My grandmother and my aunt were both knitters. It was my grandmother who first introduced me to knitting when I was 8. My aunt no longer knits and the last two times my mother has gone to visit her, my aunt has dug into her stash and sent my mother home with large bags of yarn for my daughters and me.

One bag has 25 or more skeins of wool in a variety of colors. Many are labeled with a tiny fold tag that says "4 ply knitting worsted 100% wool". The other bag was over 20 skeins of vintage Red Heart 100% wool and Coats and Clask wool in bright colors. Mostly pinks, blues, and purples. I didn't even know Red Heart made wool, and you know, it's a pretty nice wool too! Fairly soft, holds it's shape well and just right for making soakers and toys.

One can rarely have too many soakers! Grandbaby took a growth spurt and I made these Curly Purly soakers in the larger size, with a couple of modifications. I also knit some soaker liners for nighttime wear. Directions for making the liners are at the end of this post.

PROJECT DETAILS:
PATTERN: Curly Purly Soaker
NEEDLE SIZE: Double points, 4.0mm US6; 3.75mm US5; 3.25mm US3; 2.75mm US2
YARN: Vintage Red Heart 100% wool
MODIFICATIONS: The legs fit this chubby baby best when tapered. I start the leg cuff only going down one needle size, and then change to smaller needle sizes every few rows as I go until I knit about the last 1/3 of the cuff with smallest needle called for.

SOAKER LINER PATTERN:

Liners can easily be adjusted to fit cover size. I'll explain that here. If you are looking for step by step instructions, I have those for the liners that fit a large size curly purly at the end of the bottom of this post.

Those who have used the liner seem to find it easier to place the liner over the diaper and then pull on the soaker rather than putting the liner in the soaker first.

Figuring stitch numbers based on cover size: I make my liners on needles one size smaller than the needles used for the main body of the soaker. So for this liner, my main body was done on a size US6, and my liner on a US5.

By doing this, and making the longest narrow section of the liner 2 stitches narrower than the narrowest area between soakers leg openings, the liner fits neatly. On the curly purly pattern, the stitch number used near the bottom of the pattern right before the grafting is the number you would use to figure from.

In the case of the medium, large, and x-large sizes, that would be 20 stitches. That means I want the longest narrow section of the liner to be 18 stitches wide. The cast-on, for the wider section before the decreases, needs to be 10 stitches more than that, so I cast on 28 stitches.

If you want to use the same size needle as the body, I would suggest subtracting 4 - 6 stitches from the curly purly pattern stitch number before the grafting section instead of just 2.

The liners I made for the large cover are 5.5" wide at each end and 3.5" wide in the middle and a total of 12" long.

PATTERN FOR MEDIUM, LARGE, and X-LARGE CURLY PURLY LINER:

MY GAUGE: 20 stitches = 4" 40 rows = 4"
If you are using the method above to figure out stitch numbers and the same yarn, gauge should not be an issue. Row gauge is not that important as you can simpy knit till it's the length you want.

NEEDLE SIZE 3.75mm US5 or size to give the density of fabric desired.
YARN: Worsted Weight Wool
STITCH PATTERN: Garter All rows are knit.

The numbers that worked for me to meet my desired size and gauge for the large size Curly Purly are in parenthesis.

Loosly cast on the number of stitches for desired width at widest point. (28 stitches)
knit for 1" (10 rows)
Decrease 1 stitch at beginning of each of the next 10 rows (18 stitches remain)
Knit even for desired length (8")
Increase 1 stitch at the beginning of each of the next 10 rows (28 stitches)
Knit even for 1" (10 rows)
Bind off loosly

Living in an area where winter power outages are expected, and can mean frozen pipes and no water, helps remind me to appreciate the luxuries in life I might otherwise find easy to take for granted.

Luxury means different things to different people. With the economic downturn, many find their ideas of luxury and necessity are being redefined. Sometimes, living in a part of the world where food and water are plentiful and easily accessible, it's easy to forget how many daily luxuries I am blessed with. When I fail to notice these luxuries, I also fail to take joy in these luxuries and feel I miss out when I do that.

I know this is true for myself. I know that I value the hug of a loved one all the more for missing the ones that are no longer here for me to hug. I know that I take more joy in turning on a faucet and watching water run out of it after a few days without running water, than I did before it went missing. Most of all, I know that watching how quickly my children went from babies to adults, makes me value each present day for what it brings, aware that this time will never come again.

With that in mind I like to remind myself of some of those luxuries. Things like a loving husband of almost 30 years. Being able to talk to loved ones who are far away with a simple push of a few buttons. No wondering if they are ok, and waiting long weeks or months for word. Sliding between clean sheets into a warm bed. Being able to have a drink anytime I'm thirsty, and to have clean clothes or take a shower on a whim. The physical ability and the necessary tools to indulge my desire to create. The list could go on and on. I am so very blessed.

Sometimes, I want to simply revel in the little luxuries and truly appreciate them. I am blessed to live in a place where they are so easy to come by.

With this in mind, I decided to put a few of my favorite simply luxuries together. A good book that brings a smile, warm toes, my enjoyment of knitting, a hot cup of tea, a cozy lap quilt, and thoughts of good friends.

The tea cup was a gift from a lovely lady. It always makes me smile to think of her.

The book is "Helen's Babies" by John Habberton. A friend recommended this book to me. Years ago, when my girls were teens, I started to read this book to myself. Bubbles of laughter kept escaping and everyone kept asking me what was so funny.

