Happy Birthday Rhea!

Fifteen years ago Jim and I welcomed our first child into the world.
We fell in love immediately with our beautiful little girl!

Now she is 15 and she is no longer little. She has grown into a lovely young lady. She is caring and giving. She is strong and sensitive. She is smart and silly. She is creative and inquisitive. She is quite simply as amazing as she was 15 years ago!

Happy Birthday Sweetie!


No knitting content today so I give you a Trumpeter Swan that Jim saw swimming in the Whitby harbour this week.



Happy New Year everybody!

Christmas Completion!

Look what I got for Christmas!

One of Kessie's hiding spots this year was under the tree hiding behind all the presents. She also enjoyed "burying" her dog biscuits under the Xmas tree!

A good time was had by all in Windsor! We had lots of fun and food with lots of family!
My brother in law and his significant other hosted the dinner this year and the food was fabulous! For me it's not Xmas until you have turkey and all the fixin's. Kudos to Chef John!
Fun was had singing (I think that's what you call it) carols and Xmas songs together after dinner. I realized that I know the first few lines of any Christmas song! I could get the song started but then I had to leave it up to the rest of the "choir". Were we in tune? Most definitely not. Did we have fun? Yes!
On boxing day Judy came over the gift Rhea with her birthday present and to model the shawl and purse I made for her.


The purse is very hard to see in this picture.

There, close up on the purse. I made a big flower out of the shawl fabric as a purse adornment. The shawl is made from printed velvet. Enjoy it Judy!
Fun was had with her playing Mexican Train Dominos! Rhea won and we were all trying to copy her technique!

Now to prepare for Rhea's birthday on the 31st. She will be 15! Where does time go?

Season's Greetings!

Well the count down is almost done. My gifts are all done!! A big sigh of relief... I hope you all are getting your gifts made on time for the big day!

We are off to visit family for a few days.

Merry Christmas to everybody! Relax and enjoy!

Freakin' Out Here!!

Is it true??? Is Christmas really only 5 days away?? Achh!!

I am going to have to change course completely on one of my presents! I have been knitting, frogging, reknitting, refrogging but I just am not happy! I cannot make the item be what I want it to be!!! I admit defeat! So, as soon as the fabric stores open today, I am going to buy a length of something and sew. Pictures to be posted after Xmas!!

I have been busy with my 2 jobs (both of which I am enjoying) these past few weeks which means I have not been at the computer too often. I have been visiting sites but for the most part have not taken the time to even leave comments! But, I am thinking about all of you!

I have a bit of arthritis in my middle finger joints which is very achy these days. (do you think I may have flipped one too many people off???) I am going to try to find something to help with the achiness. Does any body else have arthritis in their hands? If so is there something you use that helps? What with knitting and, now, cutting fabric it seems to flare up often.

Right now my house looks like Christmas among the ruins. All I am doing about it is groaning and then trying to ignore!! Maybe tomorrow I'll clean??? Don't hold your breath!!

Hopefully pictures next time my friends!!

My Flower

I am a Daffodil What Flower Are You?

And Daffys are one of my favorite flowers ! I can't wait for Spring!

Sewing & Knitting

Now that I have 2 part time jobs it is getting harder for me to finish my WIPs and take time to tell you all about them! I am taking some time to give you a brief update right now.

Charity Knitting...My Sorority Chapter is helping out a young single parent family this year so I knit 2 hats and 2 pair of mitts. Believe it or not these are the first pair of mittens I have knit since I was a teenager (way too long ago!). I had such difficulty then that it has taken me all this time to get around to it again. Now I am saying, "Hmmm...mittens are pretty easy!"

My Sorority chapter is having its Christmas dinner and gift exchange tomorrow evening. Guess what? I decided this morning that I wanted to make the stuffed Xmas trees to give to all the ladies! I saw them over at Suze's who got the pattern from little birds handmade. My what instant gratification (compared to knitting)!

This morning I cut out the shapes and started the production line.

All sewn after one bobbin change and ready for stuffing before 10 AM.

While watching Cityline I stuffed the trees.

Then after 11 AM I rousted myself and started a load of laundry, went to Swiss Chalet to hear Patrick's School band play and then have lunch, came home and knit some and then...I went to work.

Tonight after supper I sewed up the bottoms after putting some dried beans in the bottom of the trees for weight. Then I started embellishing with buttons. 8 are now completed. I only need to finish 4 or 5 more for tomorrow but I have another dozen ready to decorate!


Fun aren't they! A great way to use up some old Christmas fabric and odd buttons!

Hope you all had a marvelous Monday!

Christmas meme

I found this meme over at Suze's.

Egg nog or hot chocolate?
OOh...eggnog with dark rum!

Does Father Christmas wrap presents or just set them under the tree?
Wrapped but beside the stockings.

Coloured lights on tree/house or white?
Red on the tree. Multicolour on the house and bushes.

Do you hang mistletoe?
Nope

When do you put up your decorations?
This year we started on Dec. 1st because I was having a family Xmas gift exchange on the 3rd. It is usually sometime during the first week of December but there is no official date.

What's your favourite Christmas dish?
The Christmas turkey dinner with stuffing, mashed potatoes, yams on a pineapple slice.

Favourite Christmas memory as a child?
Listening to A Child's Christmas in Wales (see last post)

When and how did you learn the truth about Father Christmas?
Do not remember. We always got prezzies from Santa even though we knew he was fictional.

Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
When I was a child I think that we did open one present on the eve. I remember doing it sometimes but I can't remember if it was always. I have allowed my children to open a present on Christmas eve if it seemed like the only thing that would calm them down.

