Looking Forward

 

I hate packing up all the Christmas stuff without anything new to take its place. The last thing to be packed up this week was the linens so I had time to get something in the works. I had this jelly roll I found on clearance at Walmart ages ago and it was just what I needed. 

It's wintery without being too Christmassy. I like the blue for January. 

I'm not a fan of sewing loooooong seams but it did make quick work of it. 

In no time I had two January placemats ready to have their binding sewn down in order to make it onto the table by New Year's Day.

The only fly in the ointment was finding a backing. I didn't have any matching yardage or anything in the stash that worked. Then I remembered I had a box labeled Winter down on the quilt kit shelves and I found this polka dot that isn't exactly what I would have liked but worked in a pinch. Next week I'll work on some matching hot pads with the leftovers. I'm already fired up about making a February set. A shopping I must go.....

Done and Dusted

 

It was 60 degrees and sunny here yesterday and the Christmas stuff looked out of place with all the windows open so down it came. 

It was also getting to that dusty stage that makes my allergies act up so it was time. Since we don't give each other presents anymore I keep these fake presents under the tree and the cats like to sit on them so they definitely needed a good cleaning. I also keep all my precious glass ornaments in them for storage so they always get special treatment.

Speaking of glass ornaments I haven't actually put any of them on the tree since the kitties showed up 12 years ago but this year I put these inexpensive glass Ikea ornaments on the tree to see what would happen. They survived. I think my kitties have grown old and lazy and could care less about the tree anymore. Next year I just may get the rest of them out and see what happens. 

The Mister had taken the truck to get its emission test done so I was doing all this by myself. The worst part was getting down the long string of star lights from the front window. They tangle horribly. They almost went in the trash until I Googled some Christmas light hacks and found this trick. 

The whole place got a good cleaning and dusting so I could put everything back where it was. I really wanted to the loom back out because right before I had to move it out of the way I discovered a HUGE mistake. I was supposed to put a charcoal stripe section in between all the white stripes. Argh....it's not a big mistake just a stupid one. I really want to get this off the loom and get something on it that is NOT making me crazy. Between all the broken warp threads and now the pattern boo boo I am so OVER this and can't wait to see the end of it.

Tired of Waiting

 

This Christmas was the straw that broke the camel's back when it comes to my useless new stove. I really wanted to bake cookies and the new Frigidaire oven from the remodel STILL fills the house with awful fumes and smoke even after "burning it off" for almost 3 years. Frigidaire says it's normal. We think not. Tired of not having an oven I broke down and bought myself a little one. It spent two days outside "burning" itself off before I would turn it on in the house. Then it spent two more days shut in a downstairs bathroom with the vent running doing the same thing until we had no fumes. I have no idea what they are putting in these appliances these days but the fumes are just awful. 

The first thing I made was a quiche for Christmas dinner. It was wonderful to have something baked for a change. I'm so tired of crock pot food.  The thing that was keeping me from buying a little one sooner was counter space. I don't have room for something this big-but then I had an idea. I sit it on the oven when I need it and.....

....stuff it inside the useless $1200 oven along with all its cute little doodads when it's not in use. When the weather warms up we are going to drag the big oven out on the deck and "burn" the heck out of it outside where we don't have to live with the noxious fumes for hours and hours afterwards. Maybe it will work, maybe not. At least now I have a way to bake a potato if I want to. 

Wednesday WIPs

 

The Fair Isle sisters are slowly growing. Chestnut just got her ends weaved in. BonAmie is due for one soon.

The problem with the Musselburgh hat is that it's been so cold that I've been wearing mittens in the car so travel knitting hasn't been happening. It's got a few new inches but not many.

After I finished the ribbed hat I had almost a whole ball of chunky left over so I've been working on a headband. It's The Magnolia Headband by Yessy Barreto which looks great in the pattern photos so I am hoping mine shapes up. It's a little on the sloppy/wonky side at the moment. I've never knit chunky cables before and they're hard on the hands. 

None of my projects are getting the attention they deserve because....I started another puzzle. I always get the puzzle bug after I pack up the Santa puzzle. I bought this one last year right after Christmas but never got around to it probably because we were still knee deep in kitchen remodeling and other nasty stuff. I didn't wait with this one-I jumped right in. No distractions this time. Even though we are far from finished with the house stuff I am planning a winter of leisure. 

Tiny Needle Tuesday

 

Since I was pretty much on my own for Christmas day I got some stitching done in front of the TV. Christmas Quaker has a new corner motif in the works. 

Patchwork Hiver has its second border edge started.

Speaking of tiny needles, #16 is finally on the line with its siblings just in time to get packed away. I said I was going to take a break before I started #17 but it's already kitted up and sitting on my nightstand. These things are addicting.