After reading several little snippets, we decided that it would be easier if I simply read the book out loud to the family. I did, they loved it, but more importantly, it started a family tradition that lasted for some time of picking out books for me to read out loud each evening. We followed this book with others, and made some great memories in the process. My daughter gave my mother a copy of the book. My mother loved the book and passed it on.

If you like books about impish little boys who accidentally get into all kinds of trouble, you might enjoy this book. I think almost any parent would find it delightful. The book was written in the late 1800's and is in public domain in the United States. You can read it online for free as part of the Guttenberg online book project. You can also listen to it read aloud at Librivox. This can be a great way to get through doing the dishes. I have also frequently found it in used book stores, generally for a very low price, and now it has been reissued and can be bought as a paperback. I like to watch for copies of this book and give them as gifts. I like to think I'm giving the gift of laughter.

The hot water bottle cover is a free pattern that I have been thinking of knitting for some time. In all my years of knitting, I had never used a provisional cast on before, so I also enjoyed learning something new from this project! The pattern doesn't actually call for a provisional cast on, but I decided to do that instead of doing a seam at the bottom. I don't know why I waited so long to learn how to do this.

PROJECT DETAILS
FREE PATTERN: BAWK Hot Water Bottle Cozy
NEEDLE SIZE: 4.5mm US7
YARN: Karabella Aurora 8 Color 1380
YARN AMOUNT: 1 skein

This time it's the little hats!

I wanted to make a hat to go with the secret garden sweater I had made for the youngest granddaughter.

First, I made a Norwegian Sweet Baby Cap with one change. I switched to a moss stitch in order to match the sweater. It's a lovely pattern. However, I underestimated my granddaughter's head size and the cap was too small.

In the mean time the weather had turned colder and so I looked around for a pattern with full neck cover and decided on this Drops Design "Bonnet" from Garn Studios.

Once again I changed the stitch on the main body to a moss stitch to go with the sweater. I also made a wider casing for the drawstring, almost doubling the width suggested before folding over the casing.

This hat has been a hit. It stays on, so mom loves it, and it gets plenty of "cute" attention, and granddaughter loves that.

DETAILS:
FREE PATTERN: Drops Bonnet; Baby Drops 18-11
NEEDLE SIZE: 2.5 mm [US 1]
YARN: Dale of Norway Baby Ull

My grandmotherly hat duty, however, was not over. While getting bigger is a major goal of my middle granddaughter, she had not counted on the cost of outgrowing her favorite beehive hat!

I had knit a second larger beehive hat back when I knit the first hat, but it had sat unfinished, waiting to be blocked and have buttons added. For some reason I had left ladders on this hat when knitting, and unfortunately they did not all block out. Ladders are not something I generally have problems with, so I'm not sure what happened on this hat. It might be why I hadn't finished the hat, but a granddaughter's dire need was more important than Nana's pride. Fortunately I had another set of bee buttons on hand, so we were able to quickly take care of the problem. This beehive has plenty of growing room!

DETAILS:
PATTERN: Beehive Pattern from Debbie Stoller's Book
NEEDLE SIZE: 4.5mm US7
YARN: Cascade 220 Superwash Color 821

Amazing that even with just photos, those who sent me guesses could tell that the cream hat is the cashmere hat. Cashmere even looks soft!

Right around the start of the New Year my husband was getting out in sub-zero temperatures to plow the drives with the blade on his 1948 Ford Tractor. It was a cold job. There are no heated cabs on these tractors.

I saw this ski mask on Kathy's nuttin but knittin blog and decided it would be just the thing to help keep him warm! I wanted it to be nice and soft, so I used some Karabella Aurora 8 from my stash to do the job. I didn't even realize when I picked it out that it was the yarn that the pattern called for.

He is tall and wears an XL ski helmet, so I added a bit of length to the neck and lower face parts of the pattern. It was a fairly quick and easy knit. It was getting late when I managed to get the photo, so the colors are a little off. It's a deep rich brown, not so orange.

PATTERN: Antifreeze from Knitty
NEEDLE SIZE: US #5/3.75mm, US #6/4mm, US G/6 / 4mm crochet hook
The pattern calls for the needles in 16 inch circulars, but I used double points.
YARN: Karabella Aurora 8, 100% Merino Wool; 98yd/90m per 50g ball 2 balls

New Years, when celebrated in our home, involves silly hats worn at midnight, noise makers, streamers, and a toast. Traditions handed down by my in-laws. This year we went with the kids and grandkids and spent New Years at the home of friends. We left the hats at home in the closet. Little did I realize that hats would still be a big part of my New Year!

Everyone around me seemed in need of a new winter hat. I have finished four hats in the first week of this year. Two I started in late December and completed this week, and two I cast on in 2009. A fifth hat was knit earlier last year but just found its owner this weekend.

While the hats in this post are the exact same pattern, they are also opposites in many ways. Though not strictly black and white, one is grey and the other cream. One is made from a commercial yarn from a yarn store and one is made from yarn I reclaimed from a thrift store sweater. One is merino, and one is cashmere. One was knit away from home; one was knit here at the cabin.

Can you guess which hat is from the commercial yarn and which one from the recycled yarn? I know... it's not fair since you can't get an up close look, but maybe you could take a guess!

