I Was Knit Together In My Mother's Womb

Merry Christmas!

Amelia's Stocking is done!

I couldn't be more pleased.

   It is fully lined with fleece, with a sassy cuff, trimmed with pompoms for cuteness.

   It was delivered to Amelia today, and she kicked her little legs and waved her arms in delight. 

I had the hardest time finding the right stocking pattern, and so, I had to make up my own.

Say, I'm just throwing this out there...but if I were to write up a pattern for a similar stocking, would there be any interest in the knitting world?

I can justify  every cookie that I baked and ate this weekend. First, because Elizabeth sent me a new Christmas apron, which I had to try out....see the monogram?

  We are giving cookies to our new neighbors And one cannot give cookies to the neighbors without testing them first.

We are mailing some cookies to family. And one cannot mail cookies to family without testing them first.

  I tried new recipes. Test. I used different semi-sweet chocolate bars. Test. Jam thumbprints could be good for breakfast. Test.  Christmas isn't Christmas without cookies. Test. I wonder how the cookies taste after one day? Test.

When I was a very, very little girl, one of my first Christmas memories was of the year my sister got a Tiny Tears.  As young as a was, I still can feel the disappointment, the covertness, the longing for my own Tiny Tears.  This weekend, Santa Baby delivered a Tiny Tears to me. She came by way of Karen, one of my new neighbors, who has been very special to JR and I. She is cleaning out her house, and being a doll lover, like I am, she knew I would love this original doll. She brought her to me, along with a little old stroller. And I do love her. She's in perfect condition.  Karen did it just to be nice.

    And even though the blessing in giving is just the giving, and not the expectation of something in return, I can promise you that Karen will get an extra wonderful tray of cookies this week.

And I'll have to test them just to make sure they really are extra wonderful.

This week has been a great mail week...Thank you again for your mittens for Heart to Hands! Each day, I have collected a basket full to share.

And, a "Special Swap" Christmas gift arrived from Elizabeth... a gracious and generous swapper and friend.

The whole package said "Merry Christmas!!!!!!!!"

  A monogrammed apron, an incredible Shawl Kit with Shaeffer "Martha" yarn...    Three knitting books ( they were my bedtime reading for the last two nights!) A very pretty Christmas tote and two skeins of Blue Sky Baby Alpaca. An awesome wreath hanger, too!   And inside that tote bag? Filled to the brim with knitting notions and tasty treats!

You are a very special friend, Elizabeth, and I wish you and your family a most Merry Christmas! Thank you again for such a wonderful gift.

On my way home from work yesterday, I finally got to stop at a local gift shop that I've been eying up since we moved to our new town. Oh, my word! What an inspiration! I told JR about it at least a dozen times last night! And even though we are going to spend Christmas at Disney World, I was VERY tempted to do even MORE decorating at my house after being inspired by Wilhelm and Ashe.  I could have very easily become a compulsive shopper yesterday. I could have maxed out the cards, stretched the budget, hidden packages and gone without groceries for a month. The shop was that awesome! 

Thankfully, I walked out without a purchase, just very grateful that I at least have my Christmas Tree this year (after that episode with Mr. JR Scrooge)! 

The house definitely exudes Christmas, and I am happily finding spots for all of my vintage Shiny Brites, figurals and blown glass ornaments.

 

Isn't Christmas fun? 

I'll show you a little something I have up my sleeve...

The ONLY Christmas knitting I am doing this year is a commissioned piece for  a friend. Actually, for her first baby, Amelia Rose.  This is going to be Amelia's official Christmas Stocking forever and ever. And ever. After searching for weeks for the right fair isle pattern, and the right color combinations, I decided that I could do something even more special, that would be the perfect fair isle stocking. 

I am actually just doing it as I go along, using vintage motifs, published patterns, and a little of my own creation. This is such fun project!  Loving the Christmas colors, with the shot of bring pink here and there. It will be lined, and the cuff will have a band of baby pompoms to trim it.

Remember when I mentioned the Barbara Walker Treasury series a few posts back? How it was on the knitter's dream list?  On Friday, I was cleaning my desk area at work, and as I went through a stack of papers and books, I found a surprise!

