Lol Squirrelz

from http://icanhascheezburger.com/

The History of the World in Lego

Prepare to be amazed.

http://vimeo.com/2649176

The 12 Craft Days of Christmas

Now I want to make silver clay rings and resin bracelets.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STQ7t4cqDQc&feature=related

Socks and Scarves

Did you know that The Special Olympics has a drive to give each athlete a blue and white hand knit or crocheted scarf for The World Winter Games this year? You can use any pattern you like, and the scarf can be knit or crocheted, but you MUST use Red Heart Super Saver Yarn (no, they don't want wool or any other yarn or fiber or brand. ONLY Red Heart) in the following colors: Delft Blue and Soft White. The deadline for scarves to reach them is Jan 15, so there's still time to knit a few. I bought some of the yarn, and will start a scarf tonight. Here's some info, with more links:

http://www.coatsandclark.com/Crafts/Crochet/Features/Special+Olympics.htm

I finished the Aunt Helen Variation Variation Socks, and they came out exactly as I predicted: joyfully unmatched. This yarn, Melody from Yarn Treehouse, is sort of like Noro, in that the colors repeat, but they repeat at their own leisure and in whatever order they want. This colorway is M06, with pink, yellow, green, blue and purple in a lovely jumble. The yarn is worsted weight, comes in 50gr balls and 11o yds, 100% wool, non-superwash. I used a bit of a 3rd ball for these Ladies Size 8 socks. Yarn Treehouse yarns are very reasonably priced and they have a ton of colors and weights. Link in Stash Enhancers.

And since I'm on a worsted-weight sock kick, I started another pair. This yarn, Freedom Spirit, from Twilley's of Stamford, is gorgeous- colors, again like Noro, repeating at will. The yarn isn't, at first glance, sock yarn. It's a softly spun single. But I've learned that these yarns, if knit tightly enough, wear just fine, and make super warm and comfy socks. The yarn comes in 50gr balls and 120m, the colorway is#511, rusts, oranges, browns. I'm already past the heel on the first sock, again with the Aunt Helen Variation Variation. The texture doesn't show as well as on the Yarn Treehouse socks, but it adds a nice heft to the fabric. I am pretty sure I can get a pair of size 8 socks from the 2 balls I have on hand. If it looks like I'll run short, then I'll make these size 6 instead.

You don't wanna hear that these (along with the finished Valkyrie Socks) are going in the tub for next Christmas, do you?

Catching my breath

It's been lovely and busy and noisy here, leaving not a minute for blogging. But I'm stealing a few moments while the grandkids nap, to catch up on things.

Not that there's a lot of catching to do. The Hard Lemonade was sweetened with assorted juice drink concentrates (Lemonade, Limeade, Fruit Punch, Apple Strawberry), which turned 3 gallons of fermented lemonade into 4 gallons of freezer-ready slush with a pretty potent kick. We had some on Christmas Eve (a couple of scoops of slush, topped with whatever pop or mixer you like- orange juice, champagne, water, anything) and yowza!

The Merlot finished bubbling, and had an SG of .098 this morning, so I added the sulfite and Sparkolloid (clarifier) and now we just have to wait for the sediment to settle out for bottling (a month or so, with a racking or two in between).

I ate more carbs in the last 3 days than in the last year, but I'm getting back on track again. I hit the treadmill this morning and picked up with the Librivox recording of Pride and Prejudice- Lizzy has just read Mr. Darcy's letter explaning Mr. Wickham's perfidy. Things are heating up...

And I have done a little knitting. This sock, made with Yarn Treehouse (link in Stash Enhancers) multicolored worsted weight wool (size 5 needles, 48 sts)- I can't remember the colorway, but I love how the shades blend into each other. I doubt I'll be able to make a matching pair (same yarn, but the stripes and colors aren't going to match up at all). I'm doing a different Aunt Helen Variation Variation (heh) for the texture (works with any even number of sts):

Rnd 1: *YO, K 2, pass the YO over the 2 K sts, K 2*, rep around

Rnd 2: K

Rnd 3: *K 2, YO, K 2, pass the YO over the 2 K sts*, rep around

Rnd 4: K

I like staggering the YO's- they show up well. This is a nice utility wool yarn, and very reasonably priced, and Yarn Treehouse ships very quickly. They have a lovely variety of weights and colors. Check 'em out.

I hope everyone's Holiday Week continues to be wonderful!

One of the many advantages...

...of being married to a man in the construction industry.

He knows people with big machines.

(don't be fooled by the blown areas- there were some humongo drifts in front of the house)

Thursday Tab- Merrill Little Miss Christmas and Holly Belle

Is this not the cutest paper doll in the history of paper dolls?

Merry Everything to Everyone!