Where Did Christmas Go?

Can you believe Christmas is over already?  It comes so quickly and before you know it, 'whosh' it's over.  My Christmas was wonderful filled with loving family and grandchildren who are still at the age where their enthusiasm hasn't diminished at all and they have that anticipation in their sparkling eyes.  I did manage to take some pictures of missing stockings that I've made in the past but neglected to get pictures of at the time because who knew, so here they are:  I knit this one for my husband way back.

This one was for my darling daughter, Laura, and is the pattern that I seem to have used most often.

This one is for my youngest son, Clint, and the pattern is by far, my favorite.  However, I only have bits and pieces of it left so I'm going to search far and wide to see if I can find it somewhere........if anyone reading my blog recognizes it, please leave me a comment as I would truly appreciate finding it to make another one.

So, I think that's about it for the stockings I've knit, other than the newest one of all which I just completed 3 days before Christmas for my youngest grandson, Owen and here it is:

I'll close wishing anyone who still reads my blog a very happy and healthy 2013 filled with your heart's desires.  I am going to try and post more often here even if the content isn't necessarily all knit related....there's more to say, I'm sure. :)

Christmas Stockings Past & Present

I just finished a Christmas stocking for my granddaughter, Claire, which made me start thinking about the other stockings I've knit for my kids and grandchildren pictured below.

          Christina's 

                                                  Connor's

                                                             Anna's

                                                          Matty's

                                               

                                                        Johnny's 

These aren't all that I've knit but I need to take pictures of older ones this Christmas.....those that were knit prior to the advent of knitting blogs. :)

Here are  pictures of Claire's stocking (completed at the beginning of this month) and the very basic beginnings of Owen's.  I am going to duplicate Owen's name into the stocking when I'm finished  but I've just begun the top of Santa's hat which I don't think is really visible yet.  There will be a nice big Santa face on this one with an angora beard which is a switch from my usual pattern of choice.  This is a Candide kit purchased from Patternworks and I'm happy with the yarn thus far.

                                                                  Claire's

I hope you've enjoyed the pictures and I hope I still have a few loyal few who might stop by and read my blog....thanks to all of you.                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

Pictures Now & Then

NOW

A very beautiful sunset off the coast of Hilton Head, SC, sent to me by my dear friend Kay.  I love pictures of sunsets and find them so relaxing and this one is a beauty!

On the knitting front, I'm currently working on my first of 2 Christmas stockings for our granddaughter, Claire who will be 9 months old by the time Christmas rolls around.  I hope to be able to knit another stocking for our grandson, Owen, who will be 6 months old by Christmas, but I don't know if I'll have enough time to knit both of them.  We'll see how things go because I'm crocheting a few Christmas gifts too, but smaller things in general.  I'd really like to knit a few mitten and hat sets for my other grand kids but time only permits so much progress and add to that my osteoarthritis and it's not always conducive to continuing to work on a project too long.  I'll follow up with pictures when I have more progress to show you on the stocking and even the ever so slow regular socks that I'm knitting at what seems like a snail's pace.

THEN & NOW

In the meantime, I'll leave you with this picture of Sylvester Stallone then and now.  OMG, I loved this guy back in the 70's when ROCKY came out and I still have a soft spot for him in my heart to this day.  I can remember going to the original Rocky movie when it first came out in our area in December of 1976 with my brother and his girlfriend (then) named......wait for it......Adrienne!  All the people in the movie theater cheered several times during the movie and when's the last time you heard any cheering at a movie these days?  When the movie was over and we walked outside the snow was falling heavily and it was such a magical sight filled with the hope and inspiration of dreams that could come true.  That whole evening is seared into my memory forever and to this day, I can hear the theme song playing and see Rocky running down 9th St., the Italian Market.  I remember my cousin's wife and one of my best friends as well, telling me at the time of Rocky II's filming in 1979 that we should be there for his run down 9th St. again so that I could actually get to see the 'Italian Stallion' in the flesh.  To this day I regret not taking her up on that offer because I never did get to see him in person.

