The Coming of the Elves

Last night, while three little boys were asleep (one in his crib, thank goodness), three little folks arrived in our house (never mind that they look as though they're going to take flying leaps off the cornices).

Meet the Holly Brothers:

This is Harold Holly. The oldest of the three, he made his first appearance in 1998 when Zee was wee (tee hee).

And then there's Howard:

A spunky guy, he arrived in 2000 and watches out for the Sniffer. If you know the Sniffer, you know he has an air for the dramatic -- as evidenced by good old Howard here, who incidentally is wearing green -- the Sniffer's all-time favorite color.

And this year, we have a new addition that we have dubbed Henry:

My guess is that Santa sent him to play elf to L'il I ... who, after all, needs his own set of eyeballs that report to the Big Guy. I'll be sure to dress the babe in his red-striped PJs on Christmas Eve!

If you're interested in the legend of the Elves at Arunah (and beyond), check out last year's post that explains it all. There really is quite a bit of history to it, at least in my family.

Zee was a bit skeptical and L'il I ambivalent, but the Sniffer was positively ENCHANTED this morning when he realized the guys had arrived and that our elf family had expanded. He insisted that I take these pictures so he can put them in frames and hang them on the tree. Gotta love that kid.

Tis the Season

This is the time of year when we knit bloggers really can't post pictures of our work for fear of giving away the surprise. So some of us are mighty lucky to have cute babies to tide us over.

This past weekend, L'il I had his first bit of rice cereal. He's four months old so he's on the early end of the range for introducing complementary foods to a breastfed baby, but he's been showing a lot of signs he's ready, so we took the plunge. As you can see, he was not disappointed in the process of eating:

Most of the time wee ones just don't know what to do with their tongues when they're eating ... which is why they end up wearing most of it. By the end of the session, however, he seemed to have it pretty much figured out:

It was a big night at Chez Spinneas. The night before was equally big, as Zee advanced to receive his orange belt in karate:

The Sniffer, on the other hand, took a much more passive approach to his weekend, and snuggled most of the time.

I Can't Believe I Knit the Whole Thing

Last night, after two false finishes, I cast this off:


Here, in its drying state, is what I am calling the "Santa Fe Beret." It's a broken-rib, fair isle beret knit on #3 needles in Berrocco Ultra Alpaca Light -- my own highly modified version of Veronik Avery's Beret Gaufre. The top will be completed later this week with three small knit chile peppers attached to the i-cord bit. It's the holiday gift that I am (so far) most proud of and will hopefully be adored by the recipient.

Want a few close-ups?






This was definitely a stretch for me ... I've been exploring a lot in terms of colorwork this holiday season, but fair isle in a ribbed pattern is, quite frankly, a bitch. But this is the project where you just sit back and stare at it and deem is mahhhhvelous..... I'm very happy with it.

Yes, I am Alive and Knitting

Most people tried to post every day in November. Me, I managed to not post at all. But it wasn't for lack of knitting.

There were market bags:

Storm Trooper hats:

Two House Hats (a la Charmed Knits)

and a beret (more are coming):

I expect rapid progress on smallish projects in time for the holidays. In the meantime, I apologize for the hiatus and leave you with the obligatory shot of L'il I, who is upset about the Ravens' loss on Monday Night Football: