mandatory 6th Grade Boy Costume: be as gory and hideous as you possibly can.