Another package from my terrific secret pal!

Two (!) yummy packages of yummy licorice! Some lovely honey hand cream. And three (!) kinds of yarn! Some impossibly soft alpaca, some impossibly cute "velvet", and some impossibly tempting sock yarn. Plus, patterns! And what great timing -- on my birthday-eve! Thank you secret pal!

And just who is my secret pal? Well, say hello to Tammy over here!

Thank you, Tammy, for making my first secret pal so much fun. I loved every package and all of the yummy things you sent (and I have to admit -- especially the licorice!),

In a slight detour from the Christmas knitting (undoubtedly the first of many, many detours), I've made a couple of little hats for my nieces. The youngest (almost 4) is particularly fascinated by my knitting and on her last visit asked if I would make her a hat (she'd tried on the stocking cap). I said I would love to and her answer still makes me giggle:

"Should I go upstairs and wait while you knit it?"

Well, I didn't finish during her visit, but they did knit up very quickly (one for each of the two girls).



The "heart" one is from this pattern and the lace one is an adaptation of this pattern. Now I'm just hoping they'll fit -- our family's skulls tend to the larger size and I know my older niece already has trouble fitting hats that are sized for kids. Our family motto should be "One size fits all....not!"

Did you realize that there are only 288 days until Christmas! Quite the shock to realize it's right around the corner, isn't it?

Well, I'm getting ahead of the game this year. I'm going to start planning (and knitting) gifts right now! First up, the scarf on the left. It's another Irish Hiking Scarf, but I love the pattern and how it knits up so it's not likely to be the last one you see here either. I'm contemplating adding the Irish Walking Hat, or a variation thereof, but I have a limited amount of yarn available. It's stash so old that I have no idea of its origins. In any case, it's intended for my older daughter.

Other potentials for gifts?

Husband: no clue. He's not a sweater kind of guy and mitts/scarfs/hats have limited usefulness where we live. I'll think on this a while.

Mother: pretty wide open for choices but limited windows of knitting opportunities since she lives with us. She does travel some -- so maybe I can work something in those absences?

Elder daughter: See above for the scarf. Also, I think I'll finish the Mariah for her. This would be a good choice both in style and colour. Plus, it would get another WIP off the needles! Wouldn't match the scarf at all though...but I can live with that.

Younger daughter: She's asked for a poncho, and even pre-approved a pattern. I have the yarn, I have the needles -- I just need to work it into the schedule. In addition, maybe a scarf as well? Possibly Wavy.

Younger daughter's fiance: No freaking clue. Definitely needs a little more planning -- and a whole lot more consulting.

Elder granddaughter: I picked up a kit today for a pullover. It is so adorable, I think I gasped out loud when I saw it. It features a picture of Jemima Puddle-Duck but it's not an overly complicated graphic, so for a first time intarsia it should be okay. I'll be casting it on very soon.

Younger granddaugther: I came across a pattern in a magazine for a cardigan and dress - so cute. I'm giving that one serious thought.

So, you see, it's not a long list....but it's got its share of challenges. The completion order (as I see it today) will be:

Scarf
Jemima
Mariah
Poncho
Everything else.....

The stocking cap is done. The pattern is from a very old book (circa 1960) that I got from my mother-in-law. There are some frightful looking hats in there, but this one was cute. And, judging from my nieces' reactions -- it should go over well. Despite the fact that we have no real need for winter hats around here, they both asked if I would knit them one. Which of course, I will.

Not the stocking cap though. I thought this might be a little more fun for a milder climate. They both want it in pink (of course), so I thought I might find some ribbon to weave through the hearts -- different colours there to know which is which.

As for the stocking cap and mittens -- those are the first completed projects for my charity knitting for this year (well, for any year since this is the first year I'm doing it). While I'll probably keep to hats & mitts, my goal is one project per month -- 12 finished goods at the end of the year. Now, the question is, will I fudge the count and mark a matching hat and mitts as two items? I suspect I'll find out that answer in December.

I've been poking away at the mountains of yarn I have to work through, and while that pile doesn't seem to be decreasing all that much (there always seems to be one more "Oh my god, there's another box!" at the back of the closet, the pile of completed (and nearing completion) projects is coming along.

Witness the baby sweater to the left. The pattern in here. I added the yellow stripes (and I'll do the same on the sleeves), partly because I had yellow to use up but also because I wasn't entirely sure I'd have enough blue. I think I could have added another band of yellow around the chest -- but I like it all the same.

I need some nice buttons though -- something cute and probably blue & yellow, and I guess maybe a little boyish. Any suggestions, including suggestions for online button stores?

And, because one new project is never enough, I found a pattern book for cabled mitts knit in a bulky weight yarn. And two needle mitts at that - dead easy to knit, I just wish the seams would sew themselves.