Drum roll please...

Hope you all had a great holiday - mine was rather peaceful, with only the occasional impulse to throttle someone marring the scene. The last of my gift knitting was completed on the 27th - a last minute request for a pair of men's socks. (Thuja - in Opal 6 ply...not a good choice. Should have chosen a thicker yarn. Blech.) But otherwise, I'm quite happy with the way that things worked out over here. Still munching on gingerbread too!

As for the giveaways, our two winners are:

The Opal goes to - Amanda! Congratulations, and I'm going to be slipping in some proper roving into your package for the next set of thrummed mittens that you make as an extra little treat. But the ones that you did make were postitively beautiful - go take a look, everyone!

And the BIG one is going to - Athena! Congratulations! I understand that you're a newish knitter...I just hope that I'm not going to make you into a yarn snob by starting you off with the good stuff. ;)

I think that I'm going to go and start on a new pair of socks for myself - Anastasia's been calling my name for sometime now. I've got more of that Crown Mountain Farms Sockhop handspun that I'd like to use up...here's hoping that it and the pattern get along. Also about to be started on the needles is a sweater for Mr. Ninja. I'm thinking of one of the ones from Son of Stitch n Bitch (I <3 that book) in some green Malabrigo. I figure that if I can get one sweater done for him each year starting now, we'll be set for Nova Scotia weather in about a decade of marriage.

December 23 and 24th.

Made it! Tomorrow's the big day - everyone's settled in, the presents are wrapped, and I'm baking my third batch of gingerbread cookies. Apologies for the lateness of yesterday's giveaway...I was busy mediating between all of the family. It's kinda hard when there's only one grandchild between both families and EVERYONE wants some face time with him. I've been bugging my siblings and Mr. Ninja's siblings - telling them that I want some nieces and nephews for Christmas next year.

Since I missed yesterday's giveaway, I'm going to post the giveaway for the 23 and the 24th together, and since I'm not anticipating having much Internet time for the next couple of days, I'm going to draw two winners from all those who comment on this post - likely on the 27th/28th or so.

So the giveaway for the 23rd - the winner of the knitpicks is Lesley. Congrats! The yarn up for grabs is this:

Some very pretty Opal sock yarn.

And for the final giveaway of this little Advent Calendar...

Told you it was a big one. Heh. Someone lucky out there in blogland is getting an awesome Christmas present - this is 8 skeins of Malabrigo in the Velvet Grapes colourway PLUS one of Nicky Epstein's books. Eight skeins = 1720 yards of yarn. Good luck, and good tidings to all for Christmas...and have a happy New Year.

December 22nd

Dashing through the snow...and through the mall. Quickie post:

Yesterday's winner - Geekzilla. Congrats, Lynne!

Today's giveaway:

It's some more Knitpicks Memories - but in the Red Hat colourway this time.

Good luck all!

December 21st!

Time is flying! Unfortunately for my sis-in-law, much the same cannot be said for her plane from New Zealand. So, she's been delayed until late today - which means that I'm going to be making 4 trips to the airport today. (Mom, Dad, brother & GF, and sis-in-law). Ungh. Anyone know a good recipe for apple pie? I have a feeling that I'm going to need some pie-like fortification soon.

In yarn-like news, I'm currently simmering up a batch of DK weight yarn...experimenting with some kool-aid, a skein wound into a centre-pull ball and a crockpot. I'll let you know how it goes.

Yesterday's winner was Tara. Congratulations!

Today's giveaway is a faboo ball of Malabrigo - not the merino, this is wool - in what I think is the Oceanos colourway. I could be wrong, as this has been in my stash ever since Malabrigo started selling in North America...so what, something like 4 years now?

Good luck all...

December 20th

Only 5 more days to go...

So the deluge begins today - both my brother-in-law and sister-in-law arrive today. I forsee much less knitting time in my near future, alas. But Eleanor is almost done! I just need to finish one pattern repeat and then the toe. I really wish that socktopia was up (I have a sneaking suspicion that it's a dead site now.) so I could link you the pattern...but it's a smashing design. I'll be knitting it again for sure.

