teehee ~ Melissa

Imagine my surprise when cruising the Seattle Times online paper just now and stumbling on this photo taken today :

 

photo by Ken Lambert : Seattle Times

That's my handsome hubby hard at work downtown this afternoon ~ brightening the city with holiday cheer.

 

And wearing a hand knit hat ~ made by yours truly :)

Today we both get five minutes of fame!

 

Here's a link to the story if you want to see!



closed for the season ~ posted by Melissa

the stockings hats were hung on the coat rack with care

 

 

the mittens were as well

 

bags are ready for stuffing

 





faraway gifts have been posted

a few other things need wrapping

 

twenty gifts in two months

 

I'm tired :)

 

my husband declared this morning "Santa's Sweatshop is officially closed"

 

Vixen and I are ready to savor the rest of the holiday season

 

 

are you ready?

 

I hope so ~ it's time to enjoy family and friends and celebrate!

 

Don't forget about our New Year's Knitalong !  There's still plenty of time to gather the pattern and yarn before our cast on party January 1st!

 

Happy holidays, blog friends near and far.

I enjoy our time here together immensely and look forward to 2014 and all it brings!

 

Ho ho ho :)

Melissa

 



5th Annual Girls in Sheep Clothing New Year's Day Knitalong ~ posted by Melissa

Establishing some new traditions and continuing an old one ~

Churchmouse Yarns & Teas Holiday 2012

We made our second annual journey across Puget Sound to Bainbridge Island to get us into the holiday spirit ~ mission accomplished!  Churchmouse was wonderfully decorated again and we all were pleased with all the help we had choosing yarn, patterns and tea...thanks, Karen!

wild, wild women and a little beastie boy

Not only does saying 'cashmere' when having ones picture taken make you smile, it also makes some of us just downright goofy looking!

And on the way home we talked about our upcoming New Year's Day knitalong ~ it will be the 5th one that we've participated in and the 4th that we've actually hosted if my recollections are true.  It will run alongside the already in progress Nieblingmania (which may go on forever!!) and we will cast on January 1st.  We've chosen Jared Flood's Leaves of Grass (which I think is also the 5th Jared pattern we've chosen to knitalong with including non-new-years-knitalongs ~ I think we might love him!)

 

 

So, you know the drill.  If you're interested, gather your pattern and choose your yarn and get ready to cast on with us January 1st.  It's a great way to ring in the New Year and settle in after the chaos of the holidays have passed.  Let us know if you'll be joining us, and if you haven't participated before and would like to, add a comment or contact me on Ravelry (here's the link) and we'll let you know what we need from you to get you added as an author on the blog so you can post progress pictures and chat as we go.
 

I'm looking forward to knitting along with everyone!  And believe it or not, the squatting girl with the goofy looking 'cashmere' face is me and I'm wearing my Jared Flood 'Bridgewater' shawl for the first time...ever!  It was last year's knitalong ~ about time I wore it, eh?  ~ Melissa

edited to add: I went through all my rav projects and this will be the 10th (!) knitalong ~ it all started when Kelli and I joined a blogger in Norway for a New Year's knitalong 01-01-2008...she opted out the following year so I started a blog just to have a place to host another knitalong...and the rest is history!  That blog eventually morphed into this blog and the knitalongs continue ~ we've done 4 calendar shawls, 3 Jared Flood knits (Hemlock Ring, Juneberry and Bridgewater), Juju's Loops Prairie Shawl, the in progress Niebling kal and the upcoming Leaves of Grass. 

hello! ~ posted by Melissa

Seems like the blog has been a little stagnant lately ~ sorry!  Don't know what Kelli is up to but I'll try to share something a tiny bit interesting (hopefully!).

Here's the smallest drop of progress on my Fruhling:

 

I'm on row 73...of 370 rows.

 

I've knit 12,440 stitches...but there are 279,800 total.

 

So, if I've done my math correctly, I've completed a whopping 4.45%.

That means I have a looooong way to go!  How is everyone else doing on their Niebling?  Hopefully better than I am!

 

Exciting day planned for tomorrow ~ a holiday trip to Churchmouse!  We had so much fun last year that we had to plan another December trek across the water.  I'm so looking forward to it since I haven't seen my knitting pals much at all this year!  Off to finish decorating the house and then maybe a row or 2 on Fruhling ~ happy Sunday!  

here a knitter, there a knitter ~ posted by Melissa

We had a break in our nasty fall weather today so I ran down to Lighthouse Beach in Mukilteo to snap some pictures of this year's Christmas knitting before wrapping everything up.  Met quite a few really nice people...who were knitters, imagine that!  One woman stopped to chat for a few minutes and since it's small business Saturday, wanted to know where 'my shop was' so she could go make a few purchases.  She was shocked when I told her I knit for fun and don't sell what I make.  Unlike a lot of people, though, she totally understands the time that it takes to make something by hand (her mother was a knitter) and said she'd be willing to pay enough for a handmade garment to reimburse a crafter for their time and to get the quality you don't find in most store bought items.  I almost gave her a hug ~ she was awfully sweet.  I also met a college gal named Mae (hello, Mae ~ don't forget everything you saw and heard is TOP SECRET!) who I exchanged contact info with so we could find each other on Ravelry.  She actually approached me to ask if I was taking pictures to post on Rav ~ like I said, knitters...they're everywhere!  I gave her some tips on my favorite shops since she lives in Eastern Washington so she made a list ~ Churchmouse, Weaving Works and Wildfibers ~ all must visits I think!

