Silent Night...

Duane and Barb stopped by Sunday evening to drop off our Christmas present early. Believe it or not, it's made of ceramic - no trees were sacrificed in the making of this candle holder. Duane has been playing around with natural forms for a while now - he makes absolutely stunning sculptures that defy my meager attempts at description. He made a similar candle holder last year and Monica and I both told him how much we wanted one next year.

He remembered.

This is a close-up of the other side to give you some idea of the detail involved. This is truly a gift we will treasure for always. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts, Duane!

One Flew Over the Canary's Nest

We stopped by Duane's in-law's (does that make them my in-laws once removed?) on Saturday to pick up the finished costume. Duane put the finishing touches on while we watched! Pretty impressive!

Practicing her "flapping":

Who IS that masked bird?

Thanks Duane - you're awesome!

If it Looks Like a Duck and Sounds Like a Duck...

It's a CANARY! N is a Canary in the Christmas play at school next week. Duane (Mark's Dad) volunteered to make her costume. (Yea Duane!) We went up to his house outside Adrian MI for a fitting on Sat.








After a busy day of trying on a costume, lunch at a fantastic little Mexican restaurant, traipsing around Adrian mall, and playing with other dogs (ok - that was Casey only!) - Casey and N fell asleep on the way home. Awwwww....

Thanksgiving Feast!

Ok - this post is only a few days late! Mom hosted Thanksgiving this year despite having the smallest dwelling of us all! But we all fit (somehow). This is most of the table - note the pumpkin soup in the bowls. Everyone is watching N recite her Thanksgiving poems.




Here ya go - this is what they were watching!


This is my grandma - she'll be 90 in February and still lives in her own apartment! Go Grandma!

Knittin' on Tuesdays

Sheesh! I'm almost a week late with this post! Meant to blog it right after last Tuesday's knitting night. ANYWAY... here are some of the group at the Perrysburg (Levis Commons) Books-a-Million. Even though it was two days before Thanksgiving, we were there - knitting like fiends on all of our Christmas knitting!



Yes - it IS as complicated as it looks! Knitting on two circular needles is supposed to be easier than double-points. Hmmmm...I haven't gathered the courage to attempt it just yet!



Elaine is learning a new technique! Notice my GINORMOUS orange knitting bag next to her! Hey - I used my coupon at Michael's! And this way I don't forget stuff - everything's just in the bag! (That's in theory of course - the reality is I leave stuff on the coffee table at home all the time!)

Which Super Hero are YOU?

Cool! I'm NEO! I get to wear the awesome trenchcoat!


You scored as Neo, the "One". Neo is the computer hacker-turned-Messiah of the Matrix. He leads a small group of human rebels against the technology that controls them. Neo doubts his ability to lead but doesn't want to disappoint his friends. His goal is for a world where all men know the Truth and are free from the bonds of the Matrix.


Which Action Hero Would You Be? v. 2.0
created with QuizFarm.com

One Hat, Two Hat, Pink Hat, Blue Hat

Yes, the "it'salmostChristmasandIdon'thavegiftsmustknit" panic continues at my house! As evidence, I present the four hats (and one mitten) I've knitted over the last two weeks. Dutifully modeled by N who says the purple Coronet (from Knitty) is her favorite. As further evidence - I haven't blogged in over a WEEK! (sorry faithful reader!) And if I were better at html, the pictures would be layed out much more attractively. I'm just lucky they're all on the page!

Where Are YOU From?

Check this out! Yup - I'm a blogging geek - jumpin' on the latest cool blog stuff bandwagon! Seriously, though - add yourself to my map!

Cabling and Grafting and Politics, OH MY!

Y es, typical me - pick a cute pattern and say - oh - that looks so EASY! I can do THAT! Ha! Then find out I have to learn a bajillion (ok - maybe only 2 or 3) new techniques to complete the project! BUT...thanks to Shay at S-n-B I can now pick up stitches in a way that is EASY and actually looks good! Thanks Shay! :)

So the Coronet is now cruising along - I may have to make more for the neices if this one turns out wearable. No pics yet - sorry!

In other news....Toledo has once again lost it's collective MIND! Does no one REMEMBER his last tenure as mayor? After listening to us discuss his myriad um..."issues" my 9 year old says "I don't like him - he scares me! He FIGHTS with people!" Yea. What she said.

Sigh...well at least it won't ever be boring around this town again! And we'll probably get in the national news more often! Yea us!

