Oh Christmas Tree...

I hope your Thanksgiving was lovely...

We shared a fantastic turkey dinner

 with our son's family and his wife's parents.

Friday we moved right into Christmas.

 

 

We took the granddaughters to a Christmas tree farm

to help us cut down our tree.

 

 

I just love a live Christmas tree.

~b

 

 



sweaters

I like to knit.

Occasionally I get the urge to challenge myself

and think outside my knitting box of

dish rags and scarves.

 

It's difficult to count stitches and watch movies...
 at the same time...

movies being my other passion.

If we had a movie theatre in town

I'm sure I would just have my very own chair.

If anyone else dared sit in it I would frown at them.

 

I chose two different patterns and selected fall colors.

 

 

This green one is especially cute.

 

 

 I went with short sleeves because the first three sweaters I made the granddaughters
 all ended up with the sleeves being too short.
It took awhile for me to figure out they have long arms.

~b

 

 



cousins

I finished up monster cousins this weekend...

 

 

"Chevy"

 

 

and "Flynn"

Flynn has the flue so don't get to close.

 

 

 

The backs have a pocket on them for holding monster secrets.

 

 

I've included lots of textures on the monsters...

buttons, yarn, fleece, corduroy, a little leather, wool, zipper.

Kids like textures don't they?

 

I don't know if I would call them handsome...

cute maybe.

 

~b

 



Nuts

With a little new snow...

approximately a half inch on the ground again,

 I am back in a Christmas state of mind.

 

 

Don't worry I can enjoy Thanksgiving as well as anyone

 with a house full of Christmas decorations.

And to prove it I have my Thanksgiving recipes

 laying on the table with a grocery list beside them.

 

 

We will be sharing Thanksgiving dinner with our son's family this year.

It's seem strange to not be cooking a full meal...

and I do love stuffing a turkey.

 

But I will enjoy kicking back this year...heck they even have a dishwasher!

 

I will still be making and taking a few of our family favorites...

It just wouldn't be Thanksgiving without Grandma Bertha's nut pudding.

~b



dolly

Today is a good day to throw an extra quilt on dolly's bed.
It's snowing, blowing and very cold here.

 

 

I've been saving and cutting three inch squares

 of all my little leftover flannel pieces.

 

 

They went together perfectly for dolly quilts.

 

 

I love sewing with flannel. It is so soft and sweet.

And no kidding...

I get most of it at WalMart where I have found

the biggest selection, the best price and it's the softest.

 

 

Uh oh...gotta go.

Pearl thinks she's getting a new blankie.

 

~b

 



gnocchi

 

When you can't find gnocchi in the stores...

you go home and make your own.

There's nothing I like better than a challenge.

 

 

I won't share my recipe...

I can tell you it included potatoes, eggs, flour, sea salt and baking powder.

WHAT! NO butter or cream?

 

I went online to find my recipe and instructions.

 

 

I just wouldn't feel right sharing a recipe that I haven't proofed yet.

 

 

Really pretty easy.

 

 

WARNING: Things are about to get messy from here.

 

Get your hands in there to mix things up.

 

 

I could have used a couple of granddaughters here...

they like to use their hands.

 

 

How can you go wrong with a potato dough?

I also like to make my own noodles when time allows.

 

 

What do you think Paula Deen?

 

I will put them in the freezer covered with parchment paper

to freeze individually before bagging them.

 

~b

 

 



The cobbler...

I have felt like a shoe cobbler the last few days.

 

 

The Dakota Maid shop called and said they needed more baby shoes...

 

 

I said I could do that and started right in...

 

 

HELP I can't stop!

 

 

What does the fox say? ha-ha

 

 

Did you ever play that game at school

 where everyone had to throw their shoes in a pile...

 then at the word GO! you had to scramble to find yours?

Dang, I always had holes in my socks that day.

I still wear holy socks...

~b

 



e a s y

These headbands are more yarn stash-buster projects.

 

 

They crocheted up fast and easy.

I could almost crochet while I watched

a foreign film with captions.

 

Were you as disappointed as I was

when I found out last nights

"The Paradise" show on PBS

was the last one for the season?

But it ended great.

~b



More pooh...

 

 

Would you say I'm hooked on amigurumi?

 

Amigurumi is the Japanese art of knitting or crocheting small stuffed animals.

The word is derived from a combination of the Japanese words ami, meaning crocheted or knitted,

and nuigurumi, meaning stuffed doll.

 

"Pooh," said Rabbit kindly, "you haven't any brain."

"I know," said Pooh humbly.

 

 

 sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in your heart

-Winnie the pooh

 

 

He has a cute little behind too.

~b

 

 



owls

Wise guy...

 

 

A wise old owl sat on an oak.

The more he saw the less he spoke.

The less he spoke the more he heard...

Why aren't we like that wise old bird?

Charles Schultz

 

More of my amigurumi efforts...

 

 

 

So Owl wrote...and this is what he wrote:

HIPY PAPY BTHETHDTH THUTHDA BTHUTHDY

Pooh looked on admiringly.

"I'm just saying 'A Happy Birthday'," said Owl carelessly.

"It's a nice long one," said Pooh, very much impressed by it.

 

 

 

Come back here tomorrow for more Pooh...

~b

 



What does the fox say?

 

If you haven't heard this song yet...

try to avoid it.

 

 

It's one of those songs you can't get out of your head.

 

 

The granddaughters and I,

with lots of help from grandpa,

made these cute fox in pajamas

this weekend.

 

We also made a couple of tooth fairy pillows

which I'll have to try to get a picture of later.

 

~b

 

 

 

 

 



photo booth

 

~b



NOT cute

More amigurumi...

 

 

Talk about goofy...

I can't believe I wasted my time on this snake.

 

I'll throw him in the toy box

 and see if the granddaughters notice him.

He's friendly.

~b



Here kitty...

 

 

 

kitty...

 

 

kitty.

 

 

Amigurumi cat balls...

bet you can't make just one.

 

 

Meow

~b



pie

 

Whoopie!

It's snowing here today...

Does that call for a little Christmas music?

 

~b



"Vinnie"

This guy came alive in my sewing room this weekend.

 

 

And you guessed it...

Mr. b is minus another pair of his denim work jeans.

 

 

His trousers are made from a vintage piece of fabric.

The buttons are also vintage from my past variety store life.

 

 

He turned out super sweet.

 

What did you do with your extra hour yesterday?

 

~b