Brrrrr...Christmas Tree Weekend!

Finally, after much deliberation, we decided to get our tree. We were (or mostly me, I guess) unsure whether or not we'd actually get a tree this year with us traveling so close to Christmas and I didn't think I wanted to go to all the trouble if we wouldn't be home to enjoy it the whole time.

BUT....

My boys (and, surprisingly, my hubby - who is a notorious "Grinch/Scrooge" around this time of year -not with money, but with decorations, parties, wrapping gifts, socializing, etc......Though....Um....really, he's not THAT bad!....was FOR getting it!) were upset when they thought we might not get our tree....so....I gave in.

We went to our usual place, Noel's Tree Farm in Litchfield, NH...a great place...and had a really fun time. Was hoping to meet Jackie there but, sadly, we missed each other again this year.

We picked out a beautiful 8 foot Balsam - a little slim and pretty tall - and, though we couldn't cut it ourselves (those were TINY!!!), it's pretty fresh. Smells mmmm.....

The tree farm had a huge fire to roast hot dogs and marshmallows over - the boys LOVED this part!



And I was able to snap a quick pic of the three of my "boys" without any silly faces (an almost impossible job!)....



And...Ian got a pic of me and the boys, but it's strangely distant....



It was the perfect day - spending time with the boys (and very little arguing...lol), snuggled by the fire and bringing home a gorgeous tree. I love New Hampshire!

BTW- WEIGHT WATCHERS UPDATE: I'm up to having lost 24 pounds (2.4 last week!) and also made my 10% a couple of weeks ago. Pretty cool!

FO Friday: Pink Christmas Eve Mitts!

I've been meaning, for a WHILE, to update my Christmas Eve Cabled Mitts pattern...correct mistakes and also add newer pictures to it. After a few people on Ravelry told me that the pattern had a few mistakes in it, I thought I would finally get my butt in gear and get it done.

It's actually a very easy and pretty pattern, if I say so myself. LOL! I decided that, in order to make the pattern completely updated and perfect (I hope!), I should also knit the mitts again to make sure.

What do you think??

DETAILS:

Pattern: Christmas Eve Cabled Mitts by me!
Yarn: 1 skein Elsbeth Lavold Angora
Needle: Size 7 dpns, 2 24" circs or 40" circ for Magic Loop
Time: I finished mine in one weekend, working on them only now and then.
Size: Woman's medium

*Note: Heather of Sereknity dyed this angora for me in memory of my sweet angora bunny, Little Miss Tubbsie. I didn't know what I would knit with it until the other night, when I was looking for a yarn for this pattern and missing my bunny. I have one more skein of it that I may use to knit a scarf to match the mitts.

Here is a close up of the yarn and mitt:



They are supremely warm, soft and very elegant. The yarn puffs up a bit with a nice halo, but not so much that you're gagging from bunny fur. If you decide to knit a pair (which I hope you will), PLEASE knit up a swatch first so that you get the correct gauge. And also, if you plan to add even one extra row to make them longer, buy an extra skein of this yarn because I literally had 1 inch of yarn leftover from the skein when I was finished....and I used only 3 inch tails on each end of the mitt. Just in case ; )

If you'd like to download any of my patterns on Ravelry, please go here:

Designs by Gina House

or if you'd like to download them from here on my blog, please:

Look over to the right of this page, scroll down to Sleepy Eyes Patterns and you will see all of them right there. They're all pdfs except for one (for now!) and you just have to click on it and it should start to download immediately.

Oh, and for all of you out there who have been saying to me, "Where the heck is the Amanda Hat Gallery????

Look over to the right of this blog page, scroll down to Sleepy Eyes Gallery and you will see three links underneath. The top on is called, Amanda Hats. Click on that and it will show you all the hats I've uploaded so far. I have a bunch more and will be updating them very shortly. I love seeing all the pics! Keep those hats coming!!

Have a great weekend and my next blog will be all about HOOPS!