louise cardigan

This cardigan is from Vintage Baby Knits and I was really drawn to the pattern. I also like the one on the cover a lot. It is currently in a drawer since I didn't really have any reason to knit it but, I am sure I will find someone to give it to one day. I knit size 0-3 months.
The yoke is very pretty and I love the details on the cuffs. I used Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino.

christmas

Christmas came and went and now here we are at New Year's Eve.
This week was busy with the business of the holidays, of the kids being off from school.
We attended a party, hosted Christmas, enjoyed biking on the paths in the woods, went to the movies and took a trip to the city to visit the MOMA where we saw the de Koonig exhibit and ate in the cafe. M sketched as he went along without anyone suggesting it to him which was super cute. I also did a fair share of knitting in the evenings which has been great and relaxing.

We bought ourselves new dining room curtains for Christmas. They were on the wish list for so long.

This is the image we used for our Christmas card this year.

horses

A horse shaped cookie cutter was purchased over the summer at an antique store in Cape Cod so horse shaped gingerbread cookies, clouds, trees, tiny men and christmas trees -recipe from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook. Shortbread: recipe here. Winter cookies: recipe here.
I have been thinking of chocolate mousse. I had no idea you could make it with good quality chocolate and a little water so maybe I will try it soon. Find out how here.



A hanging horse and bird mobile inspired by this one. I love that shop and indulged in the leggings which are amazing.



My flowering quince branch brings me a lot of joy as we enter the winter season. I also found pink peonies from Chile at Whole Foods today which I am over the moon about.

the nutcracker doll

A Christmas present for Ms. S.

The pattern is from the lovely Alicia Paulson from her book Stitched in Time.

I spent awhile deliberating the outfit before I settled on a matching bodice and skirt with Nani Iro double cotton gauze in pale green dot. The red velvet ribbon choice came easily since it is a Christmas doll. I used alpaca for the hair and it is so nice and soft to touch. I decided to add a scarf made from white angora.

cathedral window quilt

I finally finished my cathedral window quilt minus a bazillion threads that still need to be cut.

This quilt was a lot of work and really nice to work on. It is made with Kona Cotton in bone as the base and the patterns are all Liberty of London Tana Lawn fabrics.

I started it in 2009 talked about it again here in 2010

This is the tutorial I used for those of you who may want to try it out though you might want to stop at a pillow.

The size is 48" x 65" making it about the size of a throw quilt.

I believe there are 304 windows.

Merry Christmas to me.

three- layer peppermint bark

I made up a batch of peppermint bark over the weekend. It came out pretty delicious and I've been good and only indulged myself with a few small pieces so I can give some out for gifts. More holiday baking will be happening next week. There will be shortbread of course even though I curse myself when I am trying to knead it all together and I am thinking of making these cookies.

The recipe for the bark is here.

rhinestone barrettes

Something sparkly for Scarlet's stocking- rhinestone barrettes. These were simple and fun to make. I've already started another project from the 24 days of glam over on flax and twine.

I loved the red thread but I think it would also look fantastic with black in between the rhinestones or cobalt blue. Good think I have more materials to play with.

christmas decorating and some knitting projects

I haven't been here very much lately because I have been so busy but, I thought I'd pop in to say hello and show you some of our Christmas decor and a few knitting projects I have on on the go.



The purple one is a shawl and I'm about to start the lace section. It's Flukra and I'm knitting it with Sanguine Gryphon yarn. Flukra means "snow falling gently in large flakes." So beautiful.

The brown is another Peaks Island Hood in Green Mountain Spinnery Mountain Mohair. It was so fun to knit the first one and I had yarn for another.

-I learned about the Japanese art of Ikebana this week at my garden club meeting. It was a very interesting look at flower arrangement.

Enjoy your weekend.

xx

spool of thread necklace

While browsing around pinterest one night I spotted this sweet necklace and decided to try it out myself. I used some wire and buttons on either end of the spool. Beads could also be used in place of buttons. Since I didn't have a chain long enough I used embroidery floss for stringing it. I have a few more spools picked out to use- a silvery purple and a vibrant green. These spools came from my Mother's sewing basket which I raided a few years ago.If you want to try this out a pair of jewelry pliers are helpful for bending the wire.

Unrelated:
My daughter fell in love with a giant unicorn the other day. Dare I a purchase something so crazy as a giant stuffed animal because um... I am not making one.

tweed toast

I finished up a pair of toast for a Christmas gift. I knit them on smaller needles then the pattern called for- using a size 5 and Rowan Tweed . I want to make the kids some mittens but am knitting them fox scarves first.

I am devoting some time each day to work on my quilt which is coming together little by little. I can almost see an end. A bit of embroidery on two samplers takes place now and then and reading too.

December is upon us and we just brought in the Christmas tree. I am looking forward to decorating it tomorrow.

Have a lovely weekend friends..