Throwing In The Towel(s)

About three weeks before Christmas a decision was made in my honey's family that we would do a Secret Santa gift exchange instead of buying everyone a gift. I thought it was a great idea as this is something we did in my own family years ago.

After I selected the name of whom I would gift some sort of fabulousness, I was stumped. This person themselves are very creative, but as being a creative person myself, I know how purchasing supplies for whatever their craft is can be very personal. Sooooo I scratched that idea.

Then one day about a week later a light bulb went off! This person always comments how much they love my knitting. So that's what I decided to do. However, with only two weeks until Christmas, what could I possibly knit quickly?!?!?!?!

Honey said socks. I said no.

I also said no to myself about knitting a Lap Blanket or Throw Pillow Covers. Not enough time.

After spending what felt like countless hours of Ravelry browsing and losing a million minutes of sleep, I decided I would knit an oversized dish towel and then purchase some lovely items from O&Co to go with it.

I had the perfect cotton yarn already in my stash so we were a GO!!!!!

Pattern: Stripes and Texture Dish Towel
Yarn: Knit Picks Dishie; Colorway - Coffee
Needles: Knit Picks Circs Size 5
Started: December 13, 2014
Finished: December 16, 2014

After knitting a few rows, I was really pleased with the texture of the knit. The original pattern called for Size 7 needles and one skein of yarn. I decided to use Size 5 needles and two skeins of yarn. I wanted a firmer fabric since it would be used as a dish towel.

It quickly grew and before I knew it the towel was done! So I cast on for another. Yup, one towel turned into two as I thought this would be perfect to gift to another!

Yarn: Knit Picks Dishie; Colorway -  Linen
Needles: Knit Picks Circs Size 5
Started: December 17, 2014
Finished: December 20, 2014

Sadly I am a bad blogger as I forgot to take FO pictures of these two towels before I wrapped these babies up for the intended recipients.

However, I did cast on for one more towel before the year ended!

And finished it in the new year!

Yarn: Knit Picks Dishie; Colorway -  Pomegranate
Needles: Knit Picks Circs Size 5
Started: December 21, 2014
Finished: January 2, 2015

When the towel is open it measures at 16.5" by 23" and used up practically every little bit of yarn. I love it when there are no real yarn leftovers.

This towel truly lives up to it's name of Stripes and Texture. I love it!

Besides changing the needle size, I did a couple other things that I thought made this pattern more to my liking. I completed a crochet cast on because I wanted it to match the traditional bind off. My formula for knitting the alternating pattern rows were 6 rows of seed stitch and 4 rows of garter stitch for nine repeats and then I knitted 5 rows of seed stitch before binding off.

The question is, will I knit more of these? Absolutely. They are like potato chip knitting for me and I think make really quick (i.e. last minute) gifts.

So there you have it. My last two FO's for 2014 and my first FO of 2015!

I'm done with towel knitting for now. I currently have a couple new projects on the needles which may or may not be socks. I am also tackling some of those old WIPs I mentioned in my Knitting Goals post. We'll see where I am at with that at month's end.

Right now I am gearing up for a little trip to see my family at the end of the week. I will be gone from the frigid temps, to something hopefully a little more balmy, for eight whole days. I cannot wait! Rest assured knitting will be packed.

It's A Wrap!

Oh man it's hard to believe Christmas has come and gone!

I did manage to get the tree done.

Rudolph even got some lights.

After work last Monday night and over the next two days, I spent all my time preparing to host Christmas day dinner for myself and my honey's family. Including us, there were a total of 12 people. This was my first time cooking for this many and while it was a lot of work, I enjoyed the end result of sitting around the table with loved ones enjoying the home cooked meal that I put so much thought and effort into. Would I do it again? Absolutely.

Only after the table was all set, I could then focus on finishing cooking the dinner.

Our vegetarian dinner included a total of nine dishes, plus one dessert. I am still amazed that I managed to pull that one off, especially since according to my honey, they were complex dishes. Even better, is that I managed to get them to the table warm or, oh my gosh, even hot!

My menu included (all recipes are linked):

• Tuscan White Bean and Garlic Soup
• Festive Kale Salad with Wheatberries and Tempeh
• Vegetarian Portobello Wellingtons
• Quinoa and Spinach Stuffed Tomatoes
• Maple-Lime Roasted Sweet Potatoes
• Mushroom Walnut Stuffing
• Maple Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Walnuts, Blue Cheese and Cranberries
• Quinoa with Cauliflower, Cranberries and Nuts
• Green Bean Casserole
• Peanut Butter Pie (Made my own Oreo Cookie Crust as follows: 25 Oreo's Pulverized in Food Processor. Mix with 4 Tablespoons melted butter. Shape in pie pan and bake at 350 degrees for 5-7 minutes. I also did not make the Hot Fudge Sauce and forgot to purchase the chocolate for the shavings.)

With it being a vegetarian dinner, I wanted to include a variety of items. I think I succeeded. I was told everything was delicious and here I was just praying it would all be edible.

I didn't take pictures of everything as it was finished. I completely forgot. But I do have these:

The soup I made the day before and reheated.

Leftovers I had the next night.

Somebody enjoying the rest of the green bean casserole.

Frozen Peanut Butter Pie I managed to make on Tuesday.

After dinner, gifts were exchanged, dessert was consumed and before we knew it, our guests were departing for the evening.

Between myself and the help of some elves (my honey, his mom and his cousin) all the dishes were cleaned, dried and put away. I tried desperately to clean all the crumbs up from the floor and sofa's before going to bed. After our house guest departed the next morning, my honey and I went into cleaning mode and we got the place all back in order.

I spent Friday, Saturday and Sunday recovering. I had sleep I needed to get caught up on and didn't feel overly ambitious to do too much. The remainder of the long holiday weekend was spent on the couch knitting.

One of these items may have been finished during a Harry Potter moviethon! Will have to follow-up with a FO post.

All in all my Christmas was wonderful. It was all I had wanted and hoped it to be. I have to give my honey a huge thank you! He was the most supportive person during the days leading up to, during and after Christmas. He helped me whenever and wherever he could. He never hesitated to help. I am truly blessed to have him as my partner in life!

With that I leave you with one of my favorite photos from Christmas day:

Hope everyone had a beautiful holiday! Tell me, what were some of your highlights from this holiday season? Any traditions old or new?