Happy Holiday to all!

I can't believe it is that time again..... The holidays sneak up faster each year. I will be running around like a mad woman today. We are leaving for Pennsylvania for the holidays. We stay till January 2nd. We will have a great time with Bruce's family and the kids. I always hope the weather cooperates for the trip. We are due for some freezing rain this evening. Hopefully it will wait till we are on the road. We like to drive over night because the traffic is always lighter. I have all day to pack and get things ready. My neighbor watches Miss Peaches for the duration. We sure are going to miss her. My son in law is allergic to cats or she would be tucked in the suitcase. Bruce and I decided her colon surgery this summer is our gift to each other. She is feeling like a million and looks wonderful. Is everyone finished with their holiday knitting? I had Christmas with my family yesterday. Everyone loved their felted bags and socks and other knitted items. The girls are growing like weeds. My niece Hailey's foot grew another inch in about four months. I grabbed her socks back after she tried them on. I will just rip them back and add another inch. When I make their socks this year, I think I will stop at the toe decrease until December. I posted a few last minute gift pictures. The hat and cable mittens were for Lacey. The felted clogs were for my 12 year old niece Hailey. She already wears a women's size 9. Speaking of the clogs..... I was thrilled with the Plymouth Galway for these. It felted nice and tight and firm. I needed to run them through about seven or eight cycles. But, these are definitely the firmest pair I have made. I am not sure if you remember the Gjestal pair. The did not shrink enough. I do think the Fiber trend pattern runs big. The next pair I make I am going to drop a size. I posted a picture of my Hat and Mitten tree. This picture was taken last week. By the end of the day Wednesday I had received about thirty five more mittens and some hats. I had three large shopping bags full of hats and mittens. I dropped everything off at the local homeless shelter on Wednesday evening. They were extremely grateful and will put it to good use. They told me they already had 2o children living at the shelter. This project is always near and dear to my heart. As a child I used to make mittens for a local Mitten tree. My Mom would knit all year for the Mitten tree and encourage me to make some too. That Mitten tree has stopped in town over the years. It felt good to revive the tradition at the salon. This was our second year and a huge success. Well... I should start my packing. I want to end this with saying how much I have enjoyed blogging this year. I have met many wonderful people through this experience. I look forward to this year and our sharing of knowledge and stories with each other. Happy Holidays to all of you and a safe and Happy New Year.