Felting Party DISASTER

We had the felting party Saturday night...the food was delicious (stuffed shells, salad and homemade rolls) but the felting went terribly wrong! I must say I have learned from my mistakes. The first thing that I did wrong was to put all four pairs of clogs in one zippered pillow case. The second thing that was very bad was adding my son's comforter to the mix. Usually I felt with sheets in the washer and everything so far has turned out well, except this time...when it counted the most :( I now know the items to be felted need lots of room to move around in the washer. Sorry no photos of the felting process as I was very disgusted!! After the first ten minutes I checked on the clogs. Some were felted. Some were not at all! One of J's was felted and the top of the slipper was felted to the bottom. I had to pull them apart. Same thing happened with one of N's slippers. I then tried 10 more minutes. Still not right. Finally, I removed the comforter and things went better. Only two pairs to the bag though. In the end they are ok, but I'm not at all happy with the finished results, not perfect...but they should be wearable. Lesson learned: Only felt one pair at a time and make sure the item has lots of room to move around. Now I'm waiting for them to dry so I can sew on the non-skid soles.

Here's another DW dishcloth...I love this pattern; I don't think I'll ever tire knitting these!
Then, I finished another corner to corner cloth using leftovers of two color ways that I had previously made DW cloths with.
Now this in my latest project:
A DW dishtowel!....which is actually six DW cloths knitted together. I really think I'm going to love this towel. The yarn is 100% cotton millend (one pound) from AC Moore. It looks like the striped yarn (Sugar 'n Cream stripes) that I've been dying to try.

Next on my list...I need to wind my beautiful sock yarn from Jeanne into a ball...then I going start knitting my socks. Can't wait!

I certainly hope everyone will have a very happy New Year!
Lots of happy knitting in 2008 :)

Merry Christmas!

Was Santa good to you? Santa was very good to me this year :) I'm very happy...I am now posting from my very own notebook computer...a Dell Vostros notebook with XP. It is amazing!! An unbelievable difference from our old dinosaur computer, it's so easy to use. I still have to move over my old files...but that can wait. Plug in my photo card reader and I'm good to go!

In addition to my computer I got a mouse, pen drive, chocolate and a Joann's gift card from my boys - I really made out like a bandit :) Guess giving my husband all the money I saved up for the laptop I didn't end up getting (remember by failed shopping trip to Best Buy this past fall?) worked to my advantage!

Here are a few cloths that I recently finished...since finishing the infamous slippers:
The first one is another DW cloth and the next two are "Corner to Corner" cloths. The pattern is found in this booklet Lily Sugar 'n Cream Kitchen Kolors!. (#570821). Basically it's grandmother's favorite with out the yarn overs! I had a little bit of Christmas colored yarn left, but not enough for a whole cloth so I striped it with the solid red. I like the result. The same thing with the DW cloth...not enough left for a whole cloth so I striped it with yellow ombre. I bet you can't even tell the it's striped?

Last, but not least...I think this is what really made our Christmas morning special:

Christmas Eve Shortcut Buns

I thought I would try this recipe this year. Who wants regular breakfast food for Christmas morning? The night before you prepare the recipe and let it rise overnight. Then when the presents are being opened you bake the rolls. The aroma was incredible! Just a little warning...it is so tempting to put more rolls in the bundt pan than what the recipe calls for...don't. It really looks sparse, but by morning the pan is filled to the brim with the risen dough.More rolls would have made it over flow and you can imagine the mess. This is definitely a keeper and new tradition in my home :)

Merry Christmas everyone!! Happy Knitting :)

Happy X 4

I'm so happy ....I finally finished all four pairs of felted clogs with time to spare. Don't think I'll be knitting any more of these slipper for a long, long time. They still need to be felted, but that will take place after Christmas. Once felted (felting party) and dried then I'll add some non-skid soles.
Then at T's ( my youngest son) basketball game today I finished a Christmas Nubbins. I've always wanted to try this super easy pattern.

Now, I can focus on some last minute knitting, mostly dishcloths I think because they work up so fast. Then I can finally knit what ever I want :)

I wish each and everyone of you a very Merry Christmas, along with peace, joy and love :)

Lasagna Soup

For those of you who were wondering....really how did that Lasagna Soup turn out??? It was fabulous. We all loved it. It's a keeper in my house! My photo isn't as pretty as Janice's, but keep in mind this is what was leftover after we had eaten. Yum! A loaf of fresh french bread and you've got yourself an exceptional winter night's supper :) More details here.

Plugging away...

