Christmas is DONE!!!!

Yeah!!! It's over!!!! The pressure has lifted and I can knit whatever the heck I feel like knitting.... Until it's someone's birthday, or I feel pressure to actually finish some of the things I've started for Juli in the past but never finished! LOL!

So, you may be wondering what I've been working on.... Well, even if you're not I'm gunna tell you :-P The un-photographed items are roving that I dyed for a friend, a neck warmer for my mother-in-law and a mouse stuffed animal for my nephew, Alex. Now for the things I haven't blogged about yet.

I dyed sock yarn for my sisters:

Juli said that her's will become a pair of Jaywalkers. From her swatch it looks like the color repeats will come close to a full round, if it doesn't actually make it all the way, so hopefully the pattern will look nice in this. Gloria wants to make a mini Clapotis out of hers. I can't wait to see how their projects look!!! I'm really enjoying dying lately, and the only drawback is that I don't have a workshop to so it in where I don't have to worry about staining the countertops of the floor if I get sloppy.

I finished a Brea Bag:

I loved this bag and was sad to see it go!! It was gifted to a friend at work. She had to get a canvas purse liner to put inside it b/cher keys kept poking through, so next time I'll either slightly felt the bag or will line it.

I made a scarf and Calorimetry set:

This went to the same friend that got the Brea Bag. I was her Secret Santa at work, and oddly enough she was mine too! It worked out perfect, I knit for her & she got me yarn & a Gift Certificate to a yarn shop!!

I also made jewlery for my Hubby's cousin's daughter and for Devin, none of which was photographed, but Devin's I can get pixc of anytime. I gave jars of granola out to just about everyone, and I wasn't sure how it would be received, but everyone seemed to love it and several people have requested more when I make another batch :-) I modified a recipe that I found in a Working Parent's cookbook, and it was quite yummy if I do say so myself. I had to make like a million batched b/c George kept eatingit before I got it packaged!!

As for the gifts I received, well, they rocked!! Gloria got me some Cherry Tree Hill sock Yarn in Cherry Blossom, a Yarn Harlot book, and the Jessica Seinfeld cook book.

Juli knit me the most awesomeist socks ever in a color that's PERFECT for most of my winter work clothes (browns) and gave me some local Ohio Alpaca, in a natural grey color (above w/ the sock yarn):

George and I haven't exchanged gifts yet due to lack of funds, but he'll be making me a carrying case for my wheel (yeah!!!), and I'll get him some movies and Xbox games. I really want to get him the Xbox 360, but who knows when I'll be able to afford that!

The kids seemed to really like everything they got, and had a great Christmas. I've got tons of pix of them, and a funny story about Georgie, but they will have to wait for the next post since there are already a billion pix in this post already.

Next year I've decided I'm doing things differently... Holiday knitting will be limited to small projects, and I'll be starting them early (yeah right!! LOL!).

As for life... Here's the latest: Devin had tubes in her ears. She lost the right one a few months ago, and since then she's had fluid behind the eardrum and frequently the eardrum perferates and the fluid drains out. I took her to the ENT today and he put her on Nasonex. He said if it doesn't work that she'll need a new tube and will possibly have her adnoids out at the same time. I'm concerned about the scar tissue building up on her eardrum & her having permanent hearing loss if the eardrum keeps perferating, which the ENT said is a possability. She has some hearing loss now, but it's due to the fluid. Georgie also went to the doc today, but he went to the Neurologist. He seems to be doing well on the Adderall, but his sleep is a concern. I'm back and forth on medicating him over the weekend (I typically don't) but she suggested that it may help keep him on an even keel if I do. But in my mind, that suck b/c then he'll have sleep issues EVERY day instead of just on weekdays. Sigh.... She also said that he has poor muscle tone in his hands and forearms, which is apparently not uncommon in ADHD kids. She gave me a few suggestions of execises to do w/ him at home to strengthen his muscles. I had discussed having an OT eval with his teacher last year, but it was never formally requested, but since he's having a speech eval in January I may ask that they do an OT eval at that point too.

My current knitting project is a pair of Jaywalkers. I'm up to the heel gusset of the first sock. I'm making it a short sock b/c my legs are too fat for me to pull it up any further than that! LOL! The yarn feels SOOOO nice to work with. The only problem is that the ball of yarn keeps puking it's guts out.

I'm really hoping that I actually get a PAIR of socks rahter than just one. George has requested a pair of knit socks, and I got yarn for them today, so hopefully I'll get through my socks and make a pair for George. I think that making socks for him is more attainable for me than an entire sweater. I also have to make a few Calorimetries that people requested and make a hat & pair of mittens for the guy that gave us the navagation charts.

OK, enough of my random rambles for one night :-)