Yesterday's winner was Linda. Congrats again!

Today's giveaway is some Knitpicks Memories sock yarn in Rocky Mountain Dusk. It's superwash merino and it knits up very prettily. Good luck everyone!

December 19th (Holy CRAP!)

Only a week to go, ladies and gentlemen!

So, I'm thinking that I can totally do 3 sets of mittens. Easy peasy and I'll be done like dinner. As mentioned last night at KOL, if things should get too hairy around here with all the relatives...I'm putting myself on bedrest and letting them all sort themselves out by their grown-up selves. Mr. Munchkin can hide out with me if he so chooses.

ETA: Screw it. I'm making my BIL a pair of machine washable socks and the parents-in-laws are getting slippers from Old Navy or somesuch. Neither I nor the babe need the extra and rather unnecessary stress engendered by this weird holiday guilt. So there. And onto a more pleasant topic...

Yesterday's winner is Carrice. Congratulations!

Today's giveaway is:

Good luck everyone. Just as a heads up - since we're headed into the final stretch, I'm letting you know that the giveaway on the 24th is going to be MASSIVE...keep an eye out for it.

December 18th

Had an OB appointment today - all's well with me and the babe. So to celebrate, Mr. Munchkin and I went and did something crazy. We cut his hair. I don't know about you, but wrestling a nearly 5 year old while simultaneously wielding a sharp pair of scissors almost never ends well for me. So, two bald spots later, he's more or less presentable for decent company.

So, I'm thinking about my Christmas list. My family is done, apart from a trip to Best Buy. (They're all getting something knit from me and something techy from Mr. Ninja.) My in-laws are sort of done...and the guilt of having knit just my sister-in-law a pair of socks (and no knits for any other the rest of them) is starting to weigh on me. So, I'm thinking of alternatives.

*Brother-in-law: I can totally knock off a pair of basic men's socks in worsted weight wool by Christmas. Right?
*Mother-in-law: This one's a little harder...maybe a scarf? From Old Navy?
*Father-in-law: Is this too mean? I'm thinking of a pair of pants and a new set of underwear. Click here if you want to understand where this idea is coming from...

On to the free stuff!

Yesterday's winners were Dorothy and Mom_of_Faith! MoF, please email me.

Today's giveaway is some beautiful Corriedale roving. I started to spin it on my drop spindle (please excuse the temporary bobbin), but stopped when I needed the spindle for something else...which has slipped my mind as to exactly what it was. Good luck all!

December 17th (and 13th)

Wow...after a whole day of baking (and I'm still waiting for my gingerbread to chill in the fridge), I'm wiped out. But the house is starting to feel...ready. Our tree is up, trimmed and filling the house with the wonderful smell of pine. The mantle has stockings and garlands, Christmas music is sounding throughout and the house is blissfully clean for the first time in months.

You'd almost think I was on top of things...and so did I, until I noticed that I had missed the giveaway for December 13th. Doh. Righty-o, here we go with the updated giveaways!

Yesterday's winners were Barbara from Nova Scotia, Linda, and Jamie (please email me Jamie, as I don't have a way of getting in touch with you.)

Today's (and the 13th) giveaways are:

A ball of Lana Grossa sock yarn (Meilenweit Inca)...with extra strapazierfahig! (I think that means that it stretches.)

Another ball of Lana Grossa sock yarn (Meilenweit Magico). Both of these balls come directly from Germany, as they were part of my World Cup feeding frenzy. Good luck, everyone!

Also, thank you everyone who's responded to my notifications - I haven't responded to many of them yet, but it's on my list of things to do. Will get to them as soon as I've finished my gingerbread cookies...

December 14,15 & 16...

Phew.

Still alive over here, sorry about the radio silence. It's just been that since I hit the third trimester, it's like I walk straight into a brick wall most days. I've spent the last few days napping (not voluntarily - I seem to pass out every time I sit down), and haven't been keeping up with my giveaway. So, to make up for lost time, I will be posting three giveaways today, and will enter anyone who comments for all three, but in separate draws.

