Monday, December 31, 2012

Snow Flurries

I wasn't actually planning on doing a new blog post today {honestly}.
I was going to stick strictly to floating around and visiting all of YOUR blogs,
which I have been enjoying immensely throughout the morning.
But then.....
as I drifted past the window...
much to my sheer delight ~
what did I see?
Big
fluffy
snowflakes
coming down all around me!
So ~
I put the kettle on for a nice pot of
Cinnamon Tea...
Settled myself by the kitchen window with a scrumptious biscuit covered in jelly...
And, well, here we go!
Just a few days before Christmas I purchased this wonderful book.
Not only is it full of snowflake patterns to crochet,
it has some lovely projects as well.
Upon seeing the gorgeous scarf full of snowy flakes my sister reminded me
 she has a January birthday.
Uh, well...
maybe next January {or next Christmas}.
It's going to take a blizzard to create that baby!
So I started small
with a few colorful flakes.
They were so much fun to crochet!
First they had to be stiffened.
Then they had to be pinned.
And of course, attached to gifts under the tree!
Now ~
as the snow continues to fall
 outside my snug little kitchen
I must get a pot of
Vegetable Soup
on to simmer.
 
Hope you all have a
warm
safe
happy
&
healthy
New Year's Eve

Sunday, December 30, 2012

The 12 Days of Christmas

I have informed my family that although it is now a few days after December 25th  ~
I am
still
 Celebrating Christmas!
I mean, what about
The 12 Days of Christmas?
They start on December 25th,
which is celebrated as the
Birth of Jesus
and they go until the
Epiphany
which is celebrated on January 6th
as the day when the manifestation of
Christ's Glory
was realized.
Therefore, it's still Christmas to me! :)))
And what a wonderful time we have had.
So  here are a few random pictures to share with you
Scott & I spent Christmas Eve at my sister's house
 where she had every nook & cranny
decked out! 
When Scott & I returned home it was time to give our furry babies their stockings
We had to do this first
because when Hubby tried to give me my stocking
Phoebe {the spotted weenie}
snatched it and ran lickety ~ split into her dog bed with all my goods in tow!
Just like their Mommy, they
Love Christmas!
Then on Christmas Day we had both sides of our family at our house.
What a time we had!
All 18 of us packed in like sardines :)
Plus my 3 dogs, my Mother~in~Law's dog, 1 cat & 3 birds
{starting to sound like a song....}
Our precious Granddaughter
Gabby
couldn't wait to show us her new doll Annabelle
In a quiet moment I got my daughter & son~in~law
Chelsea & Eric
to pose by the tree
{somehow my other daughter and hubby ~
 Hilary & Brandon ~ escaped me!}
I did manage to capture Scott with my handsome nephews though!
Court, "Uncle" & Brendan
{my sisters boys}
Sophie tried to figure out where all the presents went
 and why she didn't get more...
And after all the
wonderful
beautiful
crazy
merry madness
of it all......
I settled in for a
lovely
Cup of Rose Petal Tea
Compliments of my sweet friend Erin
 
So ~
I have made a decision
"I will honour Christmas in my heart,
and try to keep it all the year."
God bless us,
Everyone!
 
P.S. My sister LOVED the rose scarf that "Sister Claus" made for her.
She squealed with delight and said,
"You made my WHOLE Christmas!"
Well now~
Guess who's Christmas that made.

Friday, December 14, 2012

Sister Claus

Several weeks ago, Bridget { a.k.a. "Baby Sister" ~ the only sibling I have} ran across a picture online of something she "just has to have!".  So the next time she was at my house she brought it up, printed it off and begged me to recreate one for her for Christmas.
Mind you, there was no pattern to work with but once you've crocheted a
rose
it's like riding a bike.
You just do it and do it and do it.
Being nearly 10 years older than Bridget, I am prone to spoiling her.
At least when it's within my power to do so.
And
THIS
I could do.
After all ~
What is
SISTER CLAUS
for, if not spinning regular wool into
blooming roses
for a
much loved sister?
I hope she likes the way it turned out.
It was so much fun to make.
Merry Christmas Bridget!
{Thankfully she is elbow deep from dawn to dusk right now in cake batter, frosting & sprinkles, as she fills orders for her Cupcake business.  Hopefully she doesn't have time to peek at Big Sisters Blog!}

