Last post of 2015

I realized that I should do a last post for this year.  I did manage to make two Christmas hats, although one wasn't finished till the day after Christmas.  I made the Baa-ble hat  (design from the Shetland Wool Week people) (the one that everyone seems to be knitting), and gave it to the girl child for Christmas.

And the boy child had to wait an extra day, but he got the Pressed Rib Cap (design from Churchmouse Yarns and Teas) in his favorite colors, purple and orange.

(Yes, he's reaching out to pet Mia.)

And I finished putting in all 24 squares from my Opal Sock Yarn Advent Calendar on my mitered square blanket.

To backtrack a bit, the kids came home the weekend before Christmas to decorate the tree.  Hooray!

And we had a nice family Christmas celebration on Christmas.

I'm not planning to do a year in review, but I will post a pic from a hashtag that seems very popular on instagram, #2015bestnine.  Here is my best nine, according to whoever developed this app or whatever it is.  (Google it and you'll find it.)

These were the pics that were "liked" the most in instagram this year, according to the app.  As I said on instagram, I guess I'd better get back to stitching!  :D

Mia is never quite happy around Christmas.  Too much activity for her accustomed routine.  But she did enjoy her Christmas presents.

(And yes!  We saw Star Wars!  Of course!)

Thanks as always for stopping by and saying hi.  I hope everyone has a great week.  And many wishes for a happy, healthy, peaceful and safe New Year.

Getting to be that time of year....

Yup, 'fraid so.  I've been knitting.  I finished the two front panels of Rowe.

And I'm now working my way through 422 stitches worth of ribbing -- for 8 inches.  Sigh.

I also succumbed to the Opal Sock Yarn Advent Calendar.  I've been opening a door a day -- each door contains a mini skein of Opal Sock Yarn!  I've been knitting a square a day from the yarn.  Such fun!

The pics were taken on Saturday.  I've since added Sunday's square with Sunday's mini skein.  (The top row on the blanket is what I've added so far.)  I'm not sure what I will do with the rest of the yarn on the skeins.  Probably knit them into the blanket too?  We'll see.  Each time, the square will look different, I think.

Thanksgiving has come and gone since the last time I posted.  The boy child came home on the Tuesday night before Thanksgiving, so we had an extra day with him.  Girl child came home on Thanksgiving Day itself.  So nice to have the kids home at the same time -- a rarity these days.

Boy Child let me cut his hair -- thank goodness!  Look at how long it was!

His hair will be shorter in the rest of the pictures.  lol!

The kids worked together and made mac and cheese from scratch.  Delicious!

The turkey, made by my sweet Father Type.

Yum!

All too soon, the kids scattered again.  The Girl Child left on Saturday, and we sent the Boy Child back to Boston on Sunday.

Not long till it will be Christmas break!  I'm looking forward to that.

Thanks as always for stopping by and saying hi.  I hope everyone has a great week.

Better late than never....

Ok, maybe this posting every other week thing doesn't work too well.  Not only do I not stick to the schedule, but I lose track of what I've posted about and what I haven't.  Sigh.  Oh well.

I do have some stitching to show.  I've started Isobel Stuart by the Essamplaire.  She's a pretty one!  This is the bottom left corner of the piece.

It is a kit so I'm using the provided linen and threads.  I've finished the green of the border (which meets -- yay!) and at least some of the border flowers.

I also finished the 4th row of my mitered square blanket.

It's such a fun thing to knit!

I've started swatching for a sweater, the Rowe by Michele Wang.  I have always been intimidated by intricate cable sweaters, but have always wanted to knit one.  And lucky for me, there is a class for the sweater down at Michele's shop, Gauge and Tension.  So I am swatching in preparation for the class.  I'm using the color Flannel in the called for Brooklyn Tweed Shelter yarn.  Loving the cable work so far!  This class has already given me the push I needed to try fancy cabling.  Yay!

Of course, with my luck, the swatch will come out to the wrong size, but I can hope!

What else has happened since I last posted?  Oh all sorts of things, I imagine.  Like, for example, the father type got to go on a Google paid vacation to St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands with his work colleagues.  Google knows how to treat its employees well!

And we've had glimpses of the girl child periodically, at home, and in NYC.  Here she is surprising the father type on his way home from work with a birthday surprise!

And of course, the father type and I have had our own adventures, including a late lunch one day at Michael Jordan's restaurant, The Steak House NYC, in Grand Central Terminal.  Such a view!

Sorry the pictures are so dark.  :(  I wish you could see the beautiful ceiling better.

Mia never likes when we leave her home alone.  If she had her druthers, we would be home with her at all times!

Thanks as always for stopping by and saying hi.  I hope everyone has a great week!

stitchy knitty empty nest again

I have a stitching finish!  Shocking, I know.  :D

Margaret Cottam Mystery Sampler by La D Da

called for threads and linen (except for linen being 40ct)

I'm so glad I found this one languishing in my UFO pile.  I do love it!

I've also worked on my mitered square blanket, usually while watching the US Open.

I'm well into the 4th row now.

We had to say goodbye to the boy child once again -- time for him to go back to college.

I can't believe it's his last year of college.  How did that happen?  Here's to a good senior year!

Thanks as always for stopping by and saying hi.  I hope everyone has a good week!

Too much to talk about....

One problem with not posting as often.  I have too much to talk about when I do post!

First, the various projects I've been working on.  I started and finished Plum Street Samplers -- Serial Bowl Collection, Sampler Lesson 2.  (I still have to finish finish it though...)

Then I found an old UFO and started working on it -- the Margaret Cottam Mystery Sampler by La D Da.

I've also been working on my mitered square blanket.  I'm 6 squares from finishing the third row.

We celebrated the girl child's birthday together in NYC.  It was a fun day with yummy food and a great bookstore discovery too.

And then we went to Maine!  The girl child only stayed for half the week, but despite that and lots of fog and clouds, we had a good time.  I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

(Loved this "chandelier" in Abacus)

Someone was very happy to see us when we got home.  

(This was actually the day I was packing for Maine...)

Thanks as always for stopping by and saying hi.  I hope everyone has a great week!