December Birthdays

Ever since I had a December baby, I've had a special spot in my heart for people born during that month. So often, their birthdays are lost in the hustle and bustle surrounding the holidays. My friend Debbie and her daughter have December birthdays that are before Christmas, so this year I made an apron (Vanilla House pattern) for Angelina and a matching hotpad for Debbie, hoping they'll know that their special days are important, too.
Happy Baking, Debbie and Angelina!

Our Catherine's birthday is a few days after Christmas, and one of her fond memories is a half-birthday celebration that Aunt Jane had for her long ago one June when Catherine ventured off to Minnesota all alone to spend a week with her cousins. What a great idea, don't you think?

A couple weeks ago, during a tough week, I got this beautiful coaster in the mail from Sheila, who'd had a giveaway on her blog. Little did she know how this gift lifted my spirits. Thanks again, Sheila. I love pewter and your blog.

NOEL!

'Tis the season for church programs and choir concerts. Thanks to Grandma Janet, we have this photo of Jill with Sophia and David, following behind them, from last weekend at Jill and Michael's church in Illinois.


We spent this morning rehearsing for tomorrow's Worship Though Music Service, which will be streamed live at 9 and 11 AM, Pacific Standard Time. If you care to join us in the morning, just click on the "Watch Live" button in the lower right-hand corner of the church website. Join us this third Sunday in Advent as we celebrate Jesus' birth through song: Noel!

It's Beginning to FEEL a Lot Like Christmas!

For the past several mornings, all the rooftops have been very frosty, and the thermometer outside has shown temperatures in the twenties, which is quite chilly for us. The cats have taken to "fighting" over who gets to sleep on the register. Mocha, who has perfected an impressive growl, usually wins, and sure enough, she wasn't sharing one inch today as a lengthy "Grrrrrrr!" came up from under the desk as I was reading email.
The Heater Hog

As you can see from their dress and rosy cheeks, our family in Chicago is not stopped by frosty temperatures. David left us a phone message about their exciting trip to see the Christmas Train. Looks like I need to knit Jill a hat one of these days!
Waiting for the Christmas Train

I've been busily working on Christmas projects most of which I can't share. However, I did complete these mitts for a friend, and despite their springy color, they keep hands nice and warm. Thanks to Pat, I discovered this pretty pattern and a new knit shop to explore the next time we go to Ellensburg.
Fingerless Gloves

Another sure sign of the holidays is the annual women's Christmas dessert at church. For the past several year, my friend Debbie and I have decorated a table together, and this year she created a lovely centerpiece with a variety of beautiful ornaments that she made from applesauce, cinnamon, and glue. These were hung from a tree and surrounded by old cooky books and cutters, making our table look very festive, indeed.
One of Debbie's ornaments

Mysterious boxes have a way of appearing on our doorstep at this time of year, and Friday saw the first one, an intriquing two-colored Christmas cactus from our daughter's inlaws. Now the challenge will be to get it to bloom again next year!
Thank you, Montsic and Janet!

The calendar speeds up at this time of year, I am sure of it. Each day seems to last but a moment, leading up to that holiest of nights, Christmas Eve, and shortens the time left for creating yet another gift.

The End of November? Yikes!

December will be here shortly, so it's time to put away the Thanksgiving/fall decorations and get out the Christmas things. But first, I had to show Linda and Gene that we actually used their wild gourds, which were hand delivered by Patti, on our Thanksgiving table. Amazing how the camera picks up the crooked candles which I really thought I'd straightened!
Nifty Gourds

Since yesterday was my sister's birthday, I can finally show my finished mystery Socks which she says fit just fine. I really like this Through the Loops pattern and will probably knit it again in a solid color so the pretty pattern shows up better.
Happy Birthday, Jane!

Yesterday Jill sent a couple of photos of the grandkids using the "city map" quilt that I made a few years back. She said David and Sophia had fun playing on it, and it's always nice to hear that something you've made is being used
"Watch this locomotive go, David."

And even Daniel seems to be enjoying the quilt/map. He sure has gotten a lot stronger these past few weeks!
"I am going to be on the move very soon!"

Modeling the Wares

Lots of projects are happening here but since some of them are gifts, I can't show them now. Fortunately Jill sent me these photos of Daniel and David modeling some of my creations.
Our Happy Boy!
Doesn't Daniel look cute in that hat? It's a good thing the sweater was finished and delivered in October because he is growing so fast that this won't fit very long.

Since chilly days have returned to Chicago, David has rediscovered his dinosaur sweater and pronounced it, "The best sweater in the world." Thank you, David!
Dinoboy


Better late than never, my TUSAL jar really does have something other than yarn in it. In fact, in this photo you can see a piece of boning from when I made a nursing cover for Jill. And squashed in between the yarn are snippets of embroidery thread from the Gail Pan Christmas BOM which isn't going to be done this year even though it's coming along. Two family weddings in the spring of 2010 (our younger daughter and her cousin, our only niece) are going to turn my creative efforts in a different direction come January.
TUSAL

My Purse Came Home!

Just about a week ago the mailman brought my CQ purse back from its visit to Janet's house in Colorado. Oh my, what beautiful stitching she did! It was fun looking back at my "before" pictures because I couldn't remember how it looked and what I had done, so I will show both here. My next step is to sew the pieces together and line the whole thing. Another project!
My Stitching on the Front

With Janet's Additions

My Stitching on the Back

Janet's Additions

A great little shopping adventure with Sharon inspired me to put the finishing touches on Janet's purse, and she let me know that it arrived safely back at her house this week. It was really fun to finally meet Sharon, and besides boosting the economy with our visits to THREE stores, we enjoyed getting acquainted.
Janet's Purse

My Additions

This was a very fun swap, and it is really nice to see another person's stitching up close, especially Janet's as she's a pro!

Halloween Recap

Just a bit over a week ago we were on a plane headed home after ten days of fun with our Chicago family. Before we get too far into November, I have to share a few more photos of our fun. Dick had a lot of fun with the boys every morning, and I, not being much of a morning person, had my fun at night.
Playing with Opa
Reading with Oma

We left Chicago just before the Halloween festivities began and received these photos earlier this week. Unbeknownst to his folks, David planted a whole bunch of pumpkin seeds which grew into some pretty impressive pumpkins. They had fun carving them and saved the seeds for next year.
Great Pumpkins

Pretend Pumpkins


Whenever we go to Chicago, we also try to zip up to Wisconsin to visit my aunt and uncle. This year my aunt made some of her famous dill pickles and saved me a jar. As you can see, Sophia likes them as much as I do, and Michael pronounced them, "The best pickles I ever had." I agree!
Miss Pickle Puss

The other excitement while we were in Chicago included the arrival of Michael's Aunt Bonnie and Uncle Lee's first grandchild in Madison, WI. I made these little socks after we got home and must get them in the mail soon before Samuel outgrows them.
Teeny Weeny Socks