Monday, December 10, 2012

The Miracle of Christmas

The Season is upon us!
Like everyone else I am in a whirlwind of activity.
Decorating
Baking
Knitting
Crocheting
{and praying it ALL gets done on time while I fortify myself with plenty of hot tea!}
I have several half finished projects lying about that are not quite ready for a photo shoot as of yet!
But when the hooks & needles are finally out of them and all their nice little ends are neatly tucked in they will be happy to strut their stuff for all of you.
It has been a busy week with other things around here.
My daughter, son~ in~ law, and granddaughter moved into the house 2 doors over on
 Saturday, December 1st.
I consider this the first of my Christmas Miracles for this year! :)))
We have been trying to help her settle in a bit.
Other than that, I have finally decorated the house.
I ususally do this closer to Thanksgiving, but........
some years are just fuller than others.
The Tree just went up yesterday.
Here it is in all its
FROSTY
glory.
{I thought if I used the word "frosty" instead of  "blurry" it might seem more magical}
We are still awaiting our first snow of the Season.
Hubby is never quite as thrilled as I am.
But I AM always holding my breath in hopes of a
WHITE CHRISTMAS
Of course I do hate all the shoveling he has to do while I stay snuggled inside with a hot cup of cinnamon tea.
Even my weenie dogs love the Christmas Tree.
They lay underneath it until the packages begin to crowd them out.
So here's hoping you are all having the
Merriest
of
Days
as you prepare your Households, Families and Hearts for the wild, wonderful, miraculous frenzy of it all.
And that in the midst of everything you find
quiet
moments
of
love
joy
hope
&
restoration
as we all celebrate
The Birth of Our Savior
The Miracle of Christmas

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

A Case of the Blues

For anyone who might be peeking over my shoulder these days, it may look as though I've got a real case of the
Blues
Everything that everyone wants me to make is
Blue
So.... I guess this is My Blue Show & Tell Day
First thing you can see is that I have crocheted another one of the
Addictive
&
Too ~ Darn ~ Cute!
This one is for my daughter Chelsea's stepson, Drew
And for those of you who struggle with pom~pom making I use these lovely, handy~dandy items from Clover and love them!
The other blue project I am working on in between all else is another
Using this wonderful new yarn
It is 40% Superwash Merino Wool & 60% Acrylic
And Oh~So~Yummy to work with!
Very soft
Each 100g {3.5 oz.} ball has 213 yds {195m}
Cost is $8.00 per skein.
It will take 3 of them for a shawl.
This one will hang on display in my Local Yarn Shop.
Every now and then they ask me to crochet something up for them.
The best part ......
they pay me in
YARN :)))
As I sat with my feet propped up yesterday afternoon working a few rows on this I got a phone call from Hubby's boss who needs a baby shower gift for this Sunday.
You guessed it ~
A Baby Boy
More
Blue
So I put down the crochet hook and grabbed up the knitting needles
and
VOILA'!
Hubby had a teeny~tiny little hat in hand when he went to work this morning.
{And Mrs. Boss thought I couldn't get it done by Sunday. tee~hee!}
Now for today?
It's back to my comfy chair and the shawl that awaits me there.
And if anyone needs anything else out of me
Well.....
.....As soon as I finish this row....

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Cousin Kathy's Creativity

The very first thing I have to say is this ~
I did NOT make this.
All the credit for this absolutely 
ADORABLE
crocheted
 MONKEY HAT
 goes to my cousin Kathy.
Is it not just about THE CUTEST THING EVER?!!
She brought it for Show & Tell last night to Knit Night.
That's my favorite part of having a creative gathering here.
I LOVE
Show & Tell
{Well... then there's all the tea & cookies & chit ~ chat & laughter too :) }
Guess I LOVE IT ALL!
And Sweet Little Kathy was like Mary Poppins last night.
She just kept pulling stuff out of her bag to delight us.
She knitted these festive SANTA HATS for her Hubby and her Grandson.
The Hubby gets to wear his to play Santa for the Little Guy who is only 8 months old.
And the Little Guy already wore his when he went to have his picture taken with Santa.
{Shhh......we won't tell him that other dude isn't the Real Santa. He'll like Grandpa much better!}

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Cookies & Crochet

Although we are still 2 days away from Thanksgiving, like a child I am feeling the magical  pull of the Christmas Spirit already.
On Saturday I rummaged around the basement and found just these few trees for my dining room table. I haven't put the Big Tree up yet..... but ...... soon :)))
Then for Knit Night last night I just couldn't resist baking my favorite sugar cookies.
They made the house smell so
Wonderful
so
Homey
so
CHRISTMAS~Y
Upon eating one, Erin said,
"Now I feel like I've had my first official Christmas Cookie of the year."
Well.... I like that.
Happy to oblige.
You may also notice the little tidbits of Christmas crochet nestled amongst the trees and cookies.
The golden ~ yellow bit is a
 Granny Star
Just click on the link and you will find the free pattern compliments of
The Royal Sisters.
{Love their Stuff!}
Then there's the cute mini stocking.
I actually happened upon that when I was visiting one of my favorite places the other day
INSOMNIAC with A Hook
If you don't already follow Neicee's blog then you need to give her a visit.
She's quite lovely
and
her
Crochet Work
is
GORGEOUS
She had the link for these
 Mini Stockings
Thanks Neicee!
Also, thanks to Neicee, I found myself right back at
The Royal Sisters Etsy Shop
where I purchased the pattern for this darling
Granny Christmas Stocking
 I made this one for my granddaughter over the weekend and now have another one started.
Love, love, love the Granny ~ Goodness of it!
Looks like a genuine
Old ~ Fashioned
CHRISTMAS
 The Pom~Pom's add the final touch.
I'm excited to give it to Gabby for Christmas!
 
Norwegian Sugar Cookies
 
CREAM TOGETHER:                                                                
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup butter {softened}
1 cup oil
2 eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla
 
SIFT TOGETHER:
4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
 
Blend dry ingredients into the creamed mixture. Roll into walnut sized balls and roll in sugar.
Place on ungreased cookie sheets. Flatten each ball with a cut glass. Sprinkle with extra sugar if desired. A coarser, decorative sugar is very pretty.
Bake in a 350 degree oven for 10 ~ 12 minutes.
Makes 5 dozen {it really does!}
Enjoy!
This is the cut glass sugar bowl I use to flatten my cookies with.
The design on the bottom is the same as on the front.
I picked it up at an Antique Shop years ago.
Happy Baking.....
And
Happy Thanksgiving
To All of You.

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Raspberries & Roses

Last night was Knit Night again here in my cozy cottage.
Once again we snugged around my dining room table,
chattered like magpies,
laughed our silly heads off,
clicked our knitting needles,
weilded our crochet hooks,
solved many a world problems
and ate scrumptously divine confections like
RASPBERRY WHITE CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES
baked by my lovely sister
~BRIDGET~
{Thanks again ~ they truly were to die for!}
Baby Sister has her own cupcake business and makes up all her own recipes.
She even has a cookbook soon to be published.
WAY TO GO SIS! :)))
And, of course, one indulgence just wouldn't do so...
our sweet little
~MISS AMELIA~
baked these Heavenly
ROSE COTTAGE SCONES
Complete with Strawberry Jam
And Oh My Goodness Gracious!
They were a pure delight to the senses.
Not only did they melt in the mouth,
they smelled like
ROSES
Mmmmmmm............AAAhhhhhhh........
Divine :)
You Girls spoil me {and attempt to fatten me up perhaps!}
But I must say I LOVE YOU FOR IT!
Oh! And there was some Yarn Play involved as usual.
I can prove it.
Well, I guess this basket just sitting there doesn't actually prove anything.
Other than I do have a current work in progress.
And, admittedly, I was a might busy with the goodies and tea drinking end of the evening.
But.....
well....
you'll just have to trust me ;)