I've been without Internet, so have been unable to post... I'm actually out of town, but wanted to pop in so that no one would think that I have dropped off of the face of the earth...

So far, anyone that's received knitting from me has given rave reviews, which is wonderful! I was unsure if people would really appreciate it or not.

My big news is that my neice arrived early - yesterday morning weighing 6lbs 11oz - a gorgeous little redhead! I'm making a special trip to go and see her on Boxing Day, and can barely wait!

Wishing all of you a Merry Christmas! May 2005 bring you your heart's desires, good health, and many joys!

I hope everyone in the United States had a lovely Thanksgiving! Thank you Tabi, for the sweet comment!

We were all hit here by a nasty bug. Really, we don't get sick a lot, but that's the second time this Fall for me... So two of my kidlets plus myself ended up with a chest infection & head cold that really wiped us out. Even I, the Queen of alternative therapies, loaded up with Nyquil and so forth because I was just so miserable.

Thank you, Bethany, for the suggestion of the Debbie Bliss Cashmerino for a special Baby Blanket! I heard rumour of a yarn store at the south end of my City that carries a lot of stuff, so maybe a trip out to find this store will be due!

Obviously, no knitting has been done. [Hangs head] I have so much to do - and Christmas outfits to sew... And now it's the end of the month! Where did the time go?

I am wanting to knit a baby blanket that would be soft, and comfortable, and would last for a really long time, and be a special blankie...

At first I thought of using some Noro Shinano, or maybe some Alpaca - but are they really practical? Blankies do have to be washed... So, now I'm at a loss.

What would you suggest for a special blanket? Please let me know!

I spent the last three days of varying degrees of a wouldn't-go-away migraine... I read that several other knit bloggers have been suffering from them, too. I wonder if it's the changing season?

I finished a hat and a pair of wrist cuffs, but that's all that I've done knitwise. (Although I managed to make this hat proper size instead of baby size.) I've been 'let off the hook' as far as some of my Christmas knitting goes. Our families decided to draw names this year, which makes everything easier. Some things I will mail off as a 'just because gift' before Christmas, and everything else will be for other times.

The other day DH was flipping through my Vogue Holiday Knitting, which took me by surprise. But what surprised me even more was when I teased him a bit about it, he told me he was looking for a man's sweater that he might like! I was shocked. He's been very supportive of my knitting, and quite frankly, of all my hobbies and interests. (Even when he 'doesn't get what it is I've painted', he still supports me.) But I've never seen him wear anything knitted in the last twelve years, and didn't think he would want anything knitted. It was a pretty cool moment, if that makes any sense to you.

And, speaking of knitted wristcuffs, my son is positive they're going to be then next coolest thing. Although he's not sure if guys can get away with wearing one on each wrist, or just one. He was going to school to take color orders from all his friends today!

I thought I'd whip up a child-sized hat this afternoon... Only paid 1/4 attention to what I was doing because the maintenance guy was here fixing a closet door and Matthew kept getting into all his tools...

Anybody need a baby hat?

My 10 year old son thinks it's the funniest thing that's happened this week...

Especially in the knitting department in the last couple of days. I can report, however, that I got a lot of snoozing done, though! DH was home all weekend, which is unusual, and we all did a whole lot of nothing important. I think you need to do that every now & then - especially in the City where everything seems so rush, rush, rush all the time...

I am beginning to think that one of my favorite winter-time activities is laying in front of the fireplace! It seems almost decadent.

And I do feel less like my head is going to implode, today, thanks! :)

As you may have figured out by now, I have three kidlets... Well, the youngest, Matthew (Matty) is going through a doesn't like any meal on the face of the earth phase. He's three, so he's doing it a year later than his two older siblings did. At lunch time today, I was going through a list of food trying to get him to pick something to eat, but received resounding no's to everything. After the I give up point, he turned to me and says "Make me porridge, Mommy!" Porridge? For lunch? I made it. At least he ate! But porridge?

Thank you Steph, for the ecard! It's the ecards & little notes that make FiberRAOK so wonderful!

I'm halfway done Miss Abbi's poncho. I expect to finish the knitting part of it this weekend... I'd like to add ribbon ties to it to close it, and I'm thinking possibly some beading along the bottom. I'm not sure yet. I don't want to over-do it - she's not quite 7. But I love being able to make things and adding my own little flair to them.

Everyone in our house seems to have various degrees of a cold. My throat and ear this morning hurt something fierce... I'd like to crawl under my blankie and snooze, but that is definitely not in the cards. Oh well - at least it's Friday!

I really don't have a voice on an American election, but I do not understand why a country would re-elect Mr. Bush?!? But, that's my own personal opinion, & I'll leave it at that...

I made a few knitting purchases yesterday...

The Holiday issue of Vogue Knitting, a sweater pattern for future use, my first pair of bamboo needles (which knit like a dream!), and the ever necessary yarn needles for seaming.

I also grabbed two balls of this:

This is for a poncho for a Christmas gift for my daughter. I had planned on something else, but as soon as I saw this, I knew it was meant to be made into something for her... I have no pattern - I'm just winging it with an idea of what I want the finished product to look like. I am really enjoying knitting with the bamboo needles - and wish I'd had a pair before!

Guess what this is a picture of?

This is the yarn I used to knit the scarf I showed you yesterday...

Someone my hubby works with was getting rid of it, so he gave it to hubby instead of the trash bin, and hubby brought it home for me... So now I'm an owner of a scanner/printer/photocopier! I scanned my yarn first thing, which caused hubby to groan, a lot. But it's not only useful for sharing clearer pictures of my knitting, it'll be very useful for my artwork, too. Oh, and for scanning pictures! :)

Proper knitting content in the near future, I promise!

Happy Tuesday!

Here is a pic of the eyelashy type scarf... And I confess to it being a bathroom mirror pic! :) I ended up deciding on fringing it, so with the fringe, it hangs to just below my waist... This scarf is made for Shayne's mom - I hope she likes it. It's not itchy at all - very soft...