1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?
Either. I really love wrapping gifts and try very hard to make the wrapping suit the gift and the receiver. And it must be glitzy and pretty, too.

2. Real tree or Artificial?
Always real.

3. When do you put up the tree?
It used to be whenever I caught a cold between Thanksgiving and Christmas. OK. Not really, but it always seemed like I was tramping around a tree farm looking for a tree with a running nose. Now that I’m living alone, I don’t decorate, except for a wreath outside my door.

4. When do you take the tree down?
New Year’s Day. Except now it’s the wreath I take down and not the tree.

5. Do you like eggnog?
Yes, but only homemade. I don’t like the stuff that comes in cartons. I’d prefer Tom & Jerry’s, and that batter has to be homemade, too. I know… picky, picky.

6. Favorite gift received as a child?
Oh, that’s hard! When I was about four years old, I received a red dress that had gold rickrack on it. It was meant as a Christmas party dress, but I instantly thought of it as my princess dress and would have lived in it had my mother allowed it. Second favorite was probably the year that my cousin made us all new Christmas sockings because ours were rather old and tired and really needed replacing.

7. Hardest person to buy for?
#1 Son. He needs many things but doesn’t often like to ask for them. And some of the things he wants are beyond my expertise.

8. Easiest person to buy for?
Bro and his family. Every year I buy them tickets to a local Christmas concert and we go together.

9. Do you have a nativity scene?
Yes. I have a lovely nativity. My mother gave it to me one piece every year until the set was completed, starting the first Christmas I was married. I display it on the piano, which is just the right size and shape.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards?
Email. If I remember. I usually call close friends and family.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
I can’t think of an actual gift that I haven’t liked. But a dog I’d had as a teenager passed away on Christmas eve. That was not a very happy year.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie?
It’s a tie between A Christmas Story, Miracle on 34th Sreet and White Christmas.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?
I start early and finish before Thanksgiving. Nothing else in my life is as disciplined as my Christmas shopping, trust me. But I refuse to go into a mall between Thanksgiving and New Years. Refuse. The discipline was ingrained before online shopping became available as an option.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?
Yes. Not often, but I have regifted things that I can’t use to someone who can. I am more likely to exchange it, though. But either happens very rarely.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
My mother’s peppernuts.

16. Lights on the tree?
Yes, multicolored.

17. Favorite Christmas song?
I’ve always loved We Three Kings. For some reason the minor melody touches me. That’s probably tied with Sleighride. In a more modern vein, The Trail Band’s original tune Dancing ‘Round The Christmas Tree has my toes tapping.

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home?
I love staying home. But for a few years #1 Son and I went to Las Vegas for Christmas and had a wonderful time.

19. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer?
You betcha! I once got a speeding ticket because I was trying to remember them and recite them to #1 Son — he was about 3 at the time — and not paying attention on a hill in a neighborhood that was marked 25MPH and had a speed trap at the bottom.

20. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?
Christmas morning. When I was a kid we once opened the presents on Christmas Eve and then couldn’t figure out what to do Christmas morning. The family decided unanimously never to do that again.

21. Most annoying thing about this time of the year?
People who are so intent on getting the “perfect” present that they don’t care how rude they are as long as the objective is accomplished. That’s why I don’t go to malls during the season.

22. Favorite ornament theme or color?
I love hand-made ornaments of all kinds.

23. What do you want for Christmas this year?
It’s always hard for me to think of things I want, beyond my family safe and around me. Even when I was a child I had a hard time coming up with Christmas lists.

24. Angel on the tree top or a star?
When I was growing up, we had a star. Now I have an angel that has been on my tree for years and years. It’s always the last thing that goes up on the tree, and the first that comes down.

25. Favorite Christmas dinner?
A re-do of Thanksgiving, except with carrot pudding for desert instead of pumpkin pie. Last year, though, I made a big every-vegetable-in-the-world stew, and it was pretty darned awesome.

OK. I’m not really that bad at spelling, although daily I make small sacrifices to the word processing gods to thank them for the gift of spell checking. It’s just that I’m up to the K in my sort of self-imposed alphabet themed post title thingy, which I haven’t done for a long time. So work with me here, OK?

one fiber, two results

It all started because Kathleen and Bobbie both bought the same roving at OFFF and had Sharon of Stitchjones dye it in the same colorway.

Kathleen and Bobbie thought it would be fun to both spin the same roving and then knit it and then compare to see what they both came up with. So, for several week, the Wednesday night Sip-N-Stitch crew were treated to little peeks that were carefully hidden so that Neither Kathleen nor Bobbie would see what the other was doing. Strangely enough, they both picked the same triangular shawl pattern to knit. Great minds think alike, and all that.

Last Wednesday was the great unveiling where we all got to see the finished objects side by side. Kathleen went for a stripey sort of look, and Bobbie went for a more heathered appearance. But aren’t they both lovely? You can find out all of the nitty-gritty that I don’t know because I’m not a spinner over at Bobbie’s place.

No, I’m not going to start spinning. Don’t ask.

