Knitting Passion

What do YOU do when you go to a swim meet? This young lady (click for larger version) was right down on the deck - surrounded by swimmers in various stages of wetness, busily knitting away at a scarf. I snuck a picture over the balcony while waiting for my daughter to swim her next event. (that’s daughter in the yellow cap, leaning against the wall.

The young knitter was surrounded by friends during the entire meet - some of them helped (mayby I should say “helped”, huh?) her by winding her yarn, helping her keep it up off the wet deck, even offering to knit a row or two.

She was a lot of fun to watch. She engaged in conversation with her friends, never dropping a stitch that I could see - she mostly held eye contact with whomever she was speaking with, and knitting away without looking at her stitches. Like I said, a lot of fun to watch.

I, GASP, did not take my knitting with me to the meet. I know - what in the world was I thinking?

Well, to be honest, I was thinking of my daughter - who was swimming in her first meet since high school. Oh, by the way, she graduated high school in 1993! Yup, she was the “old lady” on the team - beat out the next one by 9 years. And, she loved the distinction of being the oldest one, too.

It all started with her little guy, our “GUNS” himself was competing in his second ever meet - he’s 9 and just learning some of the strokes. But he stood himself proud, too, by beating every one of his previous times! Yay, TAT!

Daughter? She did a great job, too. She bested her high school times in three of the four events. She’ll be working on her flip turns over the next month to try to get her time tightened up somewhat. She and “GUNS” will be competing in Homer, Alaska in March. Way to go, family of mine!

in other news . . . are you Survivor fans? Head on over to check out the Watching Survivor recaps of the show and don’t forget to join the POOL PARTY!

Have you made your bag yet?

We’re looking for a few good baggers, you see. Men and women who have kids at heart, a sewing machine nearby, and more cloth than they know what to do with - you are needed. Drop me an email to let me know you’d like to help out and I will send you my mailing address. It’s as easy-peasy as that. Thank you!!!

In other news . . .

So, are you thinking to yourself that you just canNOT get enough knitting news and information? Are there truly not enough magazines in the stores - or enough knitting books on your shelves?

Yes, friends, of COURSE I am being facetious. Because we ALL know that there are NEVER enough of those things, right? Right!!!

So, can you hold your excitement until July for something totally new?

Knitting Daily TV is coming to a pbs station near you - and, there will be a blog to go along with the tv show.

Now, I ask you . . . just how cool is that? Of course, I’m not sure I’ll be able to see the show - will have to wait and see. We ARE in Alaska, after all. Sometimes we don’t get all of the shows that you all do down there in the Lower 48 states.

I have just about finished off one skein for the HAP project and am working my way through a second skein also. I am thinking I might get these mailed out by next weekend. We’ll see how far I get.

Then I think I might start on a pair of socks - or maybe a bag - or . . . or . . . or . . .

we’ll see - but for now, the macaroni and cheese casserole has just come out of the oven and I have a hungry man to feed. See you soon.

Yes, I know this is a knitting blog (grin) but it is sort of a life of the knitter blog, too, you know? But, today I WILL be posting about knitting (and some other stuff) but knitting mostly. Hurrah, I hear you all shouting!!!!

This is a scarf I gave a dear friend for her birthday. Actually, her birthday was the day I went into the hospital, and it was not quite finished. So, I gave it to her at church this Sunday - on MY birthday. It’s a silk blend and feels just gorgeously soft. I cast on 40 stitches, using size 13 needles, then knit one row and k1, p1 the next row. It made a really neat looking pattern - sort of a rib on one side and a knobby rib on the other side.

Miss S loved it, so that made it worth it, huh?

Okay - there’s your knitting for the day - what are YOU designing - or what is on YOUR needles?

Now, for the other things - do you like giveaways? Oh, me, too. Although, they DO keep me in this chair for much too long so I have to confine myself to only a few moments going to the spots and signing up and then linking back, etc. Otherwise my cheeks get pretty tired and sore - and NOBODY needs to see that, as my granddaughter the Pup would say.

