Winter ....

 It's nice to have some down time to relax after Christmas and before the new year.  I've already started knitting on a new scarf. Its not for a special occasion, its just for some thing to knit up to keep my hands busy.  I started with using the left over yarn from my daughters eternity scarf project (thick & quick yarn), and so far I like it.

 I'm enjoying the cold evenings of late watching movies and staying warm by the fire place working up my projects with a nice cuppa.
I hope every one has a Happy & Safe New Year!

Merry Christmas every one, have safe and Happy Holidays!

Truth Is ...

Ok, I don't know about your kids, but this is what I get when I ask for a nice family picture....
they seem to go all goofy on me! I took about eight pictures before I got a good one, but that's alright, some day, they will be the ones asking their kids for "a nice family picture" and I will be the one sitting back laughing enjoying all the commotion. (No worries, it was all in good fun)

Lots Better!!

My son, getting coal for Christmas, from his sister.

Even though I got a lot of goofy pictures, they gave me new fun memories for the holidays and provided us all with a good laugh.
p.s. I know some day their kids will love this!!

Peanut-Butter Kiss Cookies

Yummm , love this recipe for cake mix cookies. This is an old cookie with a more modern recipe. They stay moist and are a requested favorite. I follow the recipe ...roll the balls, coat unbaked balls in granulated sugar & add the kisses before baking. Quick and easy to make...which is exactly my kind of recipe.
*note: let them cool before removing from pan or they will fall apart. Unfortunately, I botched a few being impatient, but they still tasted good.

Chunky Crochet Cowl

 Finished my last handmade gift for Christmas for this year. I chose a close fitting cowl pattern for those really cold days. Its short in width & length and will fit well in the collar of a coat. I have never understood the point of making or wearing some thing that doesn't actually fit to keep your neck warm unless its meant to be dressy. This pattern doesn't have a permanent closure, its adjustable and fastened with a jewelry pin or shawl pin...but I thought my mom would be more comfortable with some thing that fastened. So, I went ahead one of my vintage buttons. She can fasten it so the button shows or doesn't show depending on how loose or snug she wants it.
 I used Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick, Grey Marble with an N-Hook.

cowl:   http://freecrochetpatterndownloads.blogspot.ca/p/scarf-cowl-pattern.html

Christmas Morning ~ and it was a winner! She liked it!

Crochet Eternity / Infinity Scarf

This crochet eternity scarf is actually for my daughter for Christmas, but my son did me the favor of wearing it so I could post it. Ok, he moaned and groaned about it a little bit, but eventually gave in and didn't think it was so bad after all. Aww, thanks hun!
It's made with Wool-Ease Thick and Quick (bulky wieght) yarn by Lionbrand in the color "Fisherman". A wonderful quick project and exactly what I was looking for when I saw this post & pattern. Some of the clothing stores have come out with some cowls/eternity scarves that are the larger weave. So I changed the hook size to "Q" and double crocheted six rows. It's all basic crochet stitches which keeps it simple.The whole project took less than two hours and I think she'll love it!

Christmas Morning ~ and she loved it!!!

so did Khloe, we couldnt keep her out of the box

....rolling & cuddling it

now, ready for a nap!

I made this second eternity scarf as a gift. She likes bright colors and this is one of my favorite yarns. The yarn is "Yarn Bee", melody bulky, color- ocean. This time I used an N-hook and 2 skeins of yarn. The pattern is the same, except I chained 125 at the beginning. This one twists around your neck twice loosely or three times if you want it snug for warmth.

She liked it and sent me a picture of what she wore it with....yeah!

Elf Shoes

Elf shoes...who wouldn't love one of these attached to their  Christmas gift?! You can use them as a decoration, ornament, fill with candy or use as gift money holder, they also make great little pin cushions.
It might seem a little tricky at first, but it does go together fairly easy. Stiff felt works the best to keep its shape.They have lots of colors available in the single felt squares. Keeping in the spirit of the Christmas holiday, I made felt ice cycle trim and added some hand embroidery and beads to mimic holly. I was even thinking this would make an adorable garland! I'm not sure I will get it done this year though...every time some one sees one of these shoes they want one!

Christmas Tin

This little Christmas tin is so handy! I set it out as a decoration, but it holds extra ornament hooks and replacement Christmas light bulbs. Its really nice when you have an ornament exchange or  when one of your light strands goes on the blink. No more digging through boxes or drawers to figure out where you stashed these little extras.
It comes as a plain tin in the scrapbook stores, and it reminds me of a Band-Aid box with a small handle.
It was decorated with scrapbook papers, ribbon, buttons & lacy edgings of paper made with a border punch. Oh what fun....

Decoration Day At My House

 Got my tree put up today! In spite of every one catching a head cold at my house we managed to get the decorating done. I don't think we put up as many decorations as usual, but since my head is feeling big and fuzzy I'm OK with it.
 We added Khloe's first ornament to our tree this year. When we adopted her back in August the vet made an ornament with her paw print on it for us to take home. So I embellished it with ink so the paw print was more visible, added the date of her first Christmas with us and hung it with ribbon. She did really great with the tree and decorations. She hasn't messed with them once. She did lay under the tree and was looking up at the lights, but she wasn't to sure about the whole thing and hasn't given it a second thought since.
 Next, we hid the Christmas pickle. Last year I forgot to put it on and my daughter noticed right away. They are older now and I didn't think they even looked for it any more, but I guess I was wrong. I thought it was nice that they still want it on our tree.