Merry Christmas!

Mele Kalikimaka!

I hope everyone's Christmas or other winter holiday was all that they wished for. We're still celebrating although Bernie is at work today. The kids and their friends are in the next room enjoying the Wii. I think they're playing baseball.

We enjoyed dinner at the fire station on Christmas Eve. They guys cooked a fabulous meal with deep fried turkeys and some ham with all the side dishes we all love. They had a whole table devoted to desserts of all kinds. The best part? They cleaned up after the whole thing!

Santa brought me the umbrella swift that I asked for. I have a ball winder already. I also got a craft store gift card that will be put to good purpose. The evening was spent in the hot tub being serenaded by Il Divo. They weren't really there, but it sure sounded like they were!

I have been busy knitting also. On Saturday, I knit a cap from a ball of Noro Kureyon that I forgot I had. Then yesterday, I made a pair of fingerless mittens, also out of one ball of Kureyon. I wanted to see if I could make the pair with one ball so they're not as long as I would have liked but will still fit nicely under a coat or jacket. Unfortunately, the cap and mitts are not from the same colorway so I'll have to make another cap in the same colorway as the mitts. Awwww shucks!



I have lunch to cook so I'd better log off.
Aloha!

Felted soap part deux

Steph, Sidra and I had a very impromptu get together today at Nancy's Quilt Shop. Barb was teaching a class on knitting washcloths and soap sacks as well as the making of felted soaps. We were too late for the class but stayed and knitted with some of the "regulars" for awhile. Instructions from HGTV on soap felting here.

I had already tried my hand at felted soap last night with some roving I already had but had to pick up more at Nancy's because she had some awesome colors. I came home and immediately felted another 7 bars of soap. Bernie was ticked because he thought I felted every bar of soap in the house and has no desire to use my felted soap. I did manage to leave a few bars unfelted, honest! My favorites to felt are the Dove bars and a soy soap I had because they are both rounded. I did felt a rectangular shaped bar but the corners weren't fun to deal with. The roving was under $12 for an 8 ounce bag and it looks like I haven't made a dent in the amount after felting 7 bars. Now I want to pick up more colors but will probably go to Wooly Wonders because it's closer to my house than Nancy's is. I'm sure there will be many more bars of felted soap in my future. Hmmm...I'm already thinking that these will make great Christmas gifts tied with raffia bows and little tags explaining their purpose and care instructions.

Felted soaps

Barb Tolleson, who is a member of our group, Las Vegas Knitters, will be holding a free demonstration of the felted soaps tomorrow (er, um, later this morning) at Nancy's Quilt Shop. They had several bags of wonderfully colored roving the other night when we went to knit with the regular ladies. I coveted but could not fondle as they were bagged. I also set aside a few skeins of Noro Kureyon that I have absolutely no clue what they will become. I'm considering putting them back on the shelf and just grabbing a bag of roving. Here is a picture of my felted soap. Okay, you should know that I am never one to leave an idea alone. While I was scrubbing away half the bar just to get the roving felted onto the bar of soap, I thought that it was such a waste of soap. I used an inexpensive bar of Dove soap this time, but what if I used a hand made soap? I thought that I could just knit or crochet a small bag in feltable wool that over time with use will felt down just like the roving, in theory anyway.This one is made with Paton's Soy Wool and used a very small amount of yarn so that if it works, I could get several felted soaps from one skein. I'll post after I've given it a go in the shower. Aloha!

Christmas is just a little early

Bernie and I ordered our Christmas gift today. We're so excited! We should have it in a couple of weeks. Here is a little sneak peek. Our only problem right now is figuring out how to get the dang thing into our back yard, which is almost all pool. We will probably have to hire a crane. We do feel very comfortable with the electrician, who just happened to walk into the showroom as we were talking to the owner of the store. He said that he is also a satisfied customer of the store. Cool! Overall, so far, we feel very good about the purchase. Cross your fingers, okay? It's not over yet.

I guess this means I won't be needing Homedics Shiatsu massage cushion that was on my list. I just really wanted that wooden swift, though. That's okay. Our anniversary and my birthday are coming up soon. Woohoo!

Belated Congratulations!