However, Summer over at Creative Mom Cafe has some very nice autumnal fabrics for a giveaway. Be sure to stop by and sign up and maybe give her a link back on your site, too.

And, while I tiptoed through her comments I noticed a few other giveaways -

Air Force Family is giving away a book my grandkiddos (and yours, too, I’ll bet) would love: Sea Animals.

And, for the romantic in us all - Eden is giving away a Nicholas Sparks book (The Notebook) over at her Goddess of the Home blog.

For even more - and this is where the tired butt syndrome comes on - check out the Bloggy Giveaways Winter Carnival at Rocks in My Dryer. There’s gotta be SOMETHING that rocks your boat over there. Have great fun, friends!

–[This guest post is from the one and only Mark Jabo. Mom and I adore him - and now you get to see why! He's almost as snarky as I am! Enjoy! ~L]–

Hola! Bonjour! Ohayo gozaimasu! ‘Ello! Dude! Greetings to all you passionate knitters out there.

This is what’s known as a guest post. As in, I guessed I could write a post about knitting, but now, I’m not so sure …

One of the most common bromides in “the writing game” is to “write what you know.”

Another common bromide is to put random words in quotes so you appear as if you have “inside knowledge” and are “superior” to all the “common folk” who don’t know as much about your “topic” as “you.”

Having said that, I know absolutely nothing about knitting.

Well, … that about wraps it up for this guest post ….

….

….

Hahahaha. Aren’t we having fun?

And only 135 more words and a link to go before we can qualify Barbara to get paid for hanging out in the hospital.

Pssst. Between you and me, I don’t think Barbara thought this plan through before she put it into action. Sure, she can get people to blog for her, but the amount of money she’ll make from this post will just about cover a Band-Aid. And that’s only if the hospital buys generic.

I’m not sure why I think Barbara can’t read anything in italics, but let’s not let that stand in the way of a good time …

As a non-knitter (or should that be knon-knitter?), I thought maybe we could all learn something if we were to explore some of the common misconceptions about knitting.

So, grab your balls (of yarn) and let’s take a look at (cue dramatic orchestra music) …

The Top Five Misconceptions About Knitting!

We’ll start with one of the most common mistaken ideas people have about knitting right off the bat …

1. Only old people knit. I’ll say that louder for all of you who have hearing aids … ONLY OLD PEOPLE KNIT. I’m kidding, of course. Sure, your grandmother knits. That doesn’t mean only old people knit anymore than the incident with your uncle means that only kids over 21 should be allowed to have birthday parties.

Knitting is more popular than ever among teens and young adults. Hey, I even heard Apple is coming out with the iNeedle – a combination knitting needle and MP3 player which allows you to purl and listen to your favorite Big Band tunes at the same time.

Now, that we’ve dispensed with the “old” stereotype let’s move on to another common misunderstanding about knitting ….

2. Knitting is just for women. Please. Haven’t 40 years of Cosmo and a woman running for President taught us that there are no gender restrictions on what men and women can do? You bet it has.

Don’t worry, we’ll get that whole pay discrepancy thing hammered out in another 40 years or so.

Did you know there is a website dedicated to men who enjoy knitting? It’s filled with nearly a dozen (okay, eight) pictures of men who knit, a rundown of the history of men in knitting and links to other useful sites … like ones that offer self-defense tips.

Knitting is not just for women. It’s also for men who are secure with their masculinity. Really secure.

Man, we are just exploding one myth after another. Let’s continue ….

3. Everyone who knits owns a least seven cats. This is absolutely not true. Five cats is usually the max. No one is saying you have to have a cat if you knit, but most other animals tend to get bored after playing with a ball of yarn for 57 minutes straight.

