Wednesday, December 8, 2021

Unraveled Wednesday, December 8, 2021

 Good Morning All,

How are you this morning?  I'm doing well.  In a bit I will manage to get dressed and then head to the office.  I don't plan to stay all that long - just thru the virtual Christmas luncheon we are having.  I need to get with Tom from IT about an issue and, of course, I have my personal packages to ship out via UPS.  My plan is to do a little shopping on the way home for someone I still need to buy gifts for - that would be Fletch.  Aside from finding some things for him, I believe my shopping is finished!!  Woo-Hoo.

Yesterday we talked a bit about a Christmas tree and what to do this year (Mabel was up on the banjo again yesterday!!).  We've come to the decision (I think) that we will get a table-top tree that we can set up in the living room.  One advantage of doing this is that it will not require moving furniture.  I've told Fletch he is in charge of that item.  After all, he brought home a gorgeous bouquet yesterday, so he does know how to pick out things!


Pretty, huh?  As usual, just ignore all the junk on the table.  But please note that the "Fall" tablecloth has been removed and a Christmas one put in its place.  I still have not done any other decorating, but I will...eventually....

Meanwhlie, it's Unraveled Wednesday and once again I am linking up with Kat and all the Merry Unravelers to talk about making and reading.  You may recall that I've had dismal luck with my final knit Christmas gifts.  None of the fingerless mitts I was attempting to make turned out.  Instead I picked up the yarn I had chosen for Bonnie's gift and knit Napping by the Fire which is a free pattern on Ravelry.  It is a pattern for a headband, but I've discovered it also makes a cozy cowl.  I added an extra repeat of the pattern to make it a bit wider and I'm very happy with the way it turned out.


The pattern doesn't jump out at you, but it is visible (click to enlarge).  The above picture was taken once I had let it dry and took it off the blocking mats.  I did not get around to sewing the two ends together, but I will do that (perhaps) tonight.  This is such pretty yarn (fingering weight, 100% merino wool) and reminds me of The Painted Desert.

Once I finished that I was going to try to find a pattern to knit for Leslie and I decided to not bother.  I have other gifts that I am sending her and I just didn't need or want to do a deadline knit.  I will make her something out of that pretty purple yarn, but perhaps I will send it to her for Valentine's Day or for a "just because" gift.  It will happen...just not for this Christmas.

On the reading side of things I finished Georgia which was ok.  Believe I have already mentioned that it wasn't exactly what I had hoped it would be.  Most of it felt like a cheap romance novel, or a bit of "chick-lit," but the end which seemed to be more about her art was better I thought.  Now I am in the midst of The Kill Artist which is the first in a series that Kat had recommended.  I'm a bit more than halfway through the book and it is definitely holding my attention.  There are a lot of characters though!  I've put in a request for some other books from my library and hopefully they will come in shortly.

14 comments:

  1. Hopefully, Mabel will curtail her adventurousness with a tabletop tree! There are some beautiful ones in the White Flower Farm catalog that I have to resist ordering every year, but they are not inexpensive. That is a lovely bouquet so I'm sure Fletch will pick out a wonderful tree. The headband/cowl is lovely and I'm glad you're giving yourself a break with more gift knitting.

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  2. Fletch did an A+ job picking out that bouquet! The colors are so perfect. I think you are smart to plan for a small tree, at least while Mabel is in her troublemaking phase. I'm sure in a year or two she'll have calmed down and a normal-sized tree will be in the books again.

    I hope you have an easy time finding something for Fletch (my husband is the hardest family member to shop for because he just buys anything he wants himself!), and I'm glad to hear that you've simplified your holiday crafting plans. I just have one more gift to finish, and it's moving right along.

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  3. You'll get the decorating done soon I'm sure. You are very busy and I bet you'll be strategic in decorating with your little blessed monster :)

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  4. What a beautiful bouquet, Vera! So festive! The year my mom died, I just didn't feel like doing my traditional tree. So I didn't. Instead, I bought a pre-lit, white birch tree at Costco. I love it. I haven't had a traditional tree now in . . . 6 years. And I don't miss it at all. I think a table top tree will be perfect! XO

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  5. What a lovely bouquet! Well done Fletch! Table top tree for the win, I say! (and Mabel... behave!)

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  6. I think you're very brave to consider a tree at all since The Great Alpine Feline resides in your home. Even as kittens, Piper and Marlowe never showed any interest in doing anything other than lying underneath and batting at a few ornaments. Thank heavens!

    Love the idea of Kym's white birch tree. I bet it's gorgeous. As is the bouquet Fletch brought home to you.

    Your latest knit is quite pretty. I'm glad you settled on that.

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  7. The less is more for this Christmas is a good idea! The bouquet is very pretty indeed! Nice cowl, too!

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  8. Those flowers are gorgeous and that is a very pretty cowl!

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  9. Fletch brought home a stunning bouquet. I chuckled when I read Nance’s comment that Mabel was the Great Alpine Feline. She’s definitely an inquisitive toddler.

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  10. That is a lovely bouquet! My cats don't bother the tree but they make short work of anything floral.

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  11. That is such a pretty bouquet. I was going to stop at Trader Joes this morning and get some flowers along with some produce, but I decided to bring Lizzie home instead. The only Trader Joes that I know if is completely across town so I rarely get there.
    I'm sorry the mitts didn't work out but the cowl is really pretty and the pattern is so subtle. Love it!
    Hope today was an easy day with work and you can get some knitting in tonight.
    Blessings,
    Betsy

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  12. I've had several years where we had to put up a fence around the tree. I think only once a cat tried to get in it.

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  13. The pattern in the cowl is quite nice. I think (for what its worth) that you made a good call on not trying to knit another gift before Christmas. A gift given some other time will be just as nice. What a pretty Christmas bouquet. Fletch does know how to pick things out.

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  14. Bonnie's headband turned out very nicely. The pattern shows pretty well.

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