NotScarlett

Endings

I don't celebrate New Years Eve/Day in any special way...in fact, I don't really celebrate the holiday at all. No resolutions, no parties, no big to-do; I usually just hole up with my sweetie and a few bottles of champagne, and if I'm awake to see the ball drop on TV, I've really outdone myself.

That being said, B is on call this year, and neither of us have any idea when he'll be home. Our neighbors/landlords have invited us down for a NYE party, and I'll be putting in an appearance, with B joining me if he happens to be home at a decent hour. The nice thing is, I don't have to get in my car and go anywhere, and I'm just a few short steps from home when I'm feeling ready to excuse myself. I'm going to try and muster a bit of enthusiasm for the whole New Years deal so as not to seem like a big ol' party pooper. Wish me luck.

While you're at it, wish yourself a Happy New Year...just because I'm a cranky old lady doesn't mean I don't wish y'all well. Hope you have a safe New Years Eve, and a peaceful 2008.

Drive By Posting

Hi! Hope you had a very Merry Christmas, or a really nice Tuesday if you don't do the whole Christmas thing.

My Christmas was fantastic, it was four days of bliss. Really. It was most excellent. My wonderful fiance gifted me with a brand spankin' new sewing machine! YAY! I'm also super excited about the silly amount of money in gift certificates I received to my favorite LYS. Hooray! I was spoiled rotten again this year. There was great company, lovely presents, and of course, there was food. And more food. And then more food. And champagne. And more champagne. Then some wine. Then more champagne. Then, ooooh! Mimosas! Annnnd then again with just the champagne.

There was also a Cricket and Sampson reunion, quality time spent with a few good movies, and bonding with my Nina. There was not nearly enough knitting time though, which will be remedied this coming four day weekend, where Operation Sarah Doesn't Leave the Couch will occur. Is it wrong that I am this excited about four days of no company at my house and being able to do nothing at all? I don't think so. I'm gonna need it after the next few days....I'm back to work for the rest of the week and just a teensy bit OH GOD SEND HELP NOW! I'm buried under piles of paper! I CANNOT SEE MY DESK! busy, what with it being the end of the year and all. Fun times. Fun times.

Oh no...wait....hang on....I feel...a little....woozy.......

Note to self: Self, when B is upstairs playing that video game (you know, the one you got him for Christmas that is really hard to find that you have been trying to get him for the past two years that you finally paid a crapload of money for on eBay and that he has been playing in every free moment since approximately 10:53 am Christmas morning which is why it seems like he hasn't been home for two days when he actually has, he's just been glued to the Playstation) do not get on the computer with the hopes of getting anything done, because that damn music puts you into some kind of trance. Stay away, self. Don't go to Castlevania Trance Land.

I swear. I'm going to hide that game when he isn't looking. The music is putting me right to sleep. Dammit. There has to be some kind of subliminal message in that stupid song or something, I just go off into la-la land...ANYWAY. I'm finished with holiday knitting, and find myself with shockingly few projects on the needles. I'm thinking 2008 needs to be my year of the sweater. I've got a few picked out, and would like to knit/finish at least 5 for the year. Are there any must-knit sweaters I should know about? What are your favorite sweater patterns/finished hand knit sweaters? Let me know, I'd appreciate the input!

Christmas Part 1

Nina, Justin and Cricket are in town, and today we had our "Christmas dinner." B has to work tomorrow so we couldn't do Christmas Eve, Nina and J will be at his parents house all day Christmas day,  and I refuse to spend all day Christmas cooking and cleaning since I go back to work the following morning, so we did things a bit early this year. The four of us, plus the doggies, plus a close friend of mine, plus my aunt, all sat around the table and stuffed ourselves with turkey and all the fixin's. Dessert was tiramisu, made from scratch by yours truly. Everything was super delicious and a good time was had by all.

After a while, I disappeared. My sister came upstairs and busted me checking out the WEBS sale. Her alcohol fueled response to this was, "Dude, you're a yarn freak. You're like....Criss Angel, only instead of Mindfreak, you're yarn freak. You should have a show. About yarn. Where you like, make it levitate. That would be weird"

I love the holidays.