Knitters are good-natured people who like to have fun, especially with bloggers who gently rib them about their hobby. For that reason, knitters may have other pets they keep in their knitting basket such as cobras. Asking you to get the red yarn out of the basket is their way of accepting you into their group. Sure, you may require an ambulance, but you’ll have a knitting story (and a snake phobia) to last a lifetime.

Shall we proceed to the next big yarn (zing!) about knitting? ….

4. There are only five things you can knit: a scarf, a hat, socks, gloves or an afghan. Okay, now we’re just getting silly. Savvy knitters know that you can also create a square piece of knitting and call it whatever you’d like. It can be a potholder, a drink coaster, a doily, a trivet or a decorative wall hanging. Many knitters refer to this square piece of finished yarn by its more common name: practice.

Many people unfamiliar with knitting often make the mistake of calling an afghan a “blanket.” This is incorrect. A blanket covers your feet when you lay down, all an afghan has to do is cover your shoulders when you sit and read or watch TV. Truth be told, an afghan is really just an extra wide scarf. Or is a scarf just a really narrow afghan? It’s all so confusing.

I told you I didn’t know anything about knitting. But, everyone is in agreement on the final point ….

5. There are no reliable, first-person accounts of anyone actually witnessing a knitting project being completed. This is one case where the perception is totally true. No one has ever been in the room with someone as they put the final stitch in a sweater and said, “A-ha!”

And it’s not just because “A-ha!” is something people only say in 18th century detective novels.

The normal chain of events is you see a friend of yours on Tuesday, knitting what she says is a sweater but actually looks like an amorphous conglomeration of stitching. When you go over to her house on Sunday, your friend proudly displays the finished creation.

Doesn’t that seem a bit odd? Can anyone actually be that talented?

You are not alone. There are many of us who suspect that there is a section of desert in the Western United States where highly-evolved sentient beings (”knitters”) have a vast underground warehouse of finished products. The warehouse is divided into five sections: Hats, Socks, Gloves, Scarves/Afghans and Practice.

Everyone knows that knitters are merely waiting for the right moment to bond together and save Planet Earth but, in order to keep busy until Judgment Day, they knit.

You may not believe everything I’ve told you about knitting fallacies and about the existence of alien beings who knit. But I was abducted by one of these knitters and have been with her for nearly two years now.

And if there’s one thing I know about knitters it’s this: sex with them is fantastic!

–[Hi guys, Lessa here - Barbara's daughter and fellow 451 blogger. Barbara is currently in the hospital again - this time with a spot of heart trouble, but she's doing fine, so don't worry! In the meantime, some others have stepped up to do a couple guests posts for her, so that she doesn't have to worry about you all, either. If you'd like to do a guest post, please contact me at lessasdesign [at] gmail [dot] com and let me know! I’d be happy to coordinate the effort with you. I’ll also be stopping by here regularly to scoop out your comments from the spam filter too. Thanks and enjoy the post! ~L]–

The Intimidation of Knitting
Guest post by Winnie from Watching the View

In the past few years, I have really wanted to learn to knit. I have a few blog friends who knit and they post such cute creations. Whenever I see their photos, I say, “I wanna do that!” I would love to be able to make a scarf for my mom or a cute little hat for my forthcoming new nephew.

The idea is not completely ridiculous; I do have a crafty side. I like to paint, make collages, and do other small crafts. I can even sew somewhat. But knitting? It scares me. It may go back to third grade art class. We had to do a little art project for mother’s day that doesn’t even probably qualify as knitting, but there was yarn and some kind of needle. All I remember was that I could not get the yarn to go where it was supposed to in order to make a flower thing on the fabric. I went home and cried and my mom let me stay home the next day we had art class. (Yes, it was that traumatic).

Fast forward to yesterday when I was at Michaels for some other craft needs. I perused the knitting aisle as I do from time to time and saw a “Knitting for Dummies” book which came with some needles and some other weird things. I thought about getting it and even planned to tell the clerk that it was for my niece (I don’t have one), because otherwise I would have to admit my true crafting inadequacy. I ended up not getting it, though, because it did not come with any yarn and didn’t seem to explain what kind I would need.

