Last of the Christmas FO's

Let me start out by saying a huge thank you to all the nice, generous comments. I wish I knew how to respond to them all individually, but since I can't quite figure it out (anyone know?) I will do it here and now. Thank You!

So, here we are with the last of the Christmas knitted gifts. Please ignore my wierd smile in the following picture. It was freakin' cold outside and I was standing up to my knees in a snow drift on my back deck. While the scarf is cozy, soft, and warm, it's not warm enough to be outside without a coat in the middle of winter. Aidan was my photographer once again and I told him to pretend he was Nigel from America's Top Model (not that I watch it or anything). He took his job very seriously and had me turning this way and that way and looking this way and that way. Very cute, and much appreciated!


Pattern: Lace Ribbon Scarf
Yarn: KnitPicks Gloss in "Dusk" - 2 skeins
Needles: US 7/4.5mm
For: My mom

I loved this pattern, but I had to use a lifeline throughout because if I got the least bit distracted I'd miss a yarn over or something, and I was horrible at trying to tink it back and then I'd screw it up so badly that I'd have to rip the whole thing out. So after a few false starts it dawned on me to use the lifeline and it was my life saver! I have a couple more skeins of this yarn in a dusty purple colorway, so after I give myself a break from this pattern, I will probably make one for myself too. I love it that much.

Next up are some felted clog slippers that I made for my Dad. Now these were a fun knit! The color is pretty bad in these photo's, but the yarn was actually a heathered brown with flecks of red in it. Very pretty. Not that my Dad wants pretty I suppose, but it sure helps a knitter to use pretty yarn.

Pattern: Fiber Trends Felted Clogs
Yarn: Cascade 220 Heathers
Needles: US 15/10.0mm

Here is the "before" felting picture:

I loved this pattern. It was such a fast, fun knit. I was a bit worried because my Dad has size 9 feet, and I knit the size 11, but I was able to felt them down to a nine, and he says they fit well. I will be making more of these.

I had the pleasure of going out with some girlfriends on Saturday night (Connie & Tara), and managed to get a wee bit smashed, but it was great fun and worth my horrendous hangover the next morning. Aidan was very kind to me and let me sleep till 11:30am. Once the Tylenol kicked in and my stomach stopped churning I was feeling much better. We don't get out together nearly as often as we would like, so when we do the wine flows freely and we have great conversation.

FO: Moss Grid Hand Towel

Onward with the Christmas present FO's! I knit this lovely hand towel for Aidan's Grandma during the month of October.

Pattern: Moss Grid Hand Towel from Mason Dixon Knitting
Yarn: Knit Picks CotLin, color Linen

The CotLin was pleasant to knit with, it didn't feel too hard on my hands, although I could only knit one repeat at a time before my hands started to get sore. I loved the finished product, I did make a mistake on one row it seems, but I didn't notice until I was taking photo's and there was no way I was going to rip back halfway thru the towel to fix it, even though it was a gift. I don't think Grandma is going to mind. ;) I will probably make myself a set of these one day, it is a very nice pattern.

New Years Eve was a fun night for us again this year. We had a family slumber party over at our friends (Connie and Kevin) and ate way too much food, and had plenty to drink, while we played the Wii. My left buttock is a bit sore from bowling, but that's probably a good thing, right? My Mii on the Wii is very cute, I want her to be my friend in real life.

New Years Day we were incredibly lazy, although, Owen and I did venture out to get groceries (good time to shop, the store was very quiet, everyone else was still in bed I'm sure!). And today we started organizing and cleaning before I head back to work, and the kids to school, on Monday. Aidan is doing some reno work on the upstairs bathroom in an attempt to make it a bit prettier without sinking too much $$$ into it. While the whole thing should be gutted, we are making do with new paint, light fixture, counter top, and taps. We don't want to put any more money than that into it before we sell.

My Central Park Hoodie is coming along, I've seamed it up and am now working on the hood.

Happy New Year!

FO's: Christmas Presents

Finally I get to post about some Christmas presents I have knit but haven't been able to show you! This first one I knit way back in August. It was a gift for my mother-in-law, Moira, and I LOVE how it turned out!

Pattern: Kureyon Kozy
Yarn: Noro Kureyon color 226
Needles: KP Options US 7/4.5mm

I really liked knitting this tea cozy, and I loved watching what color would come next. I found the base a bit challenging, but figured it out after a few tries. I was happy to find a Japanese teapot that fit the cozy perfectly and I think they look really nice together.

Next up is the Irish Hiking Scarf that I knit for my Father-in-law, Danny. He is allergic to wool, so I found a nice, soft cotton blend to use instead.

Pattern: Irish Hiking Scarf
Yarn: Knits Pick's Comfy - color Cypress
Needles: US 8/5.0mm

This was a fun pattern to knit, it was easily memorized and the yarn was really nice to work with. It came out super soft and cozy, perfect for a scarf.

Christmas was awesome, as always, it speeds by so quickly that you've barely finished preparing for it and it's over. My parents have left on a flight back home this morning, my fingers are crossed that they will be able to land because Terrace is expecting some snow today. Hopefully the majority of it will fall after they land! We were all spoiled rotten and had a really good time ripping open the gifts. Christmas is so much more enjoyable now that we have kids of our own. It is so fun to see all the wonder and amazement through their eyes. They spent a good deal of time on Christmas Eve peering up the chimney and trying to figure out how Santa was going to make it down such a small space! They really are quite clever!

