There Are No Christmas Elves.... It's Just Murphy And His Crowd, Incognito

Murphy is at it again. I sat down last night with my Christmas list and realized that I had forgotten a whole family.  This means that I have nine days to knit a pair of Glomitts, a scarf, and weave an afghan! It's a good job I went to lie down last night because I almost fell down when I realized that. So today I started the fifth pair of Glomitts. These are for a boy of 14 years of age. He is a shooter with the JCRs (Junior Canadian Rangers) and he shoots in the championships for the DAR (Daisy Air Rifle) competition. A pair of shooting mittens... this is good. His younger sister is getting a scarf and the wool is in the dye pot as I write. As for the Afghan.... I think I'm going to have an aneurysm.

The Christmas village shelves are now on the floor of the sun room and the Sears outlet has called to say that they don't have room for our tree and could we come pick it up because they are sick of stepping over it! (Sheesh! They only got it this morning). Our Sears outlet is very small. Teapot is going to go and pick it up. (Not the Sears outlet but the tree.) I'm knitting furiously on the Glomitts and forgetting my Cat Bourdhi socks for the time being, (what happened to that miracle?) See what I mean.... Murphy and his crowd of non-elves have moved in and are operating from under the china cabinet in the form of benign dust bunnies.... I knew I should have gotten rid of them weeks ago!

Blogging Has Been Sporadic At Best...

I'm not really sure what is happening with me these days. I've been so down right busy that I don't know my head from my a-- ... well, you get the idea. I finally finished the third pair of Glomitts and got them parceled up and sent off for Christmas along with three other parcels. I'm now finished with getting everything ready to go in the mail... most of it will be late, I have been informed at the post office, so once again I did not beat the clock. I blame it on the fundraiser that called for donations two weeks ago, which took one of my very first pair of Glomitts. (It certainly wasn't my fault when I decided to knit a scarf with not enough silk was it?!)

Speaking of silk... I have decided that everyone on my Christmas list is getting silk socks for Christmas next year.  I began knitting on my Cat Bourdhi socks today and I managed to get the toe done with out buggering anything up.... I'm still a long way from being finished but I think they will be ok. This is the inaugural pair of knitted socks using the Cat Bourdhi method and if the rest goes as well as the toe did then the knitting gods are on my side. (Cat Bourdhi... you rock!) My socks are going to be for me! Now there's a miracle in the making!

My socks are being knit with a space dyed Rideau Arcott (that's wool for you non-spinner types) 2 ply yarn that I spun back in level 1 and have been waiting for the right opportunity to use. This is it. The only thing that I am not so pleased with is the fact that I should be using a set of 3.5 mm dpns (double pointed needles for you non-knitters), and I am using a 2.75 mm set... the knitting is coming out very tight. It will make for a very warm pair of socks, with very little stretch. But I'm ok with that since it might add a little durability to them.

While I feel very relieved that my Glomitt marathon is over I still have two pairs to knit before the 27th. I have a little lee way since the couple that I am knitting them for have gone for a short vacation to the states to visit relatives and won't be back until the 27th.

Christmas is turning out to be the normal fiasco... I thought I had Christmas covered this year with the right gifts gotten or ordered in plenty of time for the big day. But once again the Christmas gods (I wonder if they have anything to do with you know who... I think they are all related to Murphy) have gotten together to play their nasty little Christmas tricks on me... I had decided to order nice gifts from a store that both Teapot and I love in the United States.... and I did so on the 30th of November... I just got notification today that they had shipped my order.....!? " Oh thanks for sending it 10 days before Christmas so that I get it in plenty of time for the big day..."  (are you hearing sarcasm in my voice.....?) Yup, even if there are no more snow falls and the weather doesn't hold anything up, even if some ruddy customs officer who hasn't had enough eggnog gets his hands on it, even if it traveled day and night IT WILL BE A MIRACLE IF I GET IT IN TIME FOR CHRISTMAS. This means that I have one ruddy little gift for Teapot to put under the tree. While everyone else will have tons. (Well maybe not tons.....)Whaaaah! I want to give Teapot nice things for Christmas! It also means that I will have to find the time and the inclination for another long and arduous trip over the snow covered roads to get to the nearest store to find something equally nice to give him so that I don't feel bad for him on Christmas morning opening cards with pictures of the things that he will receive sometime in the future. (It's all about me you know.....) : )

