More Goodies!

The holidays are certainly a busy time and this year is proving no different. I'll be happy to finally be able to spend an evening at home sitting in my favorite chair knitting. Don't get me wrong, I love family and friends, I just need a breather and time to recharge my batteries.

I'm more of an introvert than not and too much socializing takes a real toll on me. Add in eating at odd times and eating things I don't usually have causes me to not feel so good. My system needs to settle down a little, which it will, just in time for New Year's Eve.

I hope we don't have a repeat of last year. Both hubby and I were sick for several days after that party. Inevitably, someone shows up sick and spreads their germs around. I get worried when I hear people say, "I didn't feel well but I came anyway because I didn't want to miss out on the fun."

Two things I managed to squeeze in this week are a quick trip to Sheep's Clothing in Valparaiso with a friend on Wednesday and meeting up with knitting friends last night at a local coffeeshop, Indulgences Pastry Cafe.

The trip to Sheep's Clothing netted the information that they will be moving to a bigger location in the near future. With yarn stuffed almost from floor to ceiling and in every nook and cranny in the current shop, they really could use the space. I didn't get as much time to look around as I would have liked (Do I ever? LOL!). It takes me awhile to figure out what I can afford to buy as opposed to what I would like to take home. I got another skein of Lorna's Lace sock yarn in turquoise to go with 2 I already have. I should have enough yardage now for a future project. I also couldn't resist a bag of novelty yarn marked "SAVE ME" for $10. An hour's worth of untangling netted me this--5 balls of Gedifra Techno Hair Lungo (retail $11 a skein), a small ball of same, and 1 ball of lavender eyelash without a label. It will go in my stash for knitting scarves and other items. After bashing novelty yarns for the last few years, I am finally learning how to use and combine them with other yarns to make fun things.

Then here are a gift, a swap, and two books I've acquired recently. The skein in the front is a gift from my friend Jess. She hit it dead on with this one. It's Handmaiden Sea Silk in my favorite colors. (I squealed when I opened it.) Even though it came with a free pattern, I'll put it aside until I find the perfect project for it. My guess is it will be used for one of my future lace designs (of which there are several more floating around in my head). Behind it on the left is a skein of Dream in Color laceweight yarn in sunrise colors and a Christmas sock kit in a cute round box. Both are a swap from my friend Sarah for a skein of my handspun yarn. The sock kit is very special as the pattern is Sarah's toe up design paired with a skein of specially dyed sock yarn and a little container of hand cream. The two books in the back---Beautiful Knitting Patterns and Knitting Around---are acquisitions from Amazon.com and Ebay, respectively. Now the only Elizabeth Zimmermann book I don't own is The Opinionated Knitter.

After a mostly green Christmas Eve and Day, it started snowing again today. At 9:30 am there was nothing on the ground. By Noon everything was covered with snow and the roads were icy. Throw in a little freezing rain this afternoon and it's a good night to stay at home.