It's that time of year...

Hello Dear Friends!  It's that time of year already, the time when gift-making is underway in my little world.  The days seem to pass extra fast, bringing the holidays ever-quicker.  Does it feel that way to you too?  I love making gifts.  I love the "slowness" of it in our hurry-scurry world.  But, admittedly, there is a ticking timeline that adds some pressure to the process.  So I've decided to pare down my annual Handmade-Holiday-Gift-List this year.

Waffle Knit Dishcloths

by Homespun Living

Peaches and Cream in ecru and red

sz 7 needles

The mitts I made for the teachers a few years ago were such a big hit, that I decided to make a pair for Youngest's teacher this year...

Those Mitts

by A Friend to Knit With

Alpaca Natural Blends by Bernat in Wheat

sz 7 needles

(cast on 36st instead of 40)

Well that does it for me today.  Thanks for stopping by and for your sweet comments.  Sending you all a little Colorado Sunshine!

Wrapping up before the Big Day

Good Morning Dear Friends!  I got up this morning and got cracking on the last two gifts.  This one just needed all the ends woven in and a ribbon tied 'round...

And just needed to knit the toe of sock #2...

And that concludes the 2010 edition of the Handmade Holiday Gift List!  Hurrah!

I received some wonderful gifts in the mail yesterday from some really wonderful friends.

Dear Julianne sent me two ornaments, one for last year and one for this year...how incredibly sweet is that?  Thank you so much Julianne, you are so kind and thoughtful and I just absolutely adore them!

And thoughtful and talented Harmien sent me this clever ornament.  I just love it!  Thank you Harmien for being such a dear friend!

And then this pretty card with some equally pretty red thread came from sweet Michele W.  Thank you so much Michele for thinking of me, you always make me smile and it seems we're often on the "same wavelength"!

I feel so lucky to have made some really wonderful friendships through blogging.

Thank you everyone.

And a BIG HEARTFELT THANK YOU to each of you who stop by and visit me here.

Wishing each and every one of you a Very Merry Christmas and a Wonderful New Year!

I hope this holiday season finds you surrounded by peace and love.

See you all in the new year!

Hugs, Staci

A small sampling...

of some of the gifts that are arriving at their destinations...

Youngest's teacher had eye surgery on the 8th and will return after Christmas Break.  Everything went well and she is home recovering.  But we felt that she needed a Christmas gift that was just a little bit more special...

Only a couple more gifts to finish and 9 days left...plenty of time, lol!

Two to give and One to finish

Oh, woe is me! 
My coffee maker died last night...RIP my faithful servant.
A replacement will be acquired once the kiddos are taken to school.
Now, on to 2 more for the HHGL*:
A couple of pairs of simple, but cozy gift socks...

56 stitch basic stockinette

size:  women's med

yarn:  Patons Kroy Socks Stripes, color #55301 Sultana Stripes

2 skeins:  50g/166yds

needles:  size 3.25mm dpn's

48 stitch stockinette socks with a twisted rib cuff

size:  women's sm/med

yarn:  Patons Kroy Socks FX, color #57242 Clover Colors

2 skeins:  50g/166yds

needles:  size 3.25mm dpn's

Found 9 matching buttons in my stash...to sew in the project from last week.

Hopefully I get around to it today :)

After coffee...

HHGL*:  Handmade Holiday Gift List

Happy Thanksgiving Week :)

Another one crossed off the HHGL*.

The perfect beginning to the day;

coffee and (selfish) knitting

...and a bit of quiet...

The kiddos have the entire week off from school.

And Hubby took the week off from work.

I am woefully behind in visiting everyone's blogs, again.

But I am keeping you all in my thoughts

and wishing each of you a Wonderful Thanksgiving Week!

HHGL*...Handmade Holiday Gift List

I may have...

Finished an ornament...

And sent it off to a friend...

Added delicious organic French soap to spa cloths

and crossed three more names of the HHGL*...

Finally finished a sweater that was begun last summer...

Done some happy dancing...

*HHGL: Handmade Holiday Gift List

Two to give and One to keep

I really think a simple ribbon is all the wrapping a small handknit gift needs.  It lets the focus be on the Handknit :)  A couple of gifts off the handmade list for two very special friends whose birthdays are at the end of the month...

For Shelley:  a long, squishy scarf in greens and blues...

For Kathy:  a soft, drapey plum-colored cowl (sorry it looks more grape in the pic, but it really is plum)...

