Christmas-ing Around the South

It was Christmas-ing around the south for us this year as we visited both my parents and my SO's family for the holidays. We spent the weekend before Christmas with my family. My mom is a neonatal intensive care nurse, so she only gets every other Christmas off. I guess it works out well now that my SO and I are sharing the holidays between both our families. Only problem is, with so few days, you don't feel like you really get to spend good quality time with either family. Don't get me wrong, a couple days with each is precious time, but I love my long, lazy days hanging out with family and doing nothing but eating, resting, and whatever else I feel like. Maybe next year? Anywho, my parents loved their gifts - my mom loved the scarf I knit up for her! Yay!


At my family's house, we had a traditional turkey dinner, but with non-traditional table decor. Doesn't matter one bit to me...turquoise is my favorite color anyways!



Oh yea! Turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, steamed veggies...yummy! We even had pumpkin pie and a delicious chocolate cake...mmm...



Last week, I was recounting all the Christmas presents I had hoped to make and came to the awful realization that I didn't have time to get them all done. EEK! I only had time to get a couple done. That was...I thought I had time to get a couple done, and then, the orders for D Celestine started pouring in out of no where! I had some online orders and even had a few custom orders to make with some local friends, which is always a blast, but no time for my homemade Christmas gifts. Luckily, I packed up my knitting supplies and all the yarns I had intended to use in my gifts and knitted up a storm all weekend, and Christmas Eve, and even Christmas Day to complete two (yes, two) more of those butterfly scarves. I finished the second one about an hour before we were supposed to head over to my SO's aunt's house for dinner. Did I mention I had offered to prepare a panettone bread pudding before we left? Phew! What a busy day Christmas was!? Everything came together in the end. The panettone bread pudding was very much enjoyed, and I gave the two butterfly scarves to my SO's two aunts and they LOVED them. Phew! My first major, handmade Christmas gifts were a hit! I've got to come up with something good for next year now!

Knitting for Christmas

I meant to post this yesterday, but I was sick sick sick with food poisoning...ick! Today, I still feel very weak and I haven't been able to eat solid foods yet, but yesterday was just not pretty one bit! I faded in and out of sleep all day and just felt so...uncomfortable! I wanted to knit or crochet something b/c I find that so very relaxing and comforting, but it was all I could do yesterday to sit upright.

Anywho, on to happier things...like knitting!


I've been working on this simple stockinette scarf for awhile now, and finally finished it this past weekend.



I've seen people pin their knit items down, but I never knew why...until my stockinette stitched scarf started curling up and my friend at the yarn store told me to pin the scarf flat and spray it with water. I patiently waited all day for my scarf to dry and when I pulled it up...it curled right back. boo! I guess the trick only works when you work with natural materials, like wool or alpaca. Oh well, it's still pretty cute and will make a great Christmas gift...I hope!

I've got lots of other great knitting ideas for Christmas presents, but I suppose I'm really running out of time, aren't I? I need to get knitting!

Butterfly Scarf in Green

I've decided to try to handmade all my presents this year. What else am I supposed to do with all of these gorgeous yarns, fabrics, and other crafy goodies, but make something that I can share with those I love? I think there's something extra special to handmade gifts...the heart that goes into each creation is something you can't buy with all the money in the world. Only problem is...I've distributed the link to this blog to nearly all my friends and family, so they'll be able to see their presents before they get them. Oopsie! My saving grace? The fact that they won't know which of the many creations are theirs until they open that box on Christmas Day.

Now that I've completed my first "butterfly" scarf project, I've decided to make more in the same style, but different colors, yarns, and textures. The yarn shop I've been frequenting (too much by the way) has these nifty grab bags in the front of the store, allowing me to afford all the yarns I've been collecting lately. Too bad they never put any of the oh-so-lovely alpaca or cashmerino yarns in those...I'm dying to work with that stuff, but I'm trying to buy yarns for gifts for others...not gifts for me. I think after the holidays are over, I'm going to head straight to the yarn store and get me some of the chunky alpaca yarn and some of the uber-cuddly cashmerino in black or off-white and make myself a shrug. I don't know how to make one, nor do I have any patterns, but with all the practice I'll get from these Christmas-gift-scarves, I should be able to figure it out. Yea baby!

Caterpillar to Butterfly

My little caterpillar has finally grown into a butterfly! Ok, not really, but wow! How satisfying is the completion of your first project in a new medium? After two beginner knitting classes, and many hours silently & happily knitting, I've got a beautiful scarf that I can actually use. I'm so excited!


It's funky and fun...but, mainly, I picked it out for it's casual style, so I could more esaily hide my mistakes...heehee



Even Bailey wanted to help me model my new scarf!

Knit Caterpillar...Update

My knit caterpillar is growing and growing every day.

I'm hoping it will turn into a butterfly one day soon. What do you think?

Knitting a Caterpillar

Well, after two beginner knitting classes, I've managed to create this beautiful knit caterpillar:

Ok, so that's not true...I'm actually working on a scarf I saw in a craft magazine that I bought this weekend, but it does look kinda like a caterpillar, no?