I imagine that one day I will have to breakdown and take a class, because it seems like it is something that you have to learn by watching someone, sort of like dancing, which, by the way, I can’t do either.

~~~

Check it out! Help mom get herself a DECAF coffee when she gets out of the hospital! Sign up and Create amazing slideshows with your own photos & video–free!

So, in my last post I promised to tell you about a great hat we saw Saturday. That’s it, there on the left. Click for a larger view. At first I thought the flowers were crocheted, but they look like “I cords” close up.

The gal wearing the hat was too cute. She and her daughter had taken a trip to Homer and while there had heard of “the” hat. Supposedly, she was told, only folks who live in Homer (our very own berg full of granola nuts - or so they say) would be brave enough to wear such a hat. AND, her daughter moaned in embarrassment, MOOOOOOOOOOOM, you CAN’T wear THAT color. Heh, can we all say CHALLANGE???

I thought so.

She even agreed to model the hat for us. Says she loves it. Turns out that she is an elementary school teacher hereabouts. “They can always find me on the playground,” she told us.

Sadly, I’ve already forgotten her name. I apologize in advance - I’ve invited her to come by to see herself here - I am getting older and I forget names and such if I don’t write them down. (This is my not so sneaky way to remind my family that my birthday is coming up quickly - hahahaha) Serioulsy, I did forget the last name - and I think that her first name was Mary. If the owner of this great hat DOES visit here, please sign the comments and let us all know your first name, okay? And, thanks so much for letting me take your picture AND for giving me permission to post it here.

Yes, you can ask my daughters - I do talk to strangers. After all, a stranger is only a friend you haven’t met yet.

Oh, and if you are looking for a felted project or two (or ten) check out this link my friend sent me: Free Felted Projects. Lots and lots of links to felted bags. Surely there is ONE in there you would love to work on for your end of the winter project?

You all have a lovely week!

At just 4 weeks post-op, this has been a bit of a tough week. I think I probably pushed just a bit too hard. Decided to try for 8 hour days this week - and pretty much made it right up to Friday.

At five hours Friday my body said NO MORE! And, there wasn’t even a “please” attached to it. Sigh! So, I signed out, told everyone I would be available by phone if needed and came home to crash in my chair. (I love my chair sometimes! These times, for instance.)

In between snoozes I finished another pair of baby socks. I actually made three socks from this particular yarn. Midway through the second sock the patterning seemed to change and it was too different from the first to make me totally happy. ( there had been a break in the yarn and I guess I missed when I picked up the pattern again) So, I pulled enough yarn out of the skein to find the right starting point and, while a tad different in the heel, I was quite happy with the results.

Here you can see the adult sized socks with the baby socks next to them. Daughter #2 has a friend who is preggers with her first baby (awwwwwwwwwwwwww) and these will go to her - along with the white pair with the yellow, blue, and pink flecks in them - if she has a girl.

click for larger view

My friends and I had coffee this morning to show off our completed projects from the last few months and that is why all the baby socks are on the table with our bags. There will be more pictures over the next few days. I’ve got a shot of a really cute hat to show you, too.

In the meantime, all of your Big Brother fans, check out Lessa’s blog to see the latest news.

It’s completely finished now! Yay for me. What??? Oh, you have no clue what I am talking about? Ahhhh - that is what my family says all the time. Ha ha.

The bag, of course! I felted it up last weekend, but just put the finishing touches on it tonight.

I used leftover yarn from last winter’s sweater project, by the way. The same friends and I decided we would do felted bags next. I’ve actually completed several - one I use often, another I gave to a dear friend. Then, I made a couple of mini bags and I’m still not sure what I’m going to do with those.

But, then I made three more - my friends and I are going for coffee Saturday morning to show off our finished objects. Well, we are going to have coffee and chat also . . . but the intended purpose is to show off our finery.

