Month: December 2008

Warm Wishes and Unveiling of Presents

Marie Haigh8 Comments

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas Day and a Happy Holidays the whole week long.

Mine was lovely, filled with food, friends, family, presents, and spiced drinks. What more can you ask for?

To start the holidays off right, I received a package filled to the brim with ornaments a few days before Christmas. 

They were handmade by Kelly Marie of Ellaluna. All of them were rapidly placed on the tree except for the lavender sachet (first ornament from the left). The sachet was dropped into my fiber stash; one can never have too many.

Yesterday was our first day of complete relaxation and as luck would have it, I woke up with a sore throat and head cold. Thankfully, I was able to spend the entire day in my pajamas. It was so nice.

Now that Christmas is over (well, almost over. Dan and I do swap one more present on 3 Kings Day), I can finally show you what I got my MIL.

It is a knitting needle case with an entire collection of double pointed needles.

I followed the basic design of the needle cases I own and just appliqued the numbers on. It was fun and easy to do.

In return, she spoiled me rotten: 1 pair of handknit socks, 1 pair of handknit slippers, 2 handknit bags, a handknit vest, a yarn cone holder, and the latest knitting book from Nicky Epstein, Knitting on Top of the World.

The Tigger didn’t come from my MIL. I have Tim, her sweet husband, to thank for him.

To think, I was just starting to cave to the sock craze and wishing I had the time to knit myself a pair of socks. MIL to the rescue! Instead, I can focus all my attention on designing something for the twin babies Dan’s uncle and aunt are expecting. Woo.

Christmas Bake-a-thon Continues

Marie Haigh10 Comments

These past 2 days have been very productive.

Thanks to the miserable weather, I got a lot of baking done, since I couldn’t rightly go outside and run any errands.

Candy Cane cookies

Buttermilk Sugar Cookies

Coffee Cake
(a Christmas hostess gift)

Maple Pecan Pie
(requested by my Uncle)

I also finished Dan’s knee warmers in time for Christmas! They are downstairs drying after receiving a good washing.

The guest bedroom is mostly ready to receive my father-in-law. At the very least, I have reduced the amount of dust and located the beds under the mountain of pillows.

We have clean clothes. I’m sure all our guests will be appreciative.

All I have left to do tonight is finish the silk tie, but the couch on the way to my craft room is looking awfully tempting.

Christmas Cookies Bake-a-thon

Marie Haigh7 Comments

Yesterday, I made my 1st batch of Christmas cookies. Dan had come home early from work due to the inclemental weather (sleet, freezing rain and snow) and was able to help me. By help, I mean he was the official taste-tester. He vetoed my 1st attempt (too tart), but gave the thumbs up for the amended version.

Cranberry Cookies
I used this recipe, but after baking off a dozen cookies, I doubled the batter, leaving the amount of cranberries unchanged.

It made a boatload of cookies, which is a good thing. The list of people who request my cookies grows every year. Even my own sister, who knows perfectly well how to make the traditional family cookies, complained when I didn’t send her any. I just assumed she was making a batch for her family. Come to find out, she had assumed that I would send her cookies every year so she didn’t have to!

More cookies to come: Gingerbread Men, Buttermilk Sugar cookies, Candy Cane cookies, Shortbread Pecans, and Springerle.

O Christmas Tree

Marie Haigh8 Comments

Guess what we did this weekend?

Here’s a hint.

We bought a real tree in the morning. It was only after we got it home and into the front room that we realized it was a bit too large for the space.
They always look smaller at the tree lot. Why is that?

Then, we spent the entire afternoon decorating the tree and listening to Christmas music.

Do you recognize the tree skirt?
This is the first year we get to use it. It fits the tree perfectly.

It wasn’t just the tree in the front room we decorated, we also decorated the shed tree.

If you’re counting, that is 3 trees decorated with one more to go.

Dishcloths and Maybe a Tie

Marie Haigh5 Comments

I’m on a mission to knit dishcloths in as many ways as I can think of for the class I’m teaching in January: Dishcloths – How to Design and Knit Them.

Here are 2.

Stats:
Sugar ‘n Cream by Lily
Color: Jewels (I just love this color).
Designs: See below
Time frame: Just a few hours
 
The top one is a simple garter stitch square.
Cast on 32 stitches.
Knit for 64 rows or 32 ridges.
Bind off.
Couldn’t be easier. In fact it was so easy, I was bored to death. By the end, I was bribing myself with chocolate just to knit another 2 rows. Oh, the things I’ll do for chocolate.

