*~*Dawn's Magic*~*

"Friends are God's way of apologizing to us for our families." -- Unknown

(I thought that quote was funny in a way)....

You know how it is, sometimes the holidays can seem a bit overwhelming. I think I've been feeling a bit blue. I've gotten TWO Christmas cards from family ("so far" as The Big Guy keeps saying, he's ever the optimist)... well, three actually, but two were from the same cousin. (I think she forgot she already sent me one). (Note: I know it's better to give than to receive, it's just nice to feel a little luv ya know?). Then, my youngest daughter said "take us to the mall, we're grown up now, we need GROWN UP presents". Okay kid, rub it in. (They're buying each other something tonight). Did you see my heart droop a bit more there? No more babies here. Sigh.

Then I got this in the mail today:

A friend may well be reckoned the masterpiece of nature.
* Ralph Waldo Emerson

And like the Grinch, my heart grew 10 sizes this day. Yes. It. Did.

Dawn remembered I love green olives...YUM!!! From NAPA Valley Too!! Oh California, how I miss thee... The PINK pattern tamers she sent are so awesome too. I won't admit how many times I've almost bought some but wasn't thrilled with the colors available. These are PERFECT. PINK IS MY THING. (Just realized I haven't put my Christmas tablecloth out yet either. Darn Grinch.) I think it's amazing that this is one knitting accessory that I don't have yet, and I have just about everything out there. Now I can't wait to use them! I loved the PINK project bag and PINK yarn too! And a Pink Kitty Calendar. Oh, Pink always makes me SO happy!

Next!


Oh, these are so AWESOME! Another story here: I ordered some scented soaps from Dawn's shop Wolfe Farms for my Mom (5 star rating from Mom too!), but I don't think she had the Unscented items yet. I saw them later and thought "Next Time, those are for ME" and lo and behold, she sent me some!! I get scent triggered migraines at the drop of a hat and have to admit I was more than a little jealous of all of Dawn's customers enjoying all of her products. (Grinch Again). Now I (ME, ME, ME) can partake in the all the softness and I LOVE IT!!!


If you need awesome soaps/lotions/candles, Dawn's place is where to get them! The reviews aren't kidding, everything feels wonderful and really soothing to your skin. The lotion is totally non-greasy so I can pick up my knitting right after applying it. That's amazing because I've tried SEVERAL! You know you've done it too, had to keep wiping your hands on something AFTER putting on your lotion. We've all been there! Here's Dawn's Ravelry Group Link. Go SEE HER.


A true friend is the greatest of all blessings, and that which we take the least care of all to acquire.
* François Duc de La Rochefoucauld

And for the pièce de résistance. Dawn sent me her homemade Persimmon Cookies. I can't relate accurately enough how I feel. Elated?!! Unbelieveably Hysterically Happy?!! Yes, I think so! I've been tearing up and crying all afternoon because I know how incredibly busy she's been with her new business, and yet she still took time out to make ME cookies! My FAVORITE holiday memory cookies. I keep opening the lid and INHALING deeply. I can't get these persimmons here and these are what my Grandpa made every year while I was growing up. They mean so much more to me than I can say.

Dawn, I can't say Thank You enough. I have to go blow my nose again. Everytime I even think of them, and all you sent, I cry again. But it's a HAPPY CRY!!! This Ole Grinch feels SO much better. Thank you so much for helping boost my Christmas Spirit WAY up. I may go get my tablecloth out now!

A Few Christmas Knits

Thick Comfy House Socks For The Big Guy


Pattern: Sock It To Me Socks
Yarn: Bernat Denimstyle

Needle: Size 6

Made for Hubby whille he was out of town on his last business trip.

Mods: I made them extra tight because I read this yarn really stretches. These are soft and smooshy. Very comfy.

Big Yarn = FAST Socks. Gotta love it.

Pattern: Bow Knot Scarf (Oooooooh, Luxury. I love my Meunch Chenille.)

Yarn: Meunch Touch Me in Dark Blue 3603 (I think. Where do all my labels go?)

Size 6 needles

This was made for my Mom for Christmas. (I got the idea from another gal's blog and darned if I can't remember who's blog it was now. When I find out I'll edit for that. FOUND IT! Thanks Irisheyes!)

