just wanted to say

Could you have resisted buying such a great looking bottle of wine?
Just wanted to say, thank you so much for visiting this little space. Really, it means a lot.
I won't be back here until after the first of the year.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you and yours.
Cheers!
Leslie

just a few coasters

Hands down, one of my favorite things to make. I had no idea. I have been checking in with sew mama sew!, on some quick gifts, and found this. The tutorial couldn't have been easier. It is the perfect thing to use all your little leftovers that you don't want to discard. And after the beach blanket I finished, I had a lot of little Amy Butler scraps and thought this would be the perfect thing. Nice to look at, useful, and I think they must taste good, as well. I sent some to my sister, and her dog ate an entire one. I kid you not. When they weren't home, her dog found them, unwrapped them and went to town. Delicious little coasters.
Still finishing a few things around here.

just a few hats

Amazing. I seem to be on some sort of post roll. I don't think I have ever posted more than two days in a row, let alone five. And, I may have a couple more before the big day.
Just a few hats I wanted to share.
First up, for my husband. I initially wanted to make this for both boys, but the small is fairly large, so it will be going to my husband instead. I have another one on the needles that will be given to my father in law.
Pattern: Inca Alpaca Garter Ridge Hat, Glorious Knitting.
Yarn: Inca Marl by Classic Elite, 3 hanks.
Needles: size 101/2, I used double points for the whole hat.
Notes: I think this hat is too cool. And done in garter stitch is super quick.
Next up. Also going to my husband.
Pattern: Simple Hat from Cables Untangled.
Yarn: Cascade 220, super wash. 2 balls.
Needles: size 7
Notes: I LOVE this hat. I mean, really love it. I want one. Maybe in chocolate. Or white.

And, for Libby. Because she wanted a hat with ear flaps and braids to match her coat.
Pattern: Thorpe, designed by Kirsten Kapur.
Yarn: Mauch Chunky, 1 ball apple, 1 ball spice.
Needles: I used 10's because I didn't have double points in 9.
Notes: This is the cutest, quickest knit ever. And of course, perfectly written. I want to make them for Birthday gifts for my kids friends. Honestly, I bet you have some chunky yarn in your stash, and the pattern is free, you could whip one up tonight. And you have to love a pattern that forces you to learn a new skill. I learned the half double crochet stitch. And, I must say, I loved it.

just a blanket and a chair

I would love to say that I made my first quilt, but I am not sure if I can officially call it that. It surely doesn't hold a candle to any of Amandajean's or Louise's or any other quilts I have seen out there. But I did sew together squares and I did put a backing on it with batting inside. So maybe, it is a semi-quilt.
I have no idea how to quilt the top. And without a walking foot,(I think that is what I need) didn't think I should even try. I am sure I would have made a mess of it. Instead I just did the "ties". I think my quilting lingo is all wrong. Are those called ties?
The fabric is Amy Butler, lotus. I trimmed it, in order to make it larger, with fabric I found at my local quilt store. Backed in a darker shade. Don't you think it sort of simulates ripples in water?
It measures 72x72, 3x3 squares of 20x20. Large enough to be used as a new beach blanket.
This semi quilt was shipped to my mother in Florida. And, I really hope when all of her guests come, she will hand them this blanket.
I have given her strict instrutions. No more blog reading. Lets see if she listens.

all three, together

I know, so lame. Just finished my cards this morning. It's not like I haven't had the photo for weeks. For some reason, I get my cards out at the last minute every year. I promised a few a photo of all three sweaters together. This isn't the photo we used, but this photo actually shows the sweaters better.
The boys both in a Cobblestone. And Libby in her vest.
Hope you all are getting a lot of things crossed off. I am off to tackle a few more.

shhhhhhh

I am the type of knitter that usually only has a couple of things on the needles. One small, and one big. I like to finish them before moving onto the next. As you can see, this is why. I made one while at the beach in August. I made the other one the other day. Somewhere down in the cables I had fewer rows on one. Damn. Years ago, I would have never given this to someone. I absolutely would have fixed this mistake.
And if I had the time I would fix this mistake. However, these needed to be checked off of the list. Shhhhhh. She may never notice. And, I'll never tell.

flying

Look what flew in from Erin! Thank you, Erin.
I adore both.
And speaking of Erin, she is doing a little giveaway over at her blog. Go ahead, fly on over and try to win that helpful knitting book. Good luck!

peace, love and joy

Everything over here is in pretty much the same state. The half completed state.
Half of the cards, half of the shopping, half of the sewing, one glove to be knit, one hat to be knit, half of the wrapping, half of the tree decorating, even Libby's craft, half way finished. She has joy written, and I noticed a heart on one side this morning. I guess we are just looking for a little peace.

