So, I saw Kim's post and the next thing I knew, I was buying this pattern searching my stash for this (shepherd worsted) yarn, and casting on.
I ended up giving it (reluctantly) to my mother in law. ( I really wanted to keep it.) If you are a first timer to cables, this is the project for you.
We use our cookie press to make cookies every Christmas. Just as my mother did for us and her mother did for her. Always using the camel, the tree and the wreath disc. This year we tried another disc after seeing a friends.
You press it into one long strip, sprinkle with the nonpareils, (which just by chance are small enough to get caught in the ridges and don't roll off your cookie sheet!) and then cut it into the size of the cookie you want. (All before baking.) These were a great addition. I also think these would be great for a birthday party.

Well, Santa came, despite some naughtiness that went on throughout the year. I currently have happy, content people and a very wonderful mess on the living room floor.

She loved mine so much, she started saving.
Hers and his sweaters, that no longer fit, have a hole or are simply worn a little too much.
I cut 13 x 13 inch squares out of ten sweaters. Using the front and back, this gave me 20 squares. I wanted it a little bigger and didn't want to waste any of those (cashmere!) sweaters, so I used the sleeves and pieced them together in order to get five more squares. At first I had reservations about using the front of the cardigan, and now that is my favorite square. Love the buttons. For the back I used some camel colored pendleton wool that I purchased for $1.00 at our church harvest fair.
This may be my favorite gift I'll be giving this year.

It took them 2 seconds to pick out colors for their new thorpes.

Libby's new hoodie is finally finished. I don't know exactly why it took so long because on size 8 needles it should have been a breeze. However, that seed stitch hood put me on the slow track. (Probably a reason I haven't worked on that seed stitch throw.)

So, those Nikon camera fairies are the best! Guess what I go back? My camera! After only three weeks. I guess it pays to cry, cause the nice girl wrote "rush" on it and they took her seriously. (hmm.. wonder if she wrote anything else? crybaby? and then I thought maybe she sent along the mitts as a bribe or a thank you, which, in that case would have been totally acceptable.) Or maybe they weren't that busy, but either way, I couldn't have been more thrilled.
This was the last photo that shutter took. Yeah, I know. I have no idea why I was photographing bowls in my kitchen either. That's just it. I take so many random photos throughout the day. The girl asked if I was a heavy shooter. Could I have pushed that shutter 100,000 times? That is the average amount of shots these shutters have in their lifetime. (I may have laughed...if I wasn't crying.) Absolutely. And then some. I'm the girl that takes pictures of bowls. Anyhow, I have a new shutter mechanism, a new aperture control unit, a new grip, motor and they updated the firmware and cleaned the imaging sensor. She said I should be good to go for another 100, 000 shots. Hallelujah.

12:10 p.m.
12:31 p.m.
5:00 p.m.

The kids and I decided to get the tree over the past weekend. With husband out of town and it being his birthday and all, we decided that having the tree could be a big birthday surprise upon his return. So, we ventured out. I'd love to say that while the snow was gently falling, thermos's filled with hot cocoa, Christmas music playing, we drove to our local tree farm to cut down a perfectly shaped fresh tree. That didn't happen. Instead, we drove (in the gently falling snow) to our local Home Depot and picked out a perfectly shaped 6-7 ft fraser fir for $37.50. It was one of the first ones we spotted, because of its perfect top. Perfect for our angel topper. The nice guys attached it to the top of my (tall) vehicle and home we went. In the driveway, Charlie (age 14) and I just looked at each other. Where did the nice guys go? It was now up to us to get it off the (tall) vehicle. Okay. I had a plan. We can sort of roll it off the side. It ended up rolling onto my head and hit tip first on the driveway. Oh no, the top! I reassured the kids it was fine.

December Days. For the month of December, I'm back posting again over at Habit. I really loved my month there back in May. This month I'll be joining the other 33 contributers that posted throughout the year. It really is a lovely peek into others lives. The photos are worth a thousand words although the actual wording is short and meaningful. Hope you'll come visit.

Hello December.
I'm really not certain how it rolled around so fast again. It seems like I just packed this advent away. I was happy to pull it out and place it on the white wall. In the newly painted white kitchen. It doesn't seem busy to me like it did last year. I'm assuming it is the white wall.