Finished Cowichan Sweater

I finally finished the Cowichan Sweater that I've been working on for a year. I designed the Inukshuk myself as I was knitting this during the 2010 Winter Olympic Games and thought it would be a nice touch. I also added the Maple Leafs and the "Canada" along the bottom instead of the X's the pattern called for. Sewing the zipper in was a huge pain in the A$$ and I hated every minute of it. But, I finally got it done, gave it to D, he put it on and then I noticed the GLARING error!!!! What happened there? Not sure why it doesn't match left to right. All sections measure the same. I told him of the mistake and said I would need the sweater back to fix something but he said it was the warmest sweater he had and didn't want to give it up. He's growing so fast it probably won't fit him in a few years but until then, he is perfectly willing to live with my mistake! I don't even know what I did wrong so I don't repeat it. Any ideas?

Happy New Year

Well, another year is over and a new one is about to begin. We had a great Christmas break. I learned to make Gluhwein (mulled red wine), baked some really good cookies, built a gingerbread house, went to the Nutcracker ballet and German Christmas Market, and saw the lights at Van Dusen gardens. I have enjoyed spending time with my children over the past 2 weeks and will be sad to see them go back to school next week.
It's been fun but I do need a break from all the eating, drinking and spending :)

By the way, I did finish the Cowichan Sweater and he loved it!

Gluhwein

We went to the Vancouver German Christmas Market and had the best spiced wine drink called Gluehwein or Gluwein. It was so tasty...I am trying to recreate it on the stove right now :)

They also had a delicious baked apple with vanilla sauce and some beautiful ornaments for sale. I loved it! The Gluhwein was sold in little blue mugs that had a $4 deposit on them if you brought them back, but I kept mine because it was so cute. In fact, I really want to get another one but don't want to go all the way downtown to get it. If you're going, pick me up one :)

Pictures of the Cowichan sweater that I knit. My friend Lana and I took a class together in Jan. and I have had my pieces done for a while but I HATE sewing the pieces together. It's the same with my quilts...I like to sew the top part of the quilt but then when it comes to actually quilting it with the backing and batting, it just ends up sitting there. These pieces have sat in my closet all summer and part of the fall. This would make a great Christmas present...I should just buckle down and get it done :)

Barbie Birthday Cake

I tried :) Ha Ha! She loved it so that's all that counts I guess.

Mermaid of the Pearls

I am still working on her...she's coming along.

I can't see!

Well, I sat down to do some stitching on my Mermaid of the Pearls the other night and found it very difficult to see the holes! I hadn't worked on it for over a year so I thought I'd try and get it done. I sat down and threaded the needle....so far so good. Then, I found my place on the chart...no problem. Next I secured the end of the thread behind the other stitches..things are going well :) Then, things came to a crashing halt! I cannot see the holes on 32 count linen fabric anymore. WHAAAA!!!! I guess a person's eyesight changes when they are 45 as opposed to 35 when I started it. I now need a magnifier but even that made me feel queasy and get a bit of a headache. Oh well, at least I was able to do a few stitches..now to just keep going :)