In home knit news, finished a headband (I love Belle, but wanted something I could wear with a ponytail), put it on and promptly watched Mr. Ninja fall down laughing. Apparently it looks like one of those 80s headbands from a porn movie (his phrase, not mine). Gah. I have no luck with headwear, I tell you. Also finished a pair of mittens for myself...it's damn cold out there!

So, at the moment, I only have Eleanor on my needles. For some reason, I'm finding it hard to knit on this sock...despite the ease of the pattern and the beauty of its sibling. Bizarre.

Giveaways!

The winner of the Wonderwool was Kerry & Erin! Congrats!

Up for grabs:

Debbie Bliss Soho. Lovely 100% wool.

Trekking Pro Natura. Bamboo/wool sock yarn! This stuff is so much fun to knit with.

And finally, some of Lucy Neatby's BFL in the DK weight.

Good luck all! I'll try to stay conscious enough to post daily from now on. ;)

December 12th!

Phew, it's only 11:30 and it's already been one of those days...misread the calendar and missed my OB appointment, been out grocery shopping, had to scrub Mr. Munchkin down as he was "helping" paint the baby's room, and am about to collapse on the couch because my hips are killing me. Anyway.

Yesterday's winner was Yvonne! Yvonne, please email me with your vitals and your good deed - I don't have any way of contacting you other than here.

Today's giveaway:


Wonderwool! At the moment, I can only find one of these balls...but I'm fairly certain that I have about 5 kicking around. As long as I can find them, they're all going up on today's giveaway. Good luck all!

December 11th

KOL last night was heaps of fun - I hadn't realized how much I missed it. And for Julie - here is a picture of my sais. Yes, we really do have too much weaponry in this house. Although, I did like Shawn's (Elizabeth's wonderful knitting partner-in-crime) suggestion of putting all of the swords into an umbrella stand...


And here's a picture of what sais look like when they are used as improvised knitting needles:

(They weren't very good knitting needles...I tended to poke myself in the belly with them.)

And all hail the voracious third trimester - any excuse to make snowy castle cakes.


Onto the giveaways:
Yesterday's winner was FrozenExtremities. Congrats! And today's giveaway is a very pretty ball of Malabrigo, waiting for a good home...


This is in the "Shocking Pink" colourway. Good luck all!

HA! (aka December 11th)

Hooray for eBay sniping! I've been researching my little heart out re: sewing machines. I decided to get a new one. While I'm sure that if I got this one serviced, it would work for a little while longer...but seeing as I've had this thing serviced twice in the past year, it was definitely time to see what else was on the horizon.

So, a new machine was in my future, I sussed. I knew that I wanted either a Pfaff or a Janome...but it was SO hard justifying the price. (Yes, I'm frugal on occasion...but prone to spur of the moment purchases. It's a mystery to me too.) So I was narrowing it down to two models - the Janome 423S or a Pfaff Hobby 1142. Was going to drive across the province to New Minas today to try them out (yeesh). However, I decided to give eBay a look before going to bed last night.

I found a NIB Janome 405 at a ridiculously low price...and sniped it in the last 3 minutes of the auction. It is SO basic...but it does everything that I want it to. Shipping included - it's $120. So, now I just have to wait for it to get here. I'm a little terrified of what Canada Customs is going to hit me with, but it's worth it if I'm saved driving to the other side of the penninsula. (I was getting disapproving glares from Mr. Ninja all night over this. Apparently, he wasn't happy with the notion of his seven and a half months pregnant wife and Mr. Munchkin driving solo on snowy roads. He's so protective these days.)

Onto the giveaways! I haven't been posting everyone's good deed - I'm saving them all up, and will post a summary post on the 26th. Spreading the holiday cheer all over the place, as it were. But I assure you...my heart has been well warmed so far from all of the winners! Speaking of which - yesterday's winner was Marti! Congratulations to you!

Up for grabs today is some pretty roving that I dyed myself:


This is superwash merino in the "Henry" colourway. See here for the model for my inspiration. I'm spinning up the rest of this roving and it's coming out nicely...very subtle, ironically considering who the colourway is named after. (Go and read Steph's adventures with Henry and you'll see what I mean.)

