Why I Won't Be Going To Webs This Christmas Vacation....

I was fortunate enough to pass by the town of Northampton where my favorite yarn shop resides - Webs. I got to go there two times in a month!! I usually get there in the spring when I go to Mass. Sheep and Wool and then again at Christmas when my friends and I make the trip to Yankee Candle for their end of year sale. However, when I went to the yarn mecca I showed restraint - really I did. I kept it down to a few skeins of sock yarn. Wanna see???


This is Schaeffer Anne in the coloway,,,,, well, I don't really know. There is no colorway on the tag. Not sure how that happened, but I love the colors. I'm not so sure I even want to make socks out of it. I started making a scarf out of another skein of Anne I bought last year and let's just say it is slow going. Making a scarf out of sock yarn is not a quick knit. I may never do it again.


This is Trekking pronatura. I saw this knit up at the store and just loved it to death. I have another sock I started last year in Trekking XXL and I love the way that looks too, but I was having sizing issues that kept me from really digging the whole project. I need to get back to that too. I'm detecting a pattern here?


Here we have my splurge - it's Alpaca Sox by Classic Elite Yarns. It's made up of 60% alpaca, 20% merino and 20% nylon. My feet will feel like they are in heaven with these socks on.


This was a case of falling in lust with the colors. Greens, purples, browns, rust.... I'm feeling faint. The price was incredible - only $13 for Lang Jawoll which is 75% superwash wool and 25% nylon. And the nice little extra - it comes with a bobbin of reinforcing thread in the same colors. Hello??? How could this NOT come home with me????


Now I'm still not sure what I am doing with this little beauty but it must have been the fact that Christmas was close by and all I could think about was pine green. But it's mine just the same. This is the only skein I might actually use to make socks for somebody else. Selfish aren't I? That leads me to the subject of Christmas knitting, which I will tackle tomorrow.

Photos and stuff,,,, as promised

I know - I'm a couple of days late, but considering I have all my Christmas shopping done and the gifts are wrapped and the house is decorated (well, as much as I intend to decorate this year) I gave myself a break.... All I have left to do is mail my Christmas cards (just couldn't deal with the line at the post office yesterday) and ship out a couple of boxes. I feel like I can really enjoy the upcoming week without much stress. I can even get some baking done!

So today was a dream day - football, snow outside and knitting. Here is what I am working on:

I have mastered two socks on one circular and I am digging it!



This was some of the yarn I picked up at Webs a couple of months ago. I picked up a bunch of goodies there (I have to gather them all together and take more pics later). It was mostly sock yarn. I just can't resist.......

Remember the cormo fleece I was washing and trying desperately to get the grease and yuck out of? It is finally becoming a sweater for hubby.



Sorry for the dark photo. It isn't much to look at anyway - just a big stockinette panel that will be the back. It is going to be a shawl collar pull over. I am making the pattern up myself as I go along. This could prove disastrous.

I came up with a good use for my bits of leftover handspun



I still have to weave in the ends of one of the socks. But overall I am happy with it. Have you seen the Winter edition of Knitty? I love the design by Lynn Vogel for the moebius shawl (I can't remember the name of the project but is on the pattern section). I have a bunch of 4 oz. batches of fiber to spin. I think I will match up some nice colors and work on that over Christmas break as well. I think that list of "things to do over Christmas break" is getting larger than I can possible handle.

And finally a full shot of the tree with the drunk Angel at the top. She keeps falling. She needs to put down the egg nog.......

I'm Alive I'm Alive

Amazing to look at the last pic in my blog and see the beautiful leaves and trees and my knitting sitting on my table. If it weren't dark out you would see a snow covered deck! I have lots to catch up on here and finally getting a breath of fresh air to do it. Tomorrow I will post knitting pics. In the meantime I am stealing this meme from Amy.

Christmas Meme

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Gift bags all the way. If they weren't so darn expensive I would never wrap another thing...

Real or artificial tree? Real. I HAVE to have the pine smell in my house

When do you put up the tree? Second weekend in December

When do you take it down? Usually after January 6th.

Do you like eggnog? Southern Comfort in the carton - tastes like cannolli cream. oooh yeah!!!!

Favorite gift received as a child? I can't say I had a favorite, but some that were near and dear to me were Rub a Dub Dolly, Tiffany Taylor, Perfection game, and lots of Barbi stuff

Do you have a nativity scene? Yes - several

Hardest person to buy for? My parents.

Easiest person to buy for? My daughter. I have to eventually stop buying or I could go more overboard than I already do.

Worst Christmas present you ever got? Don't think I ever got a real BAD one.

Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail - didn't you get yours already??

Favorite Christmas movie? The Polar Express. I cry every time.

When do you start shopping for Christmas? December 26th. Then I forget where the heck I put the stuff.

Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? I don't think so.

Favorite thing to eat on Christmas? Christmas cookies for sure. For breakfast I eat Italian Cheesecake.

Clear lights or colored on the tree? Clear.;

Favorite Christmas song?The Christmas Song, Merry Christmas Darling, and All I Want for Christmas is You.

Travel at Christmas or stay home? Stay home.

Can you name all of Santa’s Reindeer? Yes - but do I really have to prove it to you??? OK OK - Dasher Dancer Prancer Vixen Comet Cupid Donner (I swore it was Donna when I was a child)Blitzen and Rudolph.

Angel or star on top of tree? Angel.

Open presents Christmas Eve or morning. At my moms we open Christmas Eve. Just our little family opens on Christmas morning.

Most annoying thing this time of year? Traffic and the fact that you are expected to spend a crazy amount of money. That's not what Christmas is about!

Do you decorate your tree in any theme or color? It used to be very uniform and color coordinated. Then children happened....... need I say more??

What do you leave for Santa? Cookies. But now that dd doesn't "do Santa" anymore, not sure what we will do. We will need to come up with another tradition for that one...