So, that little guy saw his shadow, forecasting six more weeks of winter weather.
As a knitter, you've got to admit, that isn't so bad.

This weekend I:
::watched the sun set::slept in, twice::had friends for dinner::ran into a dear friend::skipped yoga

Good morning last Saturday in January. Nice to see you.
I spotted these cookies over here and they have been calling my name ever since. Again, in an attempt to satisfy all cookie lovers in my family, I doubled the recipe and divided it in half. Half the dough got regular semi-sweet chips and a roll in raw sugar. The other half got mint chocolate chips and a roll in confectioners sugar. I feel like I say this a lot, however, these were AMAZING! And the dough? Well, let me just say that this dough is some of the best dough I have ever tasted. Which is huge because if given the choice I always choose vanilla over chocolate. The melted butter, along with the other ingredients, results in warm, melt in your mouth, absolutely can't stop eating, cookie dough.
I pulled out the sewing machine on Thursday and it felt really great. My sister asked if I would make her bible study girls tissue cozies. (Thanks, Julie! :) ) I make a small change to the tutorial...I like to overlap the top piece.... so I cut two 6x4 pieces and two 6x4 1/2 pieces. I sort of drug my heals at this request but after I got started, loved it. It was the perfect little project to bring back my sewing mojo. Although, I will not let myself sew another thing until I finish this sweater.

Dear Self,
It is no secret that you love to knit sweaters. In fact, it is your most favorite thing to knit. You love to knit a front, a back, and two sleeves, sew the sweater together and wear the sweater. However, in the future, I would like for you to pay special attention to the FINISHING section of your pattern before starting a project. You like patterns that give a few directions, like: block, sew seams, weave in ends. You actually don't mind if it says to sew on a few buttons. So, please pay close attention to the "size" of the FINISHING directions. If the directions to FINISHING take up an entire page (almost) then chances are you will probably loose some sort of steam and it will seem like a "chore" to finish that project. Even if you remember trying on the sweater and LOVING it and spending the next few weeks thinking of nothing but that sweater. And even if the yarn you are using is some of the most delicious yarn you have used.

I don't have one of those fancy ball winders. I love them, but have always thought, hey, my mom has wound countless balls of yarn for years, why can't I? So, I wind. And multi-tasking becomes a little more creative. I answer the phone. I cook dinner. I write e-mails. I bake cookies. I wear my yarn as a necklace and throw my ball into my pocket. Sometimes I walk around like this for hours. It works.
And speaking of cookies. I saw Rosemary made these, and Melana made these, and then I had to make these. I doubled the recipe, and then divided the dough into fours. One plain, one with raisins and walnuts, one with raisins, and one with chocolate chips. A cookie that fits all tastes in my family.
My favorite? (ABSOLUTE new favorite, as in can't WAIT to have for breakfast favorite?) Hands down, raisins and walnuts.

I'm sure you have been talking about it. And I am sure, like me, looking at those faces makes you feel helpless. I am also sure you have heard of Craft Hope for Haiti, but just in case you haven't, take a look here. 100% of the proceeds from the shop go to Doctors without Borders. I donated that pair of toast mitts. They may not show up in the shop for a while as the list of donations is quite large. How awesome is that!

A great friend of mine e-mailed me a recipe for persimmon cookies. The next thing I knew I was on a hunt for persimmons. To tell you the truth, I had no idea what a persimmon even looked like. Honestly.
The recipe calls for a cup of persimmon pulp. Three persimmons ($1.50 each!) yielded a little less than a cup. It took them about a week to ripen, although I did read that if you want them to ripen quickly you can pop them into the freezer for about 24 hours.
Persimmon Cookies:

Do you know what I dislike more than getting gum stuck in hair?
Getting silly putty stuck in my knitting.

January 11th already? That is really crazy. I'm not exactly sure what I have been doing (knitting, yes) with my time, but I am thinking the school delays and cancellations haven't let me find my "new year" rhythm.
We have been waking up to winter wonderland a lot around here. It's been really beautiful. The snow clothes have been put on and taken off so many times I can't believe they aren't worn out.
And their new thorpes have been well loved for the last week. The yarn was great to work with. No complaints about them being itchy like the last ones I made. If you haven't made a thorpe yet, you really should. Easy, fun and cute to boot. I did have to re-teach myself the half double crochet stitch using this helpful video.

Here's to 2010. Here's to... projects to knit::dreams to dream::friends to meet::waters to swim::recipes to try::cookies to bake::quilts to make::projects to knit::trails to hike::lessons to learn::hugs to give::books to read::moments to capture::projects to sew::sunsets to see::kisses to give::wine to try::bread to bake::tears to cry::picnics to take::music to hear::hugs to get::laughs to hear::projects to knit::thoughts to think::coffee to drink::sunrises to see::movies to watch::times to treasure::beaches to walk::kisses to get::bikes to ride::friends to see::projects to knit::photos to take::people to meet::things to learn::memories to make::places to visit::letters to write::food to eat::life to live.

