Glittens Finished

Pattern: Convertible Mittens by Sandi Rosner from Not Just More Socks

Yarn: Jitterbug by Colinette in Velvet Plum

Christmas Images

Merry, Merry

American Gothic Greetings from our house to yours.

Knitting - not for the holidays

So, I got my holiday knitting done ages ago. I'm kind of odd that way; I either do no holiday knitting, or I do it all in the summer so I don't have to stress out over it. This year I did the latter.* The following photos show Vampire Kiss socks (because I always have to have a sock on the needles), the most recent pair of socks to be finished (which were cast on in September because I always have to have a pair of socks on the needles), and a pair of glittens, because I decided I want a pair for myself. I was going to skip the glove part, until someone laughed at me because I said I would do "the diddly part for others' but not for myself" (thanks, Nicole).

*a good thing too, since I have plenty of other stuff to stress out over this year.

Has anyone else noticed that the Blogger app for iPad sucks?

Hats!

Rose, the Gypsy is in New York. She sent pictures of these wonderful hats:
This architecturally inspired one is my personal favorite:
I've always loved hats. I like to knit them too. Today is a cold and blustery winter day, which would be ok, except we have no snow. Cold is only ok when there's snow. In the meantime, I'll wear a hat to ward off the elements...

Shoes, a Turtle and Cookies

I saw some great shoes the other night. Next time, I'll have to get my camera out earlier.


With practice, I'm sure I could improve my stealth photo shooting abilities.

There was also an awesome backpack in the crowd.

And last but not least, I started the holiday baking on Sunday. Per our tradition, spritz were first...the green trees are Girl-child's favorite. She swears they taste better than the other spritz.

Also, I was given a camel disc by a friend, which I am quite excited about as the camels were my personal favorite when I was younger.

See the camel? So exotic!

An iPad Sweater and Christmas Cactus

I decided my iPad was going to need a sweater now that winter is upon us, so I made one this weekend with leftovers (I feel like it needs a caption, "Do these stripes make me look fat?"):

And, my Christmas cactus, which I had just been researching because it hadn't bloomed in the two years since I bought it, has flowered! Turns out you have to put it in a dark, cool place for 12 hours a day for several weeks to get it to bloom. I didn't think I'd ever achieve that, but it turns out if it's next to a cold window, it will bloom on the window side, since it is cold and dark for long stretches every day.

What a lovely surprise, eh?

Little Free Library

Look at what I found the other day when I was driving down the street!
How awesome is that?!?!

Coincidentally, I was at my old book club's holiday party last night. We talked about Huck Finn, which I didn't care for much. There was a retired high school English teacher in the group though, and I learned a lot about how the book can be used with teenagers in the 21st century, so that was interesting (the book was not on the list at my high school in the 1970s, so I had never read it before). Anyway, I enjoyed the party a lot, the conversation was good and I got a great list of good books to read. My recent approach to book choices has been driven by what's available for download from my library. I love it. Right now I'm listening to Bonhoeffer on audio, which is fantastic, and reading George, Nicholas and Wilhelm (pretty good). I also recently read The White Garden (v.good) and Beatrice and Virgil (ok). I figure at this rate my iPad will pay for itself. If you prefer paper books, I would suggest stopping by the Little Free Library for ideas - here is its location: