My brothers mittens are completed and I have the fingerless mitts for my sil nearly finished, as well. Here are the finished mittens, Peekaboo. They have a large "buttonhole" in the palm of the hand to allow the fingers to poke out in case the full sense of touch is required for a task. I love them and hope that they fit him well. They are knit with Debbie Bliss Cashmerino DK, which is quite soft and lovely.

Meet Fred!

About 2 weeks ago, I was talking with my sister about her son's 7th birthday party. When I asked what I could give him, she wasn't sure. Then, she started to list some of his favorite animals: sharks, lizards and dogs. He has several dozen stuffed dogs. (I'm not exaggerating, really!!) So, I decided that the subject matter should be one of the other 2 choices. After deciding that I wanted to make his gift, I searched Ravelry for some choices. Many of the shark patterns were far too "cute," and I was looking for something more dangerous or angry looking. :) There weren't very many lizard patterns available, at least not something other than a gecko. I wanted something very original, so when I happened on this "Texas Horned Lizard," I knew that I had it made. I clicked over to Etsy to make the pattern purchase and the designer emailed the crochet pattern to me within 24 hours. What, "crochet?" I hear you saying? Yes, I do crochet. I was taught to crochet as a child, but rarely use it. It makes my shoulder hurt and knitting is so much easier, but when a cute, quick pattern comes along, who am I to complain? I finished Fred in just 2 evenings and am not in pain from it, so all is well.

In addition to the critter, I found a used book that is a story about this type of lizard, where he lives and eats, etc. The book looks like it is probably intended for an 8-10 year old, but I am sure that if he can't read it himself, that his parents won't mind. He is ahead of the curve, though, for reading, so I expect that this will be thoroughly enjoyed.

Wonderful Weekend

On Friday afternoon, my husband picked up a package from the post office for me. It contained the yarn for an unbloggable knitting project. I have been knitting on it since then, and am over half done. Once it’s finished, I’ll post a picture of my Cables & Os sweater, so that I can show the progress, once again.
On Saturday, I knit most of the day, but did take a long break to drag dh out of the house for a walk/run. It was a gloriously beautiful day. Something about the fog and frost burning off into a clear, sunny day just warms me from the inside out. Afterward, we went to his parents’ house for our weekly (usually Friday) dinner and card playing. His brother is back in town and staying with my in-laws. In the past, he has been standoffish and sometimes rude or condescending. This time he played a game of cards with us and was generally much more pleasant. It was actually nice to see him. I think that means that he has made some changes in his life that will make him happier and more likely to keep a job. I am very happy for him.
On Sunday evening, as I was leaving my parents home, I told my mom to give me a call and we could go and try to find a new heat resistant table pad for her dining room table. (The old one was getting cracked, so she cut it up to cover some other furniture.) The next day, we met at Joann Fabrics to see what they might have for sale. We unexpectedly failed to find what she wanted.
My sister and nephew came along for the outing and we four had a good time together. She found some scrapbook paper and sticker kits that were adorable and on clearance for only $4. One of the packages was all about cats, so I purchased one for my MIL’s birthday, in March. I also picked up the birthday and travel themed kits. The birthday one will be good for making cards and the travel one I plan to use for my Europe pictures. I need to get my negatives back from my sister, but then I can have the reprinted and put them into a scrapbook that my MIL gave me for my birthday several years ago. I don’t think that I’ve worked on a scrapbook since then! I am thinking about restarting my monthly scrapbooking party. I have so many things planned over the next month, but maybe I should get this on the calendar while I am thinking about it!
Monday’s weather was also so beautiful that I just had to get outside. Surprisingly, the ground was still covered with frost at about 11:00! Everywhere the sun had shone on the ground it was melted, but if I happened on an area that was shaded the ground was pretty slippery. With the sun warming my face, I had an excellent walk/jog and wasn’t cold at all.