A Family Who Crafts Together...

Well I don't know what else they do. But we crazy Gnomes made some Holiday Ornaments.

Every year that Mr. Gnome and I have been together we have gotten a new ornament that reflects what we have done that year. This year the three of us made 8 ornaments. It was a lot of fun, Little Bug is very proud of hers.

Then Little Bug made this for her Daddy.

She likes to paint.

Our Thanksgiving weekend was nice. We ate and did a lot of stuff together. Here is an inside view of the Mashed-Potato Garlic Pie, just because I thought it looked so cool. And of course the obligatory four more dishcloths.

Turkeyless Day

Growing up whenever another kid found out I didn't eat meat they'd look at me with such confusion and ask what I ate for Thanksgiving. I' respond with just as much confusion, "food." I knew that everyone ate Turkey but I didn't think that was all they ate. Not until I went to my in-laws for Thanksgiving. They have a giant turkey and mashed everything else. It's as if their teeth are only good for the turkey and they need to be able to gum the rest of the dinner. There is mashed potatoes, mashed sweet potatoes, mashed squash and mashed beets. Now I love squash, one of the best parts about the fall is squash, but mashed squash is nasty. I had never had mashed squash and never understood people who could say they didn't like squash. It is all clear to me now.

Now that we have moved so far away from family Thanksgiving is just the three of us. I love it. I love to cook and love the excuse to make a big meal. I also love left overs. I love to have a day of just hanging around the house with no reason to go out.

Our menu:

Garlic Mashed Potato Pie

Gravy

Chestnut and Apple Stuffing

Cranberry Sauce

Salad

Candied Ginger Pumpkin Pie

Teeth needed.

Leaves above are decorated by Little Bug there are a lot taped all over the Dinning Room and Living Room.

Hat Spoiler

Someone might see this before tomorrow. Maybe. This hat is for a friend's son, I had made her other son a hat a while back and it only seems fair. Knit on size 6 dpns with my favorite squigglies on the top. It rolls down more when on a head so it is longer than it looks. This is how much yarn was left over.

I have also finished my little brother's hat. Woo HOO finishing Holiday knitting!!

I'm not sure how I feel about the nubby on the top. This was knit up on size 7 flat then sewn up. Seriously like knitting the hats in the round more! No sewing! And so much easier to try on as you go.

And last but not least:

Four more dishcloths! I really like the top two. Not so crazy about the green one. Little Bug picked the combo for the red and blue one. Total is up to 8! Which means 20 more!

Them

The other day a friend was over and she asked how many projects I had going. The answer was (and still is) four. She didn't believe me; thought it was more. I was only talking about my knitting. I didn't include the mysterious pile of fabric, which is knitting related. Or the strange and anal thing I do with old cooking magazines (nothing to do with knitting). Or the rest of the curtains I still want to sew. Well "want to" in that way I want curtains but don't want to sew but know I'll never find what I want in a store. And I really didn't include the knitting projects to be that are sitting in the closet and in my head.

Then I was driving with Mr. Gnome and told a woman to get herself and her ugly orange scarf out of the way. She was walking in the middle of the parking lot, and "told" meaning the windows were up and she never even looked in my general direction. It was an ugly orange scarf. Mr. Gnome's response: "Was that a knit, purl, overhanded wrap around weave or what?". Yes, those are quotes because that really is what he said. The scarf, by the way, was woven, not knit.

I was going to show more dishcloths but the batteries for the camera have died. And apparently, after trying three more sets all of our rechargeables are dead. So until next time with more dishcloths and probably some hats.

One of those days

Yesterday was just one of those days where everything seems to fall over, spill or just get messed up. Mr. Gnome came home early and sick. He went to bed with 103degree fever. Followed shortly by getting out of bed the throw up. I was then looking out the window at a leaf caught in a spider's web when I saw green sparks from the electric line (really, I don't' usually just look out a window, what were the chances of me seeing this?). A squirrel went flying across the neighbor's yard, got up, and ran up a tree to sit on a branch twittering away. We had no power. It was dusk. I find the flashlights and then find Little Bug scaling the shelves in the pantry in the dark. Later I am with the sick husband. I go to the kitchen and find Little Bug climbing onto the counter with just her flashlight. That was my yesterday.

Today the power is back on, the husband is mostly better, and the Little Bug has given up her need to climb.

I do have four dishcloths finished.

Yesterday I had thought I would post a weekly dishcloth showing. Yesterday I was shown how I cannot commit myself to such a thing. So I will show you them when I show you them. And that will be that.

Is this healthy?

Yes, it's all dishcloth yarn.

I finished the prototype dishcloth. I learned a bit doing this first one. Such as it looks weird in one color. She suggests doing the first in one color to get used to the pattern. I used the Christmas yarn I had since I didn't want to give someone a Christmas dishcloth. The pattern is very fun to do and rather addictive. I'm a bit concerned that the amount I like it might reflect how much I'll dislike it after the 26th.

I got to a stopping point on my brother's hat.

I ran out of yarn....

Sew More

I finished the living room curtains. There are now two windows that look like this. They remind me of a medieval circus. And I think I'm ok with that. The polka dot fabric I had gotten to back the T-Shirt blanket and I had a bunch left over. I got the stripe fabric for the curtains but after making the dinning room curtains I was feeling they needed a bit of something. I'm just not that nice and fancy or formal or whatever of a person. I realized the polka dots worked and feel a lot better about these curtains. .

I also made Little Bug a curtain for her bedroom door. You see our bedroom doors have windows. And while that is quite cool it also lets light into a dark bedroom when the hallway light is on. To the left hallway view. To the right in the bedroom view.

I have come to a conclusion about the Christmas knitting dilemma. I say screw anyone who says I can't give dishcloths two years in a row. Heck, maybe it should be a tradition. Thus I give you Christmas Dishcloth Extravaganza 2007! I am going to make these. I found them on Ravelry. Pretty cool huh?

Chanukah Comes Early

I just couldn't wait any longer I gave Mr. Gnome his hat.

I finished this a few weeks ago and have been really pleased with it. But afraid to be too pleased since he hadn't tried it on. (Not to mention I couldn't Blog about it due to his reading of the blog OR put it on Ravelry since he looks at the Flickr account too!) This is knit with Gedifra, a wool acrylic blend. It is really soft. I got the stitch pattern from Vogue's Stitchionary 3 and used his old favorite hat to give me the dimensions. Mr. Gnome has a very old, very worn out light-weight hat that he loves. He had made noises about how he needed a new one last winter when I was even newer to knitting. I got the hint. He is quite pleased. I am now making my little brother (he's 21 and much taller than my but it's still fun to say) a hat out of the same yarn, different pattern. Pictures to come.

Also on the FO wagon. (When it rains it pours)

The Forest Canopy Shawl! This was so much fun to knit! I love the yarn and how it looks in this shawl. You really can't see how it looks with that bright green background. I will get a good picture someday I promise! This is for my MIL, hopefully it is good enough, probably not....

Yesterday I went to a new LYS that opened up really near where I live. I got some yarn that will hopefully be mittens for my SIL. Doing the gauge swatch. As much of a joke as that is.

Speaking of the joke that is the gauge swatch. The Cabaret sweater is coming along. I had to to do some .... modifications.... do to gauge swatch lies. Lies I tell you! I have faith that it will turn out fine. DeNile ain't just a river in Egypt!

How often

do you find This in your washing machine? This along with the light up shot glasses (yes, plural it's an even dozen) Mr. Gnome gave Little Bug having just left me shaking my head.