All three of these projects were being worked on in ease after I gifted myself some neck lights. They look crazy but they work like a dream. I don't always need magnification so they just shine a very intense light where I need it. I can't believe I hadn't heard of them before. They really are a game changer for those of us who live in dark houses and who like to play with tiny needles on the shortest days of the year.

Making Merry

 

For the first time in forever I'm not yanking down the tree and putting Christmas out of sight today. I have no idea why but I made it through the whole month without losing my holiday spirit. It was only a merry little Christmas for sure but for whatever reason it stuck. The family had a Christmas Eve brunch with #1 Son and family. It was a sushi extravaganza.

There were cookies.....

.....and more cookies. DIL is a cookie making machine. Look how beautiful. 

The two Big Grands took turns performing their recital pieces for the little Grand. I wish you could hear these kids play. So much talent. Little Grand was mesmerized as was I. 

On Christmas morning The Mister and I finished the Santa puzzle. 

I made another mince pie and baked it in the air fryer for breakfast. 

We didn't do presents this year for each other but we did get Pup a squeaky toy. After she got it out of the bag she wasn't interested in it at all. Pup and I spent the rest of the day on the couch watching Christmas movies while The Mister was holed up in the man cave downstairs because......football. I usually like my football Sundays but I have to say I was a bit peeved to be on my own on Christmas. 

Oh, well.... after the sun went down I lit the plum pudding, doused it with brandy butter, poured myself an eggnog and made a night out of it.  Alone or not-it was a very merry little Christmas. 

And....I know so many are suffering in this terrible cold but I had to share this photo I found on Mastadon. That's some crazy snowman. 

...And to All a Good Night

 

Have the merriest of merry days!

Best wishes,

Araignee and The Mister

The Big Chill

 

I was in a terrible mood on Wednesday. It was raining buckets. The house was a muddy mess and my holiday spirit was all but gone. 

Thursday morning it was more buckets of rain. More mud. More sour mood. Then the magic happened.

At about 10 am the terrible storm sweeping the country blew through. The temperature dropped about 20 degrees and the rain turned to...........snow. Well, something like snow. 

Cue up Bing Crosby, turn on the twinkling lights....my humbug was gone. It was just the briefest of glimpses of a winter wonderland but I'll take what I can get. It's not very often I get to make the Christmas Eve lasagna while watching flakes fall. 

Merry Christmas Eve! 

And...a very warm and happy Hanukkah on this ridiculously cold day. Chag sameach!

Checking Off the Boxes

 

Presents bought, wrapped and under the tree. Check.

Strala light hung and a night time neighborhood ride around to check out everyone else's light displays done. Check.

Fresh wreath bought from the local produce shop and hung on the deck door. Check.

Bribe The Mister to make me another potholder to go with my new placemats and hot pads. Check.

Finish sewing down the binding on the second set of placemats and hot pads. Check.

Finish my bulky ribbed hat. Check.

Finish advent sweater 16.........not checked. 

You can't win'em all. 

Merry Christmas Eve, Eve!

A Rather Special Delivery

 

Over the summer I saw someone walk by with a pair of these fuchsia pink Crocs on and fell in love but I couldn't find them anywhere. They were always sold out. I finally found a pair in my size on Amazon but they wouldn't be here until mid January which was fine by me. 

Yesterday morning when Alexa said they would be arriving I was thrilled. I already had my Jibbitz picked out. BUT....of course there was drama involved.

For some reason it seems that my delivery driver decided to forgo the driveway and drive through our very wet front yard and get good and stuck. The Mister and I went out and did everything we could to get him unstuck with no luck. It was a three hour ordeal while we waited for a tow truck to get him back onto the driveway.
 

We felt terrible for the poor guy who was beyond apologetic. We assured him there were plenty of ruts in the yard from others who have done the same thing. The grass will grow back, the holes will fill in. It really was no big deal other than the fact that we had been on our way out the door to do some last minute Christmas shopping before that big arctic blast hits us at the end of the week. 

The worst part of it all was that while killing time we almost finished the Santa puzzle which was not making me happy. I had to take it away from The Mister and hide it. It's too soon. We have to have at least one piece to put in on Christmas Eve. 

Santa Baby

 

There's so much we could be doing this week but as soon as the Santa puzzle comes out everything else gets put on the back burner. 

We've done this puzzle every year since 1995. It's in pretty rough shape and one piece is missing. A few years ago I bought an unopened one from someone on Ebay but I've never opened it. Ratty as it is, this is THE puzzle. No substitutions. 

I've been saving up my kitty cartons for it. We take our puzzle solving pretty seriously around here. 

We even pull out recognizable pieces and sort them in advance. It's always a race to see if we can get it done before Christmas but this year that doesn't seem to matter. The Mister and I have been laughing about how harder it seems to be this year. I guess that's to be expected. Everything seems to be harder at our ages.