Kiss My Knits!

The traditional Christmas ravioli. My husband makes the pasta dough, ricotta cheese, and sauce from scratch. This year the tomatoes were from our garden, and we had a side of spicy sausage from an Italian butcher about 20 miles up the road.

In theory we all help assemble it, but really it’s mainly my husband who is the maestro here. It’s so good. So good.

Christmas went well. Em got overtired just before bedtime and started quietly crying because “I haven’t done karaoke all year.” Really it was because she had been up since 6am, going full tilt. I should have put her to bed early.

Even with the rough finish, she still said, “I think this was my favorite Christmas ever.” Mission accomplished.

And so, exhausted, I’m also off to bed. I hope your Christmas was merry and bright.

Both camera and truffles are awesome.

I used to love photography, back when it was film and darkroom and this is really giving me hope that I can get back into it again without a lot of space for chemicals and other setup.

And did I mention the truffles are awesome?

I’m like a kid on Christmas! Oh, wait… I am a kid on Christmas!

Em spreads some Christmas cheer, 2007. Her voice has deepened this year. I think she’s going to be an alto.

All the best to you and yours.

Em is chock full of Christmas spirit. She’s got her day planned out. A bath at 4 so that her hair will be dry by bedtime, then bedtime at 6. I’ve talked her back to 7 because I don’t want her to lie awake in her bed for hours on end. Tomorrow, she wants me to ring a special Christmas bell to wake her if I wake up before she does. I’d say the chances of me getting up before Christmas’s Biggest Fan are pretty slim, but I’ll see what I can do.

We used to have a Christmas bell that belonged to my grandmother, who collected bells. Em knocked it off a table this year. She was heartbroken, crying quietly to herself. I myself was very sad because it was a bell that had belonged to my grandmother, but of course you can’t get mad at a child for something like that. It was clear that she genuinely felt awful. I still have a few other bells that my grandmother had, and they’re metal. Big brass bells, that’s what I got from my grandmother! Oh, come on, she had a good sense of humor.

However, we still needed a replacement bell if we were going to ring something on Christmas morning. I had to visit five different places before I found a Christmas bell that wasn’t a jingle bell. Do NOT go out to a specialty Christmas store in December. Just don’t. It’s a madhouse.

I finally got a bisque bell at Michael’s and picked up some paint in Christmas colors. I hoped that making it extra Christmasy ourselves would ease the pain a bit. And it did. Em did a wonderful job. When I think about all the occupational therapy she’s had, and how amazingly far she’s come, I’m filled with motherly pride.

Em loves the new bell. Christmas is back on track. All is right with the world.

Em: “Do you know why Santa doesn’t come until Christmas Eve?”
Me: “No, why?”
Em: “Because sometimes Santa doesn’t wrap presents, and if he came before Christmas Eve, everybody would know what they had before Christmas.”

I have it on good authority that a certain little girl is going to get exactly what she asked for from Santa this year. She’s certainly been good.

FO: Holly Jolly legwarmers.
Needles: Size 3 for ribbing, size 4 for body.
Pattern: Cast on 30. Do some ribbing then some stockinette then some ribbing. Cast off.

Notes: This is another pair of legwarmers for supersweet ‘s little girl. They arrived yesterday, just in the nick of time. I kept out one bit of green from the skein in case I had to patch my daughter’s heels, but aside from that, this used up all the rest of my Holly Jolly yarn. These are a little bit shorter than I’d like, but they really used ALL the yarn, so I can live with it.

I hope and her family and all of you and all of your families have very happy holidays. This won’t be my last post before Christmas, but it’s always a good time to wish you wonderful people well.

Me: “You know what I didn’t hear after you got that M&M?”
Em: “No, what?”
Me, whispering: “Thank you.”
Em, whispering: “You’re welcome.”

My mother-in-law went to Germany and brought back sock yarn for me. How thoughtful! I knitted some up in the car on the way home, and was delighted to find that I had not dropped or gained any stitches, even though I was knitting in the dark. Unfortunately, it’s a bit loose on size 1 needles, so I’ll have to drop to 0s. Besides, I need my lone size 1 for another project that’s ongoing.

It’ll be at least Spring before I have time to tackle this yarn, but I’m touched by my mother-in-law’s thoughtfulness.

Three pairs of Fuzzyfeet in varying sizes for my nieces, who are also varying sizes. I just finished these up today, aside from weaving in ends. Since we go see them tomorrow, I’ll be weaving in ends tonight. Talk about squeezing it in under the wire!

As you can see, I didn’t bother with a jogless join to make the stripes line up. I figure since it’s on the sole, it won’t really matter.

Knitted on size 10 1/2 needles with Lamb’s Pride worsted from my stash. I have a big stash.

Since kids are notoriously picky about clothes, they’re also getting gift cards. We just also wanted them to have something to go under the tree besides a little envelope.

These will be given unfelted, along with a zippered pillowcase and instructions on how to felt them, so that the kids can have the fun of making their own slippers exactly the way they want.

I’m happy with how these turned out, and happy that I was able to do it entirely from my stash without purchasing any extra yarn.

Em is currently watching the Royal Ballet perform the Nutcracker on PBS. I’m just glad she’s getting to see the real thing instead of the Barbie version. Merry Christmas one and all.