Happy New Year!!

Have a safe night everyone! I'll be back next year!

Nothing Beats Ice Cream!

This is my brother Chris enjoying his Ben & Jerry's with his brand new ice cream cozy! I failed to get a photo of the cozy before I sent it to him so I asked him to send me one. It sure looks like he's enjoying his snack with warm hands! He also told me there's only ONE flavor of ice cream, mint chip. Oh...I need to argue with you on that one.

I knit the cozy using the recommended Cascade Fixation, the pattern is found in the book Knit Wit. I made a few changes in the pattern due to error:
Number of sts after 2nd dec in body of cozy should read 56 sts
When shaping bottom of pint
1st rnd (K5, k2tog) 8 times
3rd rnd (k4, k2tog) 8 times
(I hope I'm not infringing on any copyright laws here)

I think next time I knit this I will add a row or 2 after each decrease in the body since the cozy doesn't seem tall enough to cover entire ice cream pint. As I was blocking it I had it stretched all the way up but since the Fixation contains elastic, it snapped right back.

May you all enjoy an ice cream snack tonight...

How I Spent My Christmas Eve

One of the reasons I may rethink knitting gifts (or at least start early) for Christmas is because of this:

I was knitting this Hayden hat on Christmas Eve! I knit it for my mom per her request and the last thing I wanted was to give her a partially knit gift. Casey was having a pre-holiday snooze, preparing for the festivities.

Cool stuff today...For those of you who lose socks into the mysterious black hole...Throx.

Lazy Tuesday

Since Kyle & I were both home from work today we decided to go see a movie. We saw The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. Maybe I just didn't get it but I thought the movie was slow and bizarre. I wanted to laugh my butt off but all the funny parts were shown in the trailer. Kyle said it reminded him of the Jacques Cousteau movies when they were trying to be so professional but were clumsy at the same time. I've seen better films.

By George, I Think I've Got It

I think I finally figured out why I couldn't get some photos to publish! Scroll down for some new ones! Yippee!!!

Photos. Finally.

These are the first holiday gifts I finished. I spent all of Thanksgiving weekend making my Christmas cards and then decided to whip up a bunch of notecards. I was a bit worried about this gift since I wasn't sure how hip people were about receiving my hand made cards. I think everyone appreciated them and at least the cards aren't something that has to hang around your house forever, AND you don't even have to put them out when I come over!

Back to Reality

Well, tomorrow it's back to work for me. I hope everyone out there had a great holiday weekend! I know I did. Santa brought me everything I asked for and more. I even had some yarn goodies in my stocking this year, everything I need to make the wavy scarf.

Today I took a break from knitting, partly because I've been sick and slept most of the day. I still have a few Christmas gifts to make for people I am exchanging with later in January, 2 mini sweaters and a Hayden hat. What have I knit for gifts this year?
7 mini sweaters
2 Hayden hats
1 scarf
1 ice cream pint cozy
will I knit this much next year? Probably not, unless I start early (stay tuned for New Years resolutions).

Oh! I want to knit myself a mini sweater too! Better get knitting!

I'm having trouble posting photos lately so hopefully by the end of the week I'll get that straightened out so you can see what I've been up to.

Cool stuff today...Create your own snowflake. Here's another snowflake site.

Ho Ho Ho

Merry Christmas!

A Night with Friends

Wednesday night I hosted a holiday party for a couple of friends. It was a lot of fun preparing for the party and since I had a few days off of work beforehand, I was able to put a little more time into it. I made each of them a set of cocktail napkins and used them as their placecards.

I served lettuce wraps with chicken and a Chinese cabbage salad. The food was delish and the drinks were even better. We had pomegranate martinis and Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. Thanks for bartending Lara! I was pleased to finally use my Christmas dishes since I have never taken them out of the box, I always think it's too much work to get them out.

Don't you love the little motorcycle in the window sill and the turkey SPAM bank?

After dinner we exchanged gifts, nibbled on a few Christmas cookies, knit a bit and jabbered too. I had Nikki & Lara each pick a mini sweater from my tree. This orange & pink number went home with Lara. We had a great time!

