SO VERY THANKFUL

As I've watched all of my "friends" on Facebook post their daily gratitude item, it has made me think about all of the things in my life that I am so grateful for.  Most of all, I am so thankful to be ALIVE, and as I pass my seven-year milestone, as a cancer survivor.  I'm sorry to say that it took cancer to make me realize just how precious life is. 

I am also so thankful for friends and family.  How could you possibly get through life without them?  As a passion to center everything around, I am also thankful for "knitting".  It grounds me, helps me relax and keeps my brain active and creative. 

The Christmas Slippers are all complete and tucked into their Christmas wrapping.  They are sure to warm some toes and provide a little indoor skating on hardwood floors.

Remember this little knit bodice from my last post?  Shara has been attending my knit classes, and has certainly taken to the craft.

Here is the finished product.  Shara sewed this cute butterfly fabric to the knit bodice, to make it into a darly little dress for her niece.  Knits and fabric make a beautiful combination.  Lucky little Lyla will be dancing in it soon!

Tiffany has been busy too.  She crocheted this beautiful blessing shawl in pink and white.  What a nice compliment to a sweet baby on her special day.

Tiffany made this one too.  I wish she was my Aunt!  Megan looks beautiful too, as she holds her little cousin.

Alex knit this twisted cowl.  It is so warm and cozy.  Of all my children, I never expected her to be a knitter, but I was wrong!  She does a beautiful job.

This isn't the best picture, as the white yarn caused a glare, but if you look hard, you can see the cabled design.

Thanks to all of you, from our "Knit Night" who were willing to share your completed projects.  I hope there will be many more to come.

I couldn't resist showing my newest great-nephew, Gunner.  He is all decked-out in the little sweater I knit for him.  Such a cute little boy. 
I'll be cooking a huge turkey with all the trimmings in a few days, and spending precious time with friends and family.  The next day will bring a Christmas card photo shoot with my niece, the photographer.  Some "black friday" shopping is sure to jump into the mix, along with a lot of sewing, to finish up more Christmas gifts.  I'll have to show these to you after Christmas, as I don't want to ruin the surprise.

Thanks to all of you who take the time to share my life!  I wish you all the Happiest Thanksgiving, and the most relaxing Holiday Season.  Happy knitting . . . . . .

Christmas Knitting Projects

It is that time of year . . . again!  Time to knit as many Christmas gifts as I can possibly move across my needles.  Every year I tell myself I'm not going to go crazy, but I cannot help myself . . . I always do it.

My craziness is well under way.  Here are a few of the items I am trying to complete in time for gift giving:

"Lil" Christmas Hats.  This pattern is free and available at:  Ravelry.com.  I didn't knit the hats for gifts, but rather designed the pattern and knit the samples for my daughter to sell and make a little extra money for her Christmas. 

There are several styles and sizes.

If you are not a knitter, the hats can be purchased at:  The Coats Closet for $15 each, or at Salon Mousse (807 Ft. Union Blvd., Midvale, UT - 801-255-6922), starting on November 24.

The hats are available in sizes Newborn to Age 10, and will keep your little ones warm all through the Season.

I've been teaching my grand-daughter to crochet, and dug up one of my favorite patterns to teach her.  It was a mitered hot pad, similar to one pictured above.  She has been crocheting away, in hopes of having a set to give her Father for Christmas.

As you know, I hate to crochet.  So . . . I developed a knitting pattern for this "Mitered Hot Pad".  The pattern is written for 6 and 8 inch squares.  They are durable and if knit in acrylic yarn, they can be machine washed and dried.  A good thing for me, since most of what I cook ends up splashing on the hot pads.

You'll be amazed how a 4 or 6 inch tube can be sewn into the perfect flat square.  They are double thick, so they really protect from hot pans and oven racks.  I'm sure my neighbors will love getting these for Christmas!

Just like in years past . . . I have received many requests for new felted slippers.  I have been knitting them assembly style for the past week.  They have been virtually flying off my needles.

Last year I wrote a pattern for a crocheted version of these felted slippers, in hopes of saving myself some time.  They worked out great, but I still liked the knit version best.

This year I found an even better (faster) pattern.  These are called "Duffers", and this is how they look, before they are felted.  These are 5 pairs for my 5 grandchildren.  Duffers by Mindie Tallack is a pattern that can be knit in 19 simple rows.

Duffers are also a lot easier to control in the felting process.  Here are all 5 pair, felted.  The two-tone slippers are for the boys, and the solid slippers are ready to have their roses attached.

The roses are all felted and ready to be sewn on the girl's slippers.  These roses are easy to knit and felt, and a free pattern can be found at:  Ravelry.com.

The roses and leaves look like this, before felting.

These are the completed slippers I've made for some of my friends.  They are toasty warm on the toes, on a cold winter night.

"KNIT NIGHTS" have been the best.  I've made some great new friends and a few classes have brought out some extremely good knitters.  This little bodice will have a cloth skirt attached for some lucky little girl.  Shara did a beautiful job knitting it!  She is well on her way to being an excellent knitter.  She has caught the "bug".  I hope she can afford the "yarn stash" I can see in her future . . . .  I can't wait to see the finished product, and I'll be sure to share it in a future post.

I've still got a vest, 2 tank tops and 2 pairs of felted clogs on the needles that must be completed and some ready for mailing by Thanksgiving, so I guess I better quit blogging, and get back to knitting.  Happy Knitting!