out with the old and in with the older

A fellow quilter is moving to a smaller house and she has to sell all of her big antique furniture. We bought her weighs-a-ton oak table and chairs. A before and after shot:



The table comes with a crank and 2 leaves and it can comfortably seat 10 people (which is great because hubby's family totals 11). We are going rug shopping tomorrow to see if we can find something nice to go under it. Or do you think it looks fine the way it is? I think there's too much of a contrast between it and the floor (the table and chairs are darker in real life). I'll also be shopping around for a 6th chair.

We offered to give her our table and chairs (solid oak as well and you can take the leaf out and turn it into a small round table) because that's what she needs for her smaller place and she accepted. A win-win situation for everyone.

I do miss having a pedestal table. I'm short and I like to prop my feet on the base. And I'm not used to having table legs. Getting out of my chair, I whacked my knee on the table leg yesterday night.

So Ricky being the cat that he is, had to check out the new furniture. I've seen him visit 4 out of the 5 chairs and he decided that the one armchair was his favourite. He had his post supper snooze on it.



I love the first picture of his big belly hanging down while he squeezes under the table skirt.

Lest you think that this knitting blog has gone downhill, here is a progress picture of my Juno Regina stole:


I have finished the first skein of yarn and I've joined the second skein. The scarf measures approx. 36" long in its crumpled state.

I went a leetle overboard in the yarn buying department. I ordered 5 cones of linen from Colourmart this week (there's still some left). I have a hemp pattern that's been kicking around for awhile and 4 cones would've been enough but I ordered an extra just in case.

I am contemplating buying a loom for knitting socks. I found this mentioned on a blog last week. It's not too expensive (each one is custom made) but you must order one for each sock diameter and knitting gauge. I am tempted to order one in hubby's size so that he can knit his own Noro socks. Wouldn't that be hilarious?

on a diet

And I'm not just talking about a yarn one either but that is the main one around here these days. I've decided that I really don't knit sweaters. I wear them a lot and I like knitting them for others but I don't seem to have much interest in knitting them for myself. So no more sweater yarn buying.

And my mantra for the year is "frog or finish". I'm either going to frog an existing project or I'm going to finish it. Seriously, I'm running out of knitting needles. There are some lovely things in progress that should really see the light of day. I hope to dig out all my WIPs after we de-Christmas this weekend.

Speaking of finishing things... I was at my co-blogger's for New Year's Eve and I started the second purple Trekking sock while waiting to ring in the new year. I got to work on it a little more while we were at my parents' house for dinner yesterday night (I blame the sock for my mahjong losing streak; hubby kicked ass). It's just past the heel and maybe I'll finish it before next Wed so that I can wear it with my clear clogs to knit nite.

Juno Regina is taking a wee break.


I've used about 30g (out of 100g) of yarn. It's just over 24" so I think that even with less yardage and using smaller needles, I'll end up with something pretty big.

There has been no knitting today. Our dining room is in the middle of a big purge. I have emptied and dismantled a kitchen island that really was too big and ugly for the dining room. It ended up being a repository for all sorts of junk. So the junk is being sorted into keep, recycle, and garbage. We will move the nice china cabinet (currently in the alcove beside another storage unit) to where the island used to be and a new unit will replace the china cabinet. To hide all the stuff in the alcove, I am proposing a curtain (hubby wants red velvet which I think will be a giant cat hair magnet). Right now, there is china and crystal all over the house - in the guest bedroom, all over the kitchen counter/stove, under the dining table... I am hoping to assemble the new storage unit before hubby gets home from work. He'll help me move the furniture around and then I want to get all the breakables back into the china cabinet before a cat (or human) knocks something over.

the aftermath

I feel like I've been sucked into a tornado and spit out the other end. Christmas started out quietly. The cat alarm rang just before 8am so we got up to feed them and proceeded to have a leisurely breakfast. Over brekkie, we opened up some presents that we weren't taking to my parents' house. My sil got my name in the Christmas draw and she gave me a gc to Three Bags Full (can't wait for their belated Boxing Day sale) and a pair of shoes to wear with my hand knitted socks.


For those of you who are thinking about buying a pair, they fit exactly the same as the Sloggers premium clogs. These are soooo awesome. I can't wait to wear them to the next knit nite.

The excitement level cranked up a notch or 2 when we got to my parents' just before lunch. It took us about 3 hours to get all the presents opened. My Dad tried to watch all the festivities but gave up and found a quiet corner of the house to have his daily afternoon nap. Smart man.

The nieces got spoiled. My parents got spoiled (Mom got a colour laser printer!) and so did everyone else. My sister got some spectacular jewellery from her husband. I got lots of great stuff - mostly books, mugs (one of them has a nudie gardener on it :), and a lot of knitting stuff: a knitting pattern-a-day calendar, Knit Picks Harmony dpns, Vogue Knitting: The Ultimate Sock Book, and a kacha counter.

While we were opening presents, it started snowing! We rarely ever have a white Christmas so it was an extra special treat. Some of us (like the ones who live in the land of the many-foot snowdrifts) were less excited about the snow.

Hubby and I woke up early on Boxing Day and hit the sales. Hubby bought himself several games for his Xbox 360 (and he bought more today when I sent him out to run an errand) and we bought a few things for the computer/digital camera. But I spent more money than he did - I got myself a new pair of glasses. I didn't get the red one in the picture. I decided to play it safe and I got the navy blue ones.

We went to a big Boxing Day party yesterday night. My co-blogger gave me some yummy Apple Laine Apple Pie sock yarn in the colour 'purple haze'. Thanks, Gladys. It's sooo soft.


There was a ton of food. Our hosts made a turducken:


I got to carve this beast. It was pretty tasty.

Today, I slept in as much as I could and I've spent a good portion of the day playing with all my prezzies. I also knit a little on my Juno Regina stole.


There's a pretty big boo boo at the top of the lacy diamond but I'm not ripping back to fix it. It bugs me but not enough. I don't think many people will notice it. My sis just dropped off my bil so he and hubby are upstairs shooting things on the Xbox. Sigh... He's staying the night so I expect the gaming to go on until the wee hours in the morning. Sigh...

Meowy Christmas!

I finished the puppet mittens today.


Pattern: Puppet mittens from a vintage pamphlet
Yarn: Rowan Pure Wool DK
Needles: 3.5mm Addi Turbo circs
Mods: I chose to knit the pinkie and thumb in a solid colour rather than continuing the stripes. I added an i-cord so there's less chance for the mittens to go MIA.

I need to wrap them and then I'll be officially ready for Christmas.

Instead of casting on the second purple Trekking sock, I cast on for Juno Regina instead.


I have almost finished the last repeat of chart 3. So far, so good. Just a few more rows and I'll be onto the easy part.

The cats and I would like to wish everyone a Meowy Christmas (please ignore the disgusted look on Ricky's face. He was having fun during the photo shoot - really!)