Dear Blog, It's Me, Haley

Dear Blog,
It's me, Haley, the person who used to write in you on a regular basis. So sorry to neglect you. I can't believe it's been almost a month since I last visited. All I can say is that life has been busy. Will you ever forgive me? Are your readers still out there or have they moved on to greener pastures (aka blogs that are actually updated on a regular basis)?

I have done some traveling. We spent a week in Ohio for Thanksgiving and had fun with friends and family. I took pics, but none of them have even made it on my computer yet. We spent a crazy, busy 21 hours in San Francisco for an amazing 40th birthday party for my sister-in-law and brother-in-law. I didn't really slow down long enough to take any pictures, but great times were had by all. Now we're prepping for Christmas travel including a 20 hour drive with both boys and our dog Pepper.

I have been busy sewing. I finished all seven dolls.

I made a Yoda doll for my oldest nephew,
a Zorro doll for my next oldest nephew,
and a "handyman" doll for my youngest nephew.

I have also been knitting. I finished the doll sweaters for my niece's presents. I did about four different styles, but these two are the favorites for now. Still working on a shrug that I think will turn out cute with more time. I'm not thrilled with the sweaters (they probably would have been better in a lighter weight yarn), but will write up the patterns when I get a moment.


My nephew Oscar requested a "caterpillar hat" and as I still hadn't figured out how to make a pilot doll for him, I decided to make the hat as part of his Christmas gift.

I found an adorable little caterpillar toy pattern by Sarah Gasson and adapted it to make the hat. I will try to blog more details when I get a chance.

I also knit up this hat for my niece Lizzie. She needed a new hat and this one was too cute to resist. Need to blog details when I get a chance, but for now details can be found on Ravelry. J was nice enough to wear it for the picture.
I also finished this:
It's the Swallowtail Shawl made in it's smallest shawlette form. It's a gift for my sister-in-law Kristin, but as she is too busy to ready my blog I think it's safe to post a pic now. More details to be found on Ravelry.

In other life news, I've been busy getting ready for Christmas other fun things arriving at the end of December including B's move to Houston. He got a job there and starts the 28th. He's very excited to be returning to the beer industry and we're happy that his new job involves zero travel. Unfortunately, this means that I need to get my house ready to sell. It's a wonderful home, but we have let it get taken over by stuff and I am busy reclaiming it. Even as I type this I am thinking of all the stuff I have yet to tackle. This is the main reason I have not been blogging. I've been cleaning out closets and discovering that most of my storage space is filled with stuff we no longer need. It's cleansing, but time consuming. Must go get back to work. Will do my very best to not desert you again in the chaos and cleaning.

So if anyone has any advice on good areas of Houston or good suburbs of Houston, please post a comment. We can use as much advice as possible.

And since it looks like Christmas cards are going to be lost in the shuffle, please know that I am thinking of everyone this holiday season and wishing you a joyous holiday filled with love and laughter!