stitching saturday: monkeys move out

Well, I finished my last monkey of the year on Christmas Eve, knitting up a mouth, ears, and stitching him up with a whole lot of stuffing. I watched the Radio City Hall Christmas Spectacular on Netflix with my mom, then my two personal Christmas faves: Edward Scissorhands and Die Hard. It was nice to have a low-key Christmas Eve - just shelling pecans and baking cookies.

Then Christmas morning I popped out of bed for a last-minute photo session with my two remaining monkeys (my first stripey monkey went home with an adorable little boy from church).

These two monkeys would soon be on their way to my sister and my nephew:



I must admit it's hard saying goodbye to monkeys this adorable. But I know they'll be well-loved and well, it gives me an excuse to make new monkeys. :) In fact, I'm pretty sure I'll be starting a new monkey soon - any votes on colors? :)





I hope everyone had a great Christmas with family, friends, and all the people who make your life special. I know I did.

Here's our skinny tree filled with at least 20 years worth of handmade ornaments:
And you know I wrapped all of those gifts. I have a thing for wrapping presents. :)

Time to get back to your end-of year - hope everyone is happy, crafting, and warm. Merry Christmas, everybody! :)

mosaic monday: holiday favorites

   1. merry and bright by Nanacompany, 2. little red holiday tree garland by stitchinnetka
   3. Christmas Pudding Ornament by wildolive, 4. romy_rotkaeppchen by revoluzzza


Some more wonderful holiday favorites I found on Flickr. It's right around this time that I start to really enjoy the season, and wish I could curl up with a cup of cocoa, and just make holiday crafts all day and night...

The lovely photo layout you see above comes from Pugly Pixel, a site I have a serious crush on. It's so clean and beautifully designed, with an eye to every tiny detail. I used the free glitter texture samples, which are pretty irresistible. I mean, they're glitter. I love that I'm not the only one with glitter on the brain.

I added a few of the free elements to Feeling Stitchy (for a more holiday theme) and I'm thinking I'll be spending my winter break with a cup of coffee, bloodshot eyes, a blog bling kit, and a $5, 30-day subscription. I seriously have not seen a site I love so much in a long time. One of the nicest things I've ever found via Pinterest. :)

mosaic monday: Christmas spirit

     1. timmies in sweaters, 2. Century Gothic A-Z, 3. wreath, 4. ipad wallpaper

Here's a few faves on a Christmas-y theme. Any of you doing holiday crafting? This is about the time of year when I notice the list is long, and the time is short. But if you have a spare minute or two, there's a December Stitchalong on Feeling Stitchy with vintage holiday patterns (some of them scanned by yours truly). Check it out! :)

stitching saturday: monkey time again

Well, I did it again, I made another monkey. This little guy has been in the works for a few weeks - I like to rotate my projects so I don't get too bored. They come together the fastest at the end - because when you see a pile of monkey parts it's hard not to want to put them immediately together.



And yes, looking at them side by side, I can appreciate just how wonky my first monkey is. They were knit with the same yarns, on the same needles (the mouths and ears and feet are different colors) - but tiny details like the placement of the ears, eyes, and how much you stuff the body and the mouth make a huge difference. I don't care, I love my wonky monkey anyway - he has a certain charm. Let's just say he's like the James Cagney of knitted monkeys.

But the new monkey is pretty adorable, I just have to say:










Naturally, after all this picture taking, the monkeys were pretty beat...



Hope you like my new monkey! :)

flashback friday: one year of knitting like a fiend

It's hard to believe, but November and December mark one year of knitting like a fiend, for me. :) I started knitting, in all truth, to adjust to my new life in Texas - San Antonio is so unlike New York - the energy is different, the people are different - and after 6 years in another city, I was different. Knitting helped calm me and gave me lots of time to think, or, when I needed to, not to think. It's been a comforting companion through many a TV series, too. :)

Another reason I was knitting so hard last year was because I was jobless and Christmas was coming - I had no money, but thanks to my friend Linda, plenty of yarn. So I knit 11 hats (in 1 month!) for family and friends. I've said it before, but I love things like my once a month Photojojo email and Flickr. Because I have these moments when I feel convinced that I haven't done anything - but then I look over all the photos of everything I've made, loved, and given away to people I love, and I feel a great sense of joy and peace. I may not be perfect, and I may not create like a machine, and I can be disorganized, but I can create, and I can share happiness with loved ones with the things I create. How much more blessed can you be in life? :)

three things thursday: holiday greens

   1. Evergreen tree stocking, 2. green eyes, 3. crochet wildflowers scarf

A few Pinterest and Flickr faves for today - I love that odd, sea, forest-y, wintery green. And since I'm sure I could never pull off green eyeshadow without looking like a David Bowie wannabe, I'll just let the lovely Keiko Lynn do it for me. :)

Lately I am fascinated by the energy of prolific bloggers. I know firsthand how much energy and dedication it takes to put even one post together - so I'm in awe of people who create new photos, makeup, tutorials, and stitch projects, every single day. I'm looking at you, Alli, Keiko Lynn, Mollie, and lucky jackson. Ok, I may not ever have that level of energy and just - organized-ness. But thank you, you guys, for being so prolific that every day you inspire me. :) Does anybody out there inspire you?