The Last

I was able to squeeze out two more FOs for the year.


Both are from the Mama Janes pattern. This first is size medium. I used Donegal Studio Tweed, my mom brought it back from Ireland last year. It was a perfect amount for this project and I love it. It's the perfect shade of blue and it's tweed! They are nice and warm and cute. The pattern is a piece of cake and really quick. I cast on Christmas Day and finished the 28th. And now I have cozy toes.


After making my Mama Janes I adjusted the numbers and used the techniques to make the Bug some Kiddo Janes. Plane red yarn held with the fun fur I got at the Stitch N Pitch this year. Very funky and fun. She is thrilled with them and now also has cozy toes.

Clue 1

So like I was saying I've joined a mystery shawl knit a long. Last night I finished Clue 1 and started on Clue 2. Half way through the first row of Clue 2 I thought, "Hey I should have taken a picture of my finished Clue 1 bit." So I give you Clue 1 + two rows of Clue 2.
This is a bit of challenge, lace being one of my weakest knitting skills. At least crazy involved lace and I've never worked with this many beads. There will be over 2500. The bead placement really slows things down but oh it is loverly! Mr. Gnome is working every night this week so I'm getting a lot done; Clue 2 was only posted on Saturday, I'm almost keeping up. After this week things go back to his usual two or three nights and I doubt I'll continue to keep up. I just can't knit lace when he's home. Ah well. It will get done when it gets done and I will enjoy doing every bit of it.

The Garland's True Home

The garland that had been holding up our holiday decorations is finally in its intended place.

This used four old sweaters from our closet and five sweaters from a thrift shop. The red one on the farther right here is from the closet I'd gotten it in a clothing exchange at an old job. It never fit me well and I never wore it much. The other red one is from Goodwill and that pattern was on the collar and sleeves of the sweater.

This stripey one was from goodwill and had been a short sleeve sweater. I don't really understand wool short sleeve sweaters. The one below it on the string is also from goodwill it had some simple gray and white color work on the sleeves and color that got lost in the felting.

This blue one with the beads had been mine and I had loved it to death. The colorwork and beads had been on the bottom and the sleeves.

The orange one was from goodwill and had cables. The cables turned into a nice texture when felted. There was also a black cardigan from my closet and a navy blue tweed sweater from good

will. And lastly, now this is confession time, I felted the sweater I made for Mr. Gnome oh so long ago. It was my first adult sweater and it looked like my first sweater. It didn't fit him well and every time he wore it all I saw were the mistakes. So if you can find pieces of a thick brownish greenish in the garland that is Mr. Gnome's sweater.

This year in Socks

January Socks

February Socks

March Socks

April Socks

May Socks

June Socks

July Socks

August Socks

September Socks

October Socks

November Socks

December Socks

It was a fun challenge and I'm glad I finished. I really thought it would be harder than it was. Without this challenge I wouldn't have started my morning routine I blogged about a few days ago and that would be a real shame. I made two holiday gifts, two socks for Mr. Gnome and two pairs of knee highs.

December Socks

It felt like a close one this month but as usually happens the foot flew right on by. Nothing like only having pattern on half of what you are knitting to make things go faster. An argument for cuff down socks. Get the most tedious part done first.

Close Up

Back. I love Cookie A.'s Socks. They are so intricate and thought out. The pattern going down onto the heel flap. The traveling cables. The different cables on the foot and the leg. Lovely lovely. Theses socks aren't for me they will be at Knitty Couture.

Goodmornings with Socks

Every morning I am woken up by a little Bug. We get up I make myself coffee and get her a banana and a piece of cheese. She likes to wrap a piece of cheese around her banana. I don't ask. We then sit down in the living room. Me with the sock, Bug with a book. Generally we get up around 7. At 8 we go in and wake up Mr. Gnome and start our day. That quite beginning of the day is so nice and when it doesn't happen for whatever reason the day is just usually a bit harder.
The sock in case you are wondering, and I know you are, is Cookie A.'s Stricken and yarn is Lorna's Laces.

Ooops....

