Happy New Year!

Tonight is New Year's Eve, the last night of 2009 as well as another full moon. You can read all about the "blue moon" on Susan's blog. It looks like we won't be seeing it though as it's raining here. We did, however, catch a glimpse of the almost full moon last night as we walked through our neighborhood, enjoying the clear skies and the remaining holiday lights. Waiting in our email this morning were two new photos from Chicago.

Look who's almost up on his hands and knees. Jill and Michael do such a good job of sending us photos and helping us keep up with the daily changes in our 3 grandchildren. It's hard being so far away, but thanks to technology we can stay in touch. Here's Sophia wearing a robe that my mom made for Jill many years ago. Jill, however, did not have the same pair of sparkly shoes that Sophia is wearing.

Now that we've celebrated Catherine's birthday, I can show my last few handmade gifts. In keeping with Seattle's green effort, I knit a bag for Catherine to take to the market. It's Vicki Square's pattern, a free download from Knitting Daily some time ago. The basketweave stitch which is used on the edges was quite interesting and fun to do. Catherine had admired the Rhythm scarf, so it is now hers. We enjoyed a fun evening altogether with Dick's brother and his wife, Mary, Brent, Carl, and Melinda all there to wish Catherine another happy year. (And yes, we had Coca-Cola Cake!)

One other project which I sewed for Catherine for Christmas was a case for her Kindle, using Kim Walus's Bookeeper pattern from the Moda Bakeshop site. It's a fun way to use a bit of stash and useful to boot.

As the last of 2009 draws to a close, I'd like to wish everyone a blessed New Year, one of happy times and good health. With two family weddings in the early part of the year, 2010 promises to be interesting!