Ah, Winter in NE Ohio

 The runners in the family have had some chances to run outdoors on days when the snow is cleared or melted. There has been a demand for the headbands. I've now knit 5 of them, using up a number of small balls of yarn.

Others in the family have gotten scarves. When I planned to knit 12 accessories for 2012, I didn't plan to knit hem all in January. I've now done 7 and still have a hat for a grandson to make in the next week or so.








I've started writing patterns again, adding two sock patterns to Ravelry and one to Patternfish. My Tree Bark sweater is growng a sleeve. Two different socks are being knit.

Work is proceeding on my bedroom closet.  To the left is stage one. There is a small closet to the left of the photo, which will have all the long items like dresses and slacks. I used to have a rod where the rack is now. but always had trouble with the sliding doors. As you can see it is gone completely.

We are building a modular closet. We had brackets for the shelves/racks on the back wall. It seems there is broken lath just where we needed stability. We'll hang those shelves from vertical strips like on the left. Of course it has already taken 2 trips to Home Depot and will take at least one more.

I've upgraded my winter wardrobe. This morning I bought a new jacket on line from Lands End.to replace the one that is too big and is starting to have zipper issues. I also replaced my boots for dog walking. The new ones are sooooo comfy and say that they will keep me warm to -25 degrees. I won't be testing that. The leather boots may stay around for a while. I do hate to throw things out, but if I don't wear them again this winter, they are leaving the house!!!

My family social life continues. Last Sunday there was a large breakfast gathering. Yesterday my son joined me for an orchestra concert. The Cleveland Orchestra played Brahms Piano concerto No. 2 with Yefim Bronfman soloist, and Shostakovich's Symphony No. 6. Tonight there is birthday cake and ice cream for my DIL Prg.

A Good Start to the New Year

Although I got a cold for Christmas, I'm feeling better now. My youngest daughter Dr. J and her husband were in town after Christmas, and spent New Year's Eve with me. We watched Big Bang Theory all night, drank a little wine, and went to bed. We had gone to the Mongolian Barbeque for dinner with runner girl and her guy. New Year's Day I went to my son's house for dinner. I didn't go back to work until Wednesday.

A bit of knitting happened. I knit a pair of mitts for Dr. J's husband. I made them ribbed, because he didn't think he would wear them, That way Dr. J could use them.



She asked for a cup cozy. I made two of them.








I also knit a pair of felted clogs from the ever popular Fiber Trends pattern. I need to knit more of these in the coming year. I now have the children size pattern, so some of those will be knit as well.

Probably the best gift was one that came late. It was a joint effort and waited for the finishing touch, the stained glass made by Dr. J. It's a box for all the memory things from my husband. I have the sympathy cards, the guest book from the funeral, and a number of other things, like a lock of his hair.







They included one of our favorite photos of him. Also in this picture is a train whistle and a rose from the funeral.









I love the train on the top. It's stylized and really represents his love of steam railroads.











Now that all the gifts are done and delivered, the last gifts went to Florida with Dr. J, I'm on to other things.One of my goals this year is to read 12 books that I already own. I have no particular plan, but I'm keeping a list. I started with The Opinionated Knitter by Elizabeth Zimmermann. In it I found a headband pattern that seemed meant for little bits of bulky yarn. Another goal is to knit 12 different patterns from ones I own on January 1, 2012. This qualifies. The second headband was an odd ball that I got as a designer perk.

I also finished a pair of socks. I have the pattern written, but the photo isn't in yet. I'll go over the copy and publish it on Ravelry. It's the first pattern in quite a while. I haven't quit designing, just writing up the designs.

Knitting update

Christmas gifts can now be shown. There was a pair of leg warmers. I had told DD that they were "a nose warmer for an elephant". She had to ask!!


There were dishcloths/facecloths.

And more dishcloths/facecloths.









And a new hat for running in cold weather, made at the last minute.




I also have finished those crazy socks, but they won't be gifted until some time in January.

Empty

Empty is what I was feeling on Christmas Eve. I had plenty to do. I went to a %:00 church service where grand children played Christmas carols as part of the service. I went to my son's house for a gathering of his wife's family. I came home and walked the dog. She was very enthusiastic and made me smile. I ended the day/started the new day by going to Midnight Mass at our church, something I haven't done for years. At 2:00 I fell into bed. I missed having a certain special someone to share it with. Together we wouldn't have done so much, but we had each other. I relish the new freedom, but it's lonely sometimes.

Christmas morning I opened the stocking Santa left me. I hadn't hung stockings because my living room was full of boxes of books that belonged in my bedroom. This was the view earlier in the week while the ceiling was being textured and painted.

Saturday night while I was out, the family moving crew came and dug out the living room and moved many boxes upstairs to the room the contents belonged in. My bedroom is finished for now, and all furniture is in place. The blinds are back on the windows. The TV is back on the wall. The bed is against the wall where it belongs. I've started emptying boxes and putting books away. Many books will be donated to our library book sale.There is much work still to be done, but the remodeling part is finished.

Later in the day I went to daughter Jen's house for Christmas dinner and associated festivities with her husband's relatives. Today all my available children gather at son John's house for our family Christmas. Holding  the family get together on a separate day lets everyone see each other. It's also pajama day at that house, so there will be some of those in evidence.

