I've been knitting sporadically for probably close to a year now, and if you can believe it, this is the first time I made something for myself! Knitting for babies is just way too much fun. Recently I've been knitting up a storm, but I can't share a darn thing yet (Christmas gifts!) So when those were all finally done I finally settled on something for myself. The pattern is is the Keep It Simple Hat by April  Klich. I Raveled it, but y'all better stay out of my Ravelry til after Christmas, ya nosy beasts! All four colors are Stonehedge Fiber Mill's Sheperd's Wool, in Beaches, Lakeshore, Mint, and Antique Rose. I love this wool! Super soft merino, not superwash but I enjoy hand-washing knits, so. 

This was my first try at stranded colorwork, and dangerously so, because I'm hooked! My floats were just a teensy bit tight so there is a little puckering, but not bad for a first time, I daresay. I modified the pattern in a few ways: I knit the brim in the round instead of flat, I only did three repeats of the color chart, and I sped up the decreases at the top by eliminating the "knit all stitches" rounds. I took a bunch of pictures trying to get a good shot of the hat on my head, these were the best I could do! Anyways, thank the Lord I have some knit things I can share here again. Everything else will appear after Christmas!

Last Friday we drove out to Kuipers Family Farm with Joel an Kate to cut down our Christmas trees. It's hard to believe it has been a whole year since we did this last year, and yet a lot has happened as well: we had Tenny (who is now 6 months old!), found and moved into our house, and had a whole summer's worth of adventures. What's the saying, the days are long but the years are short?

It was oh sooo so cold! Poor little Tenny's nose and cheeks were all rosy. I found abandoned bird nests in mutliple trees (should those be a discount or should they charge extra?) We found a nice tall and skinny tree, a perfect fit for the space, since we have rather tall ceilings and also needed room to walk around it. This year we didn't have to sneak the tree in and nervously sweep pine needles off of the back steps! Now that we live in our own house we can declare fresh trees for everyone, always and forever! Then we went into the farm store for hot apple cider and donuts.

What a wonderful tradition: bringing a whole living tree into your house and stringing it with twinkling lights, and seeing Indy's excitement renews my appreciation and wonder.