A Wee Bit of Christmas

I know, I shouldn't be blogging about Christmas just yet. But for me, preparation and planning is part of savoring the Holidays.

My sisters and my mom have always had a Christmas tea in preparation for Christmas and Christmas present making. This year it came a bit later in the season, but I wonder why....

It was a fun afternoon -- quite busy now that there are five little ones to look after after and a sixth one on the way. Mom did a Christmas craft with the kids, which they loved. I was torn between the Christmas craft and sitting on the couch with H knitting.

I chose to knit and worked on Baby John's Christmas Stocking! Here is the cuff - Norwegian Snowflakes. The background is a red that I overdyed in the crockpot and the white is some lovely Cascade 220 that I had lying around.... I'm falling in love with Cascade 220 again. Can you believe it? But it is the workhorse of yarns... but more on that at another time.

Happy Holiday Knitting everyone!

HiyaHiya Interchangeable Needles

I finally received the long awaited HiyaHiya Interchangeable Steel Needle Set I had ordered in the summer. And I think I really like them.

The set comes in a sweet little case, very handy for stashing in your knitting bag.

I purchased the small needle set which comes with #2 - #8 needles. The needles screw in without a tool, something I love. I am always hunting around in my Harmony needles for the little key.
The case itself has two great pockets. One inside and one on the backside of the case.

Four cables are included 16", 32", 40" & 47". Because you can create a 16" circular needle with this set the needles themselves are a little shorter than say, the Harmony set which does not have the option of creating a 16" circular needle. Because of the shorter needles some people may not like the HiyaHiya needles. However, for me, the 16" option is worth it! I use a range of needle lengths when creating a sweater.

Where can you order them? Stitches & Scones. And at $67.50 it's really a great deal!

Raking Leaves

It's time to rake leaves again. Some people prefer to "blow" the leaves. But I think there is something nice about raking and hearing the rustle of the leaves instead of the loud whirl of the blower engine.

I bundled Baby John up in his woolies and pushed him out on the deck to get his daily "airing" while I raked. He promptly fell asleep with his nook in his mouth.

Tonia notice the hat -- I love it. One of the nice features of his little "helmet" hat are the ear flaps! Love it! Did it come from Itty Bitty Hats by Susan B. Anderson?

When I realized I didn't have the bags to dispose of the leaves I raked them into piles anyways and decided I'd bag them another day. So now we have all these little piles all over our back lawn.


My reward for raking was a hot cup of tea. Baby John's reward for being so good was some "playtime" in his crib. His Grandma and Grandpa Wall made him the cutest mobile. I just got it hung this past Saturday, much to Baby John's delight. He LOVES it. Yesterday he figured out that I'm the one that makes it go round. Now whenever it stops turning he whimpers until I come back and give it another spin! Ha! Smart kid.

The Wooly Hugger

I just finished a fun knit. It's a short sleeve tunic vest I designed with three leftover skeins of Bartlett Wool.

People often complain about "real" wool. You know, the rough, good stuff. But I love it. Real wool is extremely warm and comfortable. It often lasts longer than the over processed wool. When I am knitting with real wool I feel like I am getting back to the roots of knitting - the historic, time-honored way of knitting.

I always wash my Bartlett wool before I knit with it. When you receive it in the mail it still has some of the spinning oil on it, making it hard and scratchy. Once you throw it in the sink with a good capful of Eucalan wool wash it feels as soft as sheepsdown and is as welcoming as a good cup of tea.

I have named this little vest, The Wooly Hugger because it is so warm and comfortable. I.e. so very "sheepy." No, it's not a pattern ... yet. I've just been having fun knitting!

Speaking of real wool. I love what Rowan has done - offer sheep-breed-specific yarn. The sheep breeds are mainly British breeds such as Bluefaced Leiceister, Black Welsh, Brown Jacob, Suffolk and Shetland but they are wonderful.

I wish more companies would offer sheep-breed-specific yarn. Perhaps Clara Parkes new book "The Knitter's Book of Wool," will spur them on and more real, wooly goodness will be at our fingertips.

The View

This is the view out my studio window. No wonder I'm inspired to knit with orange, I've been gazing at it every day.

Have you ever had the thought, "I wish fall would last forever?" Perhaps it is me. But I do. I love fall, the crisp air, the smell of the leaves, cinnamon spicing up the kitchen, mugs of steaming tea and platefuls of molasses cookies.

I've begun to see more bare trees amongst the glorious ones. Ahh... time is passing too fast. It was just yesterday I was bring home my 5 lb, 4oz baby. Today I was dancing to "It's a Wonderful World," with my 10 lb, 5 oz baby. In just two months he is nearly doubled. Where does the time go?


You know, it takes time to knit a beautiful garment. But that is also what is so precious about that garment. In a hand knit sweater you have captured a bit of time. Many of my sweaters hold memories of what was happening to me around the time I knit them. The memories make the sweaters sweeter and dearer to me.

Capture and savor some time today, if you can.

My Orange Project

I realized that every autumn for the past three years I have cast on an orange project at some point during the autumn. I know the vivid orange leaves must stir up some innate "orange desire," within me because I have no other way of explaining it.

Three years ago there was a horrid orange vest that end up being felted to use for kids projects. Two years ago there was another orange mess that didn't make it to the "finished" section of my studio. One year ago there was beautiful alpaca/merino roving that got spun up and then knitted up into my Cozy Cable Jacket. Somehow I am missing that sweater. I have not been able to find it in my sweater bin. And then this year there is this new design on my needles.

I am really enjoying it. The design is, again, top down. I just love seamless construction. The design starts out with a k1, p1 stitch and then flows into a ....... well, you'll just have to stay tuned for the finished object and the pattern.

But it's going to be fun! I can promise that!

October Apples

One weekend in October JK, baby John and I dressed in our wooliest handknits and went apple picking. Handknits are definitely made for apple picking days.

JK enjoyed carrying baby John in the snuggly.

I enjoyed having my hands free to pick apples.


We made a stop in the orchard store for apple slushes at the end.