So . . . . here is the completed bag:

This is after the felting has been completed. Isn’t this a great color? I love it and I’m looking forward to carrying it. It’s a bit on the smallish side - I guess you would call it a clutch. But it is big enough to hold checkbook, wallet, and other necessities.

I then decided to add some embellishments to it. Now, I’ve had these beads for quite awhile. I don’t even remember anymore why I bought them. But, I thought they might be perfect as a little “bobble” for the clutch bag.

Next I decided to check the fabric box to see what I might have to line the clutch. I haven’t lined any of the bags before, but I really like the idea and thought I would give it a go - if I could just find the right piece of fabric. Tell me if you think I did a good thing here.

Oh, now really - just how perfect could it be? PAISLEY!!! Yup, just transport me back to the 60s and drop me onto the disco floor.

Okay - so it wasn’t disco in the 60s, but we DID go clubbing - complete with black lights and the like. There was that week down in Florida . . . erm, never mind.

I hope you heard me say that in the best Alfred Hitchcock voice possible. Yes, I grew up watching the chilling (to me - at that time - in black and white - I was a little girl!) Alfred Hitchcock show. But I always loved how he would walk out and fit into his silhouette - double chins and jowls and all, turn and say to ME - Goood Eeeeeeeevening !

But I digress . . . this is, after all, a knitting blog.

Finished my socks a couple of nights ago - and last night I finished the second of the little orange ones. Yes, for those of you who might be counting, this is the SECOND pair of the little orange ones. (And, the orange color is better in the photo in that entry, btw) The first pair, along with the blue pair, is winging its way to merry old England for a friend who will be a first time grandpa this summer.

This pair and another, yet to be decided on colorwise, will go to ANOTHER friend in England who has discovered that HE will also be a first time grandpa this summer. Must be sumthin in the water, I tell ya. (glad I’m not drinking THAT water!) heh.

It would seem that the same stuff is in the water hereabouts, too . . . and I drink a LOT of water, so I am going to have to watch it.

What? You mean that’s NOT the way babies are made? Hmmmmmmm

oh! a mother’s room! Aha!
hahahahahahaha

Okay, so I am originally from Ohio (hence the link the other day to the Columbus 451 website) - but I have webby friends who live in Iowa - and I saw a referrer from one of 451’s pages to Iowa State University, so they are my inter-link of the day.

Not so much about the University today . . . but a Heads Up and a big congratulations to the state of Iowa for accomplishing what few thought they could . . . they caucused and named two non-front runners as their candidates for president!!! Way to pull together, Iowans!

Anyway . . . (as Ellen Degeneres would sigh) . . . several months ago I purchased a socks knitting book. As I’ve been doing the baby socks my fingers started itching to do some big people socks. And, I just happen to have several skeins of sock yarn . . . so . . .

Here’s the first one and the second one is ready to start the heel.

I actually combined two of the patterns - using the cuff from one and the bottom from the other. I think I would make the cuff a teensy bit longer the next time, but like them shorter than I have made in the past. Actually, I’m pretty proud of myself for deviating from a pattern.

I am SO compulsive when it comes to patterns usually. I seldom deviate - okay, I NEVER deviate - from the original. So, this was a breaking out of sorts for me.

Yay, me!

Hope you’re enjoying your - last week of vacation - first week back after the holidays - or whatever it is you are celebrating. Life’s good, isn’t it?
(more…)

You’ve got the cutest little baby socks . . .

All right, I know that is not how the song goes (Baby Face . . . you’ve got the cutest little baby face) But it fits, okay?

See, I told you - they are just cute! (click for larger view)

I sent the orange ones and the ones with yellow and purple off today for my friend’s grandbaby to be in England. The white with pink, blue and yellow splashes and the blue stripey ones are for a yet to be named new mama - a friend of my youngest daughter’s. A girl could wear either pair, but as they fit a 3-6 month old, a little boy’s daddy might think twice about the pair with the pink splashes, I guess.

