There's only HOW many days until Christmas?

I can't believe how fast the holidays are approaching. It is always such a busy time of year. In November first we have Mom's birthday, then mine, then Horsey Girl's followed by Turkey Day. After that it's time for the Little Man's birthday and next it is Christmas and New Years. In between there are soccer tournaments, volleyball playoffs, Thanksgiving lunch at the kindergarten, winter concerts, holiday parties and we can't forget that work thing! It tends to be a crazy time of year. Each year I tell myself that I'm going to slow down and enjoy life, friends and the joy of the holiday season. I've yet to master that goal but every year I try and try again.
So what would the holiday madness be without knitting projects? I swore I wouldn't start anything new for the holidays but we all know how that goes! I recently decided to make these little sachets, they are small, should go quickly so what's the problem right? Yeah right! And wouldn't this sparkly red yarn make the cutest santa hats? I mean really, who would want to just buy one at Walgreens when you could take time you don't have and knit one! And then there is the holiday scarf I'm making - more on that later. So how are your holiday knitting projects coming?
I did take time to enjoy my birthday, my folks came and we all went out to dinner and I had lots of wonderful cards, e-mails and calls from my friends near and far. No matter how busy we all get it's nice to know that my friends are out there thinking of me. I even got presents from my beloved knitting friends. Jennifer sent me this fabulous dragonfly shawl pin. Isn't it gorgeous? I've never seen one like it. I can't wait to try it out. Bonnie sent me the ultimate relaxation package - tea, chocolate and a good book. THANKS GUYS!

Happy Veteran's Day

First a moment to honor our Veteran's. We shouldn't forget the meaning of today so I'd like to take a moment to say thank you to the men and women who have served our country. In discussing Veteran's Day with my 12 year old she asked, "does everyone want world peace?" My first reaction was - clearly not or we wouldn't have war. But then she started asking who doesn't want world peace and why don't they want it? Such difficult questions from a young mind! I'm going to need to work hard to keep up with this one. As to the holiday side of things - I know several people have today off. I unfortunately don't so if you do - do something fun for me too OK?

Today's knitting is brought to you by Mom. It is the Seamingly Simple Vest by Blue Moon Fiber Arts. She got the pattern and yarn at Stitches West this year and it is really quite clever. You knit one really long, wide panel which ends up being the front of the vest. It goes from the bottom of one side, up and around your neck and back down to the bottom of the other side. As it goes behind your neck it folds creating a natural collar. Then you pick up stitches and knit a panel down the back and seam it to the sides. That's it. Just a whole lotta ribbing. She is doing a great job and I can't wait to see it all finished.

Speaking of finished - I finished the Jamaica pouch awhile ago and wanted to show you how it turned out. I highly recommend this pattern for colorful cotton. It is quick and really cute.

Currently I am struggling with a holiday scarf. I bought some gorgeous Touch Me yarn in both deep red and deep green with an idea of what I wanted to make. However it didn't look right. Since then I have tried a number of patterns and nothing is quite right. It's making me crazy but hopefully I can find something soon before the yarn wears out! If you have any great suggestions for a two color scarf please let me know.

Small Things Amuse Me

I found this really cute hat pattern and I just love the way the edging is done. You may have seen this nifty trick before but it's a first for me. You do a provisional cast on (the green in the photo), knit a few rows and then a row of k2tog and YO to create the holes. Finally knit a few more rows. Then you remove the provisional cast on and place those stitches on DPN's. You bring the bottom up even with the stitches on the main needle and k2tog all the way around. Then VIOLA! you have this great picot edging! Isn't that amazing? And the really great thing about the edging is that it is somewhat thick and will not get all rolly/crinkly like picot edging is want to do. It is perfect for a hat brim or a cuff. I think I'll be using this little trick again. Also the hat pattern is adorable and knits up quickly. I made this in Sublime angora/merino blend. I wanted it bigger than the pattern so I used worsted weight, size 8 needles, went with 77 stitches and 6 repeats. For an adult I'd probaly make it one more repeat if you want it to cover your ears. This yarn really lives up to its name. I just want to fondle it all day! I got it at Little Knits on sale.

I hope that you all had a wonderful Halloween. It was a dark and windy night here. Oddly warm but the wind was blowing through the trees. There was a low cloud cover illuminated by the city lights so the sky sort of glowed. It was a perfect Halloween night and thankfully it didn't rain. Yesterday wa s a down pour with all the soccer games cancelled but today I see the sun breaking through. Happy Fall to all!