It's heeerrreee!

The yarn arrived. Yay!

Black & White for stranded mittens for 2nd DDIL. The lining yarn is on backorder but it's the same color as my mittens...chili pepper. Gonna use the same pattern as mine.

A stranded hat for 1st DS. He requested something a bit out of the ordinary but I found a couple patterns, here and here, that I'll combine to get what he wants. Plain on the outside with a brim that can be folded up with the design on that. My only fear is that I didn't get enough yarn...

Yeah, I won't be knitting the naughty design for him. Just the snowflakes...

For 2nd DS this is the same stranded mittens and also a stranded hat similar to 1st DS's. There is more yarn, I just didn't get it in the picture.

And yeah, no frolicking deer for him either. I'm a killjoy!

Something else that arrived that isn't exactly fun but I've been waiting for it also...cold weather and wind. I get to try out my hand ovens! Yippee!

Waiting, waiting waiting....

There is a yarn order out there in never never land lost between my house and Reno, NV. It was supposed to make it's appearance here on the 5th. And being the impatient person that I've become...I think the instantness* of the internet made me that way...I couldn't just sit around waiting for it to arrive. And so a cowl is born.

2nd DS and DDIL gave me the yarn for Christmas and I love it. The color is perfect.

And the pattern I found...thanks to Ravelry's advanced pattern search...fit the yarn type and amount perfectly.

It is very warm and I'm thinking it could come in handy if I ever get a chance to walk outside this winter. So far the treadmill has been looking better than the streets. We had a thaw that made slush and has since frozen again and so now they are a rough and uneven mess. Anyway!

It's wonderful. It's warm and it'll keep my nose warm when I venture outside. And most importantly it's kept me occupied while I am waiting!

* Instantness is SO a word...I looked it up on the internet!

Hand ovens

I love that phrase. Hand ovens. And I think these will definitely fit that description.

Wool and alpaca (50-50) on the outside and

100% alpaca on the inside.

As 1st DDIL said..."You won't be losing any phalanges to frostbite when you wear these!".

2nd DS seemed interested in a pair. Black and steel grey. I'm very tempted to order the yarn and get going on them asap. I think I love this pattern.

Have yourself a...

The house got clean enough. The packages got wrapped. The caramels were cooked and the Krum Kake baked.

We had a wonderful Christmas Eve. Everyone was here. Much food was eaten. Many packages opened.

The best part though were the hugs and kisses from the grandkids. Sweetness.

Yes, I'm still out here...

I assembled and mailed out our 148 Christmas cards for the seed plant this morning.

And when I came home at noon, this is who greeted me in the window. What a pretty kitty!

I'm swamped with things to do but somehow I'm not feeling the pressure. Maybe that comes when I finally get around to wrapping packages. That usually sends me over the edge. But for now I'm mellow and will just chip away at the list of things to do. And if all of it doesn't get done, well so be it.

Maybe this is how Christmas is really supposed to be!

Remember...

In an email today I told one of my DSILs that she shouldn't worry about Christmas. (She has had major health problems that are getting resolved now but are still an issue.)

I said that Christmas will come no matter what we do or don't do.

And that we should enjoy the season and not stress over it.

I seriously need to listen to myself. If you need a picture of someone stressing over Christmas you could just look at me.

I need to stop it.

Ok, me. (And any of you that want to join me.) Take a deep breath. Let it out. Relax. Look at the pretty lights and decorations. Ignore the "to do" list for just a bit.

And remember the real reason for the season.

Maybe I'll go back to the mittens. It IS cold outside...

The Advent Calendar Scarf hasn't gotten off to a good start.

My size 4 needle, that the pattern requires, is being used in another lace project and I didn't want to take it out.

So I used a size 5 instead. Ripped because of looseness issues.

Went down to a size 3. Really like the fabric now.

Have never done cables. Day 2 has cables. Tried once. Didn't turn out. Ripped out.

Tried again. Still didn't turn out. Ripped again. Will be omitting Day 2.

Didn't have a lifeline and didn't want to rip all the way back so put in a lifeline as best I could. Turned out ok. Phew!

Got lost in the pattern and should have been doing garter stitch instead of stockinette. Need to rip back to lifeline. Again.

Project officially in time out. It'll be really fun after Christmas.

And besides that it was -10 degrees this morning. Right now, the stranded mittens are looking much more appealing than a lace scarf!