Teapot really is part saint.... (don't laugh mother-in-law).  This same kind of Murphy-finger-in-the-pie fiasco happened a few years ago when I stupidly put all my eggs into one basket and ordered a bunch of stuff from Cabelas and they never called to say that half of the stuff I ordered was on back order.... we were receiving Christmas gifts every few months in the mail until June... (I kid you not!)
Teapot bore it all really well and when I told him today, that I had just received an email saying in effect that his Christmas gifts wouldn't be here until likely a few days after Christmas he just grinned and said, "Christmas in June again?!"  What bugs me most is that I ordered from this crowd (L.L. Bean) because I've never had trouble before with them and this order contains stuff for my parents as well. Argh! Meanwhile I have a bunch of teenagers coming over on Friday night for a sleep over and the Christmas decorations have not made it to the places that they are supposed to be. (As a matter of a fact they are strewn from the Christmas closet to the living room.) 10 days from now this whole thing will be over and once again I'm down to the wire.

No wonder I can't get my head around blogging..... I think I'll go lie down!

I Got An Awesome Hat!!!!

My Secret Santa just sent me an awesome hat... It is warm. It is soft. It is cozy. It is everything a hat should be and I love it.  It looks great on me....... and best of all I love it because it is fun.

See for yourself.....

Great hat!

I could wear it this way.

I could wear it that way!

Well... Maybe not!

This would keep my ears warm?!!!

Henry The 8th...... ?

Maybe if I were the Pope?!!

Henry the 8th with a little height!

What about Mohawk style?!!!

What about bust a gut style?!!!

What about fisherman style..... no eh?!

What about fancy with a roll... ?

In the Too Cool method... I could be a rapper... no... I guess your right.

I look like a duck..... but I could probably carry this look off!!! Quack...

Oh what fun.... I could look like I have a hot water bottle on my head....

I need to go pee!!!!

Perhaps this is best....

Yup this is the way to wear it.....

Hey... this isn't bad either....

Still I liked the Pope best.... or Henry the 8th....

What do you think.... probably that I belong in the mental...

Still Knitting...Blah!

I'm must say that you can overdose on knitting after a while...I have two pairs of Glomitts finished and a scarf that I am working on... here are a couple of pictures...

Slightly blue grey...

Slightly green grey

 

 

 

Knitting from Silk Hankies.

I'm sorry for the quality of pictures (and please don't look at the mess of knitting in the background) but it has been really hard to get a good photo with the computer camera and Teapot won't be home till this afternoon with his camera... maybe I can show better pictures tomorrow.

I am also a part of Canspin and am taking part in the Secret Santa gift exchange so I have made a book mark for my gifty person and I've dyed some Wensleydale fibre for socks and also blended a wool, alpaca, nylon (sparkly stuff) blend for her as well. I'm also gathering together the stuff needed for a friend who lives in New Brunswick to whom I'm send some wool and sari silk blended fibre... I hope they all like these gifts... tomorrow is the last day to get them in the mail and actually get the gifts there in time for Christmas so I am down to the wire.... and working like a fiend... Teapot is home today and I will barely have time to lift my head when he gets here.  But that's what its like this time of the year.... yes?!

After this spurt of energy I will have to get back to the Christmas decorating... Oh and by the way I actually followed through and bought an artificial Christmas tree.... Yes... we are totally embracing the fakeness of the Christmas season and buying a plastic tree.... euuuw! But it can't be helped I will not kill another tree to put lights on it. I just can't do it!


It is a balmy -19 this morning and clear for the first time in three days. We have had snow falling for the last little while and last night was our community light up and Santa Claus parade. We didn't get out to it with my back hurting and then Daughter #1 has a flu... we stayed home.... but we were wishing we could be there. This morning I drove Daughter #2 to school as she had missed the bus and on the way we saw one of the floats.... it was quite spectacular. In the not too distant future I am going to take some pictures of he town square.... it is quite lovely with lights all through the park and the tourist information chalet is decorated to resemble Santa's workshop so you can go right up to the windows and look in on an awesome display. Our town does a lovely job of decorating actually... I'm very proud that HH has such good Christmas spirit... Every year we have a Santa Skate at the arena, the Santa Claus parade and town square light up, not to mention the Christmas craft fair and Santa shuffle, (that's where anyone who wants to can get together in the town square and walk the town to look at the lights of all the houses... usually spontaneous caroling happens along the way... it's quite neat.)

But meanwhile the knitting languishes and I should be working.... I hope you are all getting ready for Christmas with a smile on your face and the sound of silver bells in your heart....