Both recipients of the new hats wore them to the same event last weekend. It struck us how much the ladies wearing the hats were much like the hats themselves! Both women look very much alike. Some people have even asked them if they were twins. However, they also have very different and almost opposite personalities. One is left handed, one is right handed. The way they approach life and think about problems is totally different. One works in an orderly step-wise fashion like her father, the other works with a more whole picture approach like her mother. They even wear their new hats tied on opposite sides. Yet with all their differences, they have so many things in common! They enjoy many of the same activities, share many of the same skills, and love many of the same people. They enjoy each others company and are both people I love spending time with. Their differences make life all the more interesting.

I did make an alteration to the pattern. The actual pattern has the knitter pick up stitches and knit a brim. The new owners of these hats preferred to leave off the brim. You can see how it fits in this photo.

PATTERN: Do-It-Yourself Peasant Cap
NEEDLES: US 5 straights (They don't need to be long, so I used double points)
US 8 16" circulars
US 8 double points
YARN: Jaeger Matchmaker
Reclaimed Cashmere

Happy New Year!

While I'm too late for this to really be an advent blog, I wanted to post
the last 3 ornaments of the set.

Day 25

Day 24

Day 23

I hope your Christmas was filled with love and watched over by angels.

Gingerbread Heart

I have so many memories of gingerbread I wouldn't know where to start. For years my daughters and I used to make gingerbread houses each Christmas. Necco candy was often used for the shingles on the roof and brought back memories of it's own, as that is a candy from my own childhood when we would walk to the little store with our saved pennies. I always traded my licorice ones for the pink or chocolate ones.

Often, after making the larger gingerbread house, my girls would be in the mood to make more, and I would bring out the graham crackers and they would let their imaginations fly as they used up the left over royal icing and candies.

One year we made tiny 2" high gingerbread houses from kits that had a ribbon connected through the roof peek so they could be hung on the Christmas tree. That was a year we were in a mountain in the cabin with deep snow, and the gingerbread houses were about the only ornaments we had on the tiny Charlie Brown tree we had found in the woods.

3 Days till Christmas!

Catching up again, the story of my life!

Elf

I was told that this little guy has a cousin named Wayne who lives in Finland. I went to check it out and oh my! Not only is Wayne about the cutist little elf I have seen, but the other knitting on this blog is adorable! Go meet Wayne and check out the site, but go prepared for major cuteness overload. Scroll through the first page and you will find Wayne here and there among the projects.

Candy Cane Heart

I can't think of anything to say about candy canes, so instead I'll share something I knit this fall. I can't forget this is a knitting blog ;)

I really like the patterns in "The Children's Collection" by Alice & Jade Starmore. I had already done the Mendocino Sweater from this book for my eldest granddaughter and was really pleased with the pattern design. Granddaughter wears it in place of a coat almost everywhere she goes, so I decided to make the Secret Garden Sweater for her younger sister. The patterns are lovely and they have that oversized fit that allows a child to wear them for a long time, yet they never look slouchy.

After three (yes three)brain dead starts of the first pattern repeat, where I kept doing some part of the pattern wrong, I finally had things in order and was crusing along.

I love when I get in that groove and can just knit along...

and then pinkdandelion takes a look over my shoulder. Ummm, Mom, are you sure this is supposed to go like that? *sigh* can you hear the frog sounds?

By time I completed the sweater I think I had knitted the equivilant of 2 sweaters. At this point I'm supposed to say I got twice the enjoyment out of half the yarn. Umm, yeah.. right, let's move on. Finally ready to block!

Next came the fun of sorting through the button jars looking for just the right button. Did I want something frilly, or frivilous or classic? I laid out a few buttons, collected opinions, and we all agreed. Finally, the finished sweater. My daughter assures me it was worth it. She says people comment on the sweater everywhere they go. Of course I'm not sure that wins me any points with the big sister granddaughter, as that means more attention for baby sister and less for her, but she knows she can always come to Nana for extra hugs and attention.

I took the size 4 pattern, and used smaller needles and a lighter weight yarn than the pattern called for. I lengthened the arms a little for a cuff to add growing room, and it came out more of a size 2T like I was after.

Needle Size: US 5
Yarn: Dale of Norway Baby Ull
Pattern: Secret Garden from "The Children's Collection" by A & J Starmore

Contrary to popular rumour this book is NOT out of print, so if you decide you want this book, don't pay extorsion prices. It's still not cheap now that they have added a heafty shipping charge, but it can still be purchased dirctly from the Starmore's Virtual Yarns site. for £12.80 plus £9.00 shipping. Current exchange rates would put that around $32-$34. You might get lucky and find it used for less.

5 days till Christmas!

Sugar Mouse

Eeek, Ick, and all those other things. I am so not a fan of mice! I didn't really think much about them or mind them until my husband and I moved out of apartments and into our first house. We had more of a live or let live relationship as long as they lived where I wasn't.

There was a big open field next to our first house, until they dug the field up for development. Then we had a battle on our hands as all those mice families looked for new homes. They seemed to think my home should be their home. I disagreed. My sympathies had been with the mice in "Secret of Nihm" until that time, but no more.

We moved into that first house during the last year at University when I was almost due with our first child. It was a small old house. Really the house itself wasn't much, but we lived in an area that didn't have many large trees, and the property this house sat on had a long line of huge pine trees across the front. I was missing large trees and mountains and the thought of a place where I could hear the wind through the trees and have pinecones in my yard was so appealing!

The place needed a lot of work before we moved in. Between classes and studies we scrubbed cupboards and walls. Ripped out old carpets to reveal lovely hard wood floors and patched walls in preparation for painting. When it was time to paint I was banned from the house due to the pregnancy. We would head over to the house after classes, in the dark. My husband would pull our van up next to a curtainless window of the bedroom he was painting so we could see each other. I would curl up in the van and study for my finals or grade papers from the class he taught while he was inside prepared our nest for our new family.