I have three more gift FO's to show, I'll post again sometime in the next week.

Just a little bit of snow...

We had a big snowstorm this weekend, thankfully I am now officially on vacation and didn't have to join thousands of other brave commuters on the slippery roads this morning! I love this kind of snow. It reminds of growing up in Terrace, the snow is much dryer there than what we typically get here. This is perfect snow for tobogganing (which we are doing tomorrow since Aidan also has the day off of work), and for snowball fights, and snow angels. I was supposed to bring my car in for an appointment this morning, but it looks pretty treacherous out there so I'm going to rebook for next week. Today, we stay home.

When I went out yesterday to shovel the sidewalk, I found a bag on the front porch that a neighbor had dropped off. It seems her son had outgrown his tuxedo and she was giving it to Owen.

How cute is that! He put it on yesterday and didn't want to take it off the rest of the day. He looks like James Bond with really bad hair. Speaking of his hair, we are in the middle of trying to grow it out, but Owen has a double crown which makes for some crazy Ed Grimley style cowlicks in the back. The hairdresser assures us that when it gets long enough they will settle down...we'll see. I may cave, though, and get Aidan to shave his head again, but I'm trying to hold out because Owen really wants to be able to do his hair in a mohawk. His double crown may come in handy for that!

I wish everyone a warm, happy Christmas, and hope Santa spoils you all rotten!

Oh Christmas Tree

Rather than go to the store to buy our tree, this year we decided to take a drive out to a tree farm in Maple Ridge and cut down our own tree! We went to Alouette Tree farm, and it was an awesome feeling to make getting our tree so special for the kids. There were wagon rides, a petting zoo, and lots of different types of trees to choose from. We warmed up by a fire with hot cocoa, and filled our belly's with some complimentary hot dogs. (It's all about the free food, you know!)

Here are Aidan and the kids hunting around for the perfect tree.

Yay! We found the perfect one! It's a bit on the short side, but it is perfect.

Why yes, I am wearing my Meret!

Every Christmas this candlelit angel ornament was a big hit for us kids...now my kids love it just as much!


And at last, the tree. Perfectly decorated with way too many ornaments and way too many lights. (So much so that the tree actually fell over twice last night...Aidan had to perform some magic with fishing line to secure it until he could cut some more branches off the bottom this morning!)

I love the holidays. I get completely stressed out, and sometimes a bit overwhelmed, but creating traditions with our family is what makes it all worth it. My parents are coming to spend Christmas with us this year. I'm really excited to have them, I wish we could be with our families every year at Christmas, but unfortunately they live to far away.

I have a number of FO's to show you, but they will have to wait until after Christmas, I haven't worked on anything for myself for a while now, but as soon as I finish up this last gift that I'm working on now, I'm going to FINALLY finish my Central Park Hoodie. That thing as been a WIP far too long!

My Meret

I'm very pleased with my most recent FO. I took part in the Mystery Beret KAL on Ravelry put on by Woolly Wormhead. If you haven't checked our her hat patterns before, you really should, they are fantastic!



Pattern: Meret (Mystery Beret) (Rav link)
Needles: US 8/5.0mm
Yarn: Dream in Color Classy in the Gothic Rose colorway
Mods: I added an extra repeat in Clue 2 to give it extra slouch!



I think this picture gives the truest color.

I love this hat, I don't wear a lot of hats because I get horrific hat hair, but I'm sure going to try now that I have TWO nice hats to wear this winter!

While we were at swimming lessons today with the kids, the pool had to be evacuated because of a chlorine leak! It was crazy...Owen had just finished his lesson and was dripping wet in a towel, and Maeghan was just about to hop in the pool with her class. The smell was very strong. We had to leave the building immediately, could not even spare time to get the kids dressed. Thankfully, the weather here has been pretty mild, 12 degrees C, so we just threw the kids in the car in their bathing suits and went home. I felt bad for all of the people who were swimming in the pool...they couldn't even get their things out of their lockers, just sent outside to shiver and wait until it was safe to go back in the building. As we were leaving four fire trucks arrived, much to Owen's delight, hopefully they got it under control quickly! Maeghan's a bit miffed that Owen got to have a lesson and she didn't. I'm sure she'll get over it!

So that was the excitement of the day. Back to work tomorrow! Yipee!

Happy Halloween!

Yeah, I know I'm a week late. What's your point?

Here are the kidlets in all their Halloween glory.


Evil Witch

(Maeghan told me where the exact placement of her black warts needed to be)

Angry Pirate

(Those are supposed to be scars on Owen's face, just so you know, I was never very good at art.)

We had a great night, full of sugar and laughter! This year I got to stay home to hand out candy and Aidan took the kids out trick or treating. I was relieved, I didn't feel like going anywhere. We had far fewer kids than normal, which made my doorbell answering duties fairly easy. As did the beer...I may have given out large quantities of candy to the kids...I was in a relaxed and giving mood. I was also glad that I got to stay in and start working on my Mystery Hat KAL that Wooly Wormhead is putting on thru Ravelry. I finished the second clue yesterday...now I have to wait a whole week for the next one to come out! I will post some pics of it when it is finished, which should be the end of November.

Happy Belated Halloween everyone!