Winter Interlude - Things I've Made

I wish I had something good to report in this space, but alas, the weather is bad, the family is sick, and we've lost some older people this winter who were near and dear to our hearts. I just picked up my son from school early; the nurse thinks he has a sinus infection, and I suspect she's right. The timing isn't great. My son is a singer, and tryouts for the honors high school choir are tomorrow, and tryouts for the northern New Jersey regional choir are on Sunday.

Yes, bad timing. But when is it a good time to be sick?

Instead of depressing you, I'll try to cheer you by showing you some of the things I've made recently - while I myself was sick, or in between funerals, or on snowy or sleety days. I'm sure things will get happier around here pretty soon.

Here's a yellow baby blanket I knitted for my friend Jackie, who recently had a baby girl.

Here's a close-up so you can see the details.

Here's a pumpkin pie, and a couple of star-spangled red and blue pies for Election Night.

 The Advent wreath I have used for years gave up the ghost this year, so I got a little nutty with the glue gun and made myself a new one.

 I have a dear friend who lives in Belgium who recently gave birth to a daughter. I knitted the new little one a "Mountain Chickadee" blanket in a bright coral pink. After I sent it to her, I found out her nursery was actually decorated in a light lavender color. I had wanted to ask about colors, but I thought that would ruin the surprise. There's nothing neutral about this blanket.

 Finally, my next-door neighbor also had a baby girl just a few weeks ago. She also got a Mountain Chickadee blanket, but I went a little more conservative on the color this time. White is always a good choice for a new baby, regardless of gender, especially if the blanket is washable.

Right now, I am working on a blanket for a little boy. Finally someone had a boy! I don't want to give too much away, so I won't post a picture until the recipient has already received it. But I will tell you it's a new pattern, and a little challenging for me. And it's blue. I can't resist blue for boys.

Speaking of boys, back to caring for my own. If I get him some antibiotics before tomorrow, maybe he can get back to normal in time to show off his beautiful (and brand new) tenor voice.

P.S. If you are a knitter and use the online knitting forum Ravelry, you can get details about the patterns and yarns I used by looking at my profile. I go by the handle "sparkythedog." I also entertain requests for recipes and tutorials - just drop me a line or a comment if you want more information.