Happy New Year!

Here it is January 2008 already! I feel like last year sped by far too fast. Besides having a wonderful Christmas with my family on the West side of the Cascades and a great New Year's Eve with my best pal, Mary T. and her family and friends from church, and a fabulous New Year's Day at the local yarn shop, The Dancing Ewe, with my other super cool friend, Janelle, I've gotten a lot of stuff done!

The trip to the west side was incredibly fun, if a little long. I took the airport shuttle because my car is on its last leg and I was very happy I did! The driver had to stop and chain up because the snow was so bad. And the cops were out making sure that those without chains got turned around and sent home! I've only had to put chains on once since I moved to Ellensburg and quite frankly I'd like to keep it that way! I spent a couple of days with my dad, Bill, and his wife, Doreen and enjoyed their company and their Direct TV. LOL! I got to go see my brother, Ben and his significant other, Sandy. It was the first time I've seen their apartment. It is a very awesome place! Then we went to my mom's, Marla's, and hung out with her for the evening. She also has a great apartment. We had a lot of fun just chatting and being together. Then on Christmas Eve I went to my Aunt Connie's and Uncle John's and got to visit my Grandmother Lorraine and my Uncle Jimmy. We had chicken enchiladas and spanish rice and refried beans. Not your traditional holiday meal, but it was very good! Connie had found my Grandma's diaries and a bunch of pictures from when she was a very little girl, so we spent some time just enjoying the pictures and letting Grandma reminisce on her life. Connie even found the pink silk bonnet that Grandma wore as a baby in one of the pictures! It was really cool. I got some fun gifts, but had more fun handing out the little journals that I made. That night I rode the airport shuttle home. We left at 11:30 pm which put me in Ellensburg at 1:30 in the morning. Mary's husband was gracious enough to come pick me up at the local Starbucks and I went home and crashed. The rest of the week I spent in bed with the flu. Oh well.

I managed to finish several projects that I've been wanting to get done. Mostly I met with success, though I had one rather disappointing failure.

I got out my sewing machine and made two aprons and a shirt. The first apron is the Sunday Apron from Vanilla House. The fabric came from the local fabric store, The Sewing Corral. It was very fun to make!

The other apron I made is the disappointment. Though it is incredibly cute and a bit more functional that the one above, it is a bit too small. The pattern is from Mary Jane's Farm Ideabook. Front

Back


Close up of button and fabric. The buttons came from the local fabric store. The fabric I found at Goodwill.

The shirt I made is a Simplicity pattern. The fabric is from Hancocks and the buttons are made of glass and were found at the Antique Mall.

As far as knitting goes, I've knit a scarf, two hats, a cardigan, and a pair of socks! I didn't realize how much I've done since Christmas until just now! WOW! I don't feel like such a slacker anymore! LOL!

The scarf is just a simple garter stitch that I knit to go with the hat I made from the Viking Patterns for Knitting book by Elsebeth Lavold. The pattern is Ragna and it's the second time I've knit this hat. I want to make the sweater also, but haven't had a chance yet. The yarn is Cascade's Jewel.
The other hat is Jared Flood's Koolhaas from the Holiday Gifts 2001 Interweave magazine. The yarn is Malabrigo Pure Merino Worsted in Marron Oscuro and is soooo incredibly soft and bouncy! And I think that until my hair grows back, I'll be wearing hats quite a bit more. I can't believe how cold it is without any hair!!!

The cardigan I knit is from the Lion's Brand website. I used my own handspun for this: some Romeldale that I picked up at the Puyallup Spring Fair last year. It was such a joy to spin, but it took me quite a while to find a pattern I liked that was simple and would show off the yarn.
The socks were another pair of the Bazaar Socks that I adapted from a pattern by Priscilla Gibson-Roberts. These went into the Dancing Ewe and have been so loved that I will be teaching a class on Fair Isle for your Feet in February (the alliteration was unintentional, yet catchy!). I've never taught a knitting class before and I'm quite excited about it!

This week I'm working on the Barcelona Layered Skirt from Amy Butler and a hat for a friend of mine at work. I'll hopefully be starting a pair of socks from some handspun Merino that Mary T. dyed. I'll use some Suffolk for the heel and toe so they'll last longer. Yeah for wool!