Happy New Year!

Audrey and I were in the Plain Dealer yesterday.  You can see the picture here, and you can read the article here.  Sorry I couldn't find them on the same page!  

I added a list of the blogs I read regularly to the sidebar.  Just in case you were interested, or bored, or whatever.

I tried to do a longer post, with pics of some of my Christmas knitting, but I wasn't able to load any photos tonight. Bummer!  More updates on my current knitting soon.

Ello's adventure

Ello is finished, and he has quite an adventure during his short life. You can see more adventures of Ello's siblings on the "adventures of Elijah" group on flickr.com. The pattern is from Ysolda.

(Sorry, I have no energy left for making links. Maybe later.)

Once upon a time, there was a little elephant made of yarn, and his name was Ello. He was born in a cubby in yarn shop, but he did not have a family.



Upon emerging from the cubby, he went for an exciting ride in a yarn swift . . .



. . . and he landed on the couch, where he received an excellent knitting lesson from a knitting fairy. He asked, but this fairy would not be his family. She already had a fairy family of her own!



He was quite sad and lonely, so he snuggled into a knitting bag and took a nap.



When he awoke, he was no longer in the knitting shop, but in a cozy cabin! He must have been carried home with a knitter! Maybe he would find his family here?



Checking out his new surroundings, he fell out of the knitting bag . . .



. . . and was eaten by a terrible monster!



The monster carried him all around the cabin, and Ello was very scared.



Then, the monster dropped him into the arms of a cute, friendly baby girl! Now he would certainly be safe from danger. Was she his family?



But wait, she is going to eat him too! Oh, the burdens of being so irresistible. He must get away!



Ello jumped to the floor, still in one piece. He met an entire pride of elephants, roaming the savannah of the nursery together. He had found his family at last! The end.

it's still not cold enough for a coat!

The November Ruffle is finished! I wove in the ends this morning and gave it a bit of steam before wearing it all day. Every girl should have a wrap like this; warm, soft, and comfortable while being pretty and elegant at the same time.



Sorry about the self-portrait. I cropped out the basket of clean laundry in the background.

Yesterday, I made a lining for my seed stitch purse.



When choosing the fabric, I had a couple of more subdued options picked, but then I thought, "If I get THIS, I will smile every time I open my purse!" It not only had sheep, cows, and pigs, but they are all wearing patchwork quilts! Too cute!

Still to do: sew the lining into the purse, find and attach a button, and finish sewing on the leather handle.

old knits for new people

I made this sweater before I was even pregnant with Audrey, in anticipation of the family I might have someday.



It is the child's placket pullover from Last Minute Knitted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson. I knit it with Noro Silver Thaw- a self-striping blend of wool, angora, and nylon. This is a great pattern, especially because the sizing goes from newborn up to 8-10 years. It is so cuddly and cute on my little one, I may need to keep making them as she grows!



Audrey says, "Mom, aren't you so proud of how I can sit up all by myself now? I'm such a big girl! Still a but wobbly, but I'm getting it!"

knitting report

I had a good knitting day today, even though I frogged a bit. I actually got to work on some things, and I have progress to show. This is the November Ruffle wrap. I decided that the ruffle was not going to be full enough, so I ripped it back a few rows to increase for more ruffley-ness. I got this pic while it was off of the needles:



I got it back on the needles, then increased the ribbing 150%. Now I just need to knit about 4 more inches. It should be lovely!

Not wanting to work on the wrap at knit night, I decided to start this.



My little one needs some handknit toys for Christmas, and Elijah will be something soft and squishy to chew on. I think I'll add a rattle too. Fun!

awesome Aussie

We got two new yarns from Oasis Yarns at the shop! This is Aussie Wool:



It is a chunky super-soft Australian wool. I have already knit a swatch with it for my Fall 2008 Knitscene submissions. I love working with it. It is also great for chunky ribbed scarves, like the ones I have made held with two strands of mohair. So soft and cuddly!

This is Aussie Sock:



I haven't knit with this yet, but I am really looking forward to it. There are solid and handpainted variegated colors, and one hank should make a pair of socks. Audrey especially likes the purple/pink combination. The pictures really don't do the colors justice. You'll just have to come check them out for yourself!

chocolate and peanut butter

We had a wonderful day here at our cabin in the woods. Our little family bunkered down after church and had a nice cozy day with the fire blazing in the woodstove. All of Audrey's grandparents and her Uncle Alec came to visit. I got some knitting done on the ruffle wrap:



I am almost finished with the main rectangle and ready to start the ruffle edge. It's quick to knit for such a large project. I haven't drowned yet in the sea of stockinette!

I also baked some tasty peanut butter cookies. You can tell they were VERY tasty, since this little guy is the only one left! I doubt he will last 'til morning.



Okay, I ate it already.