It seems the longer I spend away from the blog, the harder it is to get back to writing here, not just due to procrastination, but also to the increasing backlog of things to write about. Suddenly a little post becomes a long one, and so, more daunting.
I thought I only had a few pictures of home-made things, but as it turned out, we did a fair bit of crafting for Christmas!
My husband and I both made masques for a masquerade party that we attended on the 22nd, at which we had a lovely relaxing time visiting with friends and meeting new people that were a lot of fun to talk to.
We gave away gifts to teachers (and the bus-driver too), and wrapped them up with handmade tags. I made these tags by folding tin-foil, (I think about three times) glueing the sheet all over with a glue stick at each stage, then embossing a design with a ball-point pen. Cut them out, make a hole for threading the cord through, and there you are.
I made a blanket for my very oldest friend (not that she's old; just that we've known each other since grade 3), keeping it simple and cozy, in her favourite colour, blue. Made in polar fleece, the seams are unfinished, with one seam on either side of the blanket. It's even softer than it looks.
I've been wanting to make these meringues for years! I make meringues quite often, but I've never piped them. These are flavoured with peppermint, and the piping bag is daubed with Wilton's paste food-dye to add colour as they are piped. Filling the piping bag with the meringue itself was tricky, but the rest was simpler than I had thought it would be, and they turned out lovely. I used this recipe from Canadian Living (though sans nuts), but Martha Stewart's directions for the food colouring.
My daughters did their fair share of creating, especially in Calgary where they made lovely ornaments with my mom (so sorry, but the pictures did not turn out, and now the ornaments are packed away; I'll have to be sure to take some next year). Please enjoy in place of these, my eldest showing off her art skills:
I drew my sister's name this year, and, determined to make her some Mittens of Awesomeness, asked what she would like. She wanted Pac-Man, so, happy to oblige, I knit these flat, used Intarsia for the figures, and duplicate stitching for details. After sewing these up, I knit the thumbs in the round during the trip down to Calgary on the 23rd.
For my husband, I made some Gingerbread Truffles, a pair of pyjama pants (Butterick B5572), and 40% of a sweater-vest, including an IOU tag for the other 60%. I downloaded the tag from Knit Picks, as they were clever enough to advertise their free IOU tag download right before I was about to wrap up the part sweater.
The sweater will be the Argyle Vest by Veronik Avery, and the upside to having only the back finished was that I could ask for input for the colours to be used for the front. Resulting choices are pictured below with the 40% of a sweater-vest.
It was an amazing holiday, and we enjoyed visits with family and friends at our house, at both our parents' houses, and at friends' houses. Also, thanks to Santa, the girls now have snowshoes, so we have been out snow-shoeing, and enjoying the weather that turned a bit nicer after a Christmas cold-snap.
With the exception of tomorrow, the weather looks like it will continue to be nice enough for outings, so we'll have to have some winter fun on the weekend! Hope you and your families had a lovely Christmas, and are enjoying a splendid New Year!
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