Following article as it appeared in the Las Vegas Review Journal:

A smiling Chris Faircloth summed up the feeling as his Las Vegas High football team celebrated on Saturday.
"It's great to be a Wildcat, at least it is today," Faircloth said.
It's been awfully good to be a Wildcat for the last six seasons. Las Vegas turned in a dominant second-half performance on the way to a 33-6 victory over Galena for the Class 4A state title at Sam Boyd Stadium.
It was Las Vegas' second consecutive title, and its third in six years. The Wildcats have played in four consecutive finals and five in six seasons.
"Last year felt great, but this year -- winning back-to-back -- feels even better," senior quarterback O'Ryan Bradley said.
Galena outgained Las Vegas 104-92 in the first half and the Grizzlies trailed only 7-6 at the break. Faircloth said the coaches challenged the team at halftime.
"We went in there and said, basically the team with the most heart is going to win this one, that's what it comes down to," Faircloth said. "We work all year for this opportunity, and if we let it go, it's because they deserve it. And if we win it, it's because we deserve it. And the kids responded and did a phenomenal job."
Las Vegas wasted no time taking control in the second half. On the second play, Bradley hit Daniel Durnian with an 86-yard touchdown pass that put the Wildcats up 13-6.
Durnian caught the ball near midfield, cut to his right and sped toward the end zone, diving over the goal line for the score.
"That's what won the game for us," Bradley said. "If we didn't do that, I don't think we would have won the game."
The Wildcats added another score while the wind was still at their backs when Robert Hackett scored on a 2-yard run with 3:03 to go in the third.
"The momentum turned completely and we took them completely out of the game," Faircloth said.
Bradley added a 16-yard touchdown pass to Chris Kelly on the second play of the fourth quarter to make it 26-6, and Jovan Massey returned an interception 12 yards for a score with 3:06 to play to cap the scoring.
It was Massey's second interception of the game. Las Vegas forced five turnovers.
"The defense, those kids love to play football," Faircloth said. "That's probably the biggest reason they're as good as they are. They like to run, they like to hit. You don't have to beg any of them to work hard, because they all work hard."
Las Vegas allowed only 47 yards of offense after halftime.
"Our 'D' just played phenomenal like they always do and got us the win," Bradley said.
Galena running back Jimmy Sargent rushed for 62 yards in the first half, but the Wildcats shut him down in the second half. Sargent finished with 68 yards on 27 carries.
"We had to stop the run," Faircloth said. "They were getting after us a little bit in the first half and getting some plays out. We knew if we didn't get that stopped, it was going to be a long second half."
Instead, it turned out to be a long half for Galena. Bradley was just 6-for-15 for 61 yards and one interception in the first half. But he was 8-for-11 for 169 yards in the second half to help the team march down the field.
"We had to get on him a little bit there," Faircloth said. "The kid always steps up to a challenge. He knew where to throw the ball, and made some great placements as to where to throw it.
"He really has control of this offense. If you don't have a quarterback to throw it where it needs to be, it's not going to happen."
Bradley completed passes to five receivers. Kelly led the way with six catches for 71 yards, and Durnian had four grabs for 137 yards.
"They showed us they could stop the run, and coach said, 'Let's go to the air,' " Kelly said. "That's what O'Ryan did. He spread the ball out. He's a hell of a quarterback."

Finished objects

Just finished this crochet moebius shawl the other night. I was too lazy to take pictures at the time. I think it was 2:00 a.m. Just had to get it done. I'm sure you know how that is. It took a little over one skein of Red Heart Plush, which is just like TLC Amore, in a deep purple color. I crocheted it on a size I hook and just made it up as I went along. When I started, it was going to be a shrug, then as it progressed I thought just a shawl, then it morphed into this moebius. I happen to have a dress that will go with this rather nicely.







I have been obsessed with coffee cozies lately. I have been wanting to make one for a long time and know how easy they are to make, but have had so many other things to make. I was working on a project for my sister and just had to take a break from that. I made myself a cafe latte and jumped right in. I was inspired by another coffee cup cozy that I found online. Mine are a bit different though. I made a few of these and gifted some of my friends while we were knitting together the other night. We were all matchy-matchy except for the colors of our fur.

Back to work!