In With the New

~~ Praying for Peace in 2007 ~~

~May you be blessed according to your needs in the New Year.~

Saturday Sky

Saturday Snow

Max, we're not in Cancun anymore.

An optimist stays up until midnight to see the new year in. 
A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves. ---Bill Vaughan

Yarnographic Friday

Yarn4Me! My SP9 actually spun this yarn with colors selected for me! This is a first and is so exciting! Thank-you, thank-you to SP9 for making personalized yarn for me! It is over 150 yards of Merino--so very soft and cheerful!

She not only spun yarn for me, but also knit these exciting wool socks. Another first! I so appreciate the time and thought she put into these very special gifts. Since I collect hand thrown pottery, she included a precious pottery Christmas tree with a sheep and a star on it. Do you see it lying between the yarn and socks? Sincere thanks to my wonderful SP9.


I crocheted this Christmas tree skirt in the mid-80s. I made another one like this with two matching stockings as a gift at that time as well. Hope you shared a merry-merry, blessed Christmas with those you love. I did! Praise God.

To Lauren: The Wordless Wednesday pics were indeed taken at the beach where I stayed in Cancun. It was absolutely glorious and light years away from the mounds of drifting snow here. Although I expect no sympathy (hee-hee), we did get delayed by a couple of days due to Frontier canceling flights because DIA was closed.

As you enter positions of trust and power, dream a little before you think. --- Toni Morrison

Wordless Wednesday

Miss F-F Rides Again!

There's Miss Feather and Fan setting in my suitcase. The last time she did that was in September when she took me off to Italy where she spent several days lounging on a table on our terrace. She enjoyed the sunshine, the light rain, then drying in the sun again. Knitting? No, there was no knitting, however she greatly enjoyed the view. It appears that Miss F-F is preparing for another journey, so I think I'll join her.

Where to, Miss F-F? It appears we'll be staying at Moon Place Spa Resort in Cancun. (See the link below.) Perhaps, I'll even knit Miss F-F into the beautiful throw she's meant to be since I plan to spend most of my time on the white sand beach. A little shopping, yes, meals--that too. Time at the beach--most of the time. http://www.palaceresorts.com/Resorts/MoonPalace/Index.asp

This is my wind-up to Christmas. Since DH isn't fond of tropical weather, he opted not to make this trip. I am going with DS who will be there on business. When I return, my MIL will be here from out-of-state. A couple of days later, more family will tumble in. I'm ready.

Christmas shopping? Done.
Presents wrapped? Done.
House decorated? Done.
Stockings stuffed and stashed? Done.
Christmas dinner planned? Sorta done...gotta order the crown roast.

A fun vacation, then the joy of the holidays. Praise God! Who could ask for more?

Best wishes to you and your loved ones for a Happy Holiday season as we gather to celebrate the birth of Jesus.

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.---Isa 9:6

Saturday Sky

This entry is brought to you by the color blue! As in sky,

And a completed, skinny "One Row Scarf"

For the Red Scarf Project.

Be yourself; everyone else is already taken. --- Oscar Wilde

Yarnographic Friday

If you're feeling blue, this is the way to do it! Lion Brand Jiffy yarn is an inexpensive acrylic with a mohair feel that I am using for charity knitting. Along with Gedifra from last Friday, the Jiffy works up beautifully.
The scarf is for the Red Scarf project (click on sidebar button) in the "One Row Scarf" on the Yarn Harlot's blog. It's quick, easy, and --- above all--- a very pretty pattern. I am doing this on 10 stitches with 17 needles for a long, narrow collegiate look.


The update on the Reading from the Stacks challenge is that I have completed two of my books: Queenan's Country and The Garden Angel. Click on the sidebar button to learn more about the challenge.

Here is a link for a cute pair of Abominable Baby Slippers http://www.crochetme.com/2005_Dec_Jan_2006/images/abominable_main.jpg
hee-hee I'd love to see them if anyone makes a pair!

And, if you are a devotee of Celestial Seasonings products, the link below will lead you to black and white pictures of the package graphics.
http://www.celestialseasonings.com/art-inspiration/coloring-pages.html
I can imagine crafty people doing some fantastic projects with these!

How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of the weak and strong-- because someday in your life you will have been all of these. --- George Washington Carver

Knitter's Night Before Christmas

This has been around for a while, however--like those ol' Christmas decorations--it's time to drag it out again.


'Twas the night before Christmas and all around me
Was unfinished knitting not under the tree.
The stockings weren't hung by the chimney with care'
Cause the heels and toes had not a stitch there.
children were nestled all snug in their beds,
But I had not finished the caps for their heads.
Dad was asleep; he was no help at all,
And the sweater for him was six inches too small,

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter
I put down my needles to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tripped over my yarn and fell down with a crash.
The tangle of yarn that lay deep as the snow
Reminded me how much I still had to go.

