Ho Ho Ho

All the knitting is done, all the gifts are wrapped, the away gifts are shipped & delivered, the cookies are baked & eaten, and I even spent this morning writing in my Christmas journal about what a great December I've had and what I want to remember to do next year. For as horrible as November was, December has been awesome.

I hope all of you have a wonderful Christmas holiday and a happy and healthy 2012. I will try to be more consistent next year. It's one of my resolutions. One of the first things I'll do first is post pictures and write about the Christmas knitting.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

It's November What?!?

Way back in September, I started planning and even knitting some Christmas presents. I was so proud of how early I was starting. I was not going to be crazily knitting all night just to get gifts in the mail to be received by Christmas. I was not going to have find a gift at the last minute because I just didn't get the knitting done. I was not going to have to create IOUs for gifts that would be coming after Christmas. Even through most of October I would think, "I still have the whole month of November! No problems."

"The truest characters of ignorance are vanity and pride and arrogance" 

--Samuel Butler

Let's see:

Needed: 7 pairs of fingerless mittens, 2 hats, 1 shawl, 1 infinity scarf
Completed: 3 1/2 pairs of fingerless mittens, 1 shawl (that still needs to be blocked)

Suddenly, November seems like a very, very short month. None of those items take a long time, but when you add up how many need to be done, that's a lot of time for my fingers to fly through the yarn. However, it can be done! OK, don't want to fall into the pride hole again, but I do think I can still get all this done.  I love knitting these items, and the people the gifts are going to are definitely hand-knit worthy, so I will just have to make it so. Every time I start another gift, I'll hear Patrick Stewart saying, "Make it so." And it will be so.

Wish List

This is a quick post. Quick because I've been dealing with the stomach flu (I won't go into details, you're welcome) and quick because I'm using you. Yes, I just started blogging again, and what do I do? I take advantage of our blossoming friendship, our getting reacquainted, by using this space to enter a contest. Oh well. It can't be helped! It's knitting stuff. It calls to me. Haunts my dreams. Occupies my...oh, you get the idea.

So, here's the deal. I have to post a link to my wish list on Knit Picks to enter their contest. I really like Knit Picks, so I have no problem sending a link to their site. As far as I know, they are everything they seem to be--a family-owned business that carefully sources their products to cut out the middle man and sell knitting yarns and supplies at a fantastic price. So, here's the link to my wish list.

And here's to hoping I win the gift card!

Welcome Back!

It's been a while since I've posted here. I've been thinking about reviving this blog because I'm tired of talking to the wall. It's not a good conversationalist. And the dogs, as cute and wonderful as they are, when I talk to them, they just stare at me, waiting for words they recognize, like treat, walk, and eat. Thus, I've decided this might be a better outlet.

I'd like this to be what I originally planned when I changed it to "The Kettle's On." There's going to be a lot of crafty, knitty talk on this blog. I want it to be all warm and comfy, like we're having a conversation while sitting around with a pot of tea or something stronger, if needed. Face it, some projects just don't go as planned, and all the chamomile tea in the world won't help. Sometimes there will be talk about whisky (I'm a scotch drinker), travel, my dogs, and probably movies/TV/music. Every now and then, there will be talk about MS, only because it's a part of my life and can affect this blog.

There won't be talk of politics, religion, current events, or even past events. At least, it's my plan to stay away from those topics. Not because I'm against blogs that talk about those things, I just don't do it as well as they do, so why bother. Besides, I'm so disillusioned by all things political and media-driven that you'd quickly run away from all the cynicism and complaining.

No! Let's stay positive and fun, and in my world, knitting is positive and fun. So, let me end this on a high note, with a picture that combines two of my favorite things. This is Cosette, checking out one of my latest projects, the Multnomah shawl.