Happy 2016

I didn't get out any of the blogs I had in mind for December, but then again I spent a lot of time in Texas- away from my computer (10 days total stretched between two separate visits).

I completed a bunch of knitting projects, surprisingly.

For my precious niece that I got to meet in person at the beginning of December, I crafted a monster based on one of the monsters in this book. I have crafted my own pattern for hands with fingers and ears (those are not in the book)- and upon her receiving the monster she managed to fit it's fingers and toes in her mouth- which I call a success.

So while I was in Texas (which the first visit just happened to be my birthday weekend), my parents introduced me to two knitting stores located in Farmersville, TX. Fiber Circle is quite possibly the holy grail of yarn...there's so much that I think I walked thru the same row four times and still didn't see everything. But I did find some cute yarn to make some hats for my niece (they come with a small stuffed animal head to attach):

I also managed to knit one with a unicorn but didn't get around to photographing.

I do want to mention another of the yarn/fiber places that my parents took me to in Farmersville, TX... Fancy Fibers, I'm actually quite sad that I didn't know about this place while I lived in Texas. They have fibers for spinning and weaving, yarn for knitting and crocheting and classes for pretty much everything!  The woman who runs the store, I believe her name is Mary- was so helpful and actually got me started on a new hobby...I bought a blending board to start making my own rolags for spinning. It's been quite a while since I've done any fiber spinning, so hopefully this will lead me back to it.

Ok, and last but not least I bought some fun yarn (mystery mini skein set from Phydeaux which I loved simply based on the theme of the colors (Pride and Prejudice themed). They came with patterns and I completed one and decided to give it to one of my coworkers for Christmas:

(Please ignore the spots on the black mat...I had opened a glittery package seconds before and the glitter went everywhere.) It's a fun little shawl that "hooks" around your neck so you don't necessarily need a shawl pin.

I've got things coming in 2016 that should be exciting...a few drawings that are behind schedule, more knitting, hopefully just more of everything.

Hope everyone had a wonderful 2015, and I truly hope that you all have a fantastic 2016.