Out on my lawn I heard such a noise,
I thought it would wake both Dad and the boys.
And though I was tired, my brain a bit thick,
I knew in a moment it must be St Nick.
But what I heard then left me perplex-ed,
For not a name I heard was what I expected,"Move, Berroco! Move, Lopi!
Move, Addi and Clover! Move, Reynolds! Move Starmore!
Move Froelich --move over!
Paton, don't circle 'round; stand in the line.
Come now, you sheep will work out just fine!
I know this is hard; it's just your first year,
I'd hate to go back to eight tiny reindeer."

I peered over the sill; what I saw was amazing,
Eight wooly sheep on my lawn all a-grazing.
And then, in a twinkle, I heard at the door
Santa's feet coming across the porch floor.
I rose from my knees and got back on my feet,
And as I turned 'round St Nick I did meet.

He was dressed all in wool from his head to his toe,
And his clothes were hand knit from above to below.
A bright Fairisle sweater he wore on his back,
And his toys were all stuffed in an Aran knit sack.
His cap was a wonder of bobbles and lace
A beautiful frame for his rosy red face.
The scarf 'round his neck could have stretched for a mile,
And the socks peeking over his boots were Argyle.
The back of his mittens bore an intricate cable.
And suddenly on one I espied a small label,"S.C." was duplicate stitched on the cuff,
And I asked, "Hey, Nick, did you knit all this stuff?"
He proudly replied, "Ho, ho, ho, yes I did.
I learned how to knit when I was a kid."

He was chubby and plump, a quite well-dressed old man,
And I laughed to myself, for I'd thought up a plan.
I flashed him a grin and jumped up in the air,
And the next thing he knew, he was tied to a chair,
He spoke not a word, but looked in his lap
Where I'd laid my needles and yarn for a cap.
He quickly began knitting, first one cap then two,
For the first time I thought I might really get through.
He put heels in the stockings and toes in some socks.
While I sat back drinking scotch on the rocks.

So quickly like magic his needles they flew
That he was all finished by quarter to two.He sprang for his sleigh when I let him go free,
And over his shoulder he looked back at me,
And I heard him exclaim as he sailed past the moon,
"Next year start your knitting sometime around June!"

**Author Unknown**

Wordless Wednesday

Queenan Country

So, should I knit more of this scarf to make a complete garland?
Nah....it's a not-red scarf for the Red Scarf Project. (Click the button at the right.) I knit this one with a size 50 and a size 17 needle and Light-n-Lofty yarn so it's loose and squishy. At 7.5 feet, it's perfect for wrapping around your neck in cold-cold weather. I hope a young college student will be blessed with its warmth.




Meanwhile, there are a few decorations around the house ...

DH and I bought the hand carved trees during our trip to Redwood National Forest in northern California. I would love to make a return trip to the absolutely breath-taking trees and vegetation in that area. The statues were made by our children in VBS.






Several of these stars in a variety of sizes are hung throughout the house. This is a small star. It is made of metal with a bell clapper, and does it make noise!





This stylized red tree has tiny jewel-tone balls to decorate it that are not visible in this picture. The compote dish is filled with red and gold glass ball garlands with a few candy canes poked into it.


One of our little trees is the "bird tree" and wears birds in assorted styles. I knitted the red bird at the left during the 80s. At the lower right, you can see a blown glass bird from Germany with a feather tale.




Another tree is the snow and icicle tree--bright and sparkling with snowflakes and icicles of many differing styles.

There has been only one Christmas - the rest are anniversaries. ---W.J. Cameron

I finished reading Queenan Country by Joe Queenan. The subtitle is "A Reluctant Anglophile's Pilgrimage to the Mother Country". This man knows England and writes about it in a clever humorous tour de force. I must say that there was a certain whoosh! right over my head factor here since I don't know enough about some of his references to understand the wit that is at play. So, I skipped over the parts I didn't get and went directly to reading where I could laugh, chuckle and enjoy the humor. My favorite chapter is "No Mersey" wherein the author describes following the trail of the Beatles. If you don't read anything else in this book, go directly to this chapter! And, of course, it is Queenan's love of England and his English wife that allows him to poke fun at the country and its inhabitants in hilarious, good fun.

Saturday Sky

Clear, bright, and 36 degrees

It's Only Words

You.

Can.

Only.

Type.

One.

Word.
No.

Explanations.

