I'm Happy to Say....

• the tree is decorated (actually finished it after my last post) :)
• the stockings are hung
• the shopping is ALMOST complete
• the play went well, and two repeat performances are scheduled for this weekend
• we have missed four days due to snow/ice/bad roads/bitter cold, and I have had plenty of time to rest and recuperate. We are out again today, so I am officially on Christmas vacation as of today! :) No work until January 3!!

I have knitted and stitched until my butt is numb and my fingers are sore. Good times!!

I had my last sock class this week. I had to ditch one of my socks off of the needles because I messed up somewhere along the gusset. But I managed to finish both. The kitchener stitch was not nearly as horrible as I imagined. I was able to put my ripped off sock back on the needles without having to totally rip it apart. Looking forward to casting on another pair of socks this afternoon.

Classic basic socks

CO 64 sts.

Size 2 needles

Aslan Trends Santa Fe Kettle Hand Dyed Collection-Carnival

I also finished a pair of fingerless mitts this week. Love these. So does Jake. He has requested a pair for himself in black. I might cast on those this afternoon too.

Those Mitts Pattern - found HERE

Cascade 220 in Ruby

Size 7 needles

I've been stitching.... I am working on block 6 of Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow. This block takes awhile. It has a lot of solid stitching. It's really pretty though. I love the dark blue sky and the salt box house sitting on the snowy hill.

I have also been thinking a lot about stitching lately. I have seen a lot of stitchers that are planning to participate in the 2011 Crazy January Challenge. I have to say this whole idea really appeals to me and I am very tempted to join in. But I think I will end up watching from the sidelines and coming up with some goals for myself that include finishing a few WIPs from the massive pile that lurks in the basement and a few new starts as well.

Some WIPs on the finishing short list may include:

Anniversaries of the Heart

Paradise Lost

Sarah Woodham

Ellen Birdseye

Quakers and Quilts

Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow

Shores of Hawk Run Hollow

Beatrix Potter's Quaker Sampler

June Morning

Some new starts that are calling my name include:

All Was for an Appil by Scarlett Letter

Adam and Eve by CHS

Sarah Esh by Barrick Samplers

Adam and Eve Sampler by City Stitcher

Heavenly Paradise in SANQ Fall 2002

Adam and Eve reproduction sampler in CSN May 2009 (see Tanya's beautiful finish here)

A&E by The Primitive Needle

(Notice a theme yet?)

Jane Philpott by Shakespeare's Peddler

Frances Eden by Handwork Samplers

As well as a few others that are not Adam and Eve themed... Will I start all of these? Maybe. Will I finish all of these? Probably not. But it is fun to plan and dream. I am on an A&E kick lately. This post on Paulette's blog started a two hour internet surfing session seeking out various A&E designs. If you love A&E samplers, what are your favorites?

I'm hearing another pair of socks calling my name. Time to cast on. :)

Have a happy one....

Kellie

I need a little Christmas now...

Why is it that the Most Wonderful Time of the Year is also the busiest? I can't catch my breath or a break lately it seems. I love Christmas, but the hustle and bustle of it this year is draining my Christmas spirit in a hurry.

I know what it is.... I have taken on too much and committed to too much and need to be better about saying no. Life has gotten crazy busy. I don't even have all of my Christmas decorations up yet or shopping done yet. Why this is stressing me out so? I have no idea. Seems ridiculous really... It's because of the self-imposed deadlines that I give to, well...myself. According to my own deadline, the Christmas decorations should have been finished by Thanksgiving weekend, and the Christmas shopping should have been done a little after that. Because in my own warped sense of time, that is not only doable, but easily doable. And having all of this completed already would give me the perfect peaceful O Holy Night Christmas that I long for every year... at least in the irrational side of my thought process.... When did Christmas turn into such a marathon? A marathon of events and "must do's"? I don't remember it being like this when I was a child. Is it because it wasn't like this... or is it because I was a child and didn't realize it was like this because my mom was behind the scenes handling all the details for our family just like I now handle all the details for my own?

Aside from stressing about decorating, shopping and all the other details, our family is part of a Christmas production at our church. Not a just a play... it is a production. With music, scene changes, costume changes, lighting, the works. And it is fun. Really it is. But it is also busy. We have practiced A LOT. I have a minor role. I sing in one part, and have around five lines as the program coordinator of the town's Christmas program (all part of the play). No big deal. My husband Michael has a smaller role. He's the town mayor with a couple of lines. Also no big deal. Jake, our nine year old, on the other hand, has one of the main roles playing a pioneer boy who hears the story of Christ's birth by his parents in his cabin long ago. He loves it. I, on the other hand, and more stressed about him learning his lines and part than I am about the decorating and shopping that is not done yet. LOL! The play is really neat. One side of the stage is present day... a family celebrating Christmas in 2010. One side of the stage is the past... a family celebrating Christmas in 1810. Center stage is the town square that is later converted to Bethlehem and then later still to Calvary. Very good play. Written by our music minister who is extremely talented and creative. And I am glad to be a part of it. And I hope it is enjoyed by hundreds of people. But I will be glad when it is over, and I can take a long winter's nap....

I did receive this little bauble in the mail today, and I. love. it. A handmade Jolly St. Nick necklace sold by Country Stitches. I can't wait to wear it.

On the stitching front...

I finally completed the bonus chart of the BBD Anniversaries of the Heart.

I started Lizzie Katie's 2010 Snowman... He's going to be a cutie!

On the knitting front, I have started a blanket, a couple of scarves and some socks. I am taking a sock knitting class at a local yarn store that just recently opened near where I live. I am really enjoying the class. I am learning how to knit socks top down and knit two socks at a time on one long circular needle. It is a lot of fun. My next class is tomorrow evening. We will be learning to do the heel turn, I think... Pictured below are my socks and the start of one of the scarves I have been working on.

That's it for now... Maybe after supper tonight we can "haul out the holly and put up the tree before my spirit falls again...."

Or maybe I will just start on that long winter's nap a little early and quit sweating the small stuff....