WooHoo!

First things first, HAPPY 50th BIRTHDAY MOM!!!!!! You have always been such a pillar of strength in my life and I'm so grateful to have such an amazing mom like you! I hope you have a fantastic day and that you enjoy it to the fullest!

My parents at the National Harbor. They are both so YOUNG looking, I'm one lucky lady!

The start of a Thorpe for Niece L. The construction of the hat with the top down is awesome! it's a little difficult to get it going with 1 stitch on 4 different needles, but once it's past that, it's smooth sailing!

The color is so pretty and it will look just fantastic on little L. And that Malabrigo.. well, I don't think I have to say anything else about it! So soft!

Here are the completed hats together. They coordinate so well together and the girls will look so cute in them! I'm not sure if they will actually fit the girls, they might be too big, but they will work for more than one winter that way.

I love them both! I can't wait to get modeled shots of the girls with their new hats on! And tonight, I will be starting the blue hat for my brother. I haven't quite decided what color trim will go on the hat yet... Brown? Green? Decisions, Decisions!!

Here is the updated Christmas List:

1. Thorpe for Brother- Blue Malabrigo bulky
2. Thorpe for Dad- Green and Gold (no yarn yet)
3. Thorpe for Niece A- Dream in Color Fatty, Happy Forest, trim in Malabrigo chunky in hollyhock (Finished)
4. Thorpe for Niece L-Malabrigo chunky, Hollyhock, trim Dream in Color Fatty, Happy Forest
5. Foliage for SIL- Pink Frost Chunky Malabrigo
6. Koolhaas for Brother- Malabrigo
7. Scruncable Scarf for Cousin's Husband- Berroco Comfort
8. Basic Hat for Cousin's Husband- Berroco Comfort
9. Purple Socks for Mom- Lorna's Laces (1/2 done with 1 sock)
10. Basic Hat for Brother- Berroco Comfort
11. Unoriginal Hat for SIL- Pink Frost Malabrigo Chunky
12. Annual Scarf for Mom- ??
13. Toasty for housemate- Sunny Lime Green Malabrigo (1 mitt done, 1 1/3 of the way)
14. Toasty for Cousin A- Sunny Lime Green Malabrigo
15. Clappotis for Cousin A- Knit Picks Gossamer (just need to weave in the ends)
16. WVU scarf for best friend- blue and gold Berroco Comfort
17. WVU Scarf for best friend's GF- blue and gold Berroco Comfort
18. WVU Hat for best friend- blue and gold Berroco Comfort
19. WVU Hat for best friend's GF- blue and gold Berroco Comfort
20. February Baby Sweater for Niece A- ??
21. February Baby Sweater for Niece L- ??


Oh yeah.. One more thing.. My college Alma Mater is now 11-0 for the football Season... AMAZING!!!! GO BALL STATE!!!!!! I hope we can keep that going and end the season with a HUGE BANG!!!!!!

So proud of Ball State!

Christmas Knits...

The joy of the holiday season! :) I am very excited about this holiday season because I am doing a lot of holiday knitting for loved ones and it's going well. I have a LONG list of things to complete. I finally made a list to get my going.

I ordered a swift and ball winder to get all my holiday knitting yarn into cakes so I could start knitting, but they were on back order, so while waiting for them to come.. I decided to cast on for some Toasty (pdf) mitts. I saw them on A friend to knit with's blog and knew I needed a pair or a few pairs! I already had some Carrot Glaze Malabrigo into a cake and was wondering what I could do with it.. so I made Toasty (Rav) . They went so fast, that I was able to check the stash at the apartment in WV and cast on for another pair in this sunny lime green! I have finished one and I'm just about 1/3 of the way through the second mitt.

They had to be put on hold because I finally received my Swift and ball winder on Monday night and that's what I did all night! Wound lots of beautiful cakes! They also, have already been claim, so have have the Glazed Carrot Toasty's. I may have to get some action shots with them and the recipients.

On to the Christmas Knit List... it's a LONG list but small projects... with some of them possibly taking just 1 night to get finished... this should prove to be a good thing for me. Here is the list in all it's glory...

Christmas Knit List:

1. Thorpe for Brother- Blue Malabrigo bulky

2. Thorpe for Dad- Green and Gold (no yarn yet)

3. Thorpe for Niece A- Dream in Color Fatty, Happy Forest, trim in Malabrigo chunky in hollyhock (Finished)

4. Thorpe for Niece L-Malabrigo chunky, Hollyhock, trim Dream in Color Fatty, Happy Forest

5. Foliage for SIL- Pink Frost Chunky Malabrigo

6. Koolhaas for Brother- Malabrigo

7. Scruncable Scarf for Cousin's Husband- Berroco Comfort

8. Basic Hat for Cousin's Husband- Berroco Comfort

9. Purple Socks for Mom- Lorna's Laces (1/2 done with 1 sock)

10. Basic Hat for Brother- Berroco Comfort

11. Unoriginal Hat for SIL- Pink Frost Malabrigo Chunky

12. Annual Scarf for Mom- ??

13. Toasty for housemate- Sunny Lime Green Malabrigo (1 mitt done, 1 1/3 of the way)

14. Toasty for Cousin A- Sunny Lime Green Malabrigo

15. Clappotis for Cousin A- Knit Picks Gossamer (just need to weave in the ends)

16. WVU scarf for best friend- blue and gold Berroco Comfort

17. WVU Scarf for best friend's GF- blue and gold Berroco Comfort

18. WVU Hat for best friend- blue and gold Berroco Comfort

19. WVU Hat for best friend's GF- blue and gold Berroco Comfort

20. February Baby Sweater for Niece A- ??

21. February Baby Sweater for Niece L- ??

That's the list for now... I'm sure it will shrink... or maybe it will grow once I get things finished. I'm not sure how to put a slash through words... so the BOLD items are finished... if anyone knows how to slash through the words, let me know!

Below is one of the finished items... the THORPE for Niece A :) She is totally going to love this hat! It's the cutest thing ever, and I'm sure her sisters will be super cute too since it has to be smaller! I cast on and cast off on this last night.. That's what happens when using bulky yarn and size 9's!

Such a lovely lady to model it for me!

Here are two hats I finished for the DBF. He already got them because it's COLD in WV. He was very happy with them, although I didn't take any pictures of him in the hats... maybe this weekend? I love the blue and green.. GO IRISH hat! It's the second one I've done and they just turn out so well. The yarn is berroco comfort, which I Love for making hats!

Another shot of the all back hat... it's basic and will go well with anything!

Here is a shot that I took on my drive home from work a week or so ago... Such a cool picture!!! I was very impressed when I looked at it. (I was stopped in traffic when I took this, don't worry)

Hopefully, I will have lots of finished Christmas knits next time... I have good feelings! Especially having 5 days off the week of Thanksgiving... I will be knitting the entire holiday!

West Virginia

My DBF is moving the Morgantown, WV... As of this week, all of his stuff in there and he will going back this weekend to official start his new job on Monday! He is so excited to have this opportunity to be happier in the job he has...

We took the opportunity to go hiking at Cooper's State Park. With a great reference from my best friend who lives in Morgantown now, we took the Raven's Rock trail...

Here are a few pictures from our adventure...

The DBF and myself at the top of the trail.. such an amazing view!

S and K, what great friends to help us move all of our stuff into the new apartment!! THANKS AGAIN!!!

Group Shot at the top...

A nice picture that will definitely be going into a frame for the new apartment :)