Way Too Many Pictures!

We have had a tradition in our family since the girls were little of getting Christmas board games and playing them all day. The tradition continues but now the games are more mature.



Even tradition will not stop the knitting! There is also origami being created in the background.


Yes,these are a Christmas present my first born is making for her sister.




More game playing.


Lots of origami.



And more game playing!!!! All the games are beautiful and lots of fun.



I got some great stuff! I do love Lucy!!!!



Lots and lots of awesome yarn.


This is my silly husband with one of his gifts.


My last born is and artist.The Art Geek is the website of her work.
She took these beautiful pictures for me.

I am working on Columbia Beret by Sarah Pope Blue Garter.






Yarn Heaven!










This Noro Silk Garden will soon be a take off on brooklyntweed's Noro Scarf for my husband.



This is all way too much for Maggie. She is the reason everyone should go to a shelter and adopted an older a pet!
This is where we found Maggie Pet Finder.

First Snow!

I was able to finish my first pair of gloves just in time to give them to my daughter for the first snow of the season.
Some people don't like making gloves because of the fingers and I am sure those same people hate to weave in ends. Well call me crazy I enjoy doing both!
The only problem I have is getting hole in the space between the fingers. I have added and extra stitch and passing it over but I still have to do touch ups when weaving in the yarn.
Any help out there?


Martha has some knitting patterns in her January issue. I mean real knitting(not just cutting up a sweater knitted by someone else and crafting with it).


We had a one session day at school because of the snow and I got home to find my car smashed! Hit and run!!!!!


Needless to say I was a little upset! After yelling and cursing in the middle of the street for a few minutes I went went into the house and started to count my blessing.

Blessing 1. I have insurance and I can pay the $500 deductible,for something I didn't do! Oh right, I'm listing my blessings.

Blessing 2. My husband and I are off for almost 2 weeks which gives us time to handle all of the paper work.

Blessing 3. If the car isn't ready by the time I have to go back to work I go to work with my daughters and they can drive.

Blessing 4. I was going to stay home but went in because the other teacher in my group was going to be out. Oh! this is for the person that hit me because if I would have been there I may have gone out and beat them.

Blessing 5. I have enumerable blessing.

The Spectrum Is Done

I finished the Eunny Jang's Spectrum Scarf and I love it.
I have not blocked it but was checking out the Spectrum Scarves on Ravelry and may just have to do that.


I'm not much of a scarf person but I like wearing this one.


I made it long so I can loop it and the pattern is lace like so it is light so it's not bulky.


I'm on the second glove I'm making out of Jitter Bug yarn. I hope to be done by next weekend.

No Knitting Post

So here I am with my coffee and no knitting to show.


I did finish the glove I was working on but why post about one glove.
The Spectrum Scarf still needs to grow more.
Thought I would show my new favorite thing and some old favorite things.

I love the circular needle organizer I got from Knit Picks.


Now instead of looking through the box I had them in and checking for size I know just what I have when I want to start a project.


Old favorite things. My collection of Martha Stewart magazines.
When my friend Pat was moving out of her house she told me she may have a few old Martha Stewart Living magazines.
This is the oldest one in my collection April/May 1992


I always loved the magazine but was raising my daughters and would never spend money on such an expensive magazine. So whenever I went to the doctors office I would read my fill.
Thanks to Pat I now have many of them up to February 2002.

Empty nest has allowed me have a subcription of my own!

Keeping Hands And Necks Warm

I found this great pattern while reading one of The Lesser Known Skeins blogs.
Needles of Iron made the Eunny Jang's Spectrum Scarf with some beautiful Lambspun Prism.
I was so inspired I picked up the Crystal Palace I bought at Yarn Diva, printed out the pattern and was off.

I have so many projects I'm working on that this will be my mindless knit.
The pattern is super easy and the yarn is soft with a beautiful colorway.

My first pair of gloves are for my daughter. I found the pattern in Not Just Socks By Sandi Rosner. This is a great book for those of us who like to work with sock yarn.
I'm making them out of Jitter Bug merino wool. It's so great to work with this yarn, not only because it's so soft and squishy, as my daughter said, but the colorway is amazing!

I am getting better at joining the fingers without making a hole.

I finished the second pair of Magic Mittens.

I made the mitten top a little different and I think they came out cute.


These are gauntlets I made a while ago for my younger daughter.


