Holiday Gift List

We are already into the second week of November already. What happened to the first 10 months of this year? Before I know it, I will be burning the midnight oil on trying to finish some last minute holiday gifts. I try to start early every year, but time seems to sneak up on me each year. This year I have two gifts completed so far. The first was the pair of socks, and now, the completed scarf/wrap. This is the Morning Glory Wrap from Knitspot and it is suppose to be knitted in a fingering weight yarn. But, I made it in a Malabrigo lace yarn and added extra repeats to the length. Now, I have two done and eight more to go.

Blocking view of Morning Glory

These remind me of ginkgo leaves.

Completed and ready for its recipient.

A Pair of Socks

I don't have much to show you today except for my finished socks. These are the Spring Forward Socks from Knitty Summer 2008. It was a really fun knit and since I have two sets of size 2 dpn's, I went back and forth so that they were completed simultaneously. It was a good mind trick to prevent second sock syndrome. I am still working on my Morning Glory Wrap and I should have picture up pretty soon.

I Cannot Stop

I am not sure about other crafters, but I cannot seem to stick to one craft until it is completed before starting another one. At the moment, I have three knitting projects that are incomplete and I am already thinking about what I can start. Please allow me to show you my incomplete projects and you will probably agree with me on starting them also.

First:

I have to set a timer for myself and total discipline to put this project down so I may work on other things such as doing dishes or such nonsense. The combination of yarn and pattern is making this really difficult. The yarn is a Malabrigo lace weight and it is really really soft. The pattern is called Morning Glory Wrap from Knitspot. The pattern is really easy to follow and the anticipation of the next section makes it impossible for me to put it down.

Second:

This is a Christmas present for someone who loves bright color socks. I apologize for the poor quality of the photo. The yarn is a fingering weight in Kaffe Fassett color way and the pattern is from Knitty Summer 2008 called Spring Forward.

Third:

Connie Chang Chinchio's pattern called Kowloon Cardigan. I came to a complete stop on this project after I knitted all the pieces. All I have left to do on this sweater is to seam it together and knit the button band. Maybe it is due to the warm up in the weather last week that have made me stop.

Can you see now why I cannot stop myself from starting all these projects? At least it is close to completion.

Mmmmm....

Thank you everyone for all the nice comments on my quilt from the previous post.

We woke up this morning to our first rain of the season here in So. Cal. It is almost unheard of to get rain so early in the season, but I am not complaining. With the nice cold rainy weather going on, I suddenly had an urge to bake. Since the phrase "stocked pantry" and me doesn't go hand in hand, I couldn't just whip up a batch of cookie. After much disappointment, I went to our local Trader Joe's (TJ) with a list of things I need to make Lemon Bar. If anyone of you have been to TJ, you know what I mean when I say that one comes out with more than what is on one's shopping list. So, I did not buy anything on my list except the eggs. Instead, I came home with these:

and one hour later, it became this:

I have yet to try it, but I am sure it is good. (For those of you who are curious, I did not put the cranberries in my cupcake.)

Blogger Quilt Festival

After much contemplation, I have decided to participate in Park City Girl's Blogger Quilt Festival. Since I am a new quilter, I didn't have too many quilt to choose from and this is a good thing. It took me several days to decide on one of the four quilts I made so far. Can you imagine if I have as much quilts as Red Pepper Quilt or some of the really experienced quilter? I probably won't be participating if this was the case.

So, the quilt I chose to show is my first quilt. It is the one I made when I participated in Old Red Barn Co. Quilt Along. Thanks to Dana clear instructions and everyone's encouragement from the group, I was able to complete my first quilt.

Not only did I make my first quilt, but I also learned how to do free motion quilting. It was a first of everything for me. The size of the quilt is only 40" X 45", but I love it. I thought about donating it to Binky Patrol since they don't have enough boy color "binky", but I can't part with it. I may have to make a bigger one for myself to substitute for this one.