With some extra painting help from friends and family over the Thanksgiving break, the house was ready for us to move into shortly before Christmas. During the Christmas break I unpacked and put the house together and then it was time to wait. My father told me that the baby would come when it snowed. I laughed and told him that it hadn't snowed there in over 2 years. He told me it didn't matter, that the baby would come when it snowed.

He was right. It started snowing late one night, and shortly afterwards I went into labor. Snow and I just go together and I guess my Dad knew that.

Christmas rolled around again, and it was time for our first child's first Christmas tree. We bought a live Juniper so we could plant it in the yard after Christmas. I didn't have many ornaments, just those few small very breakable ones I had used on the wooden spoon tree. Those didn't seem like a good idea.

I wanted a child friendly tree. I bought the plastic snap beads that children often played with and some snap "stars" that had snowflake like six points. I hung these like ornaments from the tree, and then added wooden alphabet blocks with ribbons attached. When Christmas was over, I took all the toys down and gave them to my daughter for play.

This will be the first Christmas for my youngest granddaughter. Since we have been sick, I haven't been able to get out in the snow and scout a tree yet. I don't know what she will think of that tree, but I can't wait to get well and find out! I'm running out of time.

6 Days till Christmas.

Today's ornament is a drum.

Our life is full of drummer jokes and drummer stories. Anyone who has ever been in band knows, regardless of the fairness or lack of, drummers get the brunt of the jokes and most of the blame for anything that goes wrong. I have to admit that holds true in our house full of musicians. We love drummer jokes and we love drummers.

I also admit to warning my daughters about the dangers of getting involved with drummers ;) The guy of my dreams plays saxophone. He didn't take up congas until we had been married a long time. How was I to know!

My daughters both play harp. I would tease them that they had picked the biggest instrument they could think of to make me haul to rehearsals, but pointed out that they had forgotten timpani. Two harps takes a large van or suburban. Timpan takes a trailer!

When their brother came along, they greeted him the very first time by standing one on each side of him and whispering "timpani, timpani, timpani" into his ears!

Later, when his hearing was at risk, we handled the news with drummer jokes. I'm not sure what the doctor thought when we said, well.. it will be ok, he's going to be a drummer, after all. Fortunately his hearing is fine.

Papa Bear and Granddaughter jamming!

ONE WEEK TILL CHRISTMAS!

The virus I'm fighting got the better of me, and I missed yesterday, so I'll try and get two posts up today.

Day 17, Snowman Ornament.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Won't you come along and build a snowman with us?

Making the base

Be sure and pat, pack and smooth!

Now it's time for the middle. Everybody LIFT!

And of course the head.

Time to get dressed! Someone grab some branches for arms. A pinecone nose, Eyes of coal, and a pebble grin. A warm hat, and now let's add the scarf!

Say Hello to Frosty!

I'll try and be back soon with day 18. First, it's time to warm up with some homemade chicken soup!

Marzipan Pig

I have read that at Christmas time in Norway, families treat children to a special rice porridge with an almond hidden in the mix. The child who discovers the almond wins a prize of a marzipan pig - a gift reminiscent of olden times when a peasant family's wealth was tied up in its
precious pig.

I don't have any marzipan pigs, but we do have small clear glass pigs for our tree. For over 25 years I have enjoyed putting these on the tree and have always been a favorite of the children. Finding a glass pig among the branches, when the tree lights shine through and create a rainbow, is always a treat.

I didn't start out my advent posts with the intention of it being a walk down memory lane, it just turned out that way. When I first saw that today's ornament was a pig, my first thought was that this would be a short post. Since most of my posts so far have been more about the married years of my life, I didn't immediately think of my childhood. A childhood rich in pig stories!

When I was little we had a big Hampshire sow named Princess. I'm sure she appeared even bigger to a child of 4 or 5 and I'm not sure how accurate my memories are and how much of what I remember is actually from family stories told over the years.

Princess was a mean old sow, but she had cute piglets! I would generally take a liking to the runt of the litter. It's a good thing they were cute because they sure could get into trouble! One family story is from one of the many times the piglets escaped their pen. They had enjoyed a nice roll in the mud and catching them was a dirty business. My Uncle was on leave from the service and was visiting. He was in his dress whites and preparing to go pick up his wife from the airport when the piglets escaped and he joined in to help catch them. You can imagine how those dress whites looked after wrestling those muddy, wiggly piglets!

Cold nights sometimes meant young piglets in a box on the warm open door of the kitchen oven. The kitchen was the family gathering place and often full of aunts, uncles and cousins. One of my aunts who lived nearby carried a large tote bag style purse. My dad and his brothers had quite the reputation for practical jokes and getting up to trouble. Someone, I'm not sure if it's known who, decided it would be pretty funny to put one of those piglets in my aunt’s big purse. I'm not sure who squealed louder when my aunt reached into her bag for something... the piglet or my aunt.

There is a special sense of security for a child growing up surrounded by people they are connected to and who they know will love each other, even if the pigs get the dress whites all muddy or someone sticks a piglet in their purse. It's a true blessing and I thank all the people in my life who played a roll in blessing me in such a way. Those types of memories are more precious than any gift.

If you have a special memory you want to share, one from your own childhood, or ones you hope to leave with others, please feel free to share it in the comment box!

9 Days till Christmas!

Polar Bear

As you might imagine, this ornament is one of my favorites. It combines three things I love. Bears, Snow, and Christmas.

Bears live at and around my cabin. If you come to visit you can't help but see bears. Some are the stuffed and friendly variety, others are better left to their own devices and admired from a distance.

From the time you step out of your car onto the bear paw stepping stones;

Are welcomed at the door;

And are invited to take your shoes off just inside the door:

You may have guessed that bear hugs are probably not far behind.

There is piano bear, who lives, where else but on the piano. He seems to move around a bit, and you never know if you will find him at the keyboard, under the lid, or sitting up with the music. Then there are a variety of other bears.

I don't even remember when bears became an important part of my life. Maybe it was when I was six and we drove through Yellowstone. I'm sure that was the first time I saw a real bear up close and personal.

When our first child was born, I sent out "Three Bear" announcments. "Once upon a time there were two bears. Now there are three. Papa and Mama Bear are as happy as can be." Sappy, maybe, but so very true. Over the years I have lost count of the bears I have sewn and knit for loved ones.

BOOK: Teddy Bears: 25 Irresistible Designs for Knitted Bears, by Debbie Bliss
PATTERN: Small Bear in Sweater
NEEDLE SIZE: US 3
YARN:Sarah's Yarns 100% spun silk DK

I have often been likened to a Mama Bear and over the years friends and family have given me bears and bear decorations. The puzzle bear in the middle of the shelf, and the playmobil bears, barely visible below the large brown ceramic bear bank on the far left, are playtime favorites with my grandchildren. You can't really see it in the photo, but the playmobile bear is a mama kodiak bear with two cubs and her mouth opens and shuts and holds a fish.

The white ceramic polar bear on the far right has been around almost as long as my children. He used to always be dressed for the appropriate season, wearing everything from birthday hats to hula skirts. Wow, I had forgotten about that and he hasn't dressed up in years. Maybe it's time to start that up again. Wouldn't my children and grandchildren be surprised?

And finally, we moved to a cabin in the woods. Woods that we share with the real mama and baby bears.

If you will indulge me this bit of whimsy:

Have a Very Beary Christmas!

10 Days till Christmas

Mistletoe Bauble

Years ago when I was at University, where I first met my husband, there was grove of huge old oak trees on campus. The oak trees were absolutely full of mistletoe. While my husband and I had run into each other a couple times on campus, this grove of mistletoe laden oak trees was the background to the scene where my husband, after noticing that I went to English in the building behind the grove, waited for me and introduced himself and asked my name.

The grove was right next to the building where he took many of his classes as an undergraduate, and where he taught as a grad-student. Over the years, we met there often for lunch or just a quick stroll between classes, and of course a kiss under the mistletoe. Where did the time go?

I didn't think much about the oak trees and their significance at the time, but after so many years of marriage, I like the symbolism for permanence, faith, and fidelity that is attributed to the oak tree. I like to think that the background behind our beginning is a comment on our life forward from that time.

The first Christmas after we married we didn't have much extra after college costs. Even a phone call home, back when there was no email, no unlimited long distance or free cell minutes, was a treat. A full tree was out of the question, but that special first Christmas needed something!

I went through my wedding gifts and pulled out the wooden salad fork and spoon along with 4 other wooden spoons we had received as gifts. I tied them to a yardstick we had, placed it all in a clay pot that was also a wedding gift, and topped it with a wooden jointed doll I had. We splurged and bought one small box of ornaments at the local five & dime. I still have many of those first ornaments, although a few have broken over the years.

Next I gathered up everything that could be considered a toy in our tiny apartment. The elephant and pig on the left were gifts I had crocheted for my young sibling and my new niece miles away at home. Looking back I guess making toys has been a lifetime occupation of mine. The Raggedy Ann doll on the right was given to me by my great-aunt; maybe the toy making is genetic. My great-aunt was known for the lovely dolls she made, and this was the very first larger sized Raggedy Ann she had ever made. It's the same age as I am, and very special to me.

The white teddy bear was a Christmas gift from my husband the year previous, when we were engaged. The teddy bear is a bit worse for wear, as am I, but he's still around all these years later, and more importantly, so is my husband. Again... I just don't know where the time went, but I'm certainly blessed to have spent it with people I love and who have shown me such love for so many years. My greatest riches can't be measured in dollars and cents.

Swedish Straw Goat

Many Swedish ornaments are made from straw and bright paper. They are often quiet beautiful. The straw goat predates the gnome and Santa Clause in Swedish lore. The straw goat was said to carry the presents on its back to the homes.

With the addition of the gnome, sometimes the lore now has the straw goat pulling the gnome and his sleigh to deliver the packages. The gnome, who is said to live under the floorboards of the house, is a rascally old fellow and protects the home and crops if he is treated well throughout the year.

My husband’s grandmother was from Sweden. She ran a Swedish bakeshop during the depression. She said that way her children would at least have food. I have a few of her pans and her weighted scale from her bakeshop.

Oh.. and I did use the yarn that is sitting on the scales in that photo. I made wool soakers for my youngest grandchild. Here is one of them. It's made from the free Curly Purly Soaker pattern.

12 Days Till Christmas!

Mittens!

This is ornament 12 for the Alan Dart Advent Tree

The cold and snow are here, so it's time to get out the mittens!

If you want to see some lovely and fun mittens, check out Kathy at nuttingbutknittin Here is just a small sample of the fun and talent you will find there!

Want to make some mittens of your own or for a gift? You might enjoy this free pattern for Chevalier-mittens Scroll down for the English version.