  I about fell over! My co-worker and friend, Nancy, after discovering I liked to knit, gave me this book...the original... from her collection! And she gave it to me months and months ago! I must have put it aside, and not even looked at it, thinking I would check it out later...well, later never came until Friday afternoon. I can't tell you what a wonderful gift this is! It is the perfect knitting stitch resource and I will "treasure" it always.

Thinking about knitting books, I am a bit excited about a few new releases...

Kristin Nicholas  "Kristin Knits!"  She was interviewed in a recent issue of IK, and it is so delightful to think of another round of patterns in her fun designs and colors. One of my favorite knits was one of her designs...the embroidered knee highs.

  Her yarn, "Julia" by Nashua is very nice yarn, as well.

What about Louisa Harding's "Knitting Little Luxuries?"  Mmmmm....very pretty.

Mmmmm...very pretty....

Will you  promise to have a delightful week? Find the pretty in your world and enjoy it?

It is the time to thank each of you that have mailed mittens for  Heart to Hands mitten collection.

   So, I thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you!  I will continue to collect mittens though December, and in fact, all winter. Little hands get very cold in Buffalo straight through March!

I was reading Margene's post about Knit Unto Others and the rather diminished participation this year. I have to say that I have noticed the same with Heart to Hands. While I have received many dozens of pairs of mittens, there are far fewer than last year.  While it would be easy to be disappointed, I cannot be, and let me tell you why.

When the inspiration hit to collect mittens for Pastor Angel's children, and others, in the Buffalo area. I knew that as any good deed goes, it is the deed that will itself generate continued blessing....and blessing in a way that we may not see. It could be that someone else would be inspired to collect mittens, or that a pair that was gifted to one family may be passed on to someone else with a greater need. Perhaps the blessing would be in the very gift of giving to others. All of these are likely, and I am happy to report that our little mitten collection from last year became an inspiration for a much greater collection in this region. Through the awesome work of our ministry, "Heart to Hands" was adopted. And with the incredible vision of a loving mom and co-worker,  "Coats for Kids" become the offspring! Why? because Pastor Angel's children needed coats, as well as mittens. And together, as the news of each of these collections has spread, there is a storeroom...a STOREROOM filled with coats and mittens for hundreds and hundreds of children in our area! 

Nothing pleases me more than to see a simple idea take on a life of it's own, and the blessing multiplied!  Each wonderful pair of mittens that comes in the mail reminds me of how little it takes to create something grand and wonderful....a simple deed that has the potential to create abundant blessing.

So, again, I thank each of you that made mittens or bought mittens to warm the hands and hearts of a child that you may never know. I trust that your blessing will be in the act of giving to another, and that you will be prompted to reach out to a community in need.

Build a Sweater

An exciting thing happened in my knit world!  After more swatching, and yarn switching, I have officially started my "build a sweater!!!!"  Much has changed... most importantly, the yarn. A dear reader visited the "real" sweater in an Anthropologie store, and shared her observations. The yarn is soft and drapey. I had already ordered Classic Elite dk merino, which was lovely yarn, by the way. I sent it back, and ordered good old Knit Picks Andean Silk, which had just enough merino, alpaca and silk to give it the drape and softness and body that I was looking for.

Naturally, I had to adjust my gauge, and I'm using a larger needle. Best part about that is that my sweater will be knit faster!!!! Yay!!!! So here it is...

      And here is a close up of the modified lace  that I chose....

It's just so pretty!   

One of the other observations that my "scout" made was regarding the stitch used in the bodice. It's definitely a linen stitch. Definitely. I may give that a try.

We have a sweater pattern started, knitters!!!! This is such an exciting project!

Speaking of sweaters, and speaking of exciting... Remember that I told you I lost my new gray cardigan? I found it. In JR's closet.

Hmmmm..... First my body wash, and now my sweater in his closet. Interesting.

Debby asked me last week about ideas for tabletops. So I shared a few of my thoughts with her....and here is what I've thrown together in my dining room.

  Table   Sideboard

Windowsills.    Lot's of sparkle and pretty, vintage and glitter.