It's good to be home.

We are finally home! There is nothing like sleeping in your own bed. I am trying to catch up on all the lost sleep while I was away. Here are some highlights of Melody's First Christmas.
Lucky Melody got to celebrate 3 Christmases for her first Christmas. First up was Christmas at my mother's house. We arrived on Friday night from NYC and stayed there for 3 nights. My mother made us a delicious lunch featuring all of our favorite Chinese dishes. On Sunday, we opened presents and took my mom out for a early birthday dinner. Her birthday is Christmas Eve. Since it snowed again on Sunday and didn't stop, a lot of restaurants closed early. We had to cancel our original plans and went to a place nearby. When we arrived, there was no one there except the staff. We were worried they were not going to serve us. We got there just in time, since the wait staff had their coats on and was about to leave. We got top notch service that night since there was no one else in the restaurant.

Melody behaved herself at the restaurant, but wouldn't stop crying in the car on the way back to my mom's house. She was basically cranky that whole weekend.I gave my mom the Clapotis Scarf I started last year for her. I finished it up in November. It took no time to finish it and I am wondering why I always drop projects right before they could be finished. I soaked and blocked it the day before I had to leave so there are no other photos. I had to place a fan in front of it to speed the drying process. This scarf is so soft. If you ever have a chance to try this yarn, please do.

Pattern: Drop Scarf (This free pattern is a scarf-sized version of the famous Clapotis)
Needles: US 9 / 5.5 mm
Yarn: Brooks Farm Solana, 1 skeins = 320.0 yards (292.6m)
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My sister waited until Christmas night to exchange gifts with us. We left my mom's on Monday and stayed the the rest of the week at DH's brother's house.
This is the 3 year scarf that I have been working on for my sister. It has reincarnated itself into different patterns for the past 3 years until I settled on Maryse's Gathered Scarf pattern.It was funny seeing my sister's expression when she opened it and saw her long-awaited pink scarf.

Pattern: Gathered Scarf (free pattern)
Needles: US 4 / 3.5 mm and US 7 / 4.5 mm
Yarn: Fable Handknit Pure Baby Alpaca, 4 skeins of Peach
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To make up for being so late with my sister's scarf, I knitted her another one.I had bought this yarn last year intending to make her something, so I was excited when I found this pattern. I held the yarn doubled and was worried that I would not have enough yarn, but it worked out and I have a few yards left, so it was plenty. I love knitting with this yarn. The scarf is soft, but it was even softer after soaking and blocking.

Pattern: Anthro-Inspired Scarflet(Ravelry link to free PDF pattern)
Yarn: Blue Sky Alpacas Sport Weight, 2 skeins of Natural Light Grey 009. Yarn is held doubled.
Needles: US 9 / 5.5 mm
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I must have been a good girl this year. Look at what my sister and her boyfriend, Scott, got me!!!! The Addi Click set!I screamed pretty loudly when I opened it. The rest of family just didn't understand what I was so excited about, especially my in-laws. My MIL only knits with straight needles and didn't know that you could knit flat with circulars. I showed it to her and explained, but I don't think she was too impressed. THANK YOU SO MUCH, Jo and Scott. You guys are the best!Surprisingly, the case is much bigger than I thought it would be, huge actually. Perhaps that's why I was so surprised when I opened it. I had no clue what it was until I read the box. The case is not something you want to lug around in your knitting bag because it would take up the whole bag.

On a side note, my sister bought it at Paradise Fibers and said that they had good customer service. When she received it, the case was badly damaged and she contacted them. They quickly sent her a replacement case. She thought that she would have to give me the damaged case, but replacement arrived before Christmas.

That's it for now. Melody got many amazing toys for Christmas, but I will save that for another day.