So, now I’m working on another orange pair. They really work up quickly and I’ve figured out one problem with the pattern so that they seem to go together fairly well. I hope the new mamas like them.

The pattern is from a calendar - a box of patterns, one per day - that my friend gave me for my birthday last January. Well, I noticed a blog address on the page so went looking - just for you, my faithful readers - and voila! The pattern is available on the web!

Baby Socks Trust me when I tell you just how easy they are to knit and how quickly they use up those leftover bits of sock yarn you have hither and yon. I don’t care if you are sick to death of knitting socks and want to NEVER knit another sock again - these are FUN and you will enjoy them. Please write and let me know you’ve done some - and send me pictures - I’ll post them with your blog address - or at least your first name (if you don’t blog).

Came home from work early again today - each day I make it just a bit longer, but really get pooped still! I am not used to not having my body do as I tell it, by the way. Fell asleep in my chair again - saw bits and pieces of different junk tv shows - but was reduced to tears by a rerun on Rachael Ray. The story about the wedding being planned secretly by the groom - well, I just thought that was the neatest thing. Good for you, mister!!!!!

So, I’ve been watching way too much trash tv - lots of court stuff - judge judy, divorce court, judge hatchett . . . do these people get PAID to go on tv and act the fool? Or are they just like that for free? Oh, my, some of the stuff they come up with.

Hope your first couple days of 2008 have brought you everything you could desire - see you soon!

So, I KNOW that you are all dying to know what is the latest project off the needles and the latest project that is ON the needles. Or, are you too busy trying to decide just what to feed the hungry hordes on New Year’s Day? (Click that link and Lessa will tell you all about what to do and what NOT to do . . . because we all know, Lessa knows best - except for her Mama, of course.) hahaha

Okay - for the curious among us, here is the latest from the needles - both off and on:

Okay - the color is TERRIBLE, but I wanted you to see the whole thing. The piece in the background, of course, is another “stocking” cap - yup, just like the one I made Lessa for Christmas. Lessa’s friend loved hers and I offered to make her one in her favorite color. She said yellow - and I happened to have a skein of yellow on hand, so, “J”, here ya go. As soon as you get me your address - or Lessa - then it will be on its merry way to you.

The pattern, by the way, is available online from knitty.com

It is actually more of a baby yellow in color - I’ll show you in a closeup picture of the other object there.

While this picture is blurry, it does at least show the color off a bit better.

Oh, and the object still on needles? It’s a baby sock - made out of leftover sock yarn - a pair being made for a certain friend of mine who is going to be a first time Grandpa this summer.

That link will take you to my home page entry about his wedding in 2006. He and his bride and their children all came to the US from the UK in order to be married by Elvis in Vegas. And, yes, this ‘laskan went to the wedding - where, I of course melted, as temperatures were in the 120 degree range. I was thus a “baked ‘laskan”, yes indeedy.

Now as my friends come up on their second anniversary, his daughter is going to present them with a first grandchild. He’s not so sure he is ready to be a grandpa, but we will talk him through it and he will love the little tyke immensely, I’m sure.

I’ll post a pic of the finished pair - perhaps tomorrow.

Really, it’s a cap with a stocking on it . . . how much fun can that be? Well, just ask Lessa:

She looks like she is enjoying it. Her honey would have loved it - and I would have had to give it to him and make something else for her if he was still with us - or make a mathcing pair.

She like sit so much she told a friend of hers about it and now I am making one for HER, too! Her friend J wants it in yellow. I’ve already had to rip it out once because I got it twisted when I joined the circle - didn’t realize it until I had about 6 rows done. Ah, well. I can frog as well as the next person.