Pros, Cons & New Blogs

Pro: My banana bread is in the oven, my last baked good of the holiday season
Con: I still have to clean up
Pro: It's snowing
Con: It's -1º
Pro: My menu is planned for tomorrow nights get together
Con: I haven't done any wrapping for tomorrow nights get together
Pro: Kyle gave the dog a bath and washed our bed linens today
Con: How can there be a con associated with that??
Pro: After today, days will begin to get longer
Con: Today is the shortest day of the year
Pro: I'm watching Sex In The City
Con: I have a bit of a head cold, but not too bad
Pro: I have 5 more days off before I have to work again!

Enough of that...I could easily think of more pros than cons which I guess is good.

My friend Lara started her blog!!! It's about the planning and building process of her modern house here in Minnesota. It's called Modern in MN, go visit!

Becca's Sweater

This is the sweater I gave my friend Becca. She really liked it and hung it on her tree right away. She gave me a glass ornament shaped like a VW Beetle...it's a little inside joke...when I graduated from Dental Hygiene school I said I wanted to buy 2 things, a Coach purse and a VW Beetle. Five years later I have the purse but no beetle.
Maybe someday...

Mmmmm Cookies

I baked cookies yesterday and managed to knit and watch football as well! I still have a few things to finish up in the baking department which I'll do tomorrow. Kyle & I are both home from work all week so we'll be able to really crank out the baked goods.

My finished peanut blossom cookies...

I haven't ever made these and I haven't tasted them yet but Kyle gave them a big thumbs up.

I've given 2 mini sweaters and so far they've been well received. I made a few {batches} of polymer clay tags with candy canes instead of holly & berries because I couldn't cut out a holly leaf to save my life.

I officially finished my Christmas shopping today so now I can concentrate on wrapping and entertaining. I'm having a couple of friends over Wednesday for dinner and cocktails and Kyle's mom over for dinner on Christmas Eve.

Cool stuff today...A mug with a cookie compartment!

Trial Size

Lara made this little gem along with a couple others. At first glance you would think she made this for me, the initial C and all, but she actually made it for her cousin Chad. While at Crafty CHIX on Thursday we perfected our wire hangers and made the little Sculpey tags to go on the hangers. Lara's tags with the holly & berries turned out the best, I took a trip to the local craft store and picked up some Sculpey so I can duplicate her greatness. The tags were Lara's idea because she likes to have ornaments dated.

I am planning on making a few more of the mini sweater ornaments (I've already finished 3). I'll try to grab photos of all of them so I can post them after the holidays!

I think I'm very very close to being done Christmas shopping. I went out by myself last night and picked up the rest of what I needed and all the ingredients for cookies and such. I'm glad I did that because now the temperature is -6ºF! BRRRRR!! On the schedule for today? Cookie baking, mini-sweater knitting and Vikings watching.

Crafty CHIX

I'm on my way out the door for the bi-weekly Crafty CHIX. Hopefully I'll have some progress to show you tomorrow! Stay tuned!! I do promise many photos once the holidays are here & gone ;-)

Mini-Sweater Mania

I whipped up this mini sweater last night, isn't it CUTE? A few of my friends and I exchange ornaments each year and I was racking my brain thinking of something to knit when what did my wondering eyes did appear? A mini-sweater pattern posted on my local knitting forum! I made a few changes as per Midnight Knitter's recommendations.

For my next one (yes there's many more of these in my future) I will bind off with the larger needles since I'm not entirely pleased with the way the cuffs and waistline look. I also need to work on my hanger design. My favorite part of this design? I can use up some of my scrap yarn, this sweater used up what Koigu KPPPM I had left from my Crusoe sock.

Honolulu Bound

Since I can't show any photos of what I'm making because they're mostly gifts I figured I could still show things if they're wrapped. This is how I spent most of my yesterday, wrapping and wrapping and wrapping some more. I know this looks like a lot of gifts for 4 people but trust me, it's lots of little fun things. Christmas is for the kids right?

