frozen toes

It's cold here. Single digits. Brrr.

There are only three days to Christmas and I can't remember when I've felt less prepared for the holiday. I'm not done shopping, let alone wrapping, and I still don't know what all I'm contributing to Christmas dinner. Could it be that those things aren't as important as I've always thought them? There are 24 hours in each day, but they don't seem to go as far as they used to.

Tomorrow is our company's Christmas potluck and then our plant closes down from 12/24-1/5. I am so looking forward to it, although it is mostly an unpaid time period except for the actual holidays of Christmas and New Year's Day. I don't know if it's the short days or the extreme cold but I've been mightily disinclined to get out of bed with the alarm in the mornings lately.

We did some shopping on Saturday morning (I bought more hollow glass ornaments--I love them although I need another ornament like I need a hole in the head), then attended the wedding of the son of close friends that afternoon/evening. Yesterday was the Christmas brunch at church (lots of fun), then our new pastor and her husband hosted an open house at their new home for the congregation. Add to that continuing wedding plans, and I guess I've been busier than I realized.

I hope you all can take the time during this busy season to slow down and appreciate the beauty of Christmas, and to remember what it's really all about.

looong silence

Hello all.

I really am here despite the lapse in posting. We're busy with Christmas preparations, extra church goings-on, and school programs.

Our oldest son Adam and his fiancee Emily, who had not yet set a date, came to us recently and said that February 12 will be the big day. Ever since we've been rather awash in wedding preparations. Although they want a very small private wedding it still requires a certain amount of forethought. They've asked for my help in planning this event, which pleases me, but I'm trying to go softly and not impose my will on them. So far we've accomplished the following:

One bridal gown, to be accented with a thin red silk ribbon around the lower edge of the bodice

One tuxedo, except with this vest:

Invitations/announcements

Wedding cake.

And a partridge in a pear tree. They've obviously chosen red as their wedding color so Emily's thinking about possibly red lilies for her bouquet. Although the wedding will be just for family and close friends they will have a reception a day or two later and invite a wider group of people. I must say, small weddings and a couple who doesn't have a lot of high-falutin' ideas certainly make for a less expensive proposition. And they're getting just what they want, besides.

Hope all is well with my readers.

good news

My mother went for her oncologist visit yesterday and found out a couple of pretty important things. First, she is BRCA 1 & 2 negative, which means she does NOT have the kind of cancer that arises from a genetic mutation, so none of her kids/grandkids can have inherited that mutant gene. Second, she does not have to begin her chemotherapy until after Christmas, which is rather important to her and to the family as a whole. She wasn't looking forward to feeling horrible with the family around at the holiday. When she does start chemo, she'll have it once every two weeks for four months. We are all rejoicing with Mom in this good news. It makes this season of Thanksgiving and Advent even more meaningful.

Since I don't like to post without photos, here are some previously posted pieces. This is a postcard I made for a swap. It is much like a piece by Beryl Taylor, whose work I admire a lot.


This piece and the next one were part of the show that traveled to Lincoln, KS and are currently on exhibit at the VAAM Gallery. This is made of paper, fabric, and metal.



This is one of my personal favorite pieces. It's probably 3 x 2 feet and is essentially comprised of artist's postcards stitched to a quilted black background.

I hope you are all having a great Wednesday.

more knifty knitting

In between all the cooking and visiting this last Thanksgiving weekend I did some knitting. These are for my four-year-old niece's Christmas gift. I didn't use a pattern, just modified my usual roll-brim hat for a child's head and knitted a simple rectangle and crocheted strap for the bag. The bag also has a little heart shaped button closure which you can just about see at the top. Did I mention she likes pink?

This is something I finished a few days ago, knit from Icelandic wool, then felted. I found the rose and leaf patterns here.

I've lined it with quilting cotton and it has a snap closure. I think it's cute. The bag is again just a simple made-up pattern, and I crocheted the straps and attached them and did the side seams before felting the bag.

It has gotten quite cold here lately, and the cats want to be in the house overnight. I nearly tripped over one of them on my way to turn lights on in the living room this morning. He just looked at me and yawned. No sympathy there.

Hope you're all having a good week.

wedding congratulations

microsoft.com

Hearty congratulations to my youngest brother Eric and his bride Kelly, who were married last night and who will spend Thanksgiving with us tomorrow. Kelly brings three sweet boys to our family. I couldn't be more pleased to welcome them all, and I pray many, many years of happiness for Eric & Kelly.

thanksgiving blessings

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day here in the U.S.A. We're having the traditional turkey dinner with all the trimmings (and 23 relatives) at my Mom & Dad's house as we usually do. I have already made my famous sweet potato souffle and creamed onions and tonight/tomorrow will put together some peach and berry crostata (recipe here) plus sauteed green beans (yum) and this fresh green salad (minus the turkey). We've also got a bake sale fundraiser for Relay for Life here at work which I made ginger bread and pumpkin bread for, plus an office snack potluck for which I made spinach/artichoke dip in a bread bowl. I do believe I've done my share of cooking for the time being.

That being said, I want to make a list of some things I have to be thankful for:

• faith in God who sustains my life
• living in a free country
• a wonderful husband and three healthy boys
• my loving extended family
• my mother's successful surgery and recovery
• two new sisters-in-law, 4 new nephews and a new niece
• a job I enjoy
• friends who love me and put up with my foibles
• my art, which is better than therapy
• this blog and all the wonderful new friends it has put me in touch with

Whether you're in the US and celebrating Thanksgiving tomorrow or in another part of the world that doesn't observe that particular holiday, I urge you to be mindful of your blessings. Thankfulness is always appropriate.

weekend doings

It was my Saturday to work at the VAAM Gallery, so I took things with me as usual. I finished the felted bag I'd been working on. It turned out to be a clutch. My sister helped me choose the funky button decoration. It closes with a large snap.


This is a felted bucket bag I knitted to my own pattern. I'm really impressed with how well Lion brand 100% wool yarn felts. Every bit as good as spendy wool yarn and I can get it at Wal Mart or Hobby Lobby. The color of this is "cadet blue", with a plain black handle. Can't remember what the fuzzy stuff is.

Here are some cotton and bamboo silk socks I've dyed and have for sale at the Gallery. I took a bunch in weekend before last and they were almost gone by midweek, so I had to do more. I sold a couple of pairs on Saturday, too, so they seem to be popular. The bamboo silk kind of piques people's interest because they're a very nice sock, soft and very warm, plus people like the idea that bamboo silk is a sustainable resource. It takes the dye extremely well, too.

This isn't a good photo but it shows one of my handknit acrylic scarves. This was taken in 100% natural, brilliant sunlight streaming through the window of the Gallery, which shows what kind of weather we've been having. Gorgeous, in other words.

I'm busily knitting up the sari strips into a scarf for a certain sister-in-law's Christmas gift. I'll photograph it but maybe not post until after Christmas because if she's reading this I don't want to spoil the surprise too much.

Have a great week, all.