So, by now you are all tired of the ham and turkey leftovers, right? Well, do a pot luck Thursday with Rachael Ray! You just GOTTA love pot luck, right?

Speaking of which - I have the most awesome sisters in Christ! They have been spoling hubby and me since my surgery - bringing in meals. Tonight I have a turkey and rice casserole simmering in the oven thanks to my pastor’s wife! These lovely women wanted to bring in meals EVERY night, but I asked them to cut it back to only every other night. There are only the two of us - and well, food seems to go a lot further with only two in the house.

But, man, can they ever cook! We’ve had chicken divan and a fish casserole and chicken and rice and one couple brought dinner in already plated up - pork chops with baby potatoes, carrots and asparagus. Yummo!

Sunday someone brought a chicken stew - Christmas was skipped because of Lessa, the Girl and the neighbors cooking - and then tonight the turkey and rice casserole.

Now you might be wondering at the “no beef” appearing in any of the meals. My hubby cannot stomach beef any longer. I still love it, but we don’t eat it because it just roils up and spoils in his tummy. Nobody should be near when that happens.

Hope you are enjoying your after the holiday glow. Take care, eveyone.

Didn’t quite make it here yesterday, but I’m sure most of you did not, either.

Christmas at our house was much merriment, fun and mayhem. Same as yours, I’m sure. At least I hope you had a share in the same. There is NOTHING like a group of grandyounguns to make your heart go pitty-pat, I must say.

Grandpa worked all night so he came home and grabbed some shut-eye while I snoozed in my chair - resting up for the onslaught - and watched some Christmas telly. I did miss our local news program’s special last night - hopefully they will run it again New Year’s eve. It is always fun - music videos with local talent, music from local talent as well. Merry Christmas from Alaska 8! Hmmm - they don’t have #8 listed there yet, but it is available in local stores.

I finished up another purse, so now have two waiting to be felted. Both of these are from the One Skein Wonders book.

Oh, and how did the family like their hats/scarf/purse? Lookit here:

Yeah, there’s always (at least) one making faces - this is the best group shot I could get (out of several). They’re MY monkeys and I love ‘em - funny faces and all.

And the Boy? He LOVED his spooky hat (from knitty.com) - check it out:

He added some bugs and frogs. VERY realistic, now!
(click for larger views, of course)

Lessa put together a photo montage of the day - enjoy:

before felting . . . looks sort of shapeless, or does it? Hubby said it looks like a bell to him. He’s a funny man, that one.

I am not getting much reading done while convalescing - I seem to fall asleep too often to make good sense of what I am reading.

BUT . . . I am getting a fair amount of knitting done and that is always fun. This purse is another project from the One Skein Wonders book.

So - did you get all of your Christmas knitting finished? You do know that the big day is tomorrow, right? Right!

Actually we are having the family exchange tonight - at youngest daughter’s house. Tomorrow I will post a picture of everyone in their new finery. At least, that is the plan . . . to have everyone pose for a group shot. But, best laid plans and all that - we are talking kiddos from the age of three to nearly 16, you know. Yeah, it’s the nearly 16 that will cause the ruckus . . . NOT! They are all good kids - but it is going to be a bit much, I’m thinking. However, that will not stop me from trying.

A friend of mine - we’ve known each other since 6th grade - wrote to ask me if I was planning to cook Christmas dinner. Actually, the way she said it was YOU’RE NOT GOING TO COOK, ARE YOU?!!! LOL. The answer is no, I’m not. The oldest daughter and her daughter and the next door neighbor are cooking dinner. Well, hubby is putting a ham into the oven, but everything else is being cooked offsite. Yay!

She would mother me if she were here, but we are separated by 3000 miles (a bazillion or so) miles. It is times like these that we wish we were closer.

But, I get to see her in March when hubby and granddaughter #1 and I fly out to Ohio for a visit.

Anyway . . . I need to get out of here and put some clothes on -get myself presentable for the family doings. Have a wonderful day with your families. And, don’t forget to come back for the family picture tomorrow.