Good luck to you all!

December 10, otherwise known as Grrrr...

Yeesh, what a day yesterday was. I was about to happily sit down and sew for a bit when my machine basically clunked out on me. The needle tension is shot to hell, and as soon as I had finished majiggering it so that it sorta worked...the bulb bust. Argh. I'm debating getting a new machine vs. sending this one into be serviced. It's a Brother, about 8 years old...and it's held up really well over the years. I'm just wondering if it'd be better to get it fixed, or if it's really just at the end of its lifespan. *sigh*

Add to that the fact that my fingers have decided to do some bizarre arthritic cramping up...and you have a ninja with itchy fingers and no way to alleviate said itch. I suppose that I'll try doing something useful like baking Christmas cookies...only problem with that idea is that ... well ... I'll eat them. And there's still at least a week and a half until the first of the incoming horde of visitors arrive. Maybe I'll try making a batch of Icebox Cookies. The thought of gnawing on frozen dough ought to put a damper on the ravenous monster that is the third trimester.

On to the giveaway - yesterday's winner was Tracy! Congratulations Tracy! And today's giveaway is:


This is my own handspun - it's Crown Mountain Farm's Sockhop in the Pink Cadillac colourway. It's a heavier sockweight, about the same as something like Sweet Georgia if you want something to compare it to. Good luck everyone!

December 9th

Wow, time is just flying by...I don't know about you all, but I'm starting to get a little worried about making my deadlines for the holidays. (I have to get packages into the mail for overseas.) And only 16 days left until Christmas! Mr. Munchkin is very excited about the holidays and the impending stampede of visitors. He has an AWESOME advent calendar this year, courtesy of my MIL - it's a Lego advent calendar! Everyday, he gets a little bag of Lego doodads - yesterday, it was a little lego dude with a skateboard.

At the moment, I'm working on a last minute gift for a dear friend - he's very worthy of something knitted. I'm making a pair of Dashing out of some 100 pure wool - it was one lonely ball, so I was wracking my head as to what to do with it. Yarn Harlot to the rescue (as usual around this time of year).

Onto the giveaways! Yesterday's winner was ikkinlala. Congratulations!

Today's giveaway:


Two balls of Jojoland sock yarn! Good luck everyone. See you tomorrow, same battime, same batcave.

December 8th

Yesterday's winner is mommy bean! Congratulations - I'm sure that the book will make for a nice evening's read when you're snuggled in against the winter's chill.

Today's giveaway:



More Yarn Pirate sock yarn - in the Butternut colourway. This is amazing Merino/Tencel yarn...it's soooo comfy when it's knit into socks. Good luck everyone!

December 7

Yesterday's winner: AmyJ! Congratulations, and enjoy the roving - any batt from Abby's Yarns makes spectacular yarn.

Today giveaway is a lovely ball of Sockotta and a knitting mystery novel! Good luck to all.



ETA: I finished the second Baby Brain Slug Hat! This one is for our impending arrival...a few differences - it's in BFL rather than cotton, and I put wires in the antennae...they're posable. *snort* This tickles my fancy to no end.

December 6

Yesterday's winner is Carissa! Congratulations!

Holy cow, time is flying! I don't know about you all, but I am starting to think about some serious Christmas sweet making. Yesterday, I found something at Linens N Things that made me very very happy. Check it:


CASTLE CAKES! Seriously, how awesome are these? Ok, now that my dorkiness is confirmed...I also snagged this:


A mini-bundt pan. I'm planning on making chocolate truffles for Christmas gifts this year anyway, this is just (hopefully) going to make the process prettier.

And for those of who who don't believe that I look like a dork in hats - proof is in the pudding, mes amies...


Belle, in all of her glory. It's just tragic that I'm only going to wear her inside the house. ;)

And finally, today's giveaway:


Some incredible roving from Abby's Yarns. I believe that it's superwash merino, Angelina (the sparkly stuff), and a little bit of camel down. Good luck everyone!

