Impatient

Blogger has been very slow uploading my pictures for the past couple of days. I've grown impatient and closed the program to try again later. I have better things to do than watch a spinning wheel! 

I've finished the second pattern repeat of my Orenburg warm shawl! I love this pattern! Mom is almost ready to start decreasing. I think that once we each have the first border section finished, the rest will move along fairly quickly.

I've been taking knitting to school with me. The room I'm in is pretty chilly, and I find that my hands prefer the warmth of yarn. Once the heat kicks in, I'm sure I'll feel like tatting again! This is a cowl that I started last spring. The color looks olive, but it's really more of a forest green. I'll have to get another easy to remember pattern to carry with me. My yarn stash is not going down as quickly as I had hoped!

This and that

I subbed today, but I managed to do a little of this and a little of that.

Of course I had to tat a Doodle Ice Drop! This one's in size 20 Lizbeth #706, Sunkist Coral. The shuttle is by Dave Stanbrough of Grizzly Mountain Arts.

I took my knitting along with me, just in case I had a little time. I knit four or five rounds while talking with 6th graders. I think this cowl will be finished soon!

I only managed to knit one scrubby today. This one is Sand Stitch. Once again, I messed up the last row of the pattern, but I keep telling myself that this is just a scrubby!

I also managed to knit a few rows on my Sanditon shawl. I've been so much more careful this time, and I have only had one spot where I had to take out three or four stitches to fix my mistake. I don't want to jinx myself, so I'm knitting this one slowly!

Copper shuttles

With most of my chores done, I felt free to play with my new copper shuttles from Middy Clark of The Knotted Vine. This Doodle Ice Drop is in size 20 Lizbeth #661, Country Turquoise Med.

This one is in size 20 Lizbeth #669, Poppy Red. I'm thinking of tatting a small doily in these two colors. I think they go really well together.

I spent most of the afternoon working on my Linen and Threads Mystery Sampler. I still have quite a way to go to finish the January portion!

 

When my eyes just wouldn't focus on stitching any more, I switched to working on my cowl. I'm using I Love This Yarn from Hobby Lobby, and it's working up really nicely.

Tomorrow morning the next clue for the Sanditon MKAL will be released. I'm eager to get started!

Winding down

It's been a very busy week, and I'm glad to be winding down for the weekend!

One of my high school girls asked me for a bookmark early this week. She said she liked black and red, and I knew I had the perfect thread for her. I just needed to find it!

Luckily, I remembered where I had stashed it, and I managed to tat Libby's bookmark before going to bed last night. It's been a while since I've tatted Mary Konior's Curds & Whey, so I had to keep my copy of Tatting with Visual Patterns open while I tatted. I was very pleased that I was able to tat it without making any mistakes.

I also managed to wind my shuttles for today's Ice Drops. I chose to use two handi-wind shuttles from Grizzly Mountain Arts. This one is in size 20 Lizbeth #183 Orange Crush.

My second Doodle Ice Drop is in size 20 Lizbeth #187 Green Ice. It's fun to tat with beautiful colors and fabulous shuttles!

A few more rows are finished on my cowl. I'm attending a knitting night tomorrow night, and this will be a great project to take along for knitting and chatting. I'm pretty sure I can remember k3, p1!

This and that

I did a little of this and a little of that today... laundry, putting Christmas decorations away, tatting, knitting, visiting friends.

I managed to pack up three boxes of Christmas decorations in the morning and rewarded myself with some tatting time.

I needed to do one load of laundry before we left to visit friends, so my second Ice Drop was tatted while we were on our way to visit.

We watched a little of the Vikings/Saints game, and while that was on I did a little knitting. All in all, it was a great day!

Lazy day

I really was pretty lazy today. We didn't take down any Christmas decorations. I did do one load of laundry, but the rest of the day was spent sitting in my chair tatting, knitting, and reading.

I played with Edda Guastalla's design again, combining it with my Doodle Ice Drop pattern.

The sides did not wrap around the glass gem as nicely as the last one did.

I think that may be because of the rings I added to the back side. I sure am having fun playing!

Today was blocking day for the cowls I've finished knitting. These two are out of Wool-Ease that I purchased nearly 13 years ago. I guess it was about time I got around to using this yarn!

These two are out of Caron x Pantone, a lovely bamboo. Daughter Joanne has claimed the one on the right. The other three cowls are up for adoption!

