I am a knitter in search of a project.

I thought I was going to begin the new year with Dan in some kahki Cotton Club (Ravelry link, the yarn is discontinued). But I can’t make the gauge work out right, even though the yarn’s suggested gauge and the pattern’s gauge are the same.

It has one more chance. Just one.

So.

I either need to come up with another sweater for Michael with this yarn (time is of the essence, we only have about six more weeks of “winter”), or scrap it and make something for either myself or the house.

Like a vest (for me) in this sport weight Blue Sky Alpaca.

Mom brought it to me as a ski trip souvenir.

Or a Hemlock Blanket (for the house) in this Taupe Cotton Ease.

Is a yarn reclaimed if you never finished the original project?

Or something else entirely.

Well, how do you do, 2009?

I’m going to make 26 more CounterPain Squares.

Happy New Year!

So long, 2008.

You were a pretty good year as far as these things go. We got an Ellie.

I made 24 CounterPain Squares.

I discovered the identity of the Mysterious Cookie Swap Winner: (blogless) Lori in Ohio! Hi, Lori!

There was other knitting and yarn and contests and races and new friends and a lot of great old ones. Some other good things and some other bad things happened. Much the same as every year.

And now I am ready to see what’s next.

I am glad that The Great Virtual Cookie Swap was a random drawing! It would have been tragic if I had to personally sample every recipe and select a winner that way. Deliciously tragic. If we do this again, I may change the rules.

If you haven’t been keeping an eye on the cookie swap pool, I suggest you meander over there to get some ideas for next Christmas. Or next Tuesday.

Tasty thoughts have distracted me!

Drum roll, please.

There were 25 entries, but three were mine.

25 - 3 = 22

So I put 22 into a random number generator.

Out came the number 10!

So I started with the first goodies uploaded and counted up to ten.

It’s ls526’s Oreo BonBons!

Which sound so easy and delicious (and great for any occasion, just change the decorative colors). But I don’t know who that is! ls526, would you please divulge your Secret Identity and mailing address to me (emily at yarnmiracle dot com) so that I can send your prize?

Who doesn’t need more recipes?

Congratulations to our Mysterious Winner and thank you to the 22 participants! You have boosted my Christmas score by 22 points (and my recipe folder by 22 recipes).

Emily: 31 Christmas: 43 Santa: 10

Today’s post was brought to you by Skitch.

All the Christmas packages have arrived, so I can show you this:

My So-Called Scarf

This is one of my favorite patterns because of it’s unique combination of interest and ease. I am not alone in this assessment, it has been made 3826 times by Ravelers. I can’t blame them. I used Lionbrand’s Landscapes (another favorite - I love the colors and the sort of felted feel) this time around. This colorway, Summer Fields, is so bright and cheery for winter. And so colorful it is bound to match something in your closet. I hope you enjoy it, Judi, and I forgot to say: don’t put it in the washing machine! It felts like a dream.

Yesterday was the last day for The Great Virtual Cookie Swap entries so I’ll do the prize drawing this afternoon. I’ll also be counting up participants to see if that boosts my Christmas score. It’s not looking good for me this year.

I do get an extra point for the ridiculously delicious potatoes that I made for Christmas dinner (I only used one stick of butter and six ounces of cream cheese and regular salt instead of season salt). There was barely a polite portion left in the serving dish. Santa won bonus points for Ellie’s Christmas* present selection: the Frog Launcher was an enormous hit.

Emily: 11 Christmas: 43 Santa: 10

Michael has the Christmas pictures in his Flickr. There is video but it isn’t edited yet. Or even imported. Maybe by New Year’s.

This little video has nothing to do with Christmas. That isn’t going to stop me from posting it to wish you all a very Happy Holiday.

Oh yes. A minute and a half of her giggling. About half way through she snorts. Heh.

All done!

I cheated and made his ears separately. After the Arm Frustration (it is hard to pick up stitches with his head in the way - it is probably easier if the knitter makes a reasonable yarn choice, which I did not), I just couldn’t take it any more.

His tail makes up for my ear slackitude. In my opinion.

In other news, Pioneer Woman’s Cinnamon Rolls were a giant hit. My Aunt called this morning to tell me how much they were enjoying them. That has never happened before. The recipe warned me about that sort of side-effect.

Limited Edition Ornaments brought to you by Ellie’s outgrown socks.

I’ve got half a CounterPain Square left for the year’s Deadline Knitting (the tree skirt wasn’t finished - our tree is in a flower pot) and that includes the Super Secret Knitting that is so secret I have never even mentioned it. It is so secret that I forgot to take a picture before I taped up the box. I am wrestling (as I am sure everyone does) with the importance of knitting documentation vs. wasting wrapping paper.

Snowman inspiration can be found here! My basic modifications included the all-white color scheme and fabric paint eyes. I also used the cut off tops to make the hats (economical use of baby socks).

Emily: 7 Christmas: 25
(I got a bonus point for figuring out French knots for the eyes (elliephant not snowmen.)

Turns out, Elijah isn’t my only Christmas knitting after all.

Over Thanksgiving, my family decided to draw names for Christmas presents. This was fine with me because I knew that no matter who I got, I’d be making a hat. The name only determined color and pattern.

Turn a Square in Freedom Spirit.

I think he’ll like it, but I’ll throw in some Skittles to sweeten the deal.

Emily: 4 Christmas: 17