This free vintage pattern site has some great patterns. vintage patterns has some wonderful glove and mitten patterns. Many include a 2 needle version for those who prefer to knit flat. They have a wide variety, including a basic pattern that would be a great jumping off point for anyone who wants to get creative.

13 days till Christmas!

Whew! I wasn't sure I was going to finish this on time! I wouldn't have either had it not been for the help of my dear youngest daughter! She pulled an all nighter with me. While I knit furiously with fun fur (a misnomer of a name if ever I heard one), PinkDandelion spun a cord for the ornament hangers, put the hangers on each ornament, photographed each ornament for me, and helped me sew on the glass red beads I used for to for hanging the ornaments! And most of all, she kept me company and helped me hold onto any amount of sanity I might posses. We watched old tv shows on Hulu while working.

I don't know that I'll ever knit with fun fur again! However, the gift was a hit, and that makes it all worth while :)

The tree stands a full 27" tall. That's only 3" shorter than the average dining table. I don't have a bit of stuffing left in the house. It was difficult to make it stable, but I think I managed to make it stable enough by using a heavy clay pot full of rocks in the base and then pushing the tree down onto that a bit while making an extra line of stitches around the base of the tree to pull it tighter onto the base. Still.. I wouldn't want to put the tree anywhere there were small children or animals if I wanted any hope of it remaining upright.

There are 25 ornament and the pattern comes with a chart for putting up one ornament a day in December.

I think I'll post 11 ornaments today to catch up, and then try and post 1 each day till Christmas. An advent blog! That's the closest I can come since the tree has already been given to my secret sister.

Gingerbread snowflake

Pear

Penguin

Bugle

Bauble Hat

Father Christmas

Mistletoe Bauble

Mushrooms (don't these make you think of Disney's version of the Nutcracker, with the mushrooms dancing?)

Woven Heart

Tangerine

Sugar Plum

That takes us through day 11! 14 more ornaments and days till Christmas!

Wow, I have been gone so long that I feel like a visitor on my own blog! Thank you to those who have checked in on me and encouraged me to post again!

This is a quick drive by post! I am under deadline and it's going to be a race to the finish. But before I get to the knitting, what really prompted me to take the time to stop in and post was a wonderful Christmas Album just released this year! I wanted to share the smiles and entertainment that this album has brought to my family with any of you who are haven't given up on me!

I don't think in the time I have had this blog I have ever recommended an album, so please trust me that this is special and fun and go take a listen!

Last night, when I started listening to the samples of this group on Amazon, and then watched the U-tube videos of the group, I quickly had every person in the house gathered round my desk chair watching and grinning. They are that good and that fun.

The album is by a group called “Straight No Chaser” with the album title of “Holiday Spirits”

Don’t pass up the U-Tube videos of their college performances. They are GREAT FUN!

I’m not sure my favorite, but once you watch one, you will see links to others on the side.

The Twelve Days of Christmas is the video that got them noticed.

Carol of the Bells, Silent Night, and The Lion Sleeps tonight are all well done!

It’s a men’s acapella group that is wonderfully talented and great fun. These men started out as a group they formed while attending the University of Indiana, which has a great music school. They stayed together through University and then went their own ways for 10 years. They were preparing to attend their 10 year reunion, when one of the members posted some video of their college concerts on U-tube, so that they could all reminisce before the reunion.

The U-Tube video took off, and in a short time had over 8 million viewings. Atlantic records contacted the men and was able to get them back together.

If you love Christmas music, you might also want to check out accuradio’s holiday channels. That’s what I was listening to when I first heard a piece from this album.

Now to knitting and my deadline! I have a secret sister who I have been leaving small gifts for all year. On Tuesday night we unveil ourselves at a Christmas party and give the final present. I'm making Alan Dart's Nativity Tree.

Last week my project looked like this:

My daughter said it looked like a yarn store threw up on my counter.

On Wednesday I had the first 15 or 25 ornaments pieced together.

Today, once I sew the leaves on the mistletoe ball, I will have finished all 25 ornaments, the star for the tree, and the red potted base for the tree. I still have the tree to go and need to sew the hangers onto each ornament! Then I'll take a final photo.

The tree may be the problem. I may be short yardage for the tree, and if so I may have to give in and gift this with a cheezy fake tree. I'm hoping that won't happen! I have had so many orders go wrong trying to get the yarn for this tree, that it has become a comedy of errors. At least if I have to give my secret sister the cheezy tree, I can give her some stories and laughs to go with it!

So much more knitting to share and so many of your blogs I would love to visit, but I had better go! That deadline is looming!

Mama Bear

It's a Girl Grandbaby, or as her big sister would say, it's a PINK BABY! A good thing too, because big sister had informed us that if it was a boy, she would simply dress it in pink and name the little brother "A GIRL". I see more pink knitting in this grandmother's future.

Holding hands with Nana. Wrapped in the softest organic cotton hand woven blanket, made by her aunt.

Speaking of big sister, and on to knitting content, I had fun preparing the food for my granddaughter's birthday. She is at the age where playing house, or restaurant, is great fun, so was very appreciative of the high fiber, no calorie food I knit up. Made in the USA with no risk of lead paint!

BROCCOLI

PATTERN: Garden Variety by Christina D.
NEEDLES: US 4 (Pattern calls for US 5)
YARN: Recycled yarns from wool sweaters

STRAWBERRIES

PATTERN: Knit Strawberries by Pezdiva
NEEDLES: Size US 3 (pattern calls for size US 6)
YARN: Red merino from recycled sweater, Green varigated from recycled sweater

SANDWICH

Pattern not yet available.