December 5th

Yesterday's winner - jkleclerc! Congrats Julie. Enjoy the yarn, and the ensuing toasty toes!

Today's giveaway:

Some Handmaiden.


This is the yarn from the kit for the Angel Rumple Scarf. I've lost the pattern, unfortunately. But the ball on the left is silk boucle, and the one on the right is kid mohair. You knit the two of them together, and it creates this amazing texture...You can improvise any simple lace scarf pattern, and it'll be lovely, I promise.

In home knit news - I was playing with Mr. Munchkin in the snow yesterday, and somehow my ankle gave out on me...and I twisted it slightly. I'm fine (the ankle's all better after a good sleep), and the baby kicked me HARD after I picked myself off the ground - so he/she is also fine, if ticked off at my clumsiness. So, I sat on the couch last night, ate apple pie and knit. Finished off Belle. Final verdict? I love the pattern. Love the resulting hat. And I look dorky in all hats. *sigh* Oh well, at least my ears will be warm this winter!

December 4th

Well, I've figured out why all of my knitted projects are stalling...it's 'cause between me and the boy, we seem to lose all of his knitted woolies! We were in the mall last night, picking up a few things...and I lost his hat. >_< So guess what I'm working on today? *sigh* Good thing that we got walloped with a snowstorm yesterday, and the snow is falling fast and thick today too - lots of knitting time, methinks.

So, yesterday's winner was Jaichan! I found this nifty little Excel trick yesterday to help me generate random numbers - it's working well, so far as I can tell.

Today's giveaway is:


More sock yarn! This time, it's some of Lucy Neatby's Celestial Merino Dream. Gorgeous stuff...this one is hard for me to let go of.

December 3rd...

Yeah, I've run out of clever titles already. If I'm going to be doing this for a whole month, I'm going to need some way to remind me of the who whats and whens of this shebang.

Yesterday's winner - Berrit! Congrats Berrit, hope you enjoy the roving. I'll update the blog with what you write me about your charitable deed when I get it from you.

Today's giveaway:


A skein of Yarn Pirate sock yarn in the colourway Killer Bees. This is superwash merino and promises to make super funky socks...or even a shawl for the more daring. Oh and as an fyi, you can enter every day if you wish - just make sure that I have a way of contacting you (either via email or posting a comment on your blog), as I'm paranoid about that. :)

In home knitting news - the lost mitten has been replaced, I'm starting on another brain slug (this time for our little one...apparently it's going to be a coooooold winter, and a February baby will definitely need a warm hat, eh?), Belle is charging away (this time in Schulana Tweed-Lux), and Eleanor is stuck in limbo for some reason.

For anyone looking for something a little different in terms of holiday music, may I recommend the Butties? I love their take on Joy to the World...and the whole CD is pretty awesome - imagine the Fab Four doing all sorts of Christmas music. It's a nice antidote to the pap that's usually blasting on store sound systems this time of year.

December 2 - today's giveaway

Good morning! I figure that I'll be able to get the daily giveaway up around 10 am (my time - Atlantic time), so I'll count whatever entries I get by then for the previous day. Yesterday's winner (thank you online random dice roller!) was Alison - congratulations! Up today for grab is a *huge* chunk of roving dyed by FatCatKnits on etsy. You don't have to be a spinner to use this stuff - you can needle felt it, use it for thrummed mittens, or even for knitting with (just separate it into pencil roving and chunkily knit away). Good luck, everyone!


In personal knitting news...Mr. Munchkin somehow lost a mitten in the grocery store last night. And you have never seen a sadder little boy. I swear his heart was completely broken by the way he was carrying on. But it's a good thing that he's got his mother and her stash - new mittens on the way now. Pictures to follow.

Gotta be starting something...

Rant first.

I've (mostly) knit three different hats for myself this past week. And frogged every single one of them. 1) A slouchy hat of my own design - didn't like how the brim was shaping up. 2) A neko hat based on Piro's hat (from Megatokyo) - abandoned because I found Belle and fell in love with the pattern. 3) Belle - abandoned because I got within 3 rows of finishing...and ran out of the cashmere that I was using. Frack, frack FRACK!