1. Yourself: me

2. Your boyfriend/girlfriend (spouse): beloved

3. Your hair: thick

4. Your mother: angel

5. Your father: missed

6. Your favorite item: candles

7. Your dream last night: over

8. Your favorite drink: Coke

9. Your dream car: no

10. The room you are in: office

11. Your ex: nonexistent

12. Your fear: loneliness

13. What you want to be in 10 years? Alive

14. Who you hung out with last night: Husband

15. What you're not: Healthy

16. Muffin: small

17. One of Your Wish List Items: Roomba

18. Time: noon

19. The last thing you did: read

20. What you are wearing: comfy

21. Your favorite weather: sunny

22. Your favorite book: Chocolat

23. The last thing you ate: cereal

24. Your life: simple

25. Your mood: content

26. Your best friend: Max

27. What are you thinking about right now: Blessings

28. Your car: Infiniti

29. What are you doing at the moment: Typing

30. Your summer: hot

31. Your relationship status: perfect

32. What is on your TV: Nothing

33. What is the weather like: Cold

34. When is the last time you laughed: Today

Copy.

It.

Do.

It.

Post.

It.

:)

The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other. ---Burton Hillis

Yarnographic Friday

Two out of two snowmen agree that Light Pipe is a funny looking yarn! Crystal Palace Yarns describe it as an add-along yarn and offers patterns and yarns at http://www.straw.com/cpy/yarns/lightpipe_card.html#swatch

A quote from the site tells us "Note: Light Pipe is a nickname for fiber optics and our lustrous tube of yarn is reminiscent of a fiber optics tube." The 330 yard hank is 40% nylon and 60% polyester and suggests a size 7- 9 needle to get 5-6 stitches per inch.

Thread and a blob...Isn't that how you would describe this whimsical fiber? It may have a future as a scarf.....When I can get around to it!

re: WW pic
I took this pic when I was in Italy last September. It is detail of an exterior shot at one end of the cathedral in Florence. So majestic!

Mirrors should think longer before they reflect. ---Jean Cocteau

Wordless Wednesday

Feed the Hungry

CAMPBELL SOUP HAS A PROMOTION FOR CITIES WITH AN NFL FRANCHISE.

GO TO THE WEB SITE BELOW TO VOTE FOR THE BRONCOS (or your favorite team).

CAMPBELL'S WILL DONATE A CAN OF SOUP TO A DENVER SOUP KITCHEN

(or the NFL affiliate city for other teams) FOR EACH VOTE.

You can vote once per day.

http://www.chunky.com/clickforcans.aspx

Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in... ---Mt 34-35

The Doctor's Daughter by Hilma Worlitzer.

C-c-cold, snow, and a bright-bright sunny sky. Colorado winter is beautiful.

If you happen to be a jar, I have just the hat for you! Ms. Button Jar cheerfully models this little hat that I made for the Dulaan Project (click on side bar button). I love the color name: Limelight by Caron Simply Soft. I used size six dpns for this jarring look.


"What the heck is that?", you say? Why, it's my interpretation of a Berroco pattern I saw one time. I'm using a size 50 and a size 17 needle to make a scarf with Light-n-Lofty yarn for the Red Scarf Project (click on side bar button). "Hey! That's not red!", you say? All the more reason to click on the link and read about this project. This is my mindless knitting to offset my world ghan knitting which, by the way, I had to rip back after I thought I had finished Panel Two. I messed up the shaping at the top of the panel! After I did all the intricate coastlines, I messed up the top shaping!! When that happens, I need to furiously knit on mindless knitting for a while!


I feel like a good friend just moved far, far away after finishing the book The Doctor's Daughter by Hilma Worlitzer. This story beautifully described the emotional journey of a 50-something woman trying to understand her life. From her adult children to the passing of her parents, she fights cobwebs to comprehend it all. What is her life really about? Why does the passing of her parents propel the orphaned adult child into extended reflection on the relationship of their marriage to her marriage? As she loses herself among the cobwebs, will she be able to live with the truths that she discovers? The cast of likable characters and the compelling story line caused me to read more slowly to prolong the end of a very good story.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Humor is a reminder that no matter how high the throne one sits on, one sits on one's bottom. ---Taki

Yarnographic Friday

Behold the amazing Vivaldi yarn plant with a yarn ball ready for the picking!

Vivaldi is 58% mohair, 19% wool, 23% nylon and has an amazing 305 yards. Although it calls for a size 6 needle, it yields a beautiful lacey look when done with bigger needles.

There's a wonderful variety of patterns at http://www.garnstudio.com/lang/en/visgarn_soek.php?g=Vivaldi&lang=

I'm thinking of a lacey, soft shawl in this beautiful fluffy mohair.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'm not offended by all the dumb blonde jokes because I know I'm not dumb . . and I'm also not blonde.
---Dolly Parton