Re visiting the Thanksgiving celebration

It's become a tradition the last couple of years to decorate gingerbread houses after Thanksgiving dinner. This year, since dinner and the Civil War were on the same day, we decorated at half time. The game was basically over at half time and the kids', big and little, enthusiasm for football had reached it's peak and was headed down the slippery slope on the other side. Bring on the gingerbread houses! Lots of supervisors as the workers get anxious to get going.

Intense workers. Crafting the perfect house is labor intensive.

Great family activity.

But the lure of the sugar was too much to resist.



For even the older "kids".

Some stayed on task until every piece of candy was placed just so.

There are definitely those in our family that are very enthralled by crafts.

Then there are those that crafts hold the attention for only so long. Or could it be that the sugar high has taken over? Whatever the cause, silly entered in.

And despite the sugar, creativity continues on.

Drumroll....we have the tour of Gingerbread creations....

Each as unique as their owners.

I've been crafting a bit as well. A few more FOs:

placemats and napkins for my swap package

a test knit: Tanvi, 6 month size, also for my swap package (project #23)

the mouse from the Christmas set in Itty Bitty Toys, also for my swap package (project #25)

the little elf from the Spud says blog, also for my swap package (project #24)

details for the knit projects on my ravelry page

So much to be thankful for....

That I couldn't fit it all in one post! So, another one coming in a day or two. This face is just one of the 6 or 7 I get to be thankful to see each day. And they equally have a lot, a whole lot, of personality (personality is another word for mischieviousness, ahem). This look is just the tip of the iceberg.

Thanksgiving was a bit different for us this year. On the actual day, work schedules interrupted our regularly scheduled sit down dinner. So we celebrated as a family on Saturday. The same day as the Civil War. Ask the guys to sit down for a Thanksgiving meal while the Ducks quack/spank/rout the Beavers? Um, no way that would happen. So we opted for a leftover snack type meal. Turkey sandwiches, hot or cold, chips, veggies and dip, fruit, etc. It was a great way to be together as a family. The younger crowd ate, watched the game, and along about half time, it was time to introduce something else. But that will be in another post.

In anticipation of a sit down dinner, I thought it would be fun to have the kids make a table runner for the table. The table setting that was not to be but the table runner was fun anyway. They painted their hands, made handprints on the "runner" and then added sparkle and legs and other parts to make turkey hand prints. Notice the eager faces? After all, it's paint! And one little girl has been begging to paint for some time.

Another eager crafter, ready to go. She has her paper, which is actually a school paper she swiped from one of the school kids, and her crayon. Little does she know....

This photo answered the question: "How did you get paint in your hair of all things?"

Such a trooper with Nonny's hair brained ideas!

Even our sweet young at heart enjoyed herself and it was great to see these two as a team!

Hmmm, tongue out? Must require lots of attention!

And TA DA>>>>>

Then Auntie S was on a roll, a craft roll.....similar to the Pied Piper, they all followed her lead. The turkey at the top of the post was the result of them getting their craft on.

We were ready, bring on the game. Well, it was a game for a quarter or so but, leaving nothing to chance, the fans stayed in place to make sure of a Duck win.

Even the itty bitty fans.

My poor husband. The single solitary Beaver fan. He has always cheered for the Ducks AND Beavers over anyone, until it comes to the Civil War. Then he's all Beaver fan. Except for the last two years but there were extenuating circumstances. So, in recognition of his stalwartness as a fan, I knit him a consolation prize. Something to cry on, hold in his misery. He said it's tough being a Beaver fan. It is. Meet knitting project for 2011, #22. He is now residing on my husband's dresser waiting for the next Beaver football game.

More details on my ravelry page.

just a quick one....

Hello? Are you out there? Just checking since I haven't heard from you for awhile. That's me, bad blogger. But I've been knitting, knitting, sewing, knitting. Just finished a test knit for the fabulous Australian designer, tikki. LOVE her designs and being a test knitter was a privlege. She has no problems getting people to test knit her designs and I was very lucky to be chosen this time. There are usually no openings.

I give you...Elizabeth by Georgie Hallam. I aggresively blocked it which is a kind way of saying, I overblocked the length. I will re block soon and take more pictures. The weather has not been cooperative for outdoor photo shoots. I knit this in Sirdar Baby Bamboo and I will definitely use it again. Yes, there is a lot of it in my stash but that's not the reason I'd use it again. I enjoyed knitting with it, liked how the lace and cables popped, and how easy it was to block.

The sweater is a bit long, maybe a tad big around, but this is her Easter sweater so in 6 months and with re blocking I think the fit will be fine. I have 4 more of these to do. The Moms like to get the Easter dresses for their daughters, as they should, so I'm doing sweaters this year. Whether or not they wear them for Easter is their decision.

As usual, more details and photos on my ravelry project page. And this is my 20th knit this year!

And, no post is complete without cute kid pictures.

Beaverton has a bounce house of sorts. Didn't know that. But it was worth a two hour visit on a rainy Friday afternoon.

The littlest one did not like the inflatables but she like the cars! Beep beep...

The slides were the most popular by far.

My husband took 3 of our grandmunchkins fishing on a Saturday morning. It was cold but they all caught at least one trout.

And Pepper Jack (as my husband calls her) is just, well, cute.

Have a great day. It's definitely a Winnie the Pooh day today so tea and knitting.

I love what I've created recently!

This sweater has to be one of my favorite things I have ever knit. Labor intensive but oh, so much fun to knit! A few details are below on knit project 18 but....



First up....finished this little guy one evening. In time to mail out. Yep, he went in a box with some other goodies to my swap partner somewhere close. He was part of my "E is for elephant" swap package in the Itty Bitty group. We were to choose one elephant knit pattern and make that for our swap partner, add some goodies, and ship it out. I did add some elephant goodness but forgot to take a picture of it! As well, all the swappers sent me special goodies for our leader's package and then I shipped it off to her in Three boxes!!! There is a whole lot of love in that group!

I knit this guy using the elephante pattern but I modified him a bit by felting the pieces just a bit before sewing. I added fabric to his ears and leaves to his back. More details on ravelry. Knit project number 19!

But the project I am probably most proud of this year to date is the Princess sweater. It is actually the Lavanda pattern by Elena Nodel. This Canadian designer creates some of the best patterns for kids. They are seamless, usually top down, but fun to knit, and so attractive. I used handpainted superwash Cascade 220 in princess pink to create this sweater for one of my princesses. I found the Beauty and the Beast buttons on etsy and they finished the theme. I did make a couple of modifications to the pattern and the details are on my ravelry project page.

Hood up from the back. I continued the hood in the ribbing from the bodice. The pattern called for stockinette but I got up a bit and just didn't like it so I modified it. I do like the continuity of the rib pattern.

Beauty and the Beast buttons. Little Miss picked which buttons she wanted used and the order.