Hi All!
To celebrate the holiday, I'm going to show you what Anna worked on this weekend!Needle felted ornaments! There a Rudolph, snowflake and bear in a stocking (my idea, and favorite)!
Pretty good for only having worked two previous projects.

Hope everyone has a great holiday and Santa brings everything you asked for!

Stolen from Melissa, who took from Purling P's who took from someone else, and so on. :)

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? It depends, but it's mostly wrapping paper. I know it's not very Earth-friendly, but there's nothing like sitting in a pile of paper after everything is unwrapped. That being said, we only buy paper every couple years, so we don't go through much, and we have lots of bags we reuse.
2. Real or artificial tree? Real, but I think this really is the last year. My grandparents won't be selling trees anymore. It makes me sad, but it's a lot of work for them, and it will be interesting to have a tree you don't have to water. I will miss the smell, but it fads so quickly...okay, I'm very sad all of a sudden. There's a lot of memories in those trees.
3. When do you put up the tree? Pretty much the first weekend in December.
4. When do you take it down? A day or two after Christmas (the lights outside stay up until January 1st)
5. Do you like eggnog? I've never had it!
6. Favorite gift received as a child? There are so many. I remember my Baby Alive. I also remember a Barbie and the Rockers Barbie sized drum set. Then there was the rock tumbler...it never tumbled rocks as well as I had hoped...I pretty much liked everything I got. :)
7. Do you have a nativity scene? Nope.
8. Hardest person to buy for? I'd say my parents. They never WANT anything.
9. Easiest person to buy for? Ed I think...he likes so much silly stuff :)
10. Worst Christmas present you ever got? Nothing specific I can think of. My grandmother used to get us these scary sweatshirts with weird scenes on them. She meant well, but she just didn't get it.
11. Mail or email Christmas cards? Neither this year. Just not into it!
12. Favorite Christmas movie? So many! A Christmas Story (watched it the past 2 nights!), Rudolph, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Emmit Otter's Jugband Christmas, The Christmas Toy, It's a Wonderful Life, Charlie Brown Christmas, Garfield Christmas...and SO MANY MORE! most of which I haven't watched yet. I'd better get watchin'!!
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Eh...when I decide it's time. I don't have a set date.
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? It's possible.
15. Favorite thing to eat on Christmas? Hmm, well there's the Lemon Lush my dad makes for Christmas Eve and Easter. I guess I don't really have a favorite thing other than that that I ONLY have on Christmas.
16. Clear lights or colored on the tree? I prefer clear, but we have colored (goes better with the mish-mash of ornaments honestly). Outside though, we have clear
17. Favorite Christmas song? There are a lot of those too! I'm pretty much Christmas happy! Anything by Bing Crosby...but yeah. I love them all!
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Now that my Babci and Dzadiu are gone, I'd rather stay home, but we still go to Hadley to other relatives in the afternoon.
19. Can you name all of Santa’s Reindeer? Of course!
20. Angel or star on top of tree? Star
21. Open presents Christmas Eve or morning? Some on Eve at my grandparents with my dad's family and the rest on Christmas morning.
22. Most annoying thing this time of year? Definitely crowds, and crazy people with no holiday spirit.
23. Do you decorate your tree in any theme or color? It's a mish-mash. Though Ed and I have big Mickey face ornaments from 2003-2006. I'm sad I don't have a 2007 this year :(
24. What do you leave for Santa? Cookies. I liked to leave the Archway Pink Santa cookies (I wonder if they still make them...don't think they do, which also makes me sad) when I was little and milk of course, plus carrots for the reindeer.

So, here we are. The morning after. The morning after what you ask? Well, my friend, let me introduce you to 2-at-a-Time Socks by my pal Melissa.A few days ago, we had to make the decision to change the day of the launch party from today (Sunday) to yesterday (Saturday). It was a difficult decision, but after waking up today and peeking out my window (at my unplowed street) it turns out it was the right decision. (You'll have to trust me on the snow. I'm not going outside. It's not even 20 degrees!)
So...the event! After much anticipation, stress and bad dreams, it finally happened. :) The book has been launched...in style! (Yes, I had a bad dream yesterday morning. I had a dream I forgot to show up!)
It went well, if I do say so myself. Even with late feet and two trips to pick up food/drink on Saturday morning, it went very well.