So, I saw Kim's post and the next thing I knew, I was buying this pattern searching my stash for this (shepherd worsted) yarn, and casting on.
I ended up giving it (reluctantly) to my mother in law. ( I really wanted to keep it.) If you are a first timer to cables, this is the project for you.
We use our cookie press to make cookies every Christmas. Just as my mother did for us and her mother did for her. Always using the camel, the tree and the wreath disc. This year we tried another disc after seeing a friends.
You press it into one long strip, sprinkle with the nonpareils, (which just by chance are small enough to get caught in the ridges and don't roll off your cookie sheet!) and then cut it into the size of the cookie you want. (All before baking.) These were a great addition. I also think these would be great for a birthday party.

Well, Santa came, despite some naughtiness that went on throughout the year. I currently have happy, content people and a very wonderful mess on the living room floor.

She loved mine so much, she started saving.
Hers and his sweaters, that no longer fit, have a hole or are simply worn a little too much.
I cut 13 x 13 inch squares out of ten sweaters. Using the front and back, this gave me 20 squares. I wanted it a little bigger and didn't want to waste any of those (cashmere!) sweaters, so I used the sleeves and pieced them together in order to get five more squares. At first I had reservations about using the front of the cardigan, and now that is my favorite square. Love the buttons. For the back I used some camel colored pendleton wool that I purchased for $1.00 at our church harvest fair.
This may be my favorite gift I'll be giving this year.

It took them 2 seconds to pick out colors for their new thorpes.

Libby's new hoodie is finally finished. I don't know exactly why it took so long because on size 8 needles it should have been a breeze. However, that seed stitch hood put me on the slow track. (Probably a reason I haven't worked on that seed stitch throw.)

So, those Nikon camera fairies are the best! Guess what I go back? My camera! After only three weeks. I guess it pays to cry, cause the nice girl wrote "rush" on it and they took her seriously. (hmm.. wonder if she wrote anything else? crybaby? and then I thought maybe she sent along the mitts as a bribe or a thank you, which, in that case would have been totally acceptable.) Or maybe they weren't that busy, but either way, I couldn't have been more thrilled.
This was the last photo that shutter took. Yeah, I know. I have no idea why I was photographing bowls in my kitchen either. That's just it. I take so many random photos throughout the day. The girl asked if I was a heavy shooter. Could I have pushed that shutter 100,000 times? That is the average amount of shots these shutters have in their lifetime. (I may have laughed...if I wasn't crying.) Absolutely. And then some. I'm the girl that takes pictures of bowls. Anyhow, I have a new shutter mechanism, a new aperture control unit, a new grip, motor and they updated the firmware and cleaned the imaging sensor. She said I should be good to go for another 100, 000 shots. Hallelujah.

12:10 p.m.
12:31 p.m.
5:00 p.m.

The kids and I decided to get the tree over the past weekend. With husband out of town and it being his birthday and all, we decided that having the tree could be a big birthday surprise upon his return. So, we ventured out. I'd love to say that while the snow was gently falling, thermos's filled with hot cocoa, Christmas music playing, we drove to our local tree farm to cut down a perfectly shaped fresh tree. That didn't happen. Instead, we drove (in the gently falling snow) to our local Home Depot and picked out a perfectly shaped 6-7 ft fraser fir for $37.50. It was one of the first ones we spotted, because of its perfect top. Perfect for our angel topper. The nice guys attached it to the top of my (tall) vehicle and home we went. In the driveway, Charlie (age 14) and I just looked at each other. Where did the nice guys go? It was now up to us to get it off the (tall) vehicle. Okay. I had a plan. We can sort of roll it off the side. It ended up rolling onto my head and hit tip first on the driveway. Oh no, the top! I reassured the kids it was fine.

December Days. For the month of December, I'm back posting again over at Habit. I really loved my month there back in May. This month I'll be joining the other 33 contributers that posted throughout the year. It really is a lovely peek into others lives. The photos are worth a thousand words although the actual wording is short and meaningful. Hope you'll come visit.

Hello December.
I'm really not certain how it rolled around so fast again. It seems like I just packed this advent away. I was happy to pull it out and place it on the white wall. In the newly painted white kitchen. It doesn't seem busy to me like it did last year. I'm assuming it is the white wall.

...one giant pine cone, july '09

I'm sure by now, you have seen and heard about these two terrific books. They are both filled with fabulous projects and information for knitters of all levels. I would be showing you more photos of the contents of each book, however, my camera (MY CAMERA) just went kerplunk and I will be without (WITHOUT) for 4-5 weeks (WEEKS) while Ritz Camera ships it away to the nikon camera fairies where they will try to repair it. You have no idea how much this bums me out. The poor girl behind the counter didn't know what to do when I started to cry. (YES, CRY!) Oh! And to top it off, I left a pair of fingerless gloves (that were my husbands!) on the counter and when I went back to get them they were gone. (LONG GONE!)
Book #1: Nicky Epstein Knitting a Kiss in Every Stitch. Truly one of my favorite books of hers. I love the layout of this book. A chapter each for kids, girls, guys and special friends. An entire book filled with projects to give. (Who says you can't give to yourself?)
The "guys" chapter consists of five projects including these fisherman's gloves. (love)