I did manage to get all of these gifts into this box:

I'm a bit of a magician eh? After years of sending packages by mail I've gotten pretty good at consolidation. I'll be shipping this off tomorrow morning so look for it OK Chris? Casey managed to get his big 'ol self in the photo again, crazy pooch.

My friend Cheryl LOVED the baby booties and sent me a thank you revealing the names of the twins. They will be named Erika and Elin. Awwww.

Cool stuff today... Get a free Bic Mark-It pen here. They come in 12 colors, a close 2nd behind Sharpies 24.

I'm SO Sad!

Just the other day I noticed the bottom of my favorite slippers has worn through. Boo. Maybe I should have stitched the seam together tighter. I suppose I could place suede bottoms on them so I can get a little bit more use out of them. This really bums me out because I have only been wearing them since August 1st. However, this is a great excuse to knit another pair right?

Secret Christmas Project Update

I have figured out the I.C.P.C. pattern from Knit Wit. I'm going to let the author know about the error and I will post what I did differently and post photos as soon as the recipient receives the gift!

Another Project??

I've taken a break on all-things-knitted-for-myself in order to finish up some gifts. I'm trying not to subject my family to too many hand-made gifts although, since we're all talented in the crafting department they do appreciate it. Since my current knitted item is for a certain someone who reads my blog the only thing I can say is it's quirky and has a little something to do with this:

Cool stuff today...Spam shirts (not the packaged meat kind)

**Update: Does anyone know where I can find errata for the book Knit Wit? OR...Has anyone knit the pattern I.C.P.C. page 55? If you haven't guessed this is sort of a code so the recipient won't catch on ;-) I'm having trouble at the 3rd decrease row (shaping the bottom), everything prior to this added up (except the stitch count at the end of the 2nd dec row should read 56). When I decrease every 4sts I end up with 2 extra at the end of the row. You can e-mail me if you would rather not leave a comment. Thanks for your help!

Another mitten?

I have decided to start knitting my felted mittens. I was a little bored with the sock yarn/mohair mitten since it's a very slow knit. If you haven't noticed, I knit small projects for instant gratification . Who knows if I'll ever tackle a sweater. The color of the yarn looks a little bit pink in the photo due to lack of sunshine. It's actually a deep rich red and it's hand dyed so there's variation in the color. I've seen this yarn felted and it's fabulous. The yarn is Araucania Nature Wool from Chile.

New Knitty!

I'm happy to see a new Knitty! My friend Lara & I are going to do our own little mini knit along and work on Wavy together. Hopefully Nikki will join us too ;-). I really like Mancala Mia and it's one of my favorite games. I may have to think about making this with leftovers once all my other projects are finished! I should have Mancala Mia finished in *tapping fingers & thinking* 2025? I can't wait for the Knitty surprise patterns!

100 Things About Me

Since I'm seeing this list all over the blogging world I thought I'd give it a try. Don't feel obligated to read it.

