January Journal Part 2: SHE'S HERE!!

Meet our new granddaughter.  She has not told her parents what her name should be, since the one that they had chosen doesn't fit.

The third photo is our previously-youngest granddaughter holding the now-youngest granddaughter.

We are blessed.  Praise the Lord.

January Journal Part 1

Updating some 2014 stuff:  The prayer blanket is finished, and well-received.  The crocheting goes fast, but the weaving takes a lot of time.  I got the colors right on for their color scheme.  The recipient is always cold due to his illness--the family really appreciate the prayers and blessings that were showered upon this blanket.

I had a design accepted to a British knitting magazine to be published in spring.  I got the acceptance news at end of Nov. The submission deadline was January 6.  That means the pattern has to be written precisely and for 7 sizes (XS to 3XL), the charts and schematics have to be created, and the sample sweater knit and sent to arrive in England by the deadline--the first fiasco happened when my yarn was sent to Germany by mistake, and had to be forwarded--it arrived on Dec. 22.  Due to the holidays, I would have had to have the sweater mailed by Dec 19 to meet the deadline.  The written work is submitted electronically--but I couldn't finalize the pattern without the yarn, since a swatch would be needed to see if the yarn supplied (DK) would match gauge with the prototype (light worsted).  Everything worked fine.  I e-mailed the written work 1 day late, and mailed the sweater on the 8th of Jan, it arrived on the 14th.  Everything is safe and sound in their hands.  I just hope I refined the pattern enough to squeeze under their maximum text limits.  No revealing till the mag is out.

I just packed up a submission proposal for the 2015 issue of Jane Austen Knits (the link goes to an earlier issue).  I won't hear about that for about 6 weeks.

That will give me time to finish a White Buffalo Sweater that I am reproducing for someone from a tattered family heirloom

I had requests for earwarmers and a beanie for the Granddaughters, but didn't have time for those, so they will have to go on the 2015 To-Do list and be "no reason at all" gifts instead of Christmas gifts.

While on the subject of 2015, I've decided :  NO MORE RESOLUTIONS.   I will make To-Do lists instead because these are specific and you can cross them off.  Resolutions seem more global and involve life style changes, so how do you know you've achieved it enough.  I like To Do lists better.

Peanut is due in 3 weeks.  This pair are Peanut's parents:

While I really respect the parents' choice not to find out the gender, knitting would be so much easier.  Gender specificity is not just a matter of colors, and even though the traditional baby colors aren't so "hip" any more, the styles--if not feminine, do lean towards the masculine.  So I finished a new Rainbow blanket and a very cute, gender-neutral kimono sweater and a wee little hat (are they really that small?)  I made the hat 3 month size, but it looks tiny.

 And an Eeyore toy is being crocheted--no photo yet.

I went out and bought some new couches.  That was a process. Kubota Man is hard on couches, and we both need firm and as high seats as possible to make getting up easier.  So I went a few weeks ago to pre-select some candidates.  I had two lined up, thinking that he would come along later and try them out.  Now one of the styles--when I saw it it was ♥♥♥ at first sight--and it fit the comfort, durability criteria.  The second one was a couch with reclining seats.  Nice enough, but I wasn't in love.  He didn't feel like going, so I had to go back and make the selection.  I am being totally honest when I say I had an open mind.  I went to the recliner style first--I did like it, but it was hard to get out of, and Kubota Man said he wasn't keen about a recliner, even a power-operated one.  So I went to visit the William.  My heart went pitter patter--it was firm, and the hand-rubbed leather with tooled edges--"sigh"--so I bought 2 couches and an ottoman.  I didn't need a new couch.  I'm hot hard on couches.  So some charity will receive a nice,comfy overstuffed couch when the new ones arrive.  It will take 3-5 months since they are made to order.

I almost forgot that the last GST report for 2014 is due by the end of the month--#1 on the To Do list.

And I have to finally sh#*t or get off the pot

 about the floor coverings.  So I am picking up samples this week.  I love the idea of new floor coverings--I don't like the idea of choosing, weighing the pros + cons of different products, and least of all, emptying the stuff out of the rooms to have the installation done.  But I think having new floors before the new couches come would be a treat.

