Love my blankie

I missed posting in January, but it was for a good reason.  I wanted to be able to show off my progress on my Marie Wallin Fair Isle Club 5 blanket.  I'm loving this project so much!

Isn't it gorgeous?  And I'm very happy with how knitting the color work flat is working for me.  Yay!

I don't think I ever posted a picture of the hat I gave to DH for Christmas.  Well, here it is on DH's head.  I took this picture when we were shoveling the driveway.  Knock on wood, we haven't had to do that often this season!

This is the Mill Hill Toque by Andrea Rangel in Brooklyn Tweed Shelter.  (Isn't he a cute husband?)

We had a bit of unwanted excitement one day when it was very windy and blustery out.  The power went out a bit after 4pm one day.  With our record in this neighborhood of not getting our power back for over a week at a time, I was not a happy camper.  But luckily, we were only out of power for something over 4 1/2 hours.  Our across the street neighbors were not so lucky -- they were out of power for more like 11 hours.  The culprit?  A huge branch that split off from the main trunk of an evergreen in our neighbor's yard.  DH grabbed a picture of it before it was carted away by the town the next day.

We were actually blocked in on one end of the street by this tree trunk, and by a downed power line on the other end of the street after the power went out.  But again, luckily, that situation was taken care of within those 4 hours.  

We have always known that Mia is fond of coffee -- she has never actually had coffee, but she loves to attack mugs that once had coffee in them, and once she attacked a Keurig cup.  lol!  But she never really seemed all that thrilled by catnip.  She would be jazzed about a catnip toy for a little bit, but not as much as a good empty cup that smelled like coffee.  Well, that seems to have changed!  I bought her a catnip snake, and she absolutely loves it.  She wanted it even before I got it out of the packaging it arrived in!

The toy has very very strong catnip in it, so that might be the secret!  I'm happy she's so enamored.  lol!

End of another year....

I can't believe it's the end of another year!  This keeps happening, doesn't it?  Christmas has come and gone, and with it a couple more finishes -- for one of which no picture exists at the moment.  But anyway, I will show my first, big project.  It's this.

It's Marie Wallin's Fair Isle Club 5 blanket, the Moroccan Tiles Throw.  I'm using the kit for the throw, and I do love the colors.  For the first time, I'm knitting color work flat!  I followed Marie Wallin's advice and am working the purl side using her simpler drop and pick up method, as opposed to trying to do it two handed as I usually do color work.  I found in the past that if I try to do two handed color work on the purl side, for some reason my tension is ridiculously loose and just doesn't work out.  So Marie Wallin's method it is!  I'm enjoying the knit, although I have to be aware of my tension and keep on the alert.

Next, my finished hat -- at least one of them.  I finished the Mill Hill Toque by the same designer, but have not taken a pic on the owner's head yet (DH's).  But here is the Botanical Beach hat, on DH's head even though it now resides on DS's head and in DS's home.

I managed not to get a picture of the recipient in the hat before he left.  Sigh.

I also knitted the Nice and Knit Beanie, using a skein of their yarn.  I enjoyed the mindless knit very much.

I need to find a nice, fluffy pompom for it, or make one -- if I can find my pompom maker.

Christmas was very nice, if way too short.  Mia, of course, disapproved, taking up her usual spot on the back of the rocking chair.

But we opened presents around her, and we also managed to make our annual dumplings the day before.

I think DS has officially taken over the kneading of the dough for the skins, and the rolling out of the skins as well.  He loves doing it, and I love the luxury of not doing it.  lol!

The fun part is that DD has again taken up knitting!  She finished a bulky hat from a kit.

And over Thanksgiving, she picked up the scarf that she had started a few Christmases ago.  I'm happy she is trying knitting again. 

And now it's New Year's Eve, which is hard to believe.  Here's to a very happy, very healthy, and very prosperous New Year for us all.  Thanks to everyone who still follows my blog.  :D