My current cowl is going to be a scrap buster. I used all I had left of the medium rose and the blue, and I'm hoping to have enough of the burgundy color to finish it off. If not, I have some light rose that I can use. Now that I'm on a roll, all I have to do is make room for a gift closet just like Aunt Helen's!

Combining ideas

Today I played with Edda Guastalla's tutorial and followed her directions for increasing the ring size for the domed shape of the Ice Drop. It was such a simple change, and it worked well!

The dome of the glass gem is covered nicely.

The back worked really well. I decided to add another round of chains with picots to make the back a little more decorative.

I really like the way the sides look using Edda's technique. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do to finish the Ice Drop, so I decided to go with something simple... I doodled!

Playing with the Ice Drop took much longer than I anticipated, and I did need to do a few chores around the house. Still, I managed to knit a few rounds on my cowl. Maybe it will wind up being a carry-along project!

Finishing up

I'm almost ready for Christmas! I just have to finish up this cowl, which will take about an hour, and I need to finish off these last two Ice Drops. I can't believe how much I've accomplished this year!

I finished a hat for my Secret Santa. She loved it!

I had just enough yarn left to crochet a headband for her. She love headbands! The Secret Santa week was so much fun. I hope I'm asked to participate again!

Family starts arriving today. I still need to finish laundry, go grocery shopping, and do one last quick clean around the house. With the Christmas gathering at our house this year, I don't anticipate having time for blogging. So, I'll take this opportunity to wish all my friends a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Frustration

Blogger still isn't working properly for me. I can't post comments on blogs I visit. I can't sign in properly. I've probably spent four or five hours trying every idea suggested on various forums. For now, I am frustrated and giving up. Luckily, Christmas preparations have lifted my spirits!

The ravioli is made, all 500+. They're in the freezer, ready for Christmas Eve.

I made the filling on Friday night, and Dave and Carol worked on ravioli on Saturday, making over 300. Dave finished making the rest on Sunday. It's a lot of work, but we all enjoy it!

While Dave and Carol worked on ravioli, I worked on decorating. We added garland over the front window. Dave wants to add lights and ornaments, but I'm not sure either of us has the energy to add anything else!

This is Dave's favorite tree. We've always had it in the sunroom in the past, but we both like its new home.

Dave wasn't happy with the drape of the garland going up the stairs, so he re-did it last weekend.

Carol helped me get the Christmas pillows and blankets out. I don't think there will be much snuggling under blankets this year. It looks like the temperatures are going to be pretty mild, and a house full of people will warm things up quickly!

This side of the dining room isn't very bright, but we have time to figure out some more lighting.

I love my grandfather clock! It was a gift from my dad for my 50th birthday. Clocks are one of our family traditions. I remember spending hours watching Grandpa Green working on watches on a Sunday afternoon. Grandpa built clocks for each of his children, and the are family treasures.

We relocated the red Christmas trees this year. This side of the dining room looks very patriotic!

We went a little overboard on sunroom decorations this year, and I love it! Dave had some ladder parts that he put together to help display some of our Christmas houses.

Dave loves putting up Christmas trees, and when the grandchildren come, the go around the house and count how many are on display. Sometime this week, Dave and I are going to have to go around and count so that we have an accurate count!

Our friends Gus and Irene gave us two strands of LED lights. I love they way they brighten up the room.

Dave usually decorates the big tree in the sunroom with just balls and lights. I kind of highjacked his decorating this year. I wanted to put out all the ornaments. When everyone is here, the grandchildren will get to choose Christmas decorations from Grandma's and Grandpa's house. They will each have their own ornament boxes. I think it will be great fun. Unfortunately, we didn't have places for all of the ornaments, so a couple of bins will have to come up from the basement when we go through the house choosing. Yes, we are on Christmas overload!

This is the corner where I usually sit when we gather in the sunroom.

This is Dave's corner. We do feel like Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus in this room!

Rita Richmond had some adorable Tattika the Tatting Fairy Christmas ornaments for sale this year.

I couldn't decide on which color, so I purchased one of each.

My two youngest granddaughters are really into fairies and unicorns, so I'm pretty sure two of these ornaments will have new homes this Christmas.

I finished knitting my cowl this weekend. I'll wash and block it this morning.

The little trees needed tree toppers, so I crocheted these adorable Granny Square Stars over the weekend. Two joined together make great light weight tree toppers. It doesn't show in the picture, but there is a silver thread intertwined with the white that adds a little sparkle. I made several last year, but I could only find one. Luckily, I have plenty of yarn in the house!