Ahhh, that's better

Friday was the last non rushed day till yesterday, Christmas Day. Saturday was all about getting the gifts ready packed, wrapped, and ummm... finished. Yes, I still had a ton of knitting to do on Saturday. Gift Knitting was fun, but exhausting. Saturday, I was still inventing something for Son 3, for whom I have never knit anything. His lovely wife is an animal lover so I have been searching out good non animal fibre sock yarn. I've been checking out the blogs and finally found some but not in time for the holidays.
Thus, the TV sock came into being. All acrylic, more of a slipper than a sock, these slightly large, blue shortie socks came into being. He'll get his cotton socks as soon as the yarn arrives in the New Year.

And then final shots of a few gift items. The in laws gifts, and mom's scarf. Dad, sorry, but yours are still most determinedly in skein phase yet. I'll work on those this week.

And then, I have been given a wealth of gifts for Christmas, shown here piled all together, and still to arrive in the mail just into the New Year. Mr. Needles gave me some books - he let me chose which, from Needle Arts Book Shop. From son 1 and girlfriend, I got these. Drops Alpaca, in a soft white, and a wonderful blue. First thing I thought of was the Arctic Lace book from Mostlylurking. There is a head cover that this alpaca would look lovely done up in. Or a mobeius scarf. Wouldn't that look great in something lacy soft in this?

From Son 2, these wonderfully brilliant Lucy Neatby Yarns. These are going to make me wild socks. Absolutely wild colours, and you know, my life is ready for some wild. Sock wild has to be the best kind of wild. Small, almost hidden but there it is, showing off anyhow, if only people choose to see. I can't wait.

And from Son3 and wife a whole basket of treats. Yarn, booklets, Dolly mamas all beautifully put together, in that gorgeous basket, so well wrapped that even though it was some of that clear basket wrap, I could not see what the heck was in there (Trust me I tried. On the sly. When no one was looking) But, oh when I opened it, I felt rich. I immediately pulled out the Dolly Mama. I love these. And the one they choose, well, I'm still giggling over. It says 'I used up all my sick days, so I'm calling in dead' (the Dolly Mama site is really interesting!).

There was a booklet, Trendsetting Totes. How did you know I needed the bag book? I really do. I'm at the beer bag limit. I need something with divided sections so things don't get tangled up, and these patterns for crocheted bags are so right on target. I probably looked distracted and I don't know if you understood but I wasn't there in the room anymore.

I was making bags of the tweedy yarn, and the black and red yarn. I could see that in a couple of the bags from the book and my mind was already designing the insides, and figuring the beads. The tweedy yarn is going to make a wonderful small tote (the blue bag on the cover)... and that black and red? One of the bags shown in black on the cover with the lines of beads, I think. Or maybe the one shown in purple with the flap, or the yellow one. Too early to really decide for sure. I'll make the tweedy bag, and see how that size finishes up and then I'll know which pattern will be the size I'm looking for. Or maybe... well I'll leave that for another day.

And linings. Just think of the possibilities these colours give me for linings!!

My kids, if you doubt how much I love these gifts, know this. I wasn't really there. Ask me what I remember of your gifts to each other. Ask me how I almost missed that Son3s gift was still under the tree, and how you had to pull me back to figure out what I had wrapped up for him. I wasn't there in that room at all. I was dreaming. Yarn is dreams and possibilities, from the simple acrylic in its steadfast and solid self, to the finest Alpaca lace weight, and all the things in between. They have a place and a home here in my little corner of the world.

The gift you really gave, each and every one of you, was dreams. The gift was imagination. The gift is permission to waste my time wisely.

There are no better gifts than that.

And now, the Needles' are off to points far away to visit parents. We are abadoning Son1 to live off of cold turkey leftovers and candy, while we laugh and talk and work with some of the many others so very important to us.