The room was full, Melissa was great and the crowd was spectacular. I'm so happy for her!
And how did I end yesterday? A nice relaxing meal? No...Ed and I babysat Chelsea and Billy. Now, I can't say that we didn't have a good time, because we did, but I am SO tired!!

So now what? Now, I continue with my Xmas knitting in hopes that I get it done in time. It's not going according to schedule, and I just want to give up, but my stubbornness won't let me. At least I won't be going anywhere today!

It's been quite the busy weekend! Our tree is up! YAY :) Christmas season has officially begun. I do fear I'm running behind on Christmas knitting and may not finish everything.
Chelsea was a Polichinelle in the Pioneer Valley Ballet production of The Nutcracker. Turns out...I'm not a ballet kind of person, even though I wanted to be a ballerina when I was little. Chelsea did an AWESOME job though! It was Saturday...her 6th birthday. I can't believe she's already 6! Where does the time go?Here she is celebrating with her new American Girl doll. I always wanted one when I was little...Molly, but alas, never got one.

I have picked up quite a bit of new yarn this week. First, from Webs:
We have Tofutsies December Limited Edition color. It's very pretty. Blues, purples and white. Very wintery.Next up, Plymouth Happy Feet! A brand new sock yarn. Looks a lot like Koigu, but it's 90% Superwash Merino, 10% Nylon. I'm really excited to try it out! It's soft and the colors are really nice.
And finally...Noro...Kureyon...Sock. Yes, Noro Kureyon Sock. Now, I'm not necessarily a Noro freak. I do have a bit in my stash. I've used Kureyon for a bag (didn't LOVE the finished product), Silk Garden for my first hat (so it came out kind of wonky) and Silk Garden Lite for a scarf for my mom...which I really liked. At first I wasn't going to go for it, but decided that I couldn't resist. I don't think they are going to be socks, but I do have plans for them...I'm not sharing now though, we'll have to see how they go! It is a bit scratchy, but I'm also super sensitive to itch, so I may not be the best decider.
I also placed an order with The Loopy Ewe this week. I totally fell in love with Jeanie on the new Knitty and headed over to the site to pick up some Dream in Color Smooshy. The color isn't exactly what I was expecting, but I can't say I'm not pleased.
I also threw in a skein of brown Cashwool just to play with (and to get free shipping...I was so close after all).
The interesting thing about this order. It was delivered today...SUNDAY. Yes, by the post office. I am still in shock!

And finally, GO PATS!!! Way to beat the Stealers. :)
And...Agnes REALLY likes the tree! She's been under it since it went up!
P.S. Tomorrow we go look at MORE wedding dresses. And I have asked all of my bridesmaids, so I can check that off the list. :)

When did this happen?
I can't believe that it's already December 1st. Where is the time going?
Today Mom and I went around to the Open Studios. Didn't really buy much, but it's fun to look. We did buy ornaments and visit Anna at Kaleidescope Pottery. They're really nice. The one I picked out has an alpaca on it. :)
There were some amazing painting and photography too, oh, plus Lynn Latimer's newer designs...the panels...VERY nice!
Saw my old boss. Their stuff is looking very nice too (even if they are just seconds:)). I like some of the newer designs (especially the art panels) very much.
All of this was at One Cottage Street. We popped over to Eastworks, but I didn't really see anything there that interested me. There was nice stuff, but it just doesn't have the same feel as One Cottage Street (of course, I'm also VERY biased!)