Mods: I did 14 rows for the insert part instead of 16. I also made the wrap part around the neck longer than the pattern instructed. My Mom and I don't like anything wrapped close around our necks. Just a comfort thing and we tend to overheat easily. Couple of Hot Momma's!

Vesper Socks

Yarn: Vesper Self Striping in "Love Stinks, Yeah, Yeah" colorway.

Size 1 needle 64 st cast on.

What can I say, these were going to be my "happy" socks, but a sweet little girl of mine loves them a whole lot so she'll be getting them for Christmas. These took an unusually LONG time for me to knit up, I just couldn't stay with it for very long but they finally got done. I messed up the decreases on the second toe, but it's hardly noticeable, it just proves how scattered my brain is these days.
Pattern: Noro Fingerless Mitts (for Mom for Christmas.)

Yarn: Noro Silk Garden in Colorway 232

Size 4 needles - magic loop - TAAT

Okay, Confession Time: She wanted GRAY ones, but I wasn't having any luck with the ones I was working up. I must've bought 4 different kinds of gray yarn too. I flat out had to get out of that zone for a bit so these were born.

Mods: Some splicing was done due to a muddy brown that was in the middle of all the other pretty colors. I went down on the needle size because my Mom has small hands, and in my own experience NSG grows or blooms upon washing. I just wanted to make sure they'd stay snug to some extent.

I know one of the thumbs *looks* bigger than the other one, but that's what you get with the thick/thin variation of Noro! It made me think I had messed up, but they're the same! Honest!

I'm fighting sinus issues still, getting headaches almost everyday. Can't wait for winter to be over with over here! Still trudging along though, I still can't believe I have ANY knits to blog about! Wow! Maybe I'm doing it in my sleep! LOL!

Happy Knitting!!

The Day After

I'm still full. What a wonderful day we had, we were together and really enjoyed our day.

Is anybody knitting anything? I sure hope so because I WANT to be knitting but nothing has been working out and I'm getting in the "just put the blasted stuff away and keep walking" mood. With all the yarn I have, that's not good.

The Cats will not let me get up today. They've literally been laying on me all day. Really.

All I could do was pretend I was busy by fliddling with the blog again. ;O)

Happy Thanksgiving

Whiskers On Wednesday

ON THURSDAY! (Because I completely zoned out this week.)

This scratching mat was a huge success in our house! Sasha had to check it out thoroughly to make sure it was worthy of staying.

And her and Sophie are still enjoying it. Since they use our whole house (stair railing, chair legs, couches, door jams, carpet) for their scratching posts we had to try something. They can be little destruct-o forces for sure. I'm still shopping around for a tall climbing tree for them, the main issue is where the heck we're going to put it!

On the Medical front: I had my first experience with an MRI machine on Tuesday and even with anti-anxiety meds in me I didn't last 3 minutes. It was a bummer. And I felt so embarrassed, but the staff made me feel a little bit better by telling me stories of people who have had to come back numerous times to get one test done. (That very well could end up being me!) I have to go back on December 1st to try again. This time doubling up on my meds and taking them earlier to let them get into my system more. I slept like a log when I got home so eventually they did work! Just not when I needed them to!

The MRI will hopefully tell us if I have a disc or sciatic problem with my back. My right leg has really been bothering me and I've just attributed it to my fibromyalgia all this time. My MOTHER all along has been asking me if I'd had my back checked out to which I ALWAYS replied "Mom! My back doesn't hurt!". Well, She was right all along. Mom's just KNOW! Once that finally sunk in (and the pain got a lot worse) it makes total sense to me and my doctors now. They ought to pay Mom's for medical consultations.

I changed my blog a bit. I love pink but added some green in there. Makes me think of Spring time in this winter drab. I have no idea on how to do a lot of this blog stuff so I just go with what makes me happy at the time. If it's too hard to read, please let me know in the comments, I'd appreciate it!

Knitting: What Knitting? Mom's fingerless mitts may never happen. I can't find the right pattern/yarn combo and it's driving me crazy. Still working on that....

Happy Knitting!