This is what the Bug and I made for Mr. Gnome this year. It's from Handmade Home (I really don't think I can be told I don't give gift hints). Bug saw it when we first borrowed the book and proclaimed immediately that she wanted to do that. I suggested she make one for each of her grandparents. This was a very rare case where I say make this and she was all about doing it. She has only recently started drawing people. We used old clothes of her's for the back and found the ribbon in a consignment store. Each of he five grandparents got a bookmark. And I didn't take a picture of a single one. sigh...... Hopefully Mr. Gnome's will give you a vague idea of what we did.
I also made a friend a pair of fingerless gloves and didn't take a picture of those. Really off my game this year!

A Hat for Mr. Gnome

This year I made Mr. Gnome a hat. I had wanted to make him a new one last year but it didn't happen so I was determined this year.

Mr. Gnome likes trees, mostly pictures of grey trees but I didn't like the look of a grey for this pattern.

The pattern is Green Squirrel. I made it wider by adding another tree pattern on the back and taller by making the trunks longer.

Holiday Scones

This year instead of making cookies for Mr. Gnome to give to his co-workers I made Scones. Why? I don't know. I haven't been much in the spirit and I just didn't feel like making cookies.

I used the scone recipe in Vegan Brunch making the Chocolate Chip and Apple Scones. Each person got two of each. There were a few left over for us and now this is all that is left. And they won't be around much longer. Mr. Gnome will probably have the last chocolate one tonight and I have breakfast plans for the apple one. They were great not too dry at all and a bit flaky.

Soon my pretties; soon there will be knitting.

nothing

Nothing in the knitting world to report. The red hart is done and almost out of the house. Oh thankful day! I have one more Christmas present to finish. At some point there will be a few reveals. Today I joined a Mystery Shawl Along. It starts in a week. I've been wanting to do one for a long time and just haven't had the nerve. We'll see how it goes; I think it will be a bit of a challenge but that's a good thing. Stretch the brain and all. Soon my pretties soon there will be knitting to show...... Hopefully.....

Felt Garland

In continuation of my love for The Handmade Home I've been making the garland. Using sweaters from our closet and from Goodwill. The bug did some of the cutting of the shapes but she found cutting the thick felt to be a bit hard for her little hands. She has been helping me string the little squares.

We had decided not to attempt a tree this year because of a certain little kitten who climbs Everything. We had thought to just do some greenery on the mantle. Then I started this project and thought it would look quite nice instead.

This is just four of what will someday be more and will have a different home. Pictures to come of them in their permanent home.

Meanwhile Attica has found a wonderful place to sleep. Doesn't that look like the best place to take a nap; a big pile of wool.

casting on.....

I started a sweater. Or rather I restarted a sweater. Marseillesis the sweater I started for a fall knit along a few months ago but we didn't get a long and I just wasn't in the right frame of mind. It really was just me. Now I'm ready to give it another go and we are getting on wonderfully. Unfortunately there are two more holiday things that need to be finished. I also agreed to knit someone I knows sons hats and now scarfs. Now a word of caution when someone asks you to do this and then offers to get the yarn themselves find a way to say oh no that is just part of the service I provide. Or you'll find yourself neck deep in Red Heart Yarn.... Thus my sweater, made with Julia which is a wool/baby mohair/alpaca blend and thus much more appealing than Red Heart, will have to sit and wait for me.

Gingerbread House

Mr. Gnome and The Bug made a Gingerbread house today. They wanted to last year but it just didn't happen. We got a kit for a Gingerbread Tree in a White Elephant exchange and they did that instead. It wasn't much to look at or very interesting to make and it tasted awful.The recipe is from The Joy of Cooking Cookies. I've had this book for a while and have always wanted to make this house. You know the crazy part of me that likes to do the really involved stuff. I made the house shapes a few days ago. They are really good and wonderful not to hard texture and taste quite nice. Now that not too hard thing is awesome when it comes to eating.... when it comes to building materials not so much. The front of the house started to buckle under the weight of the roof. One roof piece is also not quite flat. Thus only one side of the roof stays up. Ah well. They had a lot of fun decorating it and it'll but just much fun to eat.