Christmas Cheer

I've found a group of friends through knitting. They're wonderful women, every one. We meet once or twice a week to knit, talk and laugh together. We might never have met save for our love of knitting; we don't run in the same circles, so to speak. We each have different sorts of jobs, we're a range of ages, and while we all live in Sacramento, we're not neighbors. But we certainly have a lot of fun together. Last weekend, we decided to have a holiday dinner together after our usual afternoon of knitting. Here we are, fed and happy:

And here's a picture of the absolutely adorable bag Beth made for me!

How cute is this??? She made one for each of us. Mine's a dog theme, because Beth knows I love dogs. Emmy collects pears, so hers is made of material patterned with pears. And so on. Honestly, I don't think I've ever met anyone as kind as Beth in all my life. It's the perfect size to hold a ball of yarn, and the stuff coming out of it is my first effort at dyeing.

Well, back to the facecloths. 2 down, 2 to go.

A letter to my Sockret Pal

Dear Sockret Pal:

I must apologize to you for neglecting this sad little blog for so long. I realize that it must not be much fun for you to visit me and find the same old post every time. So I am turing over a new leaf and promising to update more often. Today I thought I'd post on my Christmas knitting. Not much this year, but enough to keep me busy. First, there's this:


I'm making my mom a hat. She wants a red hat to wear when she goes on her daily walk. A bright red hat. Fine. Mom wants a screaming red hat, mom gets a screaming red hat. I was thinking maybe Debbie Bliss Cashmerino. But it doesn't come in bright enough red. In fact, in my search I found no decent yarn in the right color. So I settled on an acrylic/wool blend. Now, I fully admit that I'm a yarn snob. I like merino and cashmere and silk. But I love mom more, so I'm being a martyr and knitting away with yarn that makes my hands feel oogy. I swear, this stuff squeaks. But the color is great (for mom anyway). I plan to offer the hat to Santa, just in case Rudolph isn't available on Christmas Eve. It's a cool pattern: knit a cabled band then pick up stitches along the edge and knit the body of the hat. I have about 7 repeats to go on the band, then mindless knitting from there.

I'm also making these:


My sister lost a bet to me and had to buy me yarn as payment. She picked out this, and told me it was for ankle socks for her. Yeah, I won the bet, she gets the socks. She also got the blond hair and blue eyes, but that's another story. I'm making up the pattern for the anklets as I go. Unfortunately, I didn't write down anything for this first one, so I'll have to guess on the second sock.

I'm also making a couple of face cloths for my cousins, which will go into their stockings with some great soap. But they are extremely boring (the washcloths, not the cousins, who are quite charming), and not worthy of a photo. Even Cooper thinks the washcloths are boring.