The bottom one is the infamous Grandmother’s Favorite. (Non-Ravelry link). It was such fun to knit. The yarn overs and the short rows egged me on. I started it in the evening and finished it the next morning.

I have enough of the Jewel colorway to knit one more dishcloth in it. I plan to knit a variation of Grandmother’s favorite, since I found it so enjoyable.

When not knitting dishcloths, I am working on a new design idea, finishing up Dan’s 2nd knee warmer and learning how to sew a tie.

The fabric was brought back from one of my SIL’s travels. I forget exactly which country she brought it back from: Peru or Ecuador. Let’s just say it came from South America. It is hand-dyed silk. I’ve kept it hidden in my fabric stash for a few years now, not sure exactly what to do with it. Then, a week ago, a light bulb went off in my head. It would make a lovely silk tie for Dan just in time for Christmas.

Dan isn’t one to wear a lot of ties. His job doesn’t require it. Still he has a collection of at least 20 ties. You wouldn’t know it though. He wears the same 2 ties over and over again whenever we attend a function together. I’m sick of looking at them. If only to keep me sane, it’s time for a new tie.

Christmas Meme

Marie Haigh5 Comments

I stole this meme from Throws Like A Girl.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?Both. Some things are just not wrappable. Plus, handmade items are typically placed in decorated shirt boxes; you know the ones you don’t have to wrap.

2. Real tree or Artificial? Both. The fake tree goes up right after Thanksgiving Day or slightly before. The real tree is purchased approximately 2 weeks before Christmas Day. Plus, we decorate two trees outside in our yard.

3. Why are you willing to answer these questions? Memes rule.

4. When do you take the tree down? Shortly after 3 Kings Day, but never before.

5. Do you like eggnog? Love it! I make my own every year. For those of you who do hate it, know that you have never really tried it until you taste homemade eggnog. It tastes nothing like the store-bought-liquid-brick.

6. Favorite gift received as a child? I’ll have to go with my first boom box.

7. Hardest person to buy for? Uncle Willie. It’s gotten to the point where I don’t even try anymore. I just bake him something homemade.

8. Easiest person to buy for? My MIL. I think she would say the same about me. Being both knitters and fiber lovers, we just buy each other what we would want.

9. Do you have a nativity scene? No, but then we have very few Christmas decorations outside of the 4 trees that we decorate.

10. Do you send your card by mail or e-mail? Mail. E-mail doesn’t count.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? It wasn’t the worst, but I was disappointed. One year, I had begged Dan to buy me a stand-alone mixer. He refused, saying it would ruin his reputation as a good husband. Husbands are not supposed to buy their wives kitchen appliances for Christmas, he said. Yet, under the tree on Christmas morning was just the right sized box. I was so excited. I tore the paper off only to find something that wasn’t my mixer: foot warmers. I love those foot warmers; I still use to this day. Still I was disappointed and told him so. Things have changed, last year I received the rice cooker I had asked for. Dan learned his lesson.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? When I was young, I loved Miracle on 34th Street, the original. Now that I’m older, I prefer the original Grinch.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? October 1st with the goal of completing all my shopping by December 1st.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Oh, yes.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Cookies!

16. Lights on the tree? Of course! Several strands go on each tree. Lights are not something to be stingy with.

17. Favorite Christmas song? I think it changes every year. This year, I love I Saw Three Ships.

18.Travel at Christmas or stay home? Always home with the quick jaunts to nearby relatives. We went away one year and swore we would never do that again. We missed everybody.

19. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer’s? You know Dasher and Dancer, Comet and Cupid. Donner and Blitzen … apparently not.

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Angels sit on top of both the inside trees. Nothing tops the outside trees.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Both. Plus, we save one present to exchange on 3 Kings Day. Oh, does exchanging gifts with friends the weekend before count?

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? I can’t park in my “usual” spots at the grocery store or the mall.

23. Favorite ornament theme or color? Blue.

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? Smoked ham with molasses smothered on it

25. What do you want for Christmas this year?Little bits and bobs that I can decorate the home with: pictures, clocks, nic-nacs, fabric, ribbon, ugly angels, etc. or chocolate. Chocolate is always good.

Feel free to steal this meme. I’d love to read about your Christmas traditions.

