I’ve spent the last few days diligently stitching away, and as a result, the body of Paisley’s Bogatell is done!

I believe I mentioned that I’m forgoing twisted ribbing on this one, so that’s making it go a little faster. The sleeves should go fairly quick compared to the body. But the hood will slow it down again. I’m still aiming for a New Year’s Eve finish, but it will probably be down to the wire!

The other night, I couldn’t sleep, and came downstairs to get a glass of water. There I found Burton keeping an eye on the fish tank.

He has to sit on the dining room table to do so. And the dining room table is out of bounds for cats.. at least when Dave is around to see…

Burton is absolutely enamoured with our plecostomus. But our pleco is very shy. He only comes out late at night when he thinks no one is around. I took the opportunity to get a picture of him.

He was only an inch or so when he first came to live with us. Now he’s a good four inches (or more) long!

We also have this pretty blue Opaline gourami too. Neighbour Krista bought him for me a few years back (she used to work at a pet store)

He mostly hangs out with our angel fish. I’ve had fish for many years, and always have at least one angelfish .This the is first time I’ve ever had one that is solid black. He’s the boss of the tank.

There was also a neat little surprise in the tank. You may recall that I have the whole thing planted with live plants instead of plastic ones.

But I was amazed to see that one of them had bloomed! I’ve never had that happen before. It’s similar to a peace lily!

nounnoun: denouement; plural noun: denouements; noun: dénouement; plural noun: dénouements

1. the final part of a play, movie, or narrative in which the strands of the plot are drawn together and matters are explained or resolved.

It is all over… presents were wrapped…

and gifted….

Cookies were baked….

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..and delivered to friendly neighbours.

Turkey was cooked…

… and devoured. Normally we eat turkey at my parent’s place, so Burton has never experienced it fresh. He thinks we should start a new tradition of cooking turkey at home!

For me, Christmas just isn’t Christmas without Mincemeat Pie. But Dave’s not as keen on it, so I made tarts instead.

I made enough for me, my Mom, and Dave’s Grandma, as they both feel mincemeat is an essential Christmas food!

Dave spoiled me with a stunning pair of silver and emerald earrings.

And I got my other Christmas wish…

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Snow! It started coming down late in the afternoon on Christmas Eve, and continued all day Christmas Day.

But Relic was decidedly less pleased about it than I was.

However you spent your Christmas, we hope it was a happy one.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas,

Love Valerie, Relic, Rupert and Burton!

As I mentioned the other day, the needle to finish Paisley’s cardigan finally did arrive. And as soon as I got Ray’s socks done, I turned all my attention to it.

As I’m sure you can surmise, it’s not going to be done by Christmas, as I had originally planned. That’s ok. I’m off work now until the new year, so I’m hoping to finish it by New Years. That may be a little ambitious – it just depends on how distracting the sewing machine gets!

The weekend gave me a chance to try out one of my birthday presents.

Unlike mom, I’m not all “Gotta have all the gadgets!”, but every once in a while, she does find one I have to have.

These triangles are just the thing to make HST making better. I love using HSTs in my quilts, but I really hate making them. Well, trimming them mostly. That’s because I sew them (in multiples of 2s, 4, or 8s), then I have to get up from my machine to cut them apart. Then I go back to the machine (where the iron is) to press them open, then it’s back to the cutting table to trim them up.

But with these triangles, you trim them before you open and press them.

So I sew, then cut apart and trim, all at once. Then I go back to the machine and press them all open. So much more efficient.

In no time, I had 48 little HSTs trimmed, pressed and ready to go!

Next thing you know… Bear Paws are just flying out of the machine!

And seamingly with in moments… and entire top for a baby quilt!

Now that’s what I call one handy little gadget!

There was one Christmas present I was hoping to get done before the big day, and I’d completely forgotten about it. Fortunately, I was reminded of it when the order with the needle to finish Paisley’s cardigan arrived.

In with it was yarn I purchased just for this present.

It’s Cascade 220 Wave – the colour is Woodsy.

It was for a pair of thick socks like I make my Dad. But they aren’t for my Dad. They are for his friend Ray. Ray and Dad worked together. They retired around the same time, and now they hunt, shoot and do all kinds of things together. When I join my dad at the shooting range, Ray is always there. He always lets me shoot his guns (he has a very nice collection), gives me tips to better my accuracy, and on occasion, even provided me with ammo so I can keep on shooting. If that’s not worthy of a pair of warm, wooly socks, I don’t know what is.

The first one fell off the needles pretty quick, and was immediately claimed by Burton.

While he kept it warm, I worked on the second one.

And by Sunday night, I had a completed pair!

The 220 wave is the heavier version of the yarn I made the Lava socks out of. This version is just as soft, and I love the subtle colour shifts! I think they will keep his feet nice and warm on the shooting range! (It’s outdoors, so it can get mighty cold out there!)

Back at the start of my journey with the blockheads, one of the weekly blocks inspired a quilt idea.For the last few months, whenever I’ve been cutting up leftover fabrics for my scrap boxes, I’ve kept this block in mind, and have cut pieces just for it.

I’ve been diligently tucking them away in an old bead organizer. But now I’m ready to start putting them together.

There’s nothing complicated in the pieces… just squares and rectangles, but they come together to create a dazzling whirly-gig block!

I’ve got enough cut to make 15 blocks, though I have a feeling I’ll end up making more! They are just too fun to make!

Burton thinks they are pretty fabulous too!

After casting off Dave’s socks, I still didn’t have the needle for Paisley’s cardigan yet, so I decided to focus on getting on a new pair of socks on the needles. I have a few pairs planned as Christmas gifts, but they dont actually have to be done by Christmas, so I decided put them off for a little while longer and cast on a pair for myself

I haven’t knit myself much this year – just a poncho (which I ended up giving away,) and a pair of fingerless gloves. I think I deserve a little something.

The yarn is more Kroy – this time Kroy FX in “Seashell Colours). The pattern is Winters Frost – a freebie that I think pairs quite nicely with the yarn!

I do have to set this aside though… Paisley’s cardigan is calling.

Like many of you, Dave and I aren’t doing any family dinners this holiday, We are going to pop in for a brief, distanced hallway visit with his Grandma on Christmas Eve, but otherwise, it’s going to be a quiet one at home.

It’s not a huge deal – I see my parents almost every week. I will miss seeing my brother’s family, but I’m sure we’ll be together in a month or two. We aren’t skipping Christmas, just postponing it a bit.

So, I wondered if I should bother decorating. Dave’s not big on Christmas. I bought a turkey breast to roast for the two of us, and I’ll do a little baking, but other than that it will be a quiet day. But the other day after getting groceries, I noticed my hanging pots out front were looking pretty sad.

Last year I filled them with pine boughs and birch logs my Dad gave me. I still have the birch, but the pine boughs naturally dried out and fell apart. And I forgot to ask my Dad to get me some more when he built his deer blind this year.

So instead, I hit the dollar store and got a pile of Christmas flotsam to spruce up the front of the house.

I particularly love the snowflake I found to hang from my Welcome sign. I can leave it up all winter long!

For the baskets, I stuck with simple poinsettias and over-sized bows.

I have a larger swag for my front door, but it has seen better days. The dollar store had this cute little pinecone hanger that was just the right size – I added the balls for a little more sparkle.

This cute Cedar gnome wasn’t from the dollar store – but the grocery store beside it. They were marked down to half price, so naturally, this one followed me home!

The only thing that would make it look better is a little snow…

And wouldn’t you know… we got some the very next day. I doubt it will stick around until Christmas, but a girl can dream.