Have a wonderful weekend.

cable throw

For my mother-in-law: the cable comfort throw from lion brand. I know it is only a blanket, and I do realize that it is 80% acrylic, but I am so in love with this. It is really heavy, and oh so warm. And guess what? It is a really quick knit! I did a little figuring to let you know how many hours it took, just in case you still have someone on your list who needs something to keep them warm. (Hey, others have actually counted stitches, that might be next for me.) All right now, this is knit in 5 panels (unless you are like Kim, and knit yours all in one piece). Each panel took me 4 hours. So, if you knit for 2 hours a day, you could have this knit in 10 days. See, still time!
Yarn: Lion Brand Wool Ease Thick & Quick, 9 balls.
Needles: Size 13
You have to love when the amount of left over yarn is the size of a clementine!
And, just wanted to let you know what I do after tying in the ends on a blanket or scarf, not a sweater. After weaving the yarn through, I just dab it with the smallest amount of fray check. Not a lot,because it does dry hard. On a project like this, you will never feel it, and it will keep those ends from popping out.
Still much to do around here. Why do I still consider making more?

interruptions

The clicking sound of my needles has now turned into the machine gun sound of my sewing machine. (Wow, does it need a tune-up.) I stopped long enough with the gift sewing to make something for us. I knew I had to make some little trees after seeing Emily's. The whole time I was doing it, I had to remind myself of what Libby said, about making life nice. And, I really think they do. The fabric package pillows were made years ago, and are always a favorite around here.

I do have some knitting to show. Just as soon as I get some photos.
Enjoy your weekend.

happy things

Wow. The mailman has made me very happy lately. All sorts of fun stuff popping up in my mailbox. Melana sent me my very first skein of sundara yarn. I have never knit with this before, and am very excited to cast on for a pair of socks using one of the patterns she also included. And, she must have known how dry my hands get, because there was also a little tin of the most magical lotion made just for knitters! Thank you so much Melana, you are just too sweet.
I did a little swap with Megan. Look what I got! Soap, bath products and lip balms, she included one for Libby. Check out the whole line here. Thank you, Megan. I love it!
A while ago, I won a little contest over at freckled nest. Leigh Ann is always having contests and giveaways. A super cute bag (for my knitting) along with stickers and magnets that look like candy! Thank you so much Leigh Ann!
And, when Kim mailed the malabrigo a while back, she also included pom-pom makers. Have you all ever used these? She sent four different sizes. We were like a pom-pom making factory over here. They are so much fun to make.
The thankful tree got a quick spray of white paint, and it is now a pom-pom tree. Thank you, Kim! You provided us with hours of entertainment.

last weeks post, this week

Last weeks craft, advent calendar.
I really wanted this from Garnet Hill. Of course, I wanted to make it, not buy it. (They sold out.) However, there was no time to make it. Whip out the sewing machine, stitch two pieces of fabric together in the shapes of mittens and stockings. Something similar. Hopefully next year we will enjoy a knit one. When I took this photo, and when we woke up on the first day of December, I only had these three days finished. Over the weekend, the rest was cut and sewed. I just have to iron on the numbers. Just a few days late.
Last weeks cookie: Dunkin Hines brownie mix.
I know, I didn't make them from scratch, but my kids love these so much, why would I? We added york peppermint pattie baking pieces, and they are sooo good! My grocery store only sells these during the holidays.
I usually stock up, because they are just the perfect thing with coffee,all year.

charmed

I forgot to tell you that the pattern for the charmed scarf, that I made for my father-in-law, is here. And, it is free. Isn't that charming? And yes, I actually took time to take a photo. jeesh. But hey, what's a post without a photo?
Happy Knitting.

warm necks

Still don't know what to make those loved ones? How about something to keep their neck warm? For the gentleman who has everything, who is usually on call as a babysitter, who drops off coffee for you unexpectedly, how about a reversible cable scarf out of charmed. It will take 3 balls. I know it is a little pricey, but he is totally worth it. And, since you can't wait until Christmas to give it to him, just go ahead, give it to him early. (Yes, that would be my father-in-law.)
For all the others with cold necks? How about a neckwarmer out of scrumptious Malabrigo chunky. I really had no idea how wonderful this yarn was until miss Kim sent me a skein, along with a very cool button. Thank you so much, Kim! (There are a lot of neckwarmers being made over at Chronic Ennui and TLCknits.)
Not only did I make one for Libby, I also made one made for myself .
How about that for yardage? Two gifts out of one skein? Gotta love that! Super fast, super easy, and I can almost guarantee, it is quicker to knit than to photograph yourself wearing it.

