Thanksgiving Bounty

Sometimes gifts of time to create come when you least expect them. This Thanksgiving, I found myself staying at home with hubby and kids…no traveling to see families, which is what we were planning on up until Wednesday morning. I had all but decided NOT to make Jingle Bulbs this year…I’ve been working a bunch at both Knit One Smock Too and at Maggie’s Crochet. Any time I have to create I just wanna knit or crochet. But my friend and gallery owner at Everyday Art Gallery was waiting for these. So when I was given an expanse of time, I took it and made these. Actually, both of my daughters and I had fun painting away on the myriad of bulbs we had saved over the year. All different shapes and sizes and no two alike…they go to the gallery tomorrow. Our family ended up having a wonderful holiday, relaxing together, painting together, and of course, eating together…true Bounty.

Little Luxuries

One of the owners at “my” shop, Knit One Smock Too, said, “Take this book home and tell me what you think…you can return it later.” HA! Return it?? I’m captivated. Knitting Little Luxuries by Louisa Harding is a lovely, breathtaking knitting book filled with little gems for pretty things you just HAVE to make, whether you are going to actually wear them or not. I’m wearing mine though…these fingerless gloves are styled for a princess and I’m working on the lacy scarf here. I love the elegance of the asymmetrical lace pattern (unusual for most scarf patterns) and I added the gilded picot edge to coordinate with the fingerless gloves. There are two to three wraps I just have to make, another scarf in cables, lovely lacy purses, etc. Swooning might be too strong a word for my response to opening this book, but only by a little. I think my yarn-shop-owner-friend knew it too.

Yum…

I was working on this at a recent Knitting Workshop I lead at Knit One Smock Too…and one of the ladies said,”Your mom must love you to give you such yummy yarn!” I heartily agreed and every time I wear it, I think how much my mom must love me. This is the Baby Alpaca Grande by Plymouth Yarn. You absolutely must touch this yarn to truly appreciate it! It is extra soft and the colors it comes in are equally “delicious”. The bolero pattern is very simple: 2 x 2 ribbing, then 1 x 1, then 2 x 2 again. Sew up two short seams and voila! Snuggly, wuggly comfort and elegance. If you give this yarn to anyone, they will know you love them!

Serendipity

Once-a-month-blogging…hmmm. Not the ideal, but better than none at all. Life has sure been cruising at a blistering speed lately. But somehow, little jewels get made. It’s often in the margins of our lives, the itty-bitty bits of time here and there, that offer opportunities for creativity, if we will just take them. This fun jacket for my youngest came about when the Red Heart Kooky yarn went on sale at our local Walmart. I had five balls…surely enough for the idea I had in my head for this sweater. I got all the way to only one sleeve left and ran out of yarn. I told our Knit Wits group about my dilemma, and came home later in the afternoon to find one ball of the very same yarn, dye lot and everything, hanging on my door!! I called the Knit Wits friend I thought might know about this, and she indeed had gone to Walmart to “double check” for me. She had found just one ball there under other Kooky colors. How wonderful is that! My kindergartener has worn it everyday since I finished it. It’s great to have yarn buddies…we all help each other accomplish our dreams and whims!