Almost Gone

Christmas was lovely at the Brandel homestead. There were plenty of goodies, a delicious meal, lots of laughs, and handknits for all. Almost. Mother's mittens didn't quite make it to the finish line, but I gave them to her today and she was thrilled. They are the same pattern I used for Jonathan and Andrew's mittens.

It is almost difficult to believe that this year is nearly over. In just a few days, we will flip the calendars over to January, drink a few glasses of cider, share some memories and poof! the next thing we know, it's 2013 and that really boggles my mind.

I Should Be Knitting

I'm sitting here on our little sofa before leaving for service. The tree has the lights hanging and will be decorated this afternoon, the presents (mostly) are wrapped and under the tree, and I have read through the latest posting on the Yarn Harlot's blog. This will be a good day. There will be tree-trimming, baking, a trip to the Grotto this evening, and of course tea and knitting. I should be knitting right now. There is a pair of socks that need finishing. Two pairs actually, but let's not think about the numbers here...

May you all be well and blessed this Sunday afternoon.

Happy Birthday :)

On Sunday, my eldest brother Jonathan, will be heading up to Seattle, Washington to celebrate his birthday. I promised him (several months ago...) that I would knit him up a pair of finger-less gloves. I found this little number:

Mitt Envy is the name of the pattern.
Soles and More is the name of the yarn

I placed the finished result over a pair of inexpensive commercial black gloves and just cut the tips off. They should keep him nice and cozy during his trip up north. I have made several pairs of these and as I'm typing, my fingers are freezing. Time to make myself a pair...

Jonathan, on the off chance you just might have taken an interest in my knitting life and you are reading this blog, I love you and hope you have a lovely trip.

Later

Earlier I posted about a certain shawl that I really wanted to finish. However, the mistakes made were really messing the whole thing up and so, of course, it was (once again) ripped out and rolled back into a neat little ball. I was quite irritated that once again this damn pattern had kicked my butt and then the phone rang.

My mother phoned in an absolute panic inquiring of the whereabouts of my brother. When she had sort of calmed down I learned that there had been a shooting at the local mall and she was worried that he might be there doing his Christmas shopping. After a few minutes of phone calls and texts it was discovered that my brother was safe at home.

The knitting problems were very quickly reduced to the size of peas as I silently sent a prayer of thanks that my family was safe. This traumatic event that left three people dead (including the gunman) and others wounded and terrified reminded me (however painfully) that sometimes, my perspective needs a little adjusting to the world around me.

I will still knit, but as I watch the news reports, my prayers will be going out to the families and friends for those that were lost, wounded, or were simply a witness to what happened.

Does This Every Happen to You?

Today has been a good day. The dishes are washing, the laundary is done, dinner is semi-planned, and now it's time to knit. I have been working on this beautiful shawl pattern in a beautiful yarn and quite frankly, am very anxious to finish it. It has not been a difficult pattern, just a difficult knitter. I have tried this pattern many times before without success and I want very badly to create the final product. It has been ripped back, tinked, cursed out, cried over and re-knit so many times, it's a wonder the yarn is still workable.

My desire to finish the shawl without it looking like a total piece of crap is right up there with wanting to learn how to make a decent tuna casserole that won't make somebody sick. I really want it.

So, here I sit. Knitting, crying, and tinking becuase quite frankly, I have no idea how it's going to look when it's done. Things have been fudged a little to (hopefully) cover up the mistake that I know is hidden there (and I know that I am the only one that knows of it's existence), but still, it's frustrating. More so, it's frustrating that I'm crying over something that to the average, non-knitting souls would seem quite ridiculous. They are simply a group of people that will never be able to fully understand the perils of being a knitter.

On a lighter note, and possibly to make myself feel like I'm not at a total loss, there is a package under the tree that looks (and feels*) a lot like new yarn. I hope so...

*It is not considered snooping under the tree if one just so happens to be watering the conifer and just so happens to gently nudge a certain package with her hand while closely examining the wrapping paper to see that the husband did a proper job of covering all holes with tape. For the record, he did.

Amazing

Every now and then, someone incredibly special comes into our lives and maybe, just maybe, we fall in love. Alex and I became friends in highschool, dated for a few years, and have just recently celebrated our first wedding anniversary. He is such an amazing man. Last night he came home from work with a big smile on his face and I found out that really, he was just excited that we would be having the next day (today) off from work.

So, he made plans; we would be getting our tree and then we would eat someplace special (I made him keep that a secret, because he had some surprises in mind), and then later, we would come home and decorate together. That was the plan.

I seem to have some yucky stomach bug and the pains are most uncomfortable. We postponed our lunch and Alex put up the tree and did the laundary for me. When he came home from doing the laundary, he brought me green and red Jell-O and informed me that it was both "Weight Watcher approved and sugar free". He's so wonderful and an amazing provider. I may need to make another pair of socks for him just to show my deep gratitude...

In other news, I have pictures of Saroyan. I'm very pleased with how it turned out and I'm very much looking forward to gifting it this Christmas.