CARROTS

PATTERN:Garden Variety by Christina D.
NEEDLES: US 3 (Pattern calls for US 5)
YARN: Left over acrylics

PRETZELS

PATTERN: 5 stitch I-cord
NEEDLES: US 3
YARN: Laines "Fonty" 54% cotton 46% viscose
Yes, I actually bought a yarn just for pretzels! It has a slight chenille feel to it.

EGG & TOAST

PATTERN: Not yet available.

I hope you have even half as much fun checking these out as I had knitting them! Thanks for stopping by.

Mama Bear

I want to say thank you to those who left a comment to my previous post. Each and everyone was comforting and greatly appreciated.

I had a dear family friend send me this lovely handcrafted lace doily along with the family’s sympathies. I think it’s beautiful and I know it will warm my heart every time I see it.

The doily is sitting on top of a favorite Christmas gift. I love color. It’s one of the main reasons my stash is as big as it is, I always seem to need a little of this color or that color to make what I want, and having a full palette of colors is such a joy! So what gift could please me more than a box of 132 Prismacolor pencils! It’s even better than getting the big box of Crayons when I was a child.

It’s hard to believe it’s actually spring. Not only has life seemed a bit “out of time” so far this year, but generally by Easter much of our snow is gone and the spring colors are starting to show. This photo was taken almost a decade ago.

It was our first and only Easter where snowshoes were required for the egg hunt. We would have had our second snowshoe Easter this year, except it rained on top of our abundant snow, so we had an indoor hunt with the grandchildren instead. The rain didn't make much of a dent in the snow level, as it turned to snow that night.

I know that despite the snow, time passes quickly and before long we will be watching flowers bloom and the bees buzzing round while I’m still trying to catch up posting knitting from last year.

With that oh-so-iffy lead in, I'll share a project from last October with you. I actually knit two of these hats, but I need to get more bee buttons before I have the grandson's version completed. They were a fun and fast knit from the Debbie Stoller Nations book.

Size US 7 Needles
Cascade 220 Superwash
Cast on 75 stitches to fit a smaller head

On a side note, I have added several more places to order buttons from online to my "Button Time" post.

In honor of the start of spring, I leave you with this little bluebird. It's from a free Berroco pattern.

It's a very fast knit, but a bit difficult to get to hold it's shape. If I knit this again, I would probably back off on the stuffing so that maybe it would sit upright on it's own, and make the beak with a DK yarn on a smaller needle. As it is, I folded the beak under a little to keep it from overwhelming the birds face.

Happy Spring!

This post is only minimally about knitting, in the sense that until this week, I hadn’t done any knitting for several weeks. Since I generally carry my knitting with me almost anywhere I go, those who know me noticed and commented on it.

I tried to knit. Maybe if I had already had a sock going I would have knit. I don’t know. I tried starting a sock 8 times! Every time I did something wrong, I had to rip it out and start again. Eventually, I simply set my knitting aside. For me, it was not the time nor place to knit with yarn.

Instead, it was time for a close knit family to become even closer knit as we gathered around my father’s bed for those last precious days we would share with him on this earth. We weren’t given much warning that his time was so short, but I was very blessed to have that time to say goodbye and will always treasure those days we were given.

Not everyone gets the chance to say the things they always mean to get around to saying or the chance to say goodbye. Sadly, my daughter and my grandchildren were unable to come right away because of weather. It was a blessing that they had a nice visit with my dad a few months earlier.

After traveling over for the memorial service, my granddaughter was in my parent’s living room and announced, “Papa’s picture is here but Papa isn’t”. I gently told her that no, Papa wasn’t there. Sadly, she announces “But I didn’t get to say goodbyeseeyoulaterIloveyou.”

Goodbye Daddy, I love you, and I’ll see you later.

Save me a spot at the 42 table...

Still playing 2007 catch up. One night last September, I was wanting a quick knit. Grabbed this ball of chenille yarn and decided to try a small bear. I was taking a risk as it was some left over yarn, much less than a skein, and I was using different size needles and yarn than the pattern called for, so had no idea if I had enough. I figured if I ran out I would get creative and make some of the appendages a different yarn.

I reached near the end of the yarn and was still short the ears when I discovered that I had somehow knit 3 arms(??) and so I frogged the extra arm and used it for the ears. When I finished, I had about 5 inches of yarn left, if that!

My daughter, PinkDandelion thought he was cute and said he looked like Yoda. So we named him "Yoda Bear" and I gave him to her. :) I think it's the first thing I have knit for her since she took up knitting.

BOOK: Teddy Bears: 25 Irresistible Designs for Knitted Bears, by Debbie Bliss
PATTERN: Small Bear in Sweater
NEEDLE SIZE: US 3
YARN: DK weight Chenille (I'll post the brand if I ever find the ball band).

PATTERN NOTE: I didn't respond to the requests for when the free patterns would be done right away because, silly me, hoped to come back and put the most requested patterns up this week and be able to say.. here they are!

Obviously, that didn't happen. Many things I hoped would happen this week didn't happen. Many things I hadn't planned on this week, did happen instead. I wish I could say when the patterns will be up, but I simply don't know. Too many business and family things going on right now that take up my brain cell time!

I can knit without much thinking, and in the car, on the phone with a headset, and in little spurts. I could write patterns that way too, but trust me, you wouldn't want to knit them! All I can say is I'll keep trying!

Mama Bear

A couple months ago I left my woods and ventured out into the city. While I was there I bought these.