Knit, Knit, Knit.... Again!

I have done pretty much nothing but knit for the last four days. I am finished two pairs of Glomitts and now working on the third pair. My back has been depressingly nasty for two days again.... which does not make me happy.  Of all times to have my back go out on me.  It would be while Teapot is away. The girls have been awesome helping with all things that require any effort, except that now Daughter #1 has a sore throat and temperature. Fate it seems would have us understand how important Teapot is to the smooth running of this household. I get it.... really I do!

Other than knitting there is not much going on that is worth blogging about. So this will be a short post... (I wouldn't want you all to think that I was dead.. ; )

I am beginning to watch the time of the years and the sunrise and sunset times.  Winter Solstice is almost here and I am looking forward to the increase in daylight hours. The sun barely rises above the horizon now and shines directly n my eyes as I work here at the computer.... that is when the sun is out. Today we are having another dump of snow and I am happy for that considering that this is the major form of precipitation that we will have all year. The more snow now, the better it will be in the spring by way of moisture content in the ground.

Christmas decorating and preparations continue at high speed around here. One thing every day goes up with out fail. Since I started the decorating this year later than usual, (I usually begin decorating on the first day of Advent but the contractor was here and I wasn't able to start) I am far behind schedule. If my back is feeling better tomorrow then there will be several things go up in an attempt to catch up with the Advent Christmas decorating.


But always.... always in the background is the need to keep knitting.... and so I must get back to it... hopefully there will be more interesting things to write about soon..

Knit, Knit, Knit

That is pretty much what I have been doing all day today. I'm knitted out. My hands are curled up so that I don't think I'll ever be able to uncurl them again...

Teapot and Daughter #1 have gone to a Christmas party.... the first of a few I expect.  I will have my first Christmas party this Saturday coming. But I have to drive for a whole hour and a half in order to get there and I am not looking forward to the drive to the party. I will be driving over switchbacks  which I have done many times before but I really am not looking forward to. I'm thinking that if the weather is either bit questionable at all I will not go. (Sorry guys!) But hopefully it will be sunny and lovely with no snow on the roads at all.

My leg is healing and though the scrapes are quite ugly to look at the area around never really came out in a bruise. I am surprised that my leg is doing so well considering the amount of pain that I was having after the fact. It is tender if I press on it but generally speaking I have had much worse injuries.... so I am hoping it will blow off pretty quickly.

I have been worrying about Christmas because as usual I am down to the last two weeks before Christmas and I still have tons to do.  Most of the gifts have been purchased.... some are ready to be sent in the mail. But I feel like I am nowhere near being finished.  I am feeling that I have things to do that I am not thinking about and on Christmas eve I will suddenly remember something that I need to do and then panic. I am even having nightmares about it. Christmas is just not supposed to be this way.... is it?!!

Already in just two days we are seeing a major difference in the amount of heat that is being retained in this house since the new paneling went on the interior walls of the dining/office/sun room. The room looks awesome. I'm very happy.

Dining table at the end so that food can be passed through from the kitchen.... I love the paneling. The table is waiting for a top.

Our Christmas wreath with the new paneling on the wall behind and look at that brand new light switch.

The only tuck tape to be seen is above my head where the ceiling has the strapping but not the new tiles... that will come after Christmas.

The floor has a new covering of sub-flooring which is great because now it is the same level as the sub-flooring in the living room.

These pictures just don't do it justice at all.  It looks really good and not at all cluttered. which it did before.  Most of my junk is out and I have convinced Teapot that I need a studio.... a real studio. A space where my junk can go and not be in our living space.  He says not this year but we will look into it very soon. I will be glad to get the flooring finished and I will be glad to get the tiles on the ceiling. And best of all is that Teapot just came to me and asked if I had noticed the difference in how warm it is since the paneling has gone up.... and when I said that I had... he said that he was going to finish our bathroom over the Christmas break.... I think I might fall down in shock...

It will be good to get it all done. Including the knitting.... which I need to get back to it I'm going to have the parcel finished and in the mail in time for Christmas....

Oh my aching wrist....

Glomitts

I have been getting a lot of hits for my Glomitts pattern. I never realized that there would be lots of people out there looking for patterns for shooting mittens but obviously there are...

I felt that perhaps I should try to perfect the Glomitts pattern and post it in a more permanent place so I have posted it on one of my pages to the right... I have also included the changes to the pattern and I think that it makes for a better mitten.

You can check it out if you are interested. Just click on the picture to the right with the heading Free patterns.