Recently I watched Rocky and Rocky II again (for the umpteenth time if truth be told) and I still marvel at the innocence and raw emotions in these movies.  There are none like them anymore and I fear, there never will be again.  So, to Rocky Balboa and/or Slyvester Stallone, I say, "Yo, Adrienne, we did it"....and you did it great, Rock!

Overdue Post

Whew, it took way too long to post on my blog and I can't understand why I've neglected this for 6 months, no less.  Well, no promises, because that tends to be the whammy when it comes to fulfilling a blog post more often, at least for me.

Since my last post I've been a busy bee in the baby blanket area.  We've welcomed a new baby granddaughter named Claire in March and a brand new baby grandson named Owen just 4 weeks ago.  They are both so adorable, but most importantly, they are both healthy and happy and for that we are blessed by God.  
I made each of them a blanket and I put a picture of Owen's blankie in my last post if you'd like to take a look.  Below is a pic of Claire's ripple blanket which turned out quite nicely.  

Right now I'm working on another ripple blanket just to stay ahead of the curve, so to speak, and I just began a striped granny blanket with different colors in Stylecraft DK.  For me, it's unusual that I crochet any blankets with a DK but this one looks and feels quite substantial and very soft which is great on both counts.  I don't have enough progress on this one for a picture yet, but I will follow up with one.

As for my resolutions from last post, I've only managed to get another 5 pds. off but I haven't given up by any means.  I didn't gain this weight overnight and so I won't be losing it overnight either.  I have been saving and curtailing spending which is a good thing to be sure and it's been surprisingly easier than I thought.  

I've also been cooking healthier and utilizing Ellie Krieger's cookbook which is chock full of lower fat, but delicious recipes.  

A New Page

Since this is the first day of a brand new year (with no mistakes in it, as Anne says to her teacher in Anne of Green Gables), I thought I'd begin it with a new blog post since I've been remiss with my posts this past year.  First of all I want to post the promised pictures of the two completed items made most recently:  a knitted buttonhole scarf for moi, and a crocheted baby blanket for my new grandchild due this year. 

This is the scarf I knit from the yarn and the booklet I won in a 'new motto' contest for an online yarn store.  I really like wearing it (although in my neck of the woods it hasn't been cold enough to do so very often....ugh!).  It's great not to have to tie it or worry that it'll come undone and the color goes with just about everything.

The baby blanket was a joy to crochet once I got the foundation row squared away.  I did have to wind up fudging that row though and then I was off and running.  I still can't figure out why I couldn't get it to work out for me but since I really liked the look of the pattern I wasn't giving up.  I used Vanna's Choice and enjoyed crocheting with it.  It didn't split very often and will be soft enough for the baby and my daughter-in-law can toss it in  the washer and dryer as needed.

 I have 2 grandbabies due in 2012, one in March and one in June and we don't know whether they'll be boys or girls but you can see which I think at least one of them (if not both) will be.  Time will tell but I do already have a baby blanket for a girl done (picture above) so I'm in good shape if one has a boy and one has a girl.  What to do if they both have the same sex though......I guess I need to knit or crochet 2 more.....oh, how I wish the parents would find out what they're having ahead of time, but that's not their choice, so I may have to get to work on new blankets.

As for resolutions for this new year, I have a few and just hope I can see them through.  1.  To continue losing weight and becoming more active.  I've already lost 15 pds. so my next short term goal is another 15 by mid April.   2.  To spend less on impulse buying even for small items because 9 out of 10 times in the past, if I think about it for a couple of days before purchasing I wouldn't buy it more often than not.  3.  Based on my number 2 resolution, I definitely want to save more in this unstable economy.  We've worked too hard not to have enough to live comfortably on so there's no time like the present to begin, no matter how modestly.  They are my goals and I hope to live up to each one of them to the letter.  I wish all of you (if I have any readers of my blog left after my extended absence) a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2012 as well!