Will be giving Belle another shot, but maybe tomorrow - I'm just too mad to knit anything for myself right now. Oh, and in other knit news, I was playing around with etsy and put some handspun in my store...didn't realize that it was a live posting, and came back the next morning to find that it had sold. That was a bit of a shock, lemme tell ya. Mr. Ninja was both dismayed and delighted...I think that his desire to see more room in the house was counterbalanced by the silly price that I'd put on the test sale. He's right of course, I totally lost money on the sale, but I was immensely cheered that someone liked my spinning enough to give it a shot and actually plunk down money for it!

Anyhoo, now for the Giveaway!

Well, it's officially the start of Advent. And while I'm officially not operating under any sort of organized religion, if there's a whole season where people are encouraged to act with genuine goodwill towards their fellow men/women? I'll take it where I can get it. And to that end, I'll be doing a sort of advent calendar giveaway from December 1st until the 31st. But with a twist...

Here's how it will go:

Everyday, I'll post a photo of a yarn/roving/something knitting related. I'll draw a random winner from the comments posted on that particular day. And then I'll email the winner. However, here comes the twist - I would like the winner to go do something charitable, and email me back with their snail mail address and a short blurb on what they did to pay forward the kindness of the season. Examples might include a small donation to a charity (I do prefer Doctors Without Borders, but you may prefer to act locally), knitting something and donating it to a local organization, donating to your local library/museum, supporting your local food bank, etc. It's up to you.

There will be no limits on how many times you enter - it's a daily thing. And as my statistics teacher tried again and again to explain, your chances of winning something are just as good today as they are tomorrow. Heh. As an FYI, I will be giving away really nice stuff as time goes on - brocade knitting needle cases, luxury yarns and rovings, project bags. So please feel free to post about this giveaway where ever you'd like, as the more people sharing the spirit of the season the better, eh?

And with no further ado, here's today's giveaway.


Love these colours.

With a sneak peek at tomorrow's...

I couldn't resist...

I'm a sucker for a good music meme. Swiped from Jaichan.

How many total songs?
3981. It's not every song from every album I own...but it's pretty close.

Sort by song title - first and last...
About a Girl - Nirvana
99 Luftballoons - Nena (I guess numbers aren't as important as letters? Down with the hierarchy!)

Sort by time - shortest and longest...
Die Zauberflote: Atto Primo - Dialogo Teatrale - Mozart (Yeah...it's opera. Want to make something of it? Huh? Do ya?)
Come Around - The Salads

Sort by Album - first and last...
Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld - The Orb
4:99 - Die Fantastischen Vier (These guys make German rap work. Really.)

Sort by Artist - first and last...
A.R. Rahman
ZZ Top

Top five played songs...
Here It Goes Again - Ok Go
Tokyo Drift - Teriyaki Boyz
The Imperial March (From "Star Wars") - John Williams
Galvanize - Chemical Brothers
The Reflex - Duran Duran

(Don't ask. Let's just say that it's easier to bribe the kid with listening to the Star Wars soundtrack than to play Lego Star Wars until my brain bleeds out of my ears again.) >_<

Find the following words. How many songs show up?
Sex: 28
Death: 10
Love: 201
You: 365
Home: 58
Boy: 164
Girl: 94

First five songs that come up on Party Shuffle...
Tobacco Hand - Big Sugar
Drive - R.E.M.
We Have Explosive - FSOL
License to Confuse - Sebadoh
I Never Loved a Man - The Committments

Dye Party!

Well, it was more of a get-together, but it was very enjoyable, nonetheless. I didn't have a camera with me (it was in Toronto with Mr. Ninja), so I didn't manage to document the happenings, but it was lovely having Steph, Alison and The Boy come and play. What I can show you is the resultant dye jobs. I did three things that day - black sock yarn (use your imagination - it's not showing up well on camera), a Henry themed roving, and a random skein of yarn with the leftover dyes.

Et voila.




