an Alien concept...

 Christmas!

It's been a busy season.  It was a rush, but I did get a couple of Christmas gifts made.  First, this hat/glove set (Beeswax)...a real delight to knit, even if knitting anything with cables automatically doubles the knitting time.

The second was a fun project for Todd.  Our plastic Scrabble tile bag is in shreds, so I decided to make a new one with fun fabric.  This bag was a real challenge for me, since I have a terrible time following written directions and there were several new techniques involved...but...I love the finished product.

The bottom has pleats (!!!) so that it will sit nicely.

It's lined, and has drawstrings at the top to keep the tiles contained.  I love this bag.

A lot of usual Christmas traditions here.  A different-flavored Christmas cookie each night in the week leading up to Christmas, all flavored from a basic sugar cookie dough:

A week of Elf on the Shelf, culminating in one of my favorites...an Alien-themed scene.  Todd and I are huge fans of the (first two) movies, and it didn't take long to stitch the basic Facehugger shape out of felt a couple of days before Christmas Eve.  Our "household Elf" is fairly sinister, so this is a fitting ending for his week!  :)

We watched loads of Christmas movies, spent Christmas day in pajamas, and had some delicious homemade sweet bread.

What we Midwesterners call Mexican Wedding Cakes, but Todd calls Russian Tea Cakes...

A slightly stuffed...but happy!...day!

The kittens loved the huge piles of wrapping paper, although we were infringing on their territory a bit.  They've claimed the floor space by the window, both cramming into a small dog bed there.  It's so sweet, though, that we don't mind a bit.  Kitten love!!

There's quite a lot to see, and always nice to have a snuggle buddy!  It's become the popular hangout spot in the house.  Even Borga wants in on the action!

Just one more day of leisure before we get back to the daily grind.  Temperatures have been cold here, although we missed the big snowfall that other places received.  Still, it was harsh enough outside to keep us inside!

Looking forward to a final vacation day today...tidying up the Christmas mess, eating leftovers, and curling up in front of the fire with a good book.

Hope you had a great holiday season!

a "grate" week

I finally finished my Yumiko Higuchi embroidery panel!  I took her center design of the red snake and contiguous designs and then augmented with random patterns taken from her books.

photo is askew...sides are straight in the original project!

It was originally meant to be a sampler for me to learn different stitches, but I tended to stick to my favorites...stem, chain, and french knot.

Since I did the transferring of design with charcoal, I now need to CAREFULLY wash it and dry it without distorting the stitches.  Another issue is wrinkling in tight spaces.  I'm hoping that I can get it washed, ironed, and stretched over a wooden frame within a week or two.  

Another stitch project completed just in time for Christmas - Todd's "NASA nerd" t-shirt.  

It's cross stitched...not one of my favorite things to do, but I worked on it a little every day and got done in plenty of time.   

This was my first time cross-stitching on a knitted (store bought) t-shirt.  One of the problems with cross stitch is working on the stiff woven fabric that forms the guiding Xs for your needle.  It's great if you want a bookmark or maybe a wall hanging, but not for much else.  But now you can buy a water soluble sheet to stitch through.  Attach it to anything, stitch, wash, and the sheet just melts away.

It's a little bit awkward, but I love that it opens up a whole world of possibilities!

Another Christmas project:  a long knitted cowl for a friend.  It's designed to puddle under your coat collar and also be pulled up over your nose if it's extra cold outside!

My favorite feature is the little leather tabs for the drawstring ends.  I picked them up on Etsy and I think they are fantastic!

I'm already almost halfway through another knitting project.  I started a cowl for myself, a beautiful stranded knitting design inspired by Portuguese tiles.

photo courtesy of Kate Davies

I'm knitting one long tube...fifty inches!...and when completed, I'll block it and then stitch together the ends to create an enclosed circle.  One side of the pattern is light-prominent...

...and the other side is dark-prominent.

You can see the contrast if you turn the work on its side:

It's really pleasant work and nice to stitch on for maybe an hour every night.  Now that my hands aren't getting sore from knitting, it's a delight.  I already have my next project picked out!

So, the Christmas pie has been put away...

(SOMEONE couldn't wait for Christmas lunch!)

...and our mischievous elf has packed up his bags...and threats...for another year.

Now life will take on a slower pace for a while.  I'm ready for it.

Have a "grate" week!  

fire and ice

Although we've yet to have any real winter weather, we've got our ice.

Low overnight temperatures create beautiful spiky sculptures that melt in the midday sun.  But while they last...

   

 

The fire comes earlier, in our vivid sunrises...

...that gentle into a cheerful glow by breakfast.  It illuminates our front door wreath...

...and throws our bare trees into sharp relief.  

Our muskrats are warm and cozy inside their house.

Even though our apples are long gone, deer are still visiting.

Inside, we're in full Christmas swing.  Besides our daily advent gifts, we're also listening to a Christmas podcast (fun historical facts about the origins of common Christmas traditions) after supper, with our usual cookie.  The same as last year:  one dough, split into 10 portions and flavored.  Each night, I thaw and bake two cookies from the pile.

And, because inside I'm still twelve years old, I'm doing Elf on the Shelf this year.  I LOVE IT!  Our elf is particularly mischievous, melting snowmen with hair dryers...

...leaving threatening notes...

...and many other tricks!  It's so fun!!

We're two weeks in with our new cat, who finally has a name...Calliope!

Bah humbug!

In Greek mythology, Calliope is the goddess with the golden voice. The Greek pronunciation is Cal-lee-OH-pee, but I prefer the English way:  Cal-EYE-oh-pee.  It's so much fun to say!  The Greek origin is nice, but truthfully, it's a name from my childhood, from a beloved children's series.  

I've never forgotten it, so I'm happy to use it now!  Calliope has finally stopped hiding from Borga...

Who let the dogs out?

...but things with Tabitha are a bit less smooth.  We've been told to expect a long, slow road to tolerance. It's slow indeed.  Some afternoons, they can be in the same room together, quietly. But mostly, Tabitha stalks and hisses.  Calliope hesitates, sometimes hissing back.  Cats are separated.  Humans are exhausted.

You've never heard of Facebook?  Okay, how about MYSPACE??!?  Emphasis on the MY?!?

I can read Tabitha's mind:

photo courtesy of The Simpsons/Fox

...so I'm trying to be patient.  Celebrating small victories and giving extra cuddles to both cats.  We're hoping for some improvements soon.

Have a great week!