snowmen cookies

Counting down till the holidays! Here is a fun Christmas cookie recipe for you: peanut butter snowmen! They are pretty easy to make, and super tasty. Enjoy!

You will need:
* 1 box of nutter butters
* 2 bags of white chocolate chips
* 1/3 cup of milk or cream
* 1 bag of mini dark chocolate chips
* 1 box of fruit roll ups for the scarves (optional)

What to do:
1. To prepare: place a medium pot of water on the stove to boil. If you are adding scarves, unroll your fruit rolls on a cookie sheet, and use a pizza cutter to cut them into thin strips.
2. Once water is boiling, turn down to medium heat, put 1 and 1/2 bags of the white chocolate and milk in a metal bowl, and place this over the boiling pot of water to melt the chocolate. You can put the chocolate directly in a pot over the stove, but you have to be very diligent with stirring and heat adjustment so as not to burn! Melting over boiling water allows you a little more freedom to take your eyes off it.
3. Once chocolate is melted, dip nutter butters into it to completely coat. Using tongs, pull them out and gently scrape off extra chocolate off the bottom of the cookie on the side of the bowl. If chocolate seems to thick; add more milk, if it's too thin; add more chocolate chips. Try a test cookie; if its hard to coat it's too thick, if you can see the cookie through the coating it's too thin.
4. Once dipped, place the cookie to dry on parchment paper, in the middle of a strip of the fruit roll up if you are adding scarves.
5. Wrap the scarf around the front, and add mini-chocolate chips for eyes and buttons.
6. Allow to cool completely, then enjoy!

wreath

For my Grandma who recently learned how to text but still loves a good old fashioned tradition now and then.


A knitted Christmas wreath. From the cocoknits pattern, the leaves were easy and quick on bulky feathered yarn and 10 and 1/2 needles. I bought the ribbon, beads, and the wreath frame from Joan's. First, I wired the beads to each leaf, poked wire through bottom and top of leaf, so each is on its own wire. Then I wrapped the ribbon around the wire frame 2 inches at a time. I attached leaves using individual wires poked through the ribbon, and then continued to wrap the ribbon once the wire is secured inside. Once all the leaves were attached, I wove the white ribbon though the top and bottom to complete for hanging. This was a lot of trouble, but it came out looking really nice.

I am feeling Christmas in the air! I have work to do of course, but all I am interested in doing is wrapping gifts and baking cookies and knitting. Maybe soon the weather will cooperate and we'll have some more snow!

Today's Forecast

Chance of Snow

36/16 F

It's almost only a week until Christmas... are you getting into the holiday mood? Is it almost time for a day or two off? What are you looking forward to?

december sweater

For my Mom who loves Christmas and Jane Austin, and instilled in me the love of both too.

May I present the December Sweater. Made from the February Lady pattern, using Bernat Satin Solids heather green yarn. Started in May, finished in December, just in time for Christmas.

bearded

For my brother who has a real job that he wears suits to and asked for a set of drills for Christmas.


Inspired by the Birkiland Beard Cap, when my brother asked me to buy him a set of drills for Christmas I couldn't help myself! Manly, isn't it?

Knit on 10 and 1/2s with thick and quick chunky yarn, the most difficult part was shaping the mustache (but there is a good guide on Ravelry for this part) Ben was kind enough to model it for me.


My brother may be all grown up with a fancy job downtown, and a pretty girlfriend that he may move in with, but if he needs a set of drills then he needs this hat to go with it. With love.

PS: fun gift guides for brothers
How is your Christmas shopping/knitting coming along?

zapatillas

Look! Slippers! Feet sized!


Okay, so maybe not the size of my feet... but perhaps just right for someone's Dad who lives on the beach and can slip them on for the rainy season.


Happy feet, happy felting, happy Friday!

sweater update

you won't even recognize it....


I am finally moving at a good knitting clip now that the holidays are looming. Look how far this beauty has come! Next up: sleeves. Stay tuned....