As you can see, the random yarn is kinda sketchy, I think that I have to start tying the skeins together more loosely to avoid those blocked off white spots. It's weird, although my math is accurate, it sure as heck doesn't feel like 300 yards of yarn in that ball. The Henry roving is also turning out to be quite the experiment - the blue isn't showing up much, but the green is doing this fantastic shading thing. More photos to come of it as I go along. (FYI, it's all superwash merino - I'm not nearly experienced enough to try my hand at feltable base materials yet.)

I kept busy while Mr. Ninja was away...


A Diagonal Knot Scarf in Malabrigo Aquarella in the Paysandu colourway. Not as soft as their merino, but I couldn't resist the deep, rich colours. It's about halfway done at this point.


A Curly Purly soaker in newborn size. I'm a bit iffy on this pattern, as it seems like the legholes are ENORMOUS for tiny newborn chicken legs. We'll have to see how this fits.



Eleanor is also chugging along slowly - this is the first sock. It's a lovely pattern though. Just simple enough to be good TV knitting, but it looks so pretty when it's actually on the foot. I would link to the pattern, but Socktopia seems to be down at the moment.




And finally, a bunch of Very Baby Snug Wrap Covers in the newborn size. I love love <3 these covers. I don't know if they're really all that gender neutral, but I don't care. Heh. They're super fast to sew (1/2 hour from cutting to finishing each) and they let me indulge myself in a little bit of fabric therapy. So far, my favourites are the red dragons and the surfboards. And with these done, I'm ready for this kid (well, at least the diapering aspect - I'm all aflutter about the rest of it all...).

Next on the list is painting and decorating the baby's room, getting Christmas decorations up, and doing any last minute holiday stuff (like making truffles as gifts for the neighbors...but we'll see if that really happens). But I want to try my hand at baking Christmas cookies this year. Mr. Ninja's Oma made big batches of cookies when he was growing up and I think that he misses them. Guess I'll be hunting down good German cookie recipes soon.

Also, I'm going to be doing a sort of Advent give-away all through December. Still working out the details, but more info to come soon.

Kicked in the ass by karma.

So...remember how I thought I was done with Christmas knitting? Yeah. I got a phone call a few days ago from my Mum with two pieces of surprising news. One, my elder brother had his girlfriend officially move in with him. (This is big, people. I'm hoping to go to a family wedding within the next decade, as the last one was ... uh ... ours.) And second, my younger brother's girlfriend would be accompanying him for Christmas.

What this means is that not only is my family coming to Halifax for Christmas, but so is Mr. Ninja's. Plus my brother's girlfriend. And we're hosting Christmas dinner. No pressure. (Don't worry, we're only having Mr. Ninja's brother stay at our place over the holidays, as the rest of the family is being accomodated elsewhere. *cheer* No early labour for me!) That equals something like 11 adults plus Mr. Munchkin for dinner. And the other thing that it means is that I needed some presents for the new ladies in my family's life.

So I got cracking, and whipped up two more hats.



The first one is the Yarn Harlot's Unoriginal Hat, and the other is a Cutie hat (a la Mr. Munchkin).


Add to that another Odessa, and this is the sum total of my Christmas knitting (don't worry, no one who is getting any of this swag actually reads my blog, thank goodness).


Yup, none of the ends are woven in. Soon...but not yet.

Add to that mass of craftiness - Mr. Ninja is headed to Ontario for some R&R this weekend, and he's going to be taking a baby shower present with him. I had the urge to make yet another diaper for the friends who are having the baby, and made these last night.




The first one is a shot of the diaper cover, and the second is the matching diaper. Yeah, I know...but I can't help it. This nesting thing is getting out of control. Someone send help?

Finally, Steph and I are getting together this weekend (while the man's away, the girls shall play) for two purposes: 1) We are going to make Henry into a Dolores look-alike. 2) To dye some yarn. Possibly in a Henry colourway.

