Year End

Well Christmas has come and gone.  I managed to finish my son's scarf and my mother-in-law's Marin shawl in time.  I used Madelinetosh Tosh DK in Tart.  My mother-in-law wore the shawl on Christmas Day...she seemed to really love it which made me feel great. It was worth all those early hours of knitting before anyone else woke up in the house.  I proved to myself that I can knit fast when under pressure because I basically finished this shawl in about two weeks.  The fringe on this shawl took forever...it was supposed to be four inches, but after three inches I was happy with how it looked and cast off.  This pattern makes a cozy shawl that is big enough to snuggle into on a cold day.

Marin in Madelinetosh DK Tart

My son asked for a scarf that was not too long.  I used the pattern called Forever Ribbed, a free pattern by Julie Hoover using a yarn called Mirasol Paqu Pura and combined it with Madelinetosh Prairie in Charcoal.

Forever Ribbed

The one thing I didn't finish in time was my Christmas wreath.  Time just got away from me.  It was very easy to do but just time consuming.  I ended up finishing it on Boxing Day.  I basically took a styrofoam wreath, wrapped a beautiful ribbon around it and then glued some lovely glass ornaments on it. (I bought all those ornaments for $6, a real bargain).  I am very happy with how it turned out and now I will have it ready for next year.

My husband gave me a great gift.  Just look at it below.  It is a circular needle case from Della Q.  Just looking at it makes me happy.  Look how cute the outside is:

Della Q Circular Needle Case

There is so much space to organize a variety of needles.  Usually my needles are kept in a box spilling out all over the place.  The only downfall with this case is there is no velcro to keep the individual pockets closed.  I think I may add velcro myself....it will really help keep the pockets closed that have more than one needle.

Look at all those pockets!

I would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year and all the best in 2014. Thanks for visiting my blog this year and I hope you pop by again in 2014.