Greenhouse:  The seeds are in, the plants are ordered to arrive on schedule, the pots and dirt are all here.  Almost all ready for February 22nd.  We are starting a week later this year, so I have some revision to do on the planting schedules.

I went on a wonderful retreat on Saturday--focused on Pope Francis and his view of the changes that need to happen in the church.  He has good ideas, just hope he has the health and a long enough life to make it happen.

And there is a To Do list to make.

till next time:  happiness is a choice we make, not something that happens to us.

My Wishes for You

Wishing you all a happy, healthy, productive and prosperous 2015.

Happiest Christmas and New Year

I had to be sure to post the greeting lest I forget.  I have never been so late with my traditional Christmas activities.  Several reasons which I will clarify in the New Year:  wedding alterations, magazine submission, and a bug of some kind that has me totally fatigued (maybe the bug is the aging bug).  Tonight I will finish decorating.  Tomorrow it's lots of cooking (dessert, cabbage rolls and nalysnyky--cottage cheese filled crêpes baked in a sauce of cream and dill, and the cranberry sauce for the meatballs).  Also "midnight mass" at 5:00 pm.  

The Cats and the Mouse Play

 The Cat Silhouette Afghan is finished.  The first photo below shows a closer-up of the right side.  The second photo shows the wrong side.  Someone on Ravelry said this type of crocheting is not reversible because the back is always so messy.  So I had to prove otherwise. 

I finished the crown moldings in the Master Bedroom (except for painting), was all
gung-ho to finish the other last bedroom-- and realized I hadn't bought the moldings for the little bedroom.  My reasoning was: the MB walls are 14 and 11 feet long.  I was sure to make a mis-cut or two, so then those pieces would be useful in the little bedroom, and I would have to buy new longer ones.  But there were no mis-cuts, so I have to go buy some next time I travel.

I had an heirloom restoration to do this week.  Before:

Before:

After:

After:

After:

After:  Good thing the lady had a bit of the original yarn left.

The weather here is weird again.  Spring with raining last 2 days, blizzards today.

I had our priest out today to bless the house, that sheds a realistic light on this old saying: 

Till next time:  Only 4 Saturdays Till Christmas.

Freedom is not Free

Never Forget!

Caution!! Winter Might Be Here!

It has been cold and will be all this week, and there is a bit of snow on the ground.  If that stays, then my outdoor work is officially over (though not finished).  So the "caution" part is that I have to remind myself not to sit and knit without getting up to stretch and thereby tie myself in knots like I did last winter, where by January I could hardly walk.  I know better, but that knitting just takes over my common sense.

You can see that my KnitMeter is much lower than last year's total (I'm not aiming for last year's total, since that had 11 000 yards of cord for the chain mail project, but would like to hit
20 000 metres at least.  So the plan is to make some blankets, since they are fast and eat stash quickly.  With this in mind, I started this kit, Cat Silhouette Afghan, which I've had stashed for many years--no recipient in mind, will just lay it on the spare bed when it's done and see who wants it.   It's from Mary Maxim, the second photo is after 3 evenings' work:

 At the same time, I'm working on a Prayer Blanket for a sick neighbor.  It is crocheted in a (1 dc, ch 1) mesh, in a specific color sequence, then it is woven with double strands in the same color sequence, resulting in a tartan pattern (but not so blurry).  I can weave about 8 rows in 1 hour, so there is lots of weaving left to do.  The ends plus added strands make a fringe in the same color sequence.

After the theatre pictures came in, I sent them to a British knitting magazine, along with some photos that I can't show for now; the editor suggested it would be worth submitting them.  She really liked the sweater, but whether it's accepted or not depends upon the other submissions.  If accepted, I will be working under the influence of adrenaline again after Christmas.

Since I can't work outside now, I have dug out my domestic skills and am slowly getting the house cleaned, am cooking decent meals and doing a bit of baking.  I have purchased all the butter, nuts, dried fruit, etc. for my Christmas baking, which I'm looking forward to.  I play Carols while I bake.  The snow is putting me in that spirit.

And, while on the topic of Christmas, I found this on Facebook today--it will be the thought I leave you with:
Till next time: God bless you.