This is the view up Coffee Creek road, featuring the Blue Spruce in the front yard, our real Christmas tree.
Like everyone else, we have been getting ready for the holidays, but had some sad news last evening. Randy’s dad passed away. It was not unexpected but casts a shadow over the season. His Mom & his grandfather both also died just before Christmas.
We are going to be out of town for a few days.
Hope your Christmas is brighter.
Drive carefully and stay warm!

I made this hat for my bro-in-law. He works for an exterminator so I made a yellow jacket to sit on his head! :laugh: He also spends some winter days in the high desert in eastern OR. so I also used the extra yellow cormo to knit a thick ribbing to roll down and keep his ears from freezing over there. Yellow is a company color and also should help brighten up a winter day, don’t you think? I used my precious handspun cormo wool and suri apaca to keep his (formally) red head warm! There’s a close up of the Yellow Jacket on http://hazelsyarns.blogspot.com/ if you’d like to see.
I hope he likes it.

… but those of you who have the looms know that it’s much easier if you decide you don’t like it before you take it off the loom! :O This is some homespun and I don’t have enough of it to just shrug it off and start again. I have to reclaim this. It’s slow going but I have it done now and am reweaving. It looks much better. I should have checked my own web page for instructions! :laugh:
I think I can get it done in time fro Christmas. I wanted it to be all yellow but I didn’t plan well and it’s too late now. Well, I’m sure it will look okay this time. Oh yes… it’s a hat for my bro-in-law. It gets a little yellow jacket (the stinging kind)on there somewhere if I can figure out how to crochet one.
Hope you’re all having better luck with your last minute projects! 😛

Yes, that’s Randy cooking! It used to happen a couple times a year but it’s been many of those since he got inspired the last time. But we now have enough stew to feed Coffee Creek! It’s good but I’m going to have to freeze some. He’s going to have to learn how to modify his recipe now that there are only two of us! :laugh:
Like everyone else this time of year, I’ve been working on Christmas presents and it’s been raining, raining, raining, sometimes taking a break to snow or slush awhile. They are predicting snow for late tonight again. Only a few more days until the sun starts coming back, tho, so there is a bright side. Well, there will be if it clears up enough to see it! 😛
Hope you are all having one of those Decembers with cookies baking, and kids, and presents, and lots of family. Randy and I will be thinking of you all. 🙂

My cousin has been knitting and felting purses of wool and novelty yarns. They are everyone unique and, well, just delightful! She has done a wonderful job with them They are all lined and have handy pockets inside as well. She took them all (I think she said she knitted 60 of them!) to the fabric store and picked out the fabric for the linings individually so they’d be sure to match. There’s nothing generic about Kathy’s purses! She worked on some of them when they were up and I intended to get a photo of her and all the bags, but time just flew by and next thing I knew everything was packed and we were saying goodbye!
Well, if you are anywhere near Oakland, CA this coming weekend, do go see for yourself … and tell Kathy I sent you! Kathy and her purses are not to miss and the Terrace is also worth the trip. 🙂

I found myself without a present for the Red Hat Christmas party so I took inspiration from Kathy and got out the 12″ square and the novelty yarns. Weaving with that eyelash stuff isn’t what I’d exactly call fun, but I got it done. I used a carry of purple wool and switched from the eyelash to another yarn with some colors, some mohair, and some metallic stuff for flash. Tossed it into the washer then folded and sewed ‘diaper’ style. It’s lined with burgundy taffeta and even has a little pocket. I made a rope strap and the button hole is just cut though the felted fabric. It turned out to be a big hit and I was even asked by several if I was making them to sell! I offered to sell them a loom so they could make their own! :laugh:

This Drunkard’s Dream succulent came out here with me from Florida in 1979. I can’t remember how long I had it at that time, but it’s the oldest one in my collection. I have the string of hearts, that also came with me, but I believe these are off-spring of the original. One could still be the original (I have three & gave Sis one) but I don’t know that for sure. Anywho… the DD is blooming, which it does every year about this time. Tiny little white things, prettier than you’d expect for this plant.

Today we’re taking the cousin’s to town to see the Trinity Players version of the musical play “Scrooge”. They go back to the city on Wednesday so this is in the nature of a farewell celebration. It’s been great having them. 🙂

Here’s a project I started last year or maybe the year before? Anyway, I now have the major figures. Sis posted the instruction to the web site projects page, if you’re interested. I have Joseph, Mary, a shepherd, a king, and a rather homely angel. they are pretty simple figure, the kind the kiddies can play with. You can make them simple or as fancy as your yarn and trim stash allows. Bits if jewelry would make a crown, the head pieces co8uld even be made of fabric and might drape better than my stiff yarn ones. The let the young’ns invent the stable with a cardboard box and whatever you have to simulate hay. I’ll work on some sheep and maybe a donkey. There probably wont’ be a camel unless one of you would like to invent him! 😀
Meantime… Happy holiday weaving season!

Cori was doing a bit of frolicking on the way back from the mailbox… where we got our first Christmas card! I guess ’tis the season! 😀 I’ve finished the Nativity figures for this year. They’ll be posted to the web page shortly. I’m also working o the pattern for the cropped top. Our young cousin was delighted with it. Some of you might also enjoy it.

Busy, busy, busy! Just like Santa’s workshop! lol Randy’s too skinny to pass as Santa, but he’s been as busy. And we’ve got a houseful of company, which has been fun. Hope you are all having a great holiday, too. I’m working on Christmas presents in between other things, as are most of you, I’m sure. Us fiber people really get busy this time of year. If you need a loom, better let us know soon, and don’t forget that they make good gifts in themselves. A gift that really does keep giving. 🙂 The Kid’s Stuff Kit is great for beginners, even those who aren’t kids. It’s the same loom as our Quilt Weaver square but it comes with enough stuff to weave a little snowman you could hang on the tree. Check the web page.