And now it's off to TEN STRAIGHT HOURS of parent-teacher conferences! It's a good thing they give us tomorrow off - I plan on doing nothin' but knittin' all weekend long! (Oh ok - and clean the house I suppose!)

Another Christmas Present Done!

Yes, finished the loopy scarf last night - whew! Won't post another pic as it looks pretty much like the pics below - just longer. One skein was enough but it's more of a "fashion scarf" which bothers my husband a bit as he says scarves should be about function over form. When I hang it around my neck it reaches to my waist and it is long enough to wrap around my neck, so I say it's long enough!

Also - found some AWESOME "yarn-o-meters" to put on my site. You can grab the FREE code here: http://www.swatchnot.hender-son-s.com/finalyarnometer.html They're fun! Couldn't figure out how to put them EXACTLY where I wanted them on the side bar. When I attempted to put them in the middle, they ended up being placed ON TOP of the other stuff there - you could see both things at once - it was kind of weird. And extremely annoying. Must. Learn. More. HTML! SO....they're at the bottom of the side bar.

In other news - it's like the Wizard of Oz around here - the wind acutally woke me up last night it was so loud! All sorts of interesting things are blowing down the street like tumbleweeds and the dog is freaked out! We even had THUNDER in the night! And it's 60 degrees Fahrenheit! In NOVEMBER! In OHIO! Thanks Global Warming - We LOVE you!

What SHEEP are you?

Which flock do you follow?

this quiz was made by alanna

Hee hee! This was cute. I liked the icon for the "Geek Sheep" better but this is what I came out as.

Scarves a Plenty

Christmas must be right around the corner - not only was Books-a-Million playing Christmas music at Tuesday's S-n-B, I am whipping out the SCARVES! I finished this pretty red one today - simple garter stitch in *gasp* (acrylic):


Sorry for the blurriness of the photo - it was the only one that was accurate as to color. It's a really soft and squishy scarf - the colors are beautiful! I haven't the foggiest idea what I did with the yarn info, but I do know it's man-made fiber.


This is the other scarf I worked on today:



It's a fun loop stitch that the wonderful ladies at my Tuesday S-n-B were kind enough to show me. It knits up really fast (although I'm only about half-way done) and is a good "mindless" project to take with you. I worked on it today while at the pediatrician's office with my daughter (no strep - just a virus - so it's back to schol tomorrow!).

Here is a close up of all the LOOPS! :

It's knit with Manos del Uruguay wool - gorgeous colors but it's turning the tips of my Denise needles blue! eek!

Irish Hiking Scarf Knit-a-Long!

Found another knit-a-long for something I'm already knitting! (Thanks Bad Amy!) Finally - something in which I'm not woefully behind everyone else! (Only moderately behind lots of people!) Here's my inadequate pic of my progress to date.


Done in the predictable (yet pretty!) Cascade 220 dark gray wool.

It's my first-ever cabling project and BOY is it EASY! I love cables! I don't understand them - but I love them!

NaNoWriMo!

Arrrgh! What have I done? I've gone and signed up as a "NaNoWriMo" participant! Arrrgh! Check out the link to the left to find out what it's all about. The premise both cracks me up and intrigues me. Doubt I'll actually try to do it this year though - I'm already THREE DAYS BEHIND! There's actually an apparently active Toledo group that meets on a regular basis (in November anyway!) to discuss the NaNoWriMo experience! May have to check them out at some point.

Moebius Bowl - XL

I decided to try the larger sized moebius bowl from Cat Bordhi's "Second Treasury of Magical Knitting". It IS quite a bit bigger - but less stable as a result. It's still pretty cool though - it's kind of hard to see the twist in the handle in the picture, but it was the only one I took with something to show scale! Knit with 1 and 1/2 skeins of Arucania Nature Wool. (I don't know the exact color - sorry!)

Fuzzy Feet-A-Long!

Alrighty - I'm jumpin' on the Fuzzy Feet bandwagon and joining Crazy Aunt Purl's Feet-a-long!
(See the button in the links section to the left.) Here's a picture of the yarn and the yarn label of what I'll be using:

I'm hoping I bought enough - it's a wee bit thinner I think than the recommended yarn. But I have small feet! And if it's STILL not enough - I have a daughter with even smaller feet!

Come on - join the knit-a-long - you know you want to!

First Post!

Hello! Trying out this blog thing. I've had a live-journal account, but it's not quite the same, is it? Did finally come across the infamous "Llama Song" today - I no longer feel old and out-of-the-loop! Woo hoo! Here it is for you to enjoy!

"THE LLAMA SONG"