Madness

After the day I had today, if I hear the word "addendum" one more time, there will be violent consequences. At one point this afternoon, I found myself contemplating the plausibility of Death By Paperclip, wondering how much trouble I'd be in if, instead of just notarizing the 5,000,000th deed to cross my desk in the span of an hour, I ripped it in half, and whether or not throwing my chair through the window and jumping from the second story to the parking lot was a plausible escape plan.

It's the most wonderful time of the year, right?

Mmmm hmmm. Riiiiiiight.

Tomorrow is Friday though, which means...wait. It means work. Which right now means insanity.

Wonderful.

Finally slowing down

Yesterday, Hell froze over. I BAKED. I made cookies, and bread, and more cookies. I didn't burn anything. It was a miracle. However, I made a huge mess and really did not enjoy anything about the process, so I don't know that I will be baking on such a large scale again anytime soon. I AM planning on baking just a few more things before Christmas though-for my own consumption and sentimental/heritage reasons-some makovnjaca and some kifli. Mmmmm, kifli.... I can already taste the apricot filling.

My embroidered ornaments  got their hangers sewn on yesterday afternoon, my Christmas knitting is done, and all the packages of gifts headed to family members across the country were dropped at the post office last night-oh, Automated Postage Machine, how I love thee.

Christmas shopping is finished too! A few packages need to be wrapped, a ribbon or bow added here or there, and everything will be ready. I'm waiting on three packages currently being shipped my way to round out B's gifts, and that's it. It feels wonderful to have everything done.

Now all I have to do is sit back and enjoy the season-and my new obsession. Thanks to the suggestion of an old friend, I started the first book Friday night, went out and bought the next two on Saturday, and am about halfway through Eclipse as of this morning. It's been a while since I've been so utterly engrossed in a story, and I must admit I'm a bit surprised since I was initially not that interested in the premise or genre. Now though? All I want to do is go home from work and read, read, read. In all honesty, I'll probably re-read all three as soon as I finish the last one. I love these books.  Anyone else out there a big ol' romantic sap like me/fan of these books? I can't be the only one...there's a Twilight group on Ravelry!

Hope you're all coming close to the end of your holiday prep, and you get a chance to slow down and enjoy everything special about this time of year.

One down....too many more to go...

That sneak peek I gave you yesterday? Yeah, I just can't resist bragging a bit. I'm home sick today, and finished up that bit of knitting.

Swoon. This turned out even better than I imagined. I hope the recipient loves it as much as I do.

Specs (see the Ravelry notes here)
Pattern: Celtic Tote by Jennifer Tallapaneni from the Winter 2007 IK
Yarn: Patons Classic Merino in Leaf Green, and some black ancient hand-me-down wool from my godmother's mom by way of my grandmother...long story.
Needles: Denise's, US 10
Mods: I cheated and didn't knit the cables on the back panel. The straps are recycled from an old purse; I wasn't sure I liked the idea of knitted straps for this bag. Of course, since I don't use or even own any DPN's, the bottom section was modified to knit completely on one circ. Don't ask me to explain how I did that, I just did. I do that all the time when patterns call for DPN's, and it's become so regular for me, I seriously cannot even tell you how I do it, I just kinda wing it. Is that even considered a mod? Whatever.

Now, for my next trick: a bowl of chicken noodle soup, a nap, and some glass etching. I just looked at the calendar vs. my knitting/crafting schedule and almost had a heart attack. I've got to get crackin'....and beat this damn sinus infection. I totally need a time turner.

Holiday Tradition

I'm not even going to complain. At least it's not pneumonia this year, just a sinus and ear infection.

I've been keeping busy with crafting....and knitting of course. I'd love to show you some knitting. I've got FO's and everything. Um, but, you know, it's Christmas knitting, and at least three of the recipients of said knitting read this blog. I can show you next month though! How about just a teensy peek at one gift?