It was a fairly subdued gathering. with fewer gifts than some years. Part of that was due to fewer available people. I got a number of odd food things like carrot and spinach chips, and chocolate covered pretzels. All this can be saved and eaten over time. Even the dog got a gift of a toy, which was made with the help of the grandkids, It is a tennis ball with poly fleece handles for tugging and chewing on. She seems to like it.

A Construction Zone

That's my bedroom at the moment. Usually, my DD Jan puts everything back together at the end of each work day. Today started a little late and continued until completion, after dinner. She was priming walls and ceilings. The walls in the closet area had been wall papered and soaked up the primer.Everything took longer than she had figured on.

I was having a blah day. I suggested grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch, with bacon and tomato. I'd pick up the tomato on my way home from the gym. I got off to a slow start, slow getting out of bed, slow getting breakfast made. And so it went. I couldn't decide what I wanted for breakfast, so i kept knitting on the sock. The heel got finished, which was good. Finally I went off to the gym, my usual Tuesday morning activity.

Most days, I have meals planned ahead. I know today what I'm eating tomorrow. Today I finally decided to make a pancake. With  a just add water mix, I can get the batter quantity down so there are no leftovers. Dinner was Tuna Helper, and we ate enough so that what is left will be part of tomorrows lunch. We'll have Scotch Broth soup from Kristin Nicholas's recipe. It comes out of the freezer tonight.

My Holiday break from work begins at 5:00 tomorrow. There is a Mass being said for my husband at 5:30 pm. We'll both go, come home to a quick dinner, and she'll be off to spend the night with a friend.

There are a couple of small gifts still to be knit, and a pair of felted slippers, which may not be delivered until February. If I get them done quickly, I'll mail the gifts to that family, but they'll be here in February.

'Tis the Season

I've finished all the gifts for next weekend. Out of town people are coming in later. I still need to wrap gifts and mail a package to Illinois. They'll open it as soon as it comes, so I don't send it too early.

Festivities started today with grandchildren in a children's service at their church. Dad is a tuba player, usually playing unseen in the balcony behind us. He has a snowflake on the tuba bell that lights up (battery maybe?)

Then the children came in and sang carols.


Then came the explanation of the history and meaning of Christmas. My favorite letters were:

M is for Manger, and






A is for Angels. At the end, the letters spelled out CHRISTMAS.









I've knit some dishcloths for a gift.

And more dishcloths for another gift. Each one is a different stitch pattern, so they're really like large swatches. I think I'll do some more of them for future gifts.

I do have socks on the needles. The entrelac socks are proceeding apace. They'll be a January birthday gift. The blue socks are a little bigger, but they mostly sit unknit. Their turn will come.

We have snow on the ground, so it looks like it will be a white Christmas. I wish everyone Happy Holidays.

Family Cookie Fest

I forgot to say that I also had a birthday party, thrown by my knitting friends at our regular Thursday night get together. They bought cupcakes and candles and sang Happy Birthday to me. A very nice surprise!

Saturday night my neighbor held a Christmas party for the neighborhood. It was scheduled for 4-6 pm, so I left work a little early to give me more time at the party. I usually work until 5:00. I met a few new people. One was the fiancee of a woman down the street. I just hadn't met him yet. The other was a newcomer to the street. She's single, retired, and new to the area. She's looking for women to do things with when she gets back from Florida. Her children now live here, so she moved from Atlanta. We exchanged phone numbers, I'll hear from her when she comes back.


Sunday afternoon was our family cookie baking party. It was at my daughter Jen's house. It's a good thing that her house absorbs people well. It was pretty full! She invited extended family and friends. There were about 12 children under the age of 10. They were too busy to cookie bake, or the kitchen was too full of adults! Extended family included my sister with her husband and adult daughter, my husband's cousin with three of his daughters and a granddaughter. Jen's sister-in-law with 3 daughters and assorted friends, my son with wife and two children, my daughter Jan and her SO.

Supplies were stacked on the counter one foot high. The table was covered. There was a spare table in the living room for processing things like no-bake cookies, which need to be formed before they cool and harden. The area to the right is the stove, where many of the no-bake cookies were put together. The oven and microwave out out of the picture to the right.

She had loads of food to eat. As college teachers with many grad students, they know how to feed a crowd and buy much of what they need from the local grocery store catered sandwiches section.

Cookies are shared with all present and I came home with some frozen lasagna and some chili.I still have to make a pot of chili for Jan's lunch tomorrow, so I will have lots in the freezer when I'm done.

Knitting progresses. I'm making dishcloths for gifts and am working on the third one. The entrelac sock has a heel and the foot is growing. The blue sock is a little bigger. My sister brought her knitting because she had a problem with her sock. I helped her turn the heel. The heel flap was already knit. Her daughter wants to knit a hat like one she owns. I'll send her info about Ravelry and Knitty. She lives a couple of hours from me, so in person help is hard to do. Grandchild knitting will happen on a quieter day. DGD Erin stopped while getting dressed one day to inspect a sweater I had knit her and try to figure out how I had done the stitches. I think we will have a real knitter in a few years.