Anyone want to join us? I give no guarantees to the state of my bathroom... I'm thinking Saturday, 2ish until suppertime. Bring your own yarn, kool-aid, facemasks and roasting pans. I have some acid dyes on hand and a niddy-noddy for skeining. I'm going to bully Steph into helping me pick up a big foldable table from Canadian Tire, so I should have adequate working space, I hope. Also, here's some homework for ya - how to dye roving with acid dye and handpainting yarn. I figure we can do the actual dyeing at my place, and everyone can take the wool back to their places to "cook".

Cravings...

I've been wanting tea and hot cocoa recently. Constantly. So I treated myself to a new teapot. Lord, I love President's Choice - even their knick-knacks make me happy (let's not even talk about their wonderful frozen entrees). But the only thing about this teapot is that it's so fragile feeling that I did the only thing that I could do, as a responsible knitter.

I knit a tea cozy.


It's the Kureyon Kozy from Knitty. I'm not too thrilled with the fit on this pot, but what the hell, it's at least preventing the pot from shattering on my tile counters.

I was going to originally post with the news that I'm DONE my Christmas knitting (yes, you have my permission to hate me a little now) but Mr. Munchkin objected when I told Steph that I was done. "But Mommy, you need to knit socks for yourself! Then you're done." And damn if the kid wasn't right on the ball. I'm knitting Beatrix from socktopia - but I'm fairly certain that I'm screwing up the lace. Oh well...at least Seawool rips back well. Pics to follow.

Ay yai yai...

(It's an expression I often hear from my parents - I think that it's a South African thing. I remember being delighted when watching "The Gods Must Be Crazy" and hearing someone say it.)

Long time no see.

Things have been busy here, as I've actually been crafting (as opposed to writing and thinking about crafting). Here's a quick run down of the works in progress.

1) Cloth Diapers - I only started sewing cloth diapers for Mr. Munchkin when he was in size mediums (we used a diaper service before that). So, I needed to get some newborn diapers made. Let's not talk about the fact that yes, the baby will likely outgrow all of these diapers in 3 weeks and that yes, I really should get cracking on making size small ones too. Shhhh.

Seeing as how dreary February is around this part of the country, I figured that I was going to need something to cheer me up - so I decided to make a diaper rainbow. I cut out squares of 15 x 15 bamboo velour (SO soft!), and proceeded to do a low-water immersion dyeing method.



As you can see here - it's a messy business. The main reason that I did it on top of my washing machine is that it is well ventilated in that room, and that it was one of the few flat surfaces in the house that isn't covered with clutter. Ahem.

The results were spectacular.


I'm very pleased, and a little surprised at how well some of the colour combinations worked. The green-yellow and orange-red turned out much better than I would have thought. Additionally, I was quite happy with how low-maintenance dyeing fabric can be - I suppose that I was used to the very messy and laborious process of dyeing wool, and was expecting something along those lines.

Oh yeah, here's a pic of the diapers that I made for my friend. For those of you who know (and possibly care) the pink one is a pocket diaper, the red is an All-in-one and the funky print is a fitted.


In other crafty stuff - I got around to finishing these yarns. I set the twist earlier today and they're drying now. Counter-clockwise from the top - merino/tencel from Funky Carolina (sockweight), BFL from the Sweet Sheep (worsted), Berry BFL from the Sweet Sheep (worsted), Pink Cadillac superwash from Crown Mountain Farms (sockweight), Abby's Yarns superwash wool/silk/firestar (DK), more BFL.


Also, Ravelry is wonderful! I found a kool-aid dyeing group, and was inspired to overdye some pink ghetto Malabrigo in my stash with grape. I'll let you all know how it turns out.


Also, as part of the ongoing efforts to get the baby's room ready, we revamped our storage solutions in the house. JYSK, I think I love you.


Not only are these dresser/wardrobes a heck of a lot sturdier than an IKEA equivalent, they're much DIY friendlier. Clear instructions, precise numbers of screws, and they include wood glue! WOOD GLUE! INCLUDED! Be still my heart.


Mr. Munchkin was not neglected in this revamp either. Since he got to reclaim his closet from Mommy's clothing, Mr. Ninja decided to build a toy closet. Thus, in one fell swoop, Mr. Munchkin gets all of his toys in one place, and the adults get back the rest of the house. Win-win, eh?