The blanket in action

The blanket in action, a photo by hannah8ball on Flickr.

This year has been a year of big gift projects. And I've been surprising myself with how quickly I'm burning through these projects.  I decided (rather late) that my gift to brother-in-law and his fiance  for their end-of-May wedding was going to be a blanket.  And no, that is not my (now) sister-in-law trying the blanket out.  She was far too busy to take a breather on the couch.  I hope she is enjoying it now though!

So, I ordered my yarn and got to work on the wonderful Hemlock Ring Blanket.  And even though I'd left myself barely a month to knit a blanket (and a super-duper busy month at that!), I finished this lovely work in 20 days.  And the bind-off took 3 of those days!  But look how gorgeously it turned out!

Worth every moment of it.  My only regret is that I decided for some crazy reason to use size 9 needles, and so the blanket only measured 54" at the end (even with an extra lace repeat in there!).

The pattern was a delightful combination of mindless and pay-attention rounds - perfect for TV and camping knitting.  And I love how the shape of this blanket is so atypical.  I'll be on the lookout for more interesting doily patterns to make large.  Yes, there are definitely blankets in my future.

And doesn't it look just perfect on their couch in their livingroom?

Ravelry deets here.

On sleep

Some of you may know that my husband (who now blogs) and I work at the same company.  Which definitely has it's perks.  One of the non-perks is that the office is 52 miles one way from our house.  And the traffic is terrible.  So, we get up at 5AM to get into work by 7.  Fortunately, I get to work from home 4 days a week, so when my husband wakes up at that horribly early hour, I don't even hear his alarm.  I just snuggle down for a few more hours of restful sleep. 

However, as I've been pondering what I should give up for Lent this year, it occurred to me that perhaps I should give up my sleeping in.  My darling husband drags himself out of bed most days of the week, and manages to come home after a long day at work, make me dinner, and play with our daughter.  So, I'll be giving up sleeping in order to live in solidarity with my husband during Lent. 

And since I'll have an extra 2 hours in my day that is normally spent dreaming, I plan on taking that time to finally start exercising, which has been on my list of things I want to do for a few years now and which I think I'll need to do first thing to ensure I don't just crash on the couch after he heads to work,  and to spend time reading and/or meditating, none of which I really have much time for in my current day.

So.  The rules. (Rules are very important as once they are written down I can't change them or pretend I had different rules).

1. The Lenten fast will begin Weds, Feb 17. and will extend until Good Friday, at which time I reserve the right to continue the habits that I've hopefully acquired.
2. I will get up when my husband gets up - for the purposes of going to work.  
1. If husband is getting up early to take care of our daughter, this does not apply (the sleep-in day rules apply here)
2. If we are on vacation, then the rules do not apply.
3. I will spend at least the first 30-45 mins of my waking day engaged in some sort of physical activity
4. The second hour of my extra time will be spent doing some quiet activity that does not involve my computer, tv or iphone.  I may listen to a meditative podcast if I choose - but no politics.

So what are you giving up for Lent?

Coming to the blog-side

My husband has finally decided to start blogging. Which is shocking, considering this one moans and groans if I ask him to send an email.

So, head on over to his new place. It's sure to be entertaining and witty :)

Merry Christmas!

So I know I am totally late, but I really hope everyone had a great holiday season.

Snowy Fence, originally uploaded by hannah8ball.

We got snow for Christmas! It was in the upper 70s the day before. And Christmas Eve, snow on the fence. Unbelievable. It's apparently been something like 50 years since TX got snow for Christmas.

We got all bundled up and went out and played in it. The snow wasn't that great for building snow people, but we still had lots of fun playing in it. And then went inside for a nice cup of hot chocolate.

Hoping you and yours had a great holiday!

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364/366, originally uploaded by hannah8ball.

The requisite family picture. The weather has been perfect, albeit a bit windy, but one can't complain about 70 degree weather in late December. :)

Do you have any idea how hard it is to get three people looking at the camera at the same time? Harder than you'd think...

Case in point. The remote is much more interesting :)

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360/366, originally uploaded by hannah8ball.

My two loves.

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320/366, originally uploaded by hannah8ball.

I'm not sure what I like so much about this photo, but I keep coming back to it.

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314/366, originally uploaded by hannah8ball.

I finished Yosemite! And it was well received. Of course, I forgot to get modeled shots. I made a tiny mistake on the collar, but I think that in the scheme of things, it ended up working out well. I am glad to be able to give it to such an appreciative recipient!

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313/366, originally uploaded by hannah8ball.

Decided to do a photo shoot with my sis. It was great getting to spend a few days with her.

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251/366, originally uploaded by hannah8ball.

Little Bit gets a lesson in photography from Grandpa. It's all about the buttons

167/366 - Happy Father's Day!

167/366 - Happy Father's Day!, originally uploaded by hannah8ball.

Fajitas and margaritas for dinner. Definitely a fabulous way to spend the day celebrating fatherhood.

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166/366, originally uploaded by hannah8ball.

200 more to go! My grandpa came down for a visit. Little Bit really enjoyed the attention. Grandpa let her play with his cell phone (mo-mo in Little bit speak), and stuff things in his pockets. Definitely a big hit :)