At $3.99 for 1/2 pound bag of same color buttons, these little bags of buttons are a great deal! Not only is the price right, but when I have the grandkids and need a few moments, giving them a bag of these buttons and a string can keep them busy for a LONG time!

When I see a button I really like, I often can picture a sweater design to go with it. I find inspiration in buttons. Often though, it's hard to find just the right button. Especially for those of us who don't live near major shopping centers.

With that in mind, I compiled a list of online buttons sources and thought I would share it here. This isn't a complete list, I'm sure, but I found it a good starting place. The list can be found at the end of this post.

I hope to start a side bar with links of helpful sites. But I have to figure out how first, or get one of my children to do it for me.

On a seperate note, I am still trying to catch up documenting my 2007 knitting. I have a fair amount I still need to add. While the holidays are over and the leftovers gone, these turkey finger puppets remain and continue to be played with.

I have a little treasure chest I picked up on sale. I put the turkey puppets in "Nana's Treasure Chest" and set it out on the table on Thanksgiving. The kids know that means there is something in the chest for them.

This was a free pattern
NEEDLE SIZE: US 2
YARN WEIGHT: DK

The pattern calls for a size US 3 needle and worsted weight yarn, but since I wanted these to fit small hands, I opted for the size 2 and DK weight.

For the browns in the pattern I used left over Filati Italian Collection Tebe Extrafine Merino from my nativity set. The creams are a recycled wool/angora blend and the red is a recycled merino.

Happy Thanksgiving ;)
Mama Bear

BUTTON WEB SITE LINKS:

Farm House Fabrics

MJ Trim

Button Drawer

Clay Buttons

Morehouse Farm

Buttons galore and More

Trim and Fabric

Lets Knit

Denver Fabrics

Cis Buttons

Button Mad

Windsor Buttons

Joggles

gita maria hand crafted buttons

Sawyer Brook

Danforth Handcrafted Pewter Buttons

reprodepot

Button Emporium

As Cute As a Button

Button Shoppe

Crafty Buttons

Waechter's Silk Shop

We had a lovely New Year's Eve with neighbors and family. Good food, good conversation, and no driving out on the public roads.

In my last post I said I was sharing my last project of the year. As it turns out, I added a few unexpected small projects before the end of the year. I have continued working on the second nativity set, but I needed a break from the fiddliness (is that a word?). I noticed the boyfriend hat on Woolwinders Blog and decided it was just the pattern I needed. The pattern is free at the boyfriend hat link.

Each hat took approximately 3 hours from start to finish. Knit in the round with no seams, it was a nice break from seaming and sewing all the tiny pieces of the nativity set.

First I made this cream colored version.

I decided I wanted a little bit more of a break so I knit this second version of the same pattern.

Details:
NEEDLE SIZE: US 8
YARN WEIGHT: Worsted
YARN TYPE: Wool (Wool and Angora on the Cream hat)
CHANGES: I make the 1" longer version of the pattern with 90 stitches. If I were making the hat for a grown man, I think I would go with the 100 stitches.
SIZE: I have tried this hat on grown women down to 5 year old boys, and due to the amount of stretch in the ribbing, it fit them all!

A great hat if you aren't sure what size to make for someone. I don't think it would fit a man or an adult with a really fluffy head of hair without the additional 10 stitches.

I can't tell you exactly what yarn I used. I bought some unmarked mill ends from Paradise Fibers at a fiber festival a couple of years ago. I know they are wool, and from the feel I suspect it's a Merino. Very soft! The nice folks at Paradise Fiber told they would be glad to identify the yarn if I wanted to send them a sample, but I haven't managed to get to that.

I ran a thin strand of recycled Angora along with the worsted weight wool on the cream hat. It's super soft :)

I then went back to my granddaughter's Nativity set. You can see my progress in the photo.

My granddaughter pulls the dolls out of my work basket. Plays with them, and then returns them to the basket while giving me instructions. Nana, knit this one arms! Nana, knit this one a coat! With a task master like this, I'll be sure and finish this set.

Despite such a task master, I did take another small break before the year's end and knit this pair of baby slipper socks.

NEEDLE SIZE: US 6
YARN: Jaeger Matchmaker Aran Superwash Merino
PATTERN: No pattern, see basic construction notes.
SIZE: 6-12 months

Basic Construction Notes:
Worked over 28 stitches using a K2, P1 ribbing.
Worked a twisted stitch over the K2 of the ribbing every 4th row for the length of the cuff.

Worked the heel over 14 stitches. For baby socks, instead of a traditional heel, I use a k1, p1 ribbing. Baby socks don't need the thicker heel flap, and this gives more stretch for pulling socks on those little feet. I knit 10 rows for the heel flaps.

When doing heel turns on baby socks, I generally eliminate the stitch after the decrease (so for this sock is would be slip 1, k7, skpsso, turn, row 2, slip 1, p2, p2tog, turn.
Row 3: Slip 1, knit to 1 st. before the last turn (look for the gap), K2tog, turn. Row 4:Slip 1, purl to 1 st. before the last turn (look for the gap)p2tog, turn. Repeat row 3 and 4 till stitches are used up.

For the Gusset, I picked up 6 stitches (5 plus one in the corner) on each side and knit in stockinette stitch around. Decreasing until I am back at 7 stitches per needle (28 stitches total).

Knit to length desired and end with toe of choice. I tend to go down to 6 stitches total and kitchner. Some people prefer to simply draw up the last stitches B&T.

Mama Bear