Christmas is just a mere 10 days away and I am making some progress with my Christmas knitting. Not done, but getting there slowly. I have 2 pairs completed with the exception of the sewing and felting. The third pair is almost done; it just needs it's second sole. Then once that's finished I just have the fourth pair to complete. I am not looking forward to the sewing of all the pairs. This will get done all at the same time before the wrapping. I am getting so tired of this pattern. Now don't get me wrong...I LOVE this pattern, but I've just knit too many of them in a row! Part of the problem I think is the colors. There is nothing to get excited about. Since the clogs will never dry in time I am going to wait and felt them all at the same time. That means they will be wrapped and given in their un-felted state. I expect it will be quite humorous when the packages are opened Christmas. I am planning on having a "felting party" sometime after Christmas, before my son and Kate go back to school. I think this is wise because then we'll be sure of achieving slippers that fit :)
For those of you who might be interested in my non-matching pocketbook slippers...I decided to make another pair for Mrs. Z. I knit her a pretty pink pair, but in my haste to get her package in the mail before our big snowstorm last week, I sent them off without photographing them! I doubt that you are disappointed as they were nothing special. I do hope she likes them though. I'm keeping the funky unmatched pair for myself. I'll keep them in my purse for when I visit someone and I take off my boots. Now I'll have something to keep my feet warm!

While I was at my son's basketball game today I finished a dishcloth...the DW cloth:

This is really a quick and super easy pattern. I don't think I'll ever get tired of this pattern. I love using variegated yarn as you never quite know what you'll end up with.

Finally last but not least I was very happy to find out that Melanie has bestowed upon me a Friendship Award. Thank you so much Melanie for thinking of me. I am so very honored!!! Melanie is one of my faithful knitting blogging friends of which I have been blessed to have so many.

Now, in turn I'd very much like to give this award to all my faithful knitting friends. (If I have left anyone out...I'm sorry it was not intentional. Sure hope I got everyone covered :) )

I here by nominate the following for this Friendship Award:
Ang - Angelarae Knits
Ann - Auntie Ann Knits
Nora - Black Dog Knits
Amy - Bumpy Doink
Deborah - Deborah's Daily Dilemmas
Becky - Episode 1: In which she knits and plays harmonica
Toni - Foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains
Marie - Homestead Lutheran Academy
Jeanne - Jeanne Knits
Jennifer - Knit Wit Girly
Deb - Knottykitty Knits
Rhoda - Left-handed Knitting in the World of Right-Handers
Lindy - Made By Lindy
Missy - Missy's Knitting/Crafting Mess
Monica - Monica Knits ...A LOT!!
Ren -Ren Knits ^^
Allison - Res Ipsa Knit With Her
Marie - smariek knits
Monika - Smoking Hot Needles
Linda -THE KNITORIOUS MRS.B
Christina - The Wonderful World of Teenuh
Melody - Knitphomaniacs
Rohanknitter-Weathertop Farm
Janice -Willow Way Knitting
Rachel -Yarn Over
Sophia - Yarn over Manhattan

Well, now that I've finished my update, I'll leave you for today. I've got to get busy...I'm making Janice's Lasagna Soup for supper. Can't wait to try it...I think it will be very yummy.

Reporting from the Slipper Factory

All of my knitting at the moment involves slippers in one form or another. I quickly knit up a couple of pairs of one of my favorite patterns...the pocketbook slippers. I am still diligently knitting the felted clogs. Kate's pair is finished, but still needs sewing. I have one-half a pair finished (except for sewing) of my boys slippers. I have two and a half pairs to go. Hopefully tonight I'll cast on for another slipper, but first I have to dig up some yarn and a pattern (not slippers) to work on during our two and a half hour car ride to our family's Christmas celebration in the Berkshires tomorrow.Here are the slippers for my mother-in-law knit with Bernat Soft Boucle. A much different yarn than I'm used to for this pattern, but oh my they are they sooo soft. I hope she'll like them. I'm going to tuck some money inside...after all it's a pocketbook slipper!The other pair I made using the left-over partial skein from my Sakura Cherry Blossom shawl that I made last spring. This pair I knit for an elderly neighbor friend who is now in a nursing home. I'm not so sure about this yarn knitted up. Each slipper is very different, color wise. They are definitely not a matching pair. In your honest opinion (you won't hurt my feelings if you think they wouldn't make such a good gift for an older lady)....should I keep them for myself and start over with a different yarn, more suitable yarn?Well, guess I had better get going and finish up. I'm getting really tired after a day Christmas shopping. Too much to do...too little time!

Hoep there is lots of happy knitting for you all this weekend :)