The pattern is Evangeline by Michelle Szeghalmi made with Berroco Ultra Alpaca.



Last but far from least is the puppy of the house! Maggie is a shelter dog we adopted about 5 or so years ago.
She is ready for Christmas! Isn't she beautiful!!!!

She is a sweet heart with humans but has a problem with other dogs. I think she must have had many fights with dogs when she was on the streets and that is why her left ear looks that way.

A Gift Received And One Yet To Be Given

My good friend Pat gave me this knitting journal to write the details of my projects.



I have always wanted one! Thanks Patricia!


This is the scarf I went on and on about making.


Made of Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk(the tan part) and Cashmerino Chunky(the light blue). Both yarns are super soft and I crocheted it in a shell stitch pattern so it should be very warm. I bought both yarns at stix-n-stitches.


It is 80in. which is long enough to fold in half and loop through.

We will put our names in a bag and the name you pull is the scarf you get. I hope the Chalk Dust Knitter that gets my scarf likes it

Hats and mittens everywhere

This is my first pair of magical mittens.



They're made from Filatura Di Crosa 127 Print i picked up at my LYS stix-n-stitches.


The fingers still give me a little problem but I'm getting better. Us 50 somethings just need a little more time to pick things up.


So I started the second pair and made two right handed gloves! Don't ask! Yes then I made a pair of left hand gloves.


There are many ways to fasten the flap but I like the snaps. I will try to find snips that match the color of the yarn for the next pair.
They're made from Knit Picks Swish Superwash.


Here is my daughter Pepper with a hat she recently made and her new magical mittens.


Perfect match if I do say so myself.


This Flap Cap is a pattern from Mighty Mitts & Flap Caps a book by Cottage Creations,which was given to me by my friend Jackie.


I used Bazic Wool superwash by Class Elite. I'm new to fair isle and love doing it.


This was my daughter Zel's first fair isle project. The pattern is nordic-headband by Heidi Nyberg. She turned it into a very nice hat.

I am off to pick a pattern for a scarf I will make for a fellow Chalk Dust Knitters. Karen had this great idea that we make scarves for each other for Christmas.
I'm not good with deadlines but she said, "You have over a month!" I still feel pressure but it will be nice to have something made by someone in the group.

Field Trip with Lots of Pictures!

It's teachers convention time again and again I didn't go. Why break my 35 year record of never attending!

Perfect time for the Chalk Dust Knitters to hit the road.
We had a great field trip to Patricia's Yarns in Hoboken. It is a sweet yarn shop with amazing yarns. Patricia and her husband are a beautiful young couple who are very welcoming.




Here are Jackie(the field trip leader)and Karen looking at some of the many amazing projects around the shop.


This is a beautiful charity knit blanket for Hoboken Homeless Shelter Silent Auction.



Here is my daughter Zel, The Grimm Witch picking out the yarn I will use to make Tahoe from Knitty for her.





This is the shop pet Riley. He is the sweetest little Baby and full of love!



Here is Jackie holding Riley for a picture. Check out the beautiful blouse she has on!


This is a young man that is a regular or,as Jackie said,can be irregular at times.
Nice to see young men knitting.


Now time to eat!!!
We went to the Frozen Monkey Cafe just a few blocks away.
It's a retro restaurant that makes you feel like you stepped back to 1952.



I had half a Prosciutto, Fresh Mozzarella & Roasted Peppers Panini and Lentil soup. The food was fresh and simple.


Dessert was served on great plates. This is their Homemade Coconut Cheese Cake Slice.
It was awesome!


Yes that is a chart for a new project next to Karen's plate. We are never too busy to talk about knitting.


I had their Homemade Brownies w/ Tasti D-lite. You could not have made a better brownie at home!


We all came home with some beautiful yarn and a 15% discount for the group! Thanks Patricia!!!


Thanks Jacket for a great field trip!!!!

Friday my daughters and I went to another yarn store we had visited several months ago Yarn Diva. I was invited to join their Ravelry group and found out they had opened a new larger shop. It is as cute as their old shop just bigger and now they are able to carry more great yarns. As always mom and daughter are friendly and welcoming. Best of all the they have great sale yarns.
This will be the next Chalk Dust Knitter field trip.

I got this beautiful Crystal Palace Yarn for 40% off!!!!


Still have three more days. Lots of time to knit!