Hope everyone had a cozy Thanksgiving and is enjoying the long weekend.  I better get ~ I've got lots of wrapping to do! 

Santa's workshop...closed for the season ~ posted by Melissa

I had this master plan in January to start my Christmas knitting and be done with it quickly so I wouldn't still be working on things at the last minute.  Great idea ~ one small detail threw a wrench into that plan.  With 12 months before Christmas, my knitting list grew in leaps and bounds compared to what I would normally do if I began knitting in September.  Not complaining, just saying. 

I'm so excited to give the recipients their presents this year.  There has been a ton of behind the scenes goings on that I'm excited to share once I can do so without spoiling the surprises.  I churned out 10 gifts ~ that's about 185,000 stitches if I did my math correctly and around 4,700 yds of yarn.  Lots of work but everyone I knit for is completely knitworthy. 

And finally, here's some very exciting news!!  Do you guys remember this post of baby clothing that I had made for my husband's friend/coworker and his wife?  Well, this is little Neoma Jane who is now 2 months old wearing one of the sweaters I made for her.  Two weeks ago my husband and I were asked to be her Godparents ~ we are so shocked and honored and tickled, and of course we said yes!!  I have a little girl that I can knit for forever and as you can guess, I've already started.  I whipped out a little sweater this weekend to give to her now and I'll probably make something for her for Christmas, also.  Probably.  Did I really just write that?  You know I will for sure!

Any ideas on cute baby girl items I should take a look at?  I'm open to all suggestions!

I hope everyone has a fantastic Thanksgiving ~ I know we have much to be thankful for this year :)

let freedom ring ~ a post by Melissa

Happy Independence Day!  ~  Melissa

Valentine Wishes from Melissa

Santa Meets a Couple o' Dolls

What a lapful, eh?  I'm sure there's a grin under all that beard!  Jo and Zoe met Santa for the first time and got to share their elfish wishes for Christmas bounty on this, their first Christmas Eve.  And they must have been good little gals this year ~ not a lump of coal to be found in their gift boxes!

Miss Jo was oh, so surprised to discover that Zoe gave her a Mini Nancy Bush Triinu Shawl to match the one her mama was given:

And, little Rasta Zoe was so thrilled to receive some bright red holiday mittens from Jo:

What a pair of fashionistas!  I think they'll be the envy of all their little doll friends this season!

Happy holidays to all from The Peeps!       ~ Melissa

Growing Pirates

Before the littlest family member joined us 2 years ago, this Auntie made him his first skully sweater ~ size 6 month.  Can I get a little bitty 'aaaaargh':

As expected, he quickly grew out of it but this smart Auntie saved the leftover yarn and told his very smart mama that if she wanted me to try to up size it so he could get a little more wear out of it, I would surely try.  So, a few weeks ago, that very smart mama gave me a tracing of his best-fitting shirt and returned the wee pirate sweater to me for some modifications:

As I carefully unraveled the ribbing, the tiniest bits of crackers and such that had become embedded in the fibers fell out in my lap and I could picture the little guy happily munching away wearing his cute little hand knit.  Very sweet.  I picked up my stitches again and crossed my fingers that there would be just enough yarn left and........success!  He'll get one more winter from his gift from Auntie!

 

And just in case you're not completely burned out on this theme (I think this may be the last of the pirate posts.....maybe!) ~ Kelli and I have now officially made three generations of our husband's family skully caps to keep them warm this winter:

Can we get a great big, manly man, family sized 'AAAAAARRRRGHHHHH'!    ~ Melissa

Happy Holidays, Friends

May they find you surrounded by friends and loved ones.   ~ Melissa

Hvala, Maja!

My friend Maja in Croatia did a great post today about fiber inspired wreaths and she shared quite a few fantastic ideas that she found online and a very cute childhood memory as well ~ click here to check it out. You should take a peek and be inspired! Is everyone done with their holiday knits??? I have one more to go but luckily it's for someone that I won't see until after Christmas, so I'm feeling relieved that everyone else is crossed off my list with a few days left to spare! Hopefully, friends, you are feeling the hectic part of the holidays winding down and are gearing up to actually enjoy them! I finally am....whew! ~ Melissa

I found Maja's typo charming and pretty funny when she talks about her tradition of hanging 'decorative wrath' on the door every year ~ we should all learn how to decorate wrath....the world would be a happier place ;)

Also ~ there's still time to join our annual KAL which kicks off January 1st ~ we're up to 5 knitters so far ~ just let us know if you're interested!