Publication Announcements

Marie Haigh7 Comments

As long as I remember, my Grandmother has been researching the Bible. Around the time that I went off to attend college, she started to write a book on her findings. Years of hard work went into this book. 15 years later, the book is finally complete.

Historical Phases of Prophetic Teaching
By Mrs. Evelyn T. Watson (my Grandmother!)

I’m so happy for her! It’s a dream realized at long last.

 

My announcement pales in comparison. I’ve only been working on this pattern for a few months – not years. Still I am a teensy bit excited about the publication of my most recent design: Something Blue Stole. It features the Gradiance color scheme by The Unique Sheep.

The pictures, which were hidden from view during the designing and knitting phases, can finally be shown off.

Unique Sheep

Brooke Bag for Gran

Marie Haigh6 Comments

I purchased the Brooke Bag pattern from Marie-Madeline Studio and made this bag for Gran, Dan’s grandmother.

The reverse side:

Like most of the quilts I make, this entire bag was made from scrap fabric. Because it was made from scraps rather than new fabric, it has a story to tell.

The tie-dye fabric was leftover from the apron I made for Miss C.

The denim was leftover from my very first published pillow design.

The purple fabric came from one of Pop’s shirts. Pop is Gran’s late husband.
The small flower print fabric came from Jo of Blissed Out.
The large flower print was gifted to me by my MIL, leftovers from the quilt she made for Dan and me.
The plain white fabric was an old sheet I used before I bought my beloved water bed.

This bag was a joy to make. I won’t be even the least bit upset if Gran never uses it. Watching the bag come together was all the entertainment I needed.

I did make a few changes to Marie-Madeline’s pattern.
The pattern called for one piece of fabric for the backside of the bag. I thought it would be much more fun to have both sides made from patches of fabric. I also purposely used different layouts on each side of the bag to keep things interesting.
I used denim for the lining rather than the recommended medium-weight cotton. I also adhered interfacing to the bag straps. If I am going to spend several days sewing a bag together, I’m going to take the time to make it durable. Surely a lot of people are like me; they expect a bag to be able to handle the daily abuses of being dropped on the floor, dragged hither and yon, and banged into goodness knows what. I’m not a big fan of bags that are only good for decoration.

Other than those few small changes, I followed the pattern to a ‘t’. The instructions were well laid out and very easy to understand.

Granny’s Pecan Pie and Dan’s Knee Warmer

Marie Haigh3 Comments

Happy (terribly belated) Thanksgiving Day! I hope you had a wonderful time.

It was a wonderful day of eating and of spending time with family for me. I made my Granny’s Pecan Pie along with a few other things.

My recipe barely resembles the pies she used to make. (I use a lot more pecans than she would ever dream of. Of course, I only make 1 pie compared to the 6 pies she made). Yet, I still call it her recipe out of hope that it will taste as good as the legendary ones she used to make. It’s hard work competing against childhood memories. Stealing your grandmother’s name and tacking it onto the recipe name does help though.

Pecan Pie by Granny & Me
1 tbsp butter
1.5 cups pecans, coarsely chopped
3 tbsp melted butter
3 eggs
1 cup dark Karo syrup or 1 cup good maple syrup
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

Melt 1 tbsp butter on low heat. Add pecans and roast for approximately 5 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly.
Stir remaining ingredients together. Add pecans and mix.
Pour into unbaked pie shell.
Bake for 45 minutes at 350 or until set.

Christmas is only 24 days away and I have a million things left on my To Do list. Decking the tree is top among them. I was able to cross off half of one item last night though.

One of 2 knee warmers is finished!

Better yet, it fits Dan perfectly! (Yes, I ruined the surprise so I could make sure I wasn’t knitting in vain.)

After my initial excitement of knitting the warmers in the correct size, I made him jump up and down. Despite the elastic encased in the top hem, the elasticity of the pattern stitches, and the lovely attributes of wool, the knee warmers still slid down Dan’s leg. Short of making him wear a garter belt, I have no idea how to fix it. Plus, I don’t think he’ll go for the garter belt.

I went searching on Raverly to see if I could find another way to make the knee warmers stay up and I came across this knee warmer pattern by Sarah Peasley. I think I’ll try her pattern next though it seems as if I’ll encounter the very same problem. 

Any ideas? I’m a bit perplexed. Come to find out many cyclist complain of the same thing: knee warmers sliding down their legs and not keeping their knees warm. Well, at least I have good company.