Merry Christmas!

We are having a white Christmas!
It started snowing a few hours ago and already the ground is covered in a blanket of white.

Zip and I and the Kitties wish all of you, dear Blogger friends, the best of everything on Christmas Day and throughout the New Year.
Peace and Happiness from our house to yours!

Day Out with Knitting at Large

What a great day!
Good friends, a great meeting place, lots of food and yarn!  Does it get any better than that???

Zip and I made the two-hour drive down to Brunswick, MD for the monthly Knitting at Large meeting.  Brunswick is a delightful little town along the Potomac River just east of Harpers Ferry.  We met in a historic church turned cafe called Beans in the Belfry.

 Talk about a cool funky place!
There were comfy sofas and chairs for reading and relaxing. 

A Christmas tree and a warm inviting fireplace.

Look at the lovely ceiling.

The sun was shining in through the stained glass windows throwing a golden light over us as we worked.

Brenda modeling her intricately knit shawl.

Nancy knit this heavily cabled child's sweater.  Isn't it amazing?

Julie knit this delightful cardigan in graduated shades of pink.

 

When I go to these meetings I'd rather talk than knit.  There's just too much interesting chatting going on to be able to concentrate.

Then there was the food!
It's all made from scratch, right there in the cafe.  Fresh and delicious, home-made goodness.

I had the cup of  chili with a corn muffin.  Zip had a breakfast croissant with egg, bacon and cheese.

And a lovely cup of latte for dessert!

After lunch we took a short walk down the street to the Two Rivers Yarn Shop.

They were having a spinning class with supported drop spindles.
With the participants in the class plus all of our group, it was very crowded in the small shop.  I was still able to get a few pictures of all the luscious yarn.

Well, ladies, it was an enjoyable day!  Hope to see all of you next month....

Thanks for stopping by.

 

 

Kitty Stuff and... I WON!

No, I did not win a kitty!  LOL!!!
Though you know I wouldn't have minded that.

First the kitty stuff.
We took the calico girls to the vet this past week for their shots and check-up.

Daddy is trying to calm his babies.

The vet tech weighs Penny.  She's a whopping 12.5.  I knew he was feeding her too many treats!
'Mom, she's twisting my ear!!!'
Behave, Penny, she's not hurting you!

Isabel watches the door for the coming of the Doctor.
'Do you hear footsteps???"

 Ha!  I have an idea!

I can do this!!!

RESTRAIN who???  What exam???  He-he-he!

It worked for Isabel.  What did I do wrong?
Well, I can always blind her with my headlights!

The girls were declared healthy, got their shots, and went home to rest after their stressful afternoon.

We always take them together because having a partner in misery keeps them calmer.  They really don't seem to be too traumatized by their vet visits and are not hesitant to be put in their carrier.
They're such good girls!

Now for the new little calico girl!

This is Millie.  She's a dilute calico.  Instead of the black, rusty orange and white like Izzy and Penny, she has medium gray, peachy tan and white fur.  The vet says she is probably about a year-and-a-half.  I thought she was younger because she's so tiny, only 5.5 lbs!

It is hard to get a good picture of her because she's so wiggly.
Come on up, Millie!

See why I couldn't resist this little darling???

She's been staying in my weaving room.  She now has a clean bill of health. Her quarantine period is over.  The next step will be to introduce her slowly to the other cats.
There will be some hissing!!!

Now for the Winning part.

Recently my friend Julie of the 'Knitting at Large' blog was contacted by Knit Picks, a wonderful yarn, knitting needles, and pattern company, about having a 'knit-along' and give-away to promote their expansion into more plus sized patterns. 

This is a smart move on the part of pattern designers and producers because there is a huge market for knitting patterns in larger sizes.  Larger people need more yarn to make a sweater, thus better yarn sales!  Julie and her blog has been THE key promoter for  making knitting accessible for plus sized women.

Knit Picks offered  several prizes through Julie's blog, one of which was a free plus sized sweater pattern and all the yarn needed to knit it.

                   WHOO-HOO!!!  I WON!!!  A FREE SWEATER PATTERN and YARN!

I hardly ever win anything, I'm so excited!  And what better to win than yarn!
Maybe the Megamillions lottery, but hey, YARN is good for me!

So thank you, Julie!!!
Thank you, Knit Picks!!!

When I select my pattern and yarn, I'll show you pictures.
Meanwhile, check them out!

http://www.knitpicks.com/yarns/knitting_yarns.html

http://blog.knittingatlarge.com/