Year of Projects: have I got photos!

Sunday!

I am so excited today because I have a finished object to show off....I finished my Annie sweater for sweet little Grandy, Millie. I could not be happier with how it turned out and am dying to give it to her. But alas, she lives 3 hours away and I did decide to make this a Christmas present.   Georgie, (aka Tikki, on Ravelry) has done it again with a gorgeously written pattern.
(I apologize in advance for the loads of photos--what can I say? I am in love with this sweater!)

  Don' t you love the detailing on this garment, from the adorable little pockets to the fancy daisy stitch accents built in?  I look at it and think, "I can't believe I was able to create something so lovely!  When did I become a knitter....?  :)

In other knitting news, I have some new goodies to show you.  I started  another Christmas present-this time for my son's sweet little girlfriend.  I think this mitt pattern, Barista Mitts,  is so cute, and this yarn, which I purchased from a clearance bin is so, so soft.

I could not wait to cast these on last night. She just purchased a lavender coat so these will look so pretty with it....

The other excitement is the beautiful gray Quince and Company Finch (fingering) which arrived the mail yesterday.  This lovleyness is destined to become the baby hat I am making for my friend to give to her first grandchild.  So far, based just on touching  and squeezing  this yarn, I just may have found my new go-to yarn!  And the price is so reasonable too.

 I was  a bit bummed that when I went to pull out needles for this hat I found I needed a size 2... and all my size 2 Addi pouches are empty.  The tragic thing is that I have not knit anything in a couple of years which needed a size 2, which means they are lost.  All three of them! I did not have the money  (who would with all the yarn purchasing I did this week!) to buy a new pair of my very favorites,  Addis, so a had to settle for a cheap pair of bamboo from Joann Fabrics. Luckily, not much of the hat is knit with the two, when I get to the main section of the hat I will be able to switch to my threes.

The third beautiful thing I have to share is this yarn I purchased while knitting at my local yarn store on Friday.

There was a beautiful drapey scarf on display and several of us were going nuts over it.  The store owner had designed it but had not had anyone test knit it yet, and since we were so gaga over it, she gave us the directions off her computer with the stipulation we did not hate her if there were mistakes in it!  It is sort of my first ever test knit and uses this gorgeous yarn from Germany...Schoppel Leinen Los--I think it is 70% wool and 30% linen-- and is the same color as the sheep it came off of.   The main body of the scarf will be in the gray and the off-white will be the border section--the name it will officially have on Ravelry is Barnyard Scarf-

In other news.....some of you may remember my posts last January,documenting the terrible ice storm which held us in its grip...I posted several photos of our ice encased trees, this Italian Prune Plum tree being one of them.

We feared losing all our lovely trees, but thankfully they survived and our little plum tree surprised us with a bumper crop this year. I spent all day yesterday canning them and got 24 quarts of just plain plums for eating, and then another 6 pints of jelly.  There are still more and I will be canning them to give to a special person in my life as a surprise.

Aren't they pretty?

And in case you missed my announcement last week, I am going to be a Mimi again!! My daughter is due with #3 in early May and I am dying to find out what gender so I know what to start knitting!
Have a super week everyone~~~
*smiles*