And now, after looking at the other photos, I am off to move my button to make it tighter.

gratitude

Really, I am thankful for so many wonderful things. Obviously, the obvious. Health, family, home, safety, friends. A few others, I wanted to share.
Clasic Elite's yarn, charmed (oh, does it feel good in my hands) :: the (new to me)new site for cookies to help me with our cookie of the week (it turned out more like cake, but was delicious) :: the movie sweet november (one of my favorite movies, keep the tissues near.)
Our thankful tree, filled with old thanks. ( I save the leaves every year. We have five years of leaves.)
Making leaves of new thanks.
Thank you for all your blogs, and the inspiration you give to me. And, thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy lives to stop by my little space. It really means a lot.
Have a wonderful thanksgiving.

finished

Andrew wanted nothing to do with modeling his sweater. But a one mile drive with permission to throw rocks and the potential to get wet and muddy? He was in!Andrew, 8,( favorite book: cat in the hat)
All right, you know it. It's the cobblestone pullover from Interweave Knits. Jared did a fantastic job designing a sweater for everyone. Men, women, boys and girls. Anyone could wear it.
Pattern: Cobblestone Pullover, by Jared Flood of brooklyntweed, Interweave Knits Fall '07
Yarn: Classic Elite, skye tweed, #1221, 8 balls.
Needles: size 7
I sat in the dentist office last week knitting on this, when the hygienist asked if I was making this for my daughter. I know the yarn has flecks of pink in it, but he loves it. Hey, boys look great in pink!
Modifications: O.K., here is what I did to make it to fit an eight year old. Cast on 140 st. Garter on the bottom is 1 inch. The garter st up the side has 12 stitches. So, the front and back have 58 stitches. The body (up until the underarm) measures 13 inches. For the sleeves, I cast on 40 stitches, one inch of garter, and increased until I had 56 stitches. The sleeves measure 15 inches. (They are a little long.) As far as the yolk, I always had 2 inches less than the patterns smallest size. I also did one less short row in the first set of short rows, and one less in the second set. Also, I cast off using size 10 needles. (That took three tries to get right.)
Thanks so much for the all of the encouragement on getting this finished. Now comes the hardest part. Getting a good photo, for the Christmas card, in their sweaters.

kisses

This is one of my favorite hat patterns. The absolute quickest knit, and a great gift. I made Andrew one last year, and he wears it all of the time. I have had to sew the streamer back on a few times. While playing football at recess, the boys grab it to try to stop him. I would just love to see that little boy standing there holding the hershey kiss streamer, as Andrew keeps running.
I am happy to check two gifts off of my list.
It is the meathead hat from Larissa. Her knitalong book will be out in March, and you can preorder it here. Although, anyone that sends $4.50 to Larissa's paypal account, at dumbmail AT larissabrown DOT net, can receive the pattern via pdf form. The pattern has two sizes, with children wearing the small size. Check out the flickr group for ideas on embellishments, or add a streamer out of interfacing for a hershey kiss.

And speaking of kisses, have you seen all of the new flavors? Hot chocolate, peppermint, coffee, coconut cream, cherry cordial, the list goes on. I, of course, had to buy many bags of several different flavors. My favorite? Hands down, mint truffle.

Enjoy your weekend, and I hope it is full of kisses!

eight

I know, don't say anything. I can't believe that my youngest is eight. It really is such a shocker.
Monday, Andrew turned eight. But in true youngest child fashion, I am posting about it three days late. This is the child that always has a smile for you. Happy go lucky. The sweet little boy that completed our family.
Yes, the birthday fairy came. And as always, a wish was made.
And as always, I hope it comes true.
So, the ages are back to the even year. Twelve, Ten, Eight. For some reason, I always like the odd years. Until of course, they are Thirteen, Eleven and Nine. Ouch!
Knitting has been happening. Andrew's cobblestone is finished and is patiently awaiting a photo shoot. Soon, I hope.

arrivals

I had three very exciting arrivals yesterday. Two came in the form of mail. The kind of mail that you can't wait to open. My first issue of MixTape. Have you seen this fabulous little zine? Justine and Nichola are the editors and publishers. It is packed full of crafty inspiration from crafty bloggers all over the world. It is really, really fantastic!
The second was a box from my secret pal that was packed full of fall! The deal with the swap was, you knit one sock, and ship it off to your pal who knits the second one for herself. Ann made this sock for me, and I can't tell you how much in love I am with it. Ann did an unbelievable job, and I am in awe of all of the tiny stitches. The fit is perfect, as is the color! Thank you Ann, really, you couldn't have chosen a more perfect fit for me! I really can't wait to cast on for the second, while drinking some of that delicious tea, and burning my new candle!

Chalet Socks from Folk socks by Nancy Bush. Shelridge Farm Soft Touch Ultra 100% wool.
Size 1 needles. (oh my)
My third arrival was my mother. She is visiting for a few days and I am loving every minute of it. All we want to do is knit. But, I guess you already knew that.
Hope everyone had a fabulous weekend.