New Year

The past few days have been quite the whirlwind chez Dear, and while I have neither the time nor the inclination to give you a play by play of everything that's been going on, I thought I'd post some random tidbits that have stuck in my brain.

First things first, the Holiday knitting. As you can see, I managed to finish Michel's Boyfriend Socks. I also gave my mother a pair of Jaywalkers I'd knit this summer. I loved both patterns, they fit their intended recipients perfectly (not such an easy feat when working some sneaky knitting) and they seemed genuinely pleased with their gifts (apparently they had to guard them with their lives when visiting my uncle and grandmother a few days later). Score!

I also knit another Amanda Hat for my sister-in-law (can you tell I love this pattern?). Contrary to what I had originally thought, I did not in fact have enough of the pink left over from the previous hat to make another one, a fact I discovered the hard way after knitting for two hours on December 22nd (note to self - next time weigh the amount of yarn you have left before getting started on a tight deadline project). Luckily this is a really, really quick knit (otherwise she may have had to go all 80s style with a rockin' headband!), and I was able to cast on and off within the same day on December 23rd, using some stash Malabrigo I had earmarked for the Snowball Hat. The hat fit her perfectly! I was mildly worried, because I had been told Catherine has a small head, and the pattern is designed to fit a medium/large, so I went down a needle size and everything worked out great.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to deliver the final (but definitely not least important) gift in time, despite exchanging on the 28th. I'd show you pictures here, but the intended recipient (my cousin Jessica, I think the cat's out of the bag on this one) is a reader, so if you're interested, check out my projects on Ravelry.

After Christmas we tried to keep things fairly simple, then yesterday we dropped the kids off at my mother-in-law's and headed out to La Capucine, a beautiful bed and breakfast in St-Placide. We always celebrate New Years with the same group of friends (5 couples), so we were able to rent all five rooms in this place, and thus wouldn't bother anyone (except the owners!) with our shenanigans. The food was IN-CRE-DI-BLE, the service impeccable, the ambiance lovely (except for Cattiavelli over there, he kind of gave me the creeps).

Since we had the place to ourselves, we were able to set up a karaoke machine and belt out a few tunes between dancing sessions (here we see the complex lyrics that comprise a Kiss song) . A great time was had by all, and we already booked the place for next year!!!

I'll post a personal review of 2007 in a few days, but until then, I hope everyone had a safe and fun New Years' celebration last night. Happy New Year!!!! :)