New Pattern For Little Hands

Presenting my newest pattern called Just One More Mitten.  After knitting the Just One More Hat pattern several times I realized that matching mittens would be wonderful.  So I devised a pattern for little hands just in time for some quick holiday knitting.  I will eventually add more sizes but I wanted to get this one out quickly.

If you do order it now, I will be sure to send you an updated pattern when I add more sizes (thank you Ravelry for that wonderful feature).

I Think I'm Done Now

As you've seen in past posts, I've made quite a few snowmen ornaments.  As of late I've cranked out another mini army of them.  Part of the reason is they are an easy go to pattern for me - I have memorized how to make them so I can just grab the needles and get started.  The other part of the reason is I needed some for Christmas gifties - perfect to take for small hostess gifts etc.  So here's my army of snowmen - I'm done now - at least for this year.

Stay tuned as I'm releasing a new pattern later today or tomorrow!

I Love Buttons - Just Not Sewing Them On

I finished this cardigan 2 weeks ago...it took me that long to put on the button band backing and 5 little buttons.  It's the Playful Stripes Cardigan by Alana Dakos - I love how this looks and hope to gift it to my great niece on Thanksgiving.  I just don't know if it will be too small for her or not...

Cari's Caps

When I posted my new hat pattern on Facebook, an old friend who I haven't seen in 16 years asked about the hat and if it was itchy.  She was asking because she has breast cancer and is undergoing chemo.  If you knew Cari and I said her name, the first thing that would come to mind is her gorgeous red hair.  She buzzed it down last week and and was thinking she needs hats to keep her head warm this winter.

So, I told her to pick out yarn colors which she did and I whipped up 3 hats for her....she texted me a picture of herself in the green one and she looked lovely.  She asked what she owed me and I told her absolutely nothing...just wear them in good health!

BTW - I used Knit Picks Brava Bulky for all 3 hats as they are washable and surprisingly soft for acrylic.

Just One More Hat

Slouchy Beehive Hat

The Republic Hat

Sunday Drive Designs

Every now and then one of those little sidebar ads on Ravelry catches my attention.  I was in need of tags for my hand knits and saw an ad for Sunday Drive Designs.  So I ordered some baby related tags and some more generic tags.  They arrived very quickly and the thing I love most about Etsy is the careful and personal packaging...sometimes even a bonus gift!

Go check out Sunday Drive Designs - Becky Morrette is the vendor.  Lovely products, nice packaging, and a personal touch of a hand-written thank you - what more can you ask for?

Here are the tags - I love the care instructions inside.

This is the personal touch that makes Etsy so nice.
A handwritten note and sample cards.

Just One More Hat

You might have noticed a new item on my sidebar.  I designed a new hat pattern, put it out to test in child sizes and then wrote it for adult sizes.  That too has been tested and I published it today - originally I called it Herringbone Hat but there were too many of that name and it really isn't a herringbone pattern.  So I named it "Just One More Hat" - you can never have too many and you might need just one more!

Check it out on Ravelry - it's a fast knit in bulky yarn.  One hat took me 4 1/2 hours.  Perfect for holiday gifts!

10 on Tuesday - 10 Things on My Mind Right Now

When I first saw this theme I thought there can't be 10 things on my mind but then I got to thinking and there definitely are 10 (or more) things.

1.  My husband's family home in New Jersey - we still haven't seen the interior damage yet.  I'm fearful everything on the first floor is trashed and we'll have to put everything curbside.

2.  Our home in CT - it is still without power and I worry for the family that is renting it.  When Irene hit, we lost power for 10 days but it wasn't freezing out like it is now.  Tomorrow will be day 10 - I hope they are using the fireplace and keeping warm enough.  I'm also worried about the tree damage and how the property looks now

3. The election - enough said.

4. A job interview I went on - I'm still waiting to see if I made the next cut.  I made the first cut and gave them references the day after Hurricane Sandy.  God bless all the people I contacted who responded in spite of power outages, etc.  It's a great opportunity and I'll tell more about it when I hear one way or another.

5. My husband and his jaw pain - he has trigeminal neuralgia - look it up.  It sucks and he's in terrible pain right now.  He's had it for 15+ years and it comes and goes.  Sadly, he's in a really bad bout.

6. What to bring to knit in the car this weekend while driving to NJ to see the damage to our home.

7. Our dog's trip to the vet tomorrow - she has this cyst on her side which isn't going away.  I hate taking her to the vet as she is very protective of herself and sometimes we have to sedate her to get anything done.

8. Collecting items to take to NJ for those in need - I've started bags of canned goods, blankets, toothpaste, toothbrushes, etc.

9. Choir practice - my new friend here in MA has convinced me to sing in the choir for the Christmas season.  I haven't sung in a choir since I was a teenager.  I'm nervous, wondering what I was thinking, but a little excited too.

10. This pattern which I've put out to test knit...wondering what price I should put on it - any suggestions?

Speechless

This past week has been a crazy one for our family - while Hurricane Sandy didn't affect us too greatly here in Massachusetts, it has impacted our home in Connecticut and our home in NJ where my husband's family has had a place for over 75 years.

We had 15-18 trees fall around our house in CT...miraculously only 1 hit the house and it only hit a deck railing.  The local tree guys have told our tenants that it is the worst destruction they have seen on a single piece of property.  These photos don't even begin to show what happened.  Had the wind from a different direction, a whole stand of trees that fell would have hit our house.

Our house in NJ is situated between the Ocean and Barnegat Bay.  The water was up over the railing of the front porch.  It looks okay from the outside but we have yet to see the damage to the inside as there was 2 feet of water inside our neighbor's house and we're expecting the same for our home.  Our neighbor said their first floor is filled with sand, silt, mud and smell.

This is what it looks like down our street looking towards the ocean:

We can't get to the NJ house right now as we wouldn't be able to gas up to come home and we can't stay with any family or friends on the way back as they don't have power.  We hope in the next few weeks we can go down, have a good cry, and figure out what needs to happen.

It's sad for so many - there are so many who lost their homes entirely.  I feel lucky as things could have been so much worse.  I'm thankful for our neighbors in CT who brought over chainsaws and helped our tenants get out of the driveway.  I'm thankful for our neighbors in NJ who survived the storm and could keep us updated.  Tears have flowed a lot around here...sadness and joy and relief and frustration.

Thanks for listening and if you have a chance, reach out to someone who needs a hand...this storm leaves me speechless at times.

PS after seeing the Hurricane Sandy concert on NBC, have to add: You can also go to www.redcross.org or call 1-800-HELPNOW, 1-800-435-7669.