And for me:  the softest cloud of a shawl, that can be worn bunched and wrapped as a big, cozy scarf...

Or as an airy shawl...

Because I knit these all a while ago, I got careless and threw away the yarn labels and put the needles away (there's already enough clutter with current and wanna-be wip's that I hate to leave stuff lying around from the finished ones.)

But the patterns are all freebies, so here ya go:

Zig Zag Scarf

Ridged Lace Cowl

Stolen Moments Wrap

Happy Knitting and Gifting!!!

In through the front door,

Run around the back,

Out through the window,

And off jumps Jack.

Youngest (8yrs) has been wanting to learn to "knit for real" for a while...no more spool knitting.  And his face lit up when I told him I'd teach him.  Within 30 minutes he was reciting a shortened version of the poem ("in the front, around back, out the window, off jumps Jack") in his head while working very seriously on his stitches. 

And he was Q-U-I-E-T!  Which is saying something because he's a top-volume motor-mouth, lol!

I broke my own personal rule for buying knitting books by getting this one...as it doesn't contain very many projects that I want to make.  My saving grace is that I had a 33% off coupon. 

And that cute yellow cup?  I've liked them for a veeery long time and they're now 75% off at Borders!

BUT, those little hearts on the cover had me!

And I just knew they'd make cute Christmas ornaments!

The 2010-handmade-holiday-gift-production-line has officially begun.

And those little hearts are just rolling off the line!

They are so fun and sweet...

and they make the book purchase totally worth it!

I'm doing mine with worsted weight wool and size 9 needles.

Finished size after felting; approx 3"x3"

Happy Weekend!!!

What could be better

than enjoying my hot chocolate with a candy cane?

I love chocolate-mint combos, and this feels so festive :) So what could be better than my peppermint-hot-chocolate?

Ahhh, knitting a sock out of some very soft, sweetly striping yarn! And we all know how much I LOVE knitting socks, but what could be better than sock-knitting?


Perhaps finishing both socks. And then finding this cute, it-matches-the-gift, leftover-from-a-few-years-ago tag to use for all the pertinent sock care instructions.


So what could possibly be better than all that?


Crossing one more gift off my list. Actually, even better yet, I've been crossing several gifts off the handmade list this weekend! (Sorry, not gloating. O-kaaay, maybe just a smidge of gloating, lol!)


Thanks everyone for all the great feedback about the beading tutorial. Try it, you won't believe how easy it really is...and then you look like a finishing wizard :) There were a couple questions, so I'll answer them quick:

I was asked about knotting the tail after weaving...I don't bother with a knot and I don't worry about it coming loose. But if you want to knot the end, by all means, I think you should.

I trim the edges to within 3-4 "squares" (or 6-8 "threads). And I've never had any problems with those fraying once they're inside the ornament (or pincushion.) I backstitch the edges and that's it. But if you're worried about it coming apart at the seams, you can always use fray-check or such on the edges.

My tutorial is just how I do the beaded edges, I'm sure everyone has their own way. I think you should do whatever you feel comfortable with, that gives you the results that you want :)

And to answer a quick question about the dishcloths...I can get 2 dishcloths out of a solid-colored ball of yarn. There isn't much left over, so I only leave tails about 6-8 inches long to weave in at the end. If you use the variegated yarns, 2 balls will make 3 dishcloths. The washcloths I made use more yarn than the dishcloths because of the larger size.

The dishcloth pattern is a great beginner pattern, it's how my grandma taught me to knit. You learn how to cast on, increase, decrease and bind off. It's all knit stitch, no purling. Google knitting tutorials, there are tons out there. And so what if they're a bit wonky, they still work great in the kitchen!

Thanks for stopping by my neck of the woods! It's Monday, so I hope you have a great one! And if I don't make it back here before Thursday...Happy Thanksgiving dear friends, I have much to be thankful for and that includes all of you!!!

Merry Winter

It feels like winter out already. 7 inches of snow this weekend. There isn't nearly that much on the ground now and the streets are dry. The sun is shining and the skies are a cloudless blue, but it is cold!

A Quaker Year "Merry Winter"

by Homespun Elegance

fabric: 32ct "staci-dyed" linen

fibers: CC Bandana & DMC 731

back

I've stitched this before. And someday I'll stitch it for my tree. But for now, it's one more gift I am happily crossing off my list :)

Thank you for all your sweet comments about my knitting finishes. It means so much to me that you take the time to visit! I've received several questions on various topics, so I'll be posting later this week some answers and such. Toodles for now!