Spirogyra

When I saw Cindy knitting these, I knew I had to join in. This is Spirogyra from Knittyspin.

Yes, I do have two of them. When one is too cheap to buy good stuff challenged by the lack of good photography equipment, photography can be interesting. It’s not that easy to take a picture of your own hand. And, when one does not have a decent tripod – and I don’t, my shots are all hand-held – taking a picture of both your hands is pretty much impossible. Neither of the cats, alas, has learned to push the camera shutter button on command.

This particular yarn was chosen because it was just about the only thing in my stash that was the right weight. I was afraid that the combination of hand-dyed colors and the stitch pattern would not be a happy one. But I am pleased with the results. And they are wonderfully warm, cozy and soft. Tina asked me at the destashing if these were her Christmas present. I suggested she knit her own, since she has some yarn at her disposal. These are mine.

The Particulars:

• Yarn: Blue Moon Silkie Socks That Rock (81% Superwash Merino, 19% Silk / 3.5oz, 360yds per skein); a portion of one skein of Count Cluckula
• Needles: a pair of Addi Turbo 24″ circulars, US#3 (3.25 mm) and a pair of Addi Lace 24″ circulars, US#2 (3.00 mm)
• Pattern: Spirogyra by Lynne Vogel
• Modifications: none. Really.

Via text, rather late at night:

#1 Son: Hey momma are you awake?

Mom: Yeah. Wazzup?

#1 Son: I got this piece of paper I was using as an earplug stuck in my ear cos I’m at a show. Should I go to the clinic in the morning? It’s seriously stuck up there.

Mom: Yes if you can’t get it out carefully with tweezers or such because you don’t want to damage your eardrum. Be very careful not to poke it in deeper.

#1 Son: I think I already did.

Via phone, shortly after the above:

Mom: Is your ear bleeding? Does it hurt a whole bunch?

#1 Son: No. No bleeding and it doesn’t really hurt.

Mom: I think it’s safe to wait until morning. Until then just leave it alone and don’t mess with it. If it starts bleeding go to the emergency room. Dare I ask why you weren’t using regular earplugs?

#1 Son: I usually use toilet paper but there wasn’t really any so I just used a wad of paper.

Mom: Go to the clinic in the morning. Then get some ear plugs.

Gentle reader, I tell you, I am reminded of the time when #1 Son was about 3 years old and he stuffed an entire, 2-ply Kleenex up his nose until the only way you could tell it was there was by peering up his nostril. He was very proud of himself, and the doctor was quite impressed. Upon extraction, it proved to be a pretty big wad. I really thought those days were long behind me.

I am happy to report that the folks at the clinic, according to #1 Son, appeared to be vastly amused.

Me? Not so much.

inside the barn

Dear blog,

I haven’t meant to neglect you. Every day I think of things I’d really like to chat with you about, like the 2nd annual Blue Moon Fiber Arts destashing / barn sale. I’ve just been so busy, and when I remember I haven’t talked to you, it’s way late and I’m always afraid that you might be asleep. But I do want to tell you about the barn sale. I know I have a bit of yarn already, but sock yarn doesn’t count, right?

I went with a purpose. I had started a small project — finished object to show soon, and everything. And in going through my stash I found that I didn’t have hardly any yarn of the correct weight. You see, I usually knit socks on size US#0, or at the most US#1, at about 11 – 12 stitches/inch. So I like rather lightweight fingering for my socks. And this pattern called for a more DK-ish or heavier fingering weight. And, despite the size of my stash – not as large as some, true, but certainly holding its own – I was hard pressed to come up with any.

And, with her usual perfect timing, Blue Moon’s depraved dyer Tina destashed. It seemed like fate, don’t you agree?

OK. So I can justify anything when it comes to yarn. But look, gentle reader, look at that picture and tell me that you would not have been overcome by all of the loveliness that was there. And that’s not even all of it. There’s more behind my back, but my camera doesn’t take 360-degree views.

a few things came home

And I was pretty successful finding things to come home with me. Just a few things. Ahem.

Everything is either medium- or heavy-weight STR, except for one, lone skein of light-weight. A couple of things are Rare Gems and the rest are Mill Ends, so they are not marked with a colorway. But, you can tell what most of them are. The one in the very middle, for example, is a Mill End of The Cookie Next Door. I don’t mind buying mill ends at all as I have had wonderful luck with them in the past. They may not be perfect, but that doesn’t mean they’re not lovely.

There’s also one skein of a gorgeous ribbon yarn called Streams. There’s no colorway on that, either, but you can see it’s lovely muted colors. Be sure to click on the pics to see the biggy versions.

And, if it looks like there are some colors that don’t usually show up in my stash, like gasp hot pink, well… I can only, once again, plead yarn fumes. I like some pinks, and pinks in combination with greens and browns. And the skein that’s white with pink, red, teal, blue and purple? What can I say, except it’s really hot.

Got yarn?

Moo wanted to help me photograph my yarn. She has a different outlook than I do. I declined her generous offer.