How do you decorate your Christmas tree?
This year red lights and Santa decorations along with some that the children have made in the past.

Snow! Love it or dread it?
Love it on Christmas Morning. Other than that I can take it or leave it although I prefer the look of snow to the grey slush we usually end up with here.

Can you ice skate?
Yes but I haven't in many, many years.

Do you remember your favourite gift?
No, actually. That surprises me! We always got something that my Mom sewed for us and something that we probably asked for along with a few other small things but nothing that ever was extremely memorable. As an adult my DH got me knitting lessons one year and they changed my life!

What's the most important thing about Christmas for you?
Family and the idea of a day of peace.

What's your favourite Christmas dessert?
Plum pudding with hard sauce! Also love Nanaimo Bars and Shortbread cookies !

What's your favourite Christmas tradition?
Listening to Christmas music. But, I always loved a tradition that one of my cousin's family had. That was always leaving cookies and milk out for Santa on the eve. On Christmas morning there would be nothing but crumbs left, the milk all gone and a wisp of Santa's beard that got caught on the fireplace screen.

What tops your tree?
A lit angel.

Which do you prefer: giving or receiving?
Oh, both!

What's your favourite Christmas song?
Drummer Boy. Silent Night. Handel's Messiah, the whole thing!

Candy canes?
They are ok but not my favorite!

Now... I must get back to knitting!

Christmas Memories

I have been trying to think about good things that I remember about Christmases as a child. So often I tend to focus on the more negative feelings surrounding it. I will have to explore why that is sometime. The happy things I can remember are eggnog with grenadine syrup in it (nice pink eggnog!), Xmas eve beside the fireplace and, mostly, listening to Dylan Thomas read A Child's Christmas in Wales.

We had a 45 RPM record that was always played on Christmas eve, at least I think it was Christmas eve. I remember that we all got nice and cozy in the livingroom, with the fireplace burning bright and all other sources of light off. We would all have a snack and an eggnog or other drink. And we would listen silently. Enraptured. The voice told the story of young boys and snowy Christmases past. Of fires and snowballs and cats and Uncles. It told of the excitement and the comfort of the day. It told of the look and the sound of the snow. And it told stories about some of the people in the town. My favorite part was always the singing of caroles and how bravely the young boys crept up to a large house to sing Good King Wenceslas. And then how "a small, dry voice".."a small dry, eggshell voice from the other side of the door" sang along. Then how the boys ran away. I still can imagine what that voice sounded like. I can still feel the tension and fear I felt as a child. But I also remember how I felt so sad for the poor lonely soul that was behind the keyhole. The boys had a warm and cozy house to go back to and the voice did not.

Yes, I think that will alway be my favorite memory of my childhood Christmases. I'd love to hear about yours!

I just got a call from Fabricland and I have a part time job!!

Now, on to knitting.....

I am knitting a stocking for raffle from Patond SWS - S0y Wool Stripes (70% wool, 30% Soya) colour 70530. I am following the pattern from Creative Knitting November 2006 except for I am knitting in just the one yarn and I am not sure I am going to put any snowflake embellishments on it. It is knit flat, seamed and then the heel and toe picked up and knit in the round. The instructions are a little hard to follow but after reading them several times I was able to understand them. To raffle it off I am going to put something inside the stocking. Any ideas?


This picture that follows is of one of my favorite Santas. I found him 2 years ago in a pharmacy and on sale real cheap after Christmas. His body is a ball of yarn and he is holding a pair of knitting needles. Could it be any more appropriate?


I also want to show you a snow man I knit many, many years ago. I have no pattern. I knit 2 balls, stuffed them and then attached them. Then knit a top hat and a scarf. I embroidered the face and sewed on the scarf and the hat. He comes out every winter to visit!



I cna't believe I just got a job at Fabricland! So I now have a part time position doing respite care and a job at Fabricland!! Things are looking good!

I'm Awake!!

I have a problem.

I keep falling asleep.

While I am knitting.

I will be knitting away and suddenly I realize that I have been sitting and sleeping while half way through a stitch. I suppose I should be grateful that I have not dropped the stitch or the knitting. It is very frustrating! I need to get some projects done by tomorrow and because I keep falling asleep it is going very slowly. I suppose it doesn't help that beside me is this little girl!

I don't want to sleep while I am knitting. I used to have the same type of problem when I was in University. During lectures in big lecture halls I would often find myself nodding off while still taking notes. If only I was in Uni now! I would be recording the lectures! But...knitting is another thing. I can't take notes and transcribe immediately afterwards, I can't, somehow, have automatic sleep knitting that keeps the pattern and drops no stitches. I have tried. When I feel myself getting tired I think (erroneously) that I can just close my eyes and carry on knitting. (This works best when knitting in the round.) Eventually I wake up in mid stitch. I try to carry on 2 or 3 times after the first snooze but then I have to lay the knitting aside and have a nap.
I suppose that you are wondering why I don't get up and make a strong coffee and do some other things. I wonder that too! But, at the time sleep just seems the best thing to do!
I need some tricks. Some staying awake tools! I need to learn not to relax while knitting. Oh, ye of wakeful knitting habits! Share some of your secrets! Please!!


Saturday sky...We have sun!!! After 2 or 3 days of dismal rain we have sun!!
I took a few moments to sit in the corner of my couch and bask in it this morning!


Here are a few more of my Santas.


I thought this bowl of ornaments looked so good in the morning sun today! Almost like a bowl of jewels!
Now....

I have to clean this house!!! Company tomorrow!

I hope you too are enjoying the sun!