Wanna see some of that crafting I mentioned?

Hope you are all well and enjoying the season instead of stressing. And those of you with cold weather? Please, please, please send some my way. It should NOT be 83 degrees in the middle of December.

Mitt Envy

While my last post lamented the lack of true winter weather in my area, it has been deliciously nippy all day with temperatures projected to drop to near-freezing this evening. The rest of the office seems to be moping around, bundled up and grumpy, not at all happy about this cold snap, while I cannot wipe the idiot grin off my face. The cold, it makes me happy. My morning  started off with the best kind of dilemma; which combination of handknits will I wear today?

Luckily, I spend most of the day indoors, so I don't need anything too heavy-duty to keep me warm. A friends husband who spends much of his day outside and suffers from arthritis in his hands and wrists needs a bit more protection than those of us who sit typing away at a keyboard in an environment with a controlled temperature. She decided fingerless mitts were just the thing after seeing me wearing a pair a during our last few days of chilly weather. I was given just a few requirements: no 100% scratchy wool, and easy care. A bit of stash diving and a a few hours of knitting, and I had just the thing.

Pattern: Fingerless Mitts from Weekend Knitting

Yarn: Paton's Rumor in Fern Heather

Needles: Knit Picks Options, US 8

Soft and squishy, machine washable, and just the right size for his hands (they kind of dwarf mine in the pictures above, but I was the only model on hand...no pun intended...) the mitts were well received and my friend is quite excited to take them home to hubby this evening.

Knitting these made me REALLY want to knit some new mitts for myself, but I'm in Holiday Knitting Hell, and just cannot justify casting on another project. Maybe mitts will be my reward knitting if I meet my knitting goals this week....I've got a schedule too.

Dreaming of Winter

I envy those of you who live in cold climates, places where mittens and hand knit sweaters are worn daily through the chilly winter months, places where weather forecasts include words like "sleet" and "ice" and my new favorite, "wintry mix." I know I have an idealized view of such conditions...I realize that snow can be dangerous and frost is not a friendly thing, but oh, how I wish for some snow. When I close my eyes and think of winter, it looks a little something like this:   

I live somewhere that a daytime high of 63 is referred to as "freezing" and "better grab that winter coat" weather, but I fantasize about the hush of a city shut down temporarily by falling snow, that muffled quiet I remember from childhood days in Washington State where everything is covered by a magical blanket of white. I want to hear the crunch crunch crunch of new fallen snow under my boots, I dream of sledding down the hill where my grandparents live, and I'm desperate to make a snowman.

Living in Southern California, I at least had the option of playing in the snow. Hop in the car, head up to the mountains and have at it. For an extra fun time, take a weekend trip up to some REAL mountains with some good friends and let the snowy magic surround you.

Sarah and Stacey, Mammoth Mountain, January 2002

Florida is flat as a pancake, the chances of snow are slim to none, and the getting to the nearest mountains involves several hours of driving.

Sigh. What I wouldn't do for some snow. I guess I'll have to settle for frost.

Morning on Lake Lafayette, Tallahassee, FL, Nov. 2007

Prize Knitting Complete!

It feels like I haven't posted in forever, but I know that isn't true. Maybe it feels that way because I haven't posted anything knitting related in a very long time. Let's remedy that with an FO, shall we?

Pattern: Hedera, by Cookie A. from Knitty.com
Yarn: Fleece Artist Merino in Rose Garden
Needles: Knit Picks Classic Circs, US 1

This is the second time I've knit this pattern, and I enjoyed it just as much as I did the first time around. This pair is for KaitieTee, the winner of my blogiversary contest.

These socks have traveled from the East Coast to the West Coast and back again, were attacked by a kitten in a terrifying incident I shudder to recall, and are currently making their way to Kaitie via USPS. Kaitie, I hope you love wearing them as much as I loved knitting them!

I'm going back to hibernating with my holiday gift knitting, a warm pup, and what I hope will be some good TV. Hope y'all are well!