Elegant Gauntlets

I REALLY love this pattern. This is my second pair, and while I haven't made them in a really long time, I still love making these. Sally's patterns are so well written. Every detail is there. And I really loved this yarn. Soft, and great colors! If you get a chance check out her Etsy store.

Pattern: Elegant Gauntlets

Yarn: Black Trillium Coraline

Size 2 needles

Modifications: Shortened by a couple of inches in the arm part. We won't talk about how many times #2 gave me trouble because trouble just follows me around and sits on me. I think I swing the door wide open and just invite her in with my knitting. In the end, it all worked out after a few sessions of frogging here and there.

I made these for my friend Kimberly. She's a Mod on the Auto-Immune Board on Ravelry and no matter what she's going through (and it can be a LOT) she's always picking the rest of us up and cheering us on. She's truly a kind, giving spirit and we appreciate her so much. She loved the movie Coraline so this yarn made me think of her. She lives in Southern CA so I figure she can use these probably more for "fun" than for "function". These look really awesome scrunched down a bit around the wrists. I hope you enjoy them Kimberly! Happy Late Birthday!

If you can, please send out Positive Get Well Wishes and Prayers to my BFF Julie's Mom. She's had health issues going on for awhile now, any and all thoughts and luv going their way would mean so much right now. Thanks bunches.

Happy Veterans Day to all our Veterans too. We thank each and every one of our armed forces with all of our hearts and our prayers are with you as well.

Small But Mighty

A couple of stocking stuffers for the girls:

One for Jess:

And one for Chels: I know, they LOOK the same but there are slight differences in the colors. Now we won't have any fights over who's is "cuter". Yep, this Mom thinks ahead! Just a simple Beanie made a bit oversized for comfort.

Pattern: Noro Silk Beanie
Needle Size: 7
Colorway: 285 (I think, I'll have to check on that one day).
I used a bit over 1 skein each because it seemed a bit too short for my taste as written. My girls have a lot of hair, plus, I like more coverage down around the ears. I hope they like them, Christmas will be pretty "skinny" around here this year, so a little handmade love will bring a smile. Noro Silk Garden feels kind of "icky" to me while knitting it up, but it does feel softer in the finished product. Weird. I know.

My nephew recently asked for a helmet liner for when he's out running early for his ROTC. I ordered the Cascade 220 Superwash and away I went.

The Big Guy scared me when he was wearing it around the house, it's kind of spooky with Halloween right around the corner and him being sneaky and all....Anyway, I changed up my decreases around the face this time and it's soooo much better. None of that weird bunching and puckering that a lot of people get on the sides. I did mine more "staggared" per rounds, and it rounded it out better.

Helmet Liner
Yarn: Cascade 220 Superwash in Black
Size 6 & 8 circs.
One skein! Whew! That was close, I was seriously sweating it out, hoping I could finish without having to order more yarn. I was soooo happy that worked out. Unbelieveably, I totally blanked out on which way to cast on addtional stitches around the face this time. You'd never guess I'd made this before! I ended up trying all three ways and liked the e-cast on the best in the end even though "they say" you shouldn't use it for more than a "few" stitches. I ripped so much I thought I'd have to replace that section of yarn, but it looked so cool when it was done!

My other little project:

Bella Mitts,
(confession: not big Twilight Fans - by the middle of the first movie we were yelling for him to just eat her already! But these mitts are SO COOL!)
Needle size: 8's
Yarn: Knit Picks Swish Bulky (in purple): which I doubt I'd use again. To me, "Superwash" means I can machine wash, gentle cycle and dry on low (just like KP's instructions). Not these. I was already making two pairs, one for me and one for Mom (for our Fibromyalgia, these feel GOOD when on), so messing up the first pair in the wash wasn't the end of the world but it sure ticked me off. The second pair will have to be "hand washed" and layed flat to dry (could've just bought regular wool!). Anyway, they're done and it's a really cool pattern to knit. It's fast, fun, and if you do use this yarn you can make a pair with 1 1/2 skeins.

So those are my "small but mighty" projects lately. Small feels good. Makes me feel like I'm accomplishing something even though I move at a snails pace. Happy Knitting.