1. My given name is Carrie Beth
2. I am 5'2" tall
3. My hair color is natural
4. I love to knit
5. I am addicted to TV
6. I own enough craft supplies to keep me busy for about a year
7. Mexico is the only other country I've been to besides the US
8. I went to Mexico on my honeymoon in 1997
9. 4 years later I went to Mexico with all my co-workers, it was a gift to us from our bosses
10. I am married to my soul mate
11. I love my job
12. I think I have a slight case of OCD
13. I hate to exercise
14. I need to lose about 15 pounds
15. I've gained 30 pounds since graduating high school
16. I'm still in the correct weight range for my height
17. I own over 60 Longaberger baskets
18. I tell myself they are an investment
19. I do not have children
20. I hate taking any medication
21. I floss every day
22. I have an AAS degree in Dental Hygiene
23. I love chocolate
24. I don't have any living grandparents
25. I LOVE big dogs
26. I grew up with a Doberman Pinscher
27. I ride a motorcycle
28. I have 3 tattoos
29. I learned how to quilt in 1995
30. My sister-in-law taught me to quilt
31. I've been to Alaska 3 times
32. I was in a downhill ski club as a kid, Blizzard Ski club
33. I was a Girl Scout
34. I tan easily
35. As a child, a neighbor wrote a book about me and I still own it
36. My parents had a cabin when I was growing up, we spent a lot of time there in the summers
37. I need to clean out my clothes closet
38. I have owned only 4 cars in my lifetime
39. I have received 4 speeding tickets
40. My eyesight is terrible
41. Up until the 7th grade, I threw up at least once per year in the classroom
42. My longest friendship is 14 1/2 years to my friend Anne
43. We each went to college twice, together
44. Anne introduced me & Kyle
45. Kyle & I were engaged at the Grand Canyon
46. We had a 57 Chevy limousine for our wedding
47. I had 2 attendants named Paula in the wedding
48. I cry easily while watching TV
49. I allow my dog to lick my face
50. I have never had a flu vaccine
51. I have owned a snowmobile, a jetski, a motorcycle and a dirtbike
52. I am more of a tomboy than a girly girl
53. I don't wear makeup
54. I work 5 miles from home
55. I am a good speller
56. I love to read
57. I usually fall asleep when I read
58. It takes me a while to finish books
59. I am religious at visiting Doctors for checkups
60. I saved my mother-in-laws life 3 years ago
61. She called me for help and I told her to hang up and dial 911
62. I am terrified of house fires
63. Kyle teases me about this fear by asking me if I've unplugged the fridge when we leave home
64. I tend to be a pack rat
65. I want to get over being a pack rat
66. I love Pistachios and all things flavored with Pistachios
67. I am a homebody
68. I hate loud music
69. I am a Libra and so is Kyle
70. I competed in the triple jump and the 50 yd dash in elementary track and field
71. I was whacked in the nose with a softball in grade school
72. I love to sleep in
73. I am a night owl
74. I slam doors when I'm angry
75. I have my dad's temper but I manage it better
76. Everyone says I look like my mother
77. I hate when people tell me I look like my mother
78. I have one brother, he's 4 years older than me
79. I also have a biological sister but we didn't grow up together
80. I love to watch Minnesota sports: Vikings, Wild, Twins, Timberwolves
81. I could spend all day in a book store
82. I snore sometimes
83. I would rather give people lots of gifts on their birthday than at Christmas
84. I love to eat out
85. I rarely cook
86. I don't mind cooking
87. I get my haircut every 6 weeks
88. People used to mistake me as a boy when I was in 9th & 10th grade because I had short hair
89. I've had braces
90. I never wore my retainers
91. I take vitamins every day
92. I am allergic to Penicillin
93. I don't know my blood type
94. I have never donated blood
95. I am organized
96. I didn't fly until I was a teenager
97. I pay the bills
98. My friends know most things about me, I am not secretive at all
99. I rarely have cash in my purse
100. I miss my nieces who live in Hawaii

A Dog & His Scarf (sort of)

I knit this scarf in a flash. It's a Christmas gift for Kyle's mom, I can just hear her voice when she opens it "Oooooh, did you make this?". I hope she likes it as much as Casey does. I really think he likes modeling scarves. See the photo in the background, in the window sill? That's a picture of me & my oldest niece Megan when I was visiting her in Alaska back in 1997. We're standing in front of a glacier & it's one of my favorite photos of us together. Just 3 months earlier she was my little flower girl in my wedding and danced more than anyone else that night. Good times.

Casey decided to lay down with the scarf...

And here's a close up of the stitches. All I did was knit knit knit since with this style of yarn you can't see a pattern anyhow. The yarns are Plymouth Eros & Spazzini held together, a little scratchy but if it's under the collar of her coat I think it will be OK. I think Casey needs a manicure...

Enough knitting and blogging for me today I think I'm going to decorate for Christmas now. Happy Saturday everyone!

Cool stuff today...I love this ceramic slicer and you can't beat the price!

Booties Booties

I finished knitting the booties for my friend Cheryl. I'll get them to her just in time for the arrival of her twin girls. She has a 2 year old little girl already so she's really going to have her hands full!

All booties were knit with Koigu KPPPM-love that yarn!
I've cast on for the 2nd sock yarn/mohiar mitten, I would like to use them this winter and I have a few more ideas up my sleeve, I'll elaborate on those later.