I've been working on my knitting. Not really coming along as quickly as I would like. I'm working on the Olive Branch Hoodie right now. Coming along slow but sure. I like that when you're done with a top down, you're basically done...no sewing together, but I have to be honest...the section before you break off for the sleeves...UGH. It's SO many stitches!
I may give up on this whole holiday knitting idea, but we'll see how far I get. I have decided that after the holidays I'm going to take out my One Skein books and try and use up some of my singles. There are just too many of them. I'm also planning on trying to reorganize the stash after the holidays...make a clear list of what has to be turned into something.
Oh...wait...there's a nephew coming...the shower is January 20th. Crap. Well, after I finish baby knitting then!

Also, must get Christmas shopping done. I know it's only December 1st, but I really want to get it out of the way now. No tree to put the presents under yet...but I'm sure that will be coming soon.

My best laid plans....

BUT first and foremost....Happy Birthday to my Mommy!

I had big plans this weekend to do some serious holiday knitting. Did I? No, but I did finish Christmas Gift #1 tonight. It's blocking. It's lovely. Check Ravelry in a couple days for finished pics. And I'll post about it on the 26th, or a few days shortly after (December that is).
Maybe I should just give up this whole holiday knitting thing. We'll see...

We went looking for a wedding dress on Saturday. It was kind of stressful, and the fact that I totally wasn't in the mood to be smooshed (okay, I wasn't REALLY smooshed, but it felt like it) into a dress didn't help.
We found two that I liked, though one was $700 more than the other one...I'm leaning towards the cheaper one, but our search is not done yet. I kind of feel like I'm just going along for the ride with this, and for now, I'm okay with that. If my bridesmaids want to see me stuffed into several (many tens of) dresses, okay. They've been super helpful with planning and everything so far, so I really appreciate it.
Speaking of bridesmaids...I should probably officially ask them. They haven't been officially asked. I don't know what I'm waiting for.
You know what I would like to find...sock yarn...that's deep brown and a lilac/lavender color with a bit of pink thrown in...maybe a smidgen of smoky blue and a bit of pale sage. It looks really pretty in my head, but I don't think such a thing exists.

Anyway, in the midst of my "holiday knitting" I started a Clapotis out of Malabrigo Silky Merino.
Oh my god!! This yarn is glorious. We have it in the store...trying it out. Everyone should go and buy it. It's SO soft, and has a beautiful, slightly understated sheen, and the gorgeous colors! I picked a green and blue one, totally not me, but I'm really liking it.
I promise pictures when I'm a bit further.

It's been a good day! I had yummy food and delicious wine (cranberry....Linda and family are great!)

I haven't knit much YET today, but I have big plans for the rest of the evening! :)

So, sometimes I can be a slow blog reader...apparently Melissa tagged me...so I shall actually fill it out. I've never really been tagged before, and...eh, it's something for you to read.
38 THINGS ABOUT ME
1. Name one person who made you laugh last night? Ed
2. What were you doing at 0800? AM? I was laying in bed debating which exercise video I wanted to do.
3. What were you doing 30 minutes ago? Watching Shrek the Third (in HD).
4. What happened to you in 2006? I got engaged.
5. What was the last thing you said out loud? “Yeah.”
6. How many beverages did you have today? 4.
7. What color is your hairbrush? Black.
8. What was the last thing you paid for? Can't think of it right now...
9. Where were you last night? Home.
10. What color is your front door? Dark (old) wood.
11. Where do you keep your change? In the piggy bank with my name on it that my dad had made for me YEARS and YEARS ago.
12. What’s the weather like today? Foggy...it's horrible :(
13. What’s the best ice-cream flavor? What isn't?!? Umm...I don't really discriminate against ice cream.
14. What excites you? Yarn. (I agree with Melissa)
15. Do you want to cut your hair? Yes, but I don't know what I want to do with it for the wedding, so I'm just waiting.
16. Are you over the age of 25? Yes...10 days over 25
17. Do you talk a lot? Depends.
18. Do you watch the O.C.? No.
19. Do you know anyone named Steven? Yup.
20. Do you make up your own words? Not often.
21. Are you a jealous person? Not really.
22. Name a friend whose name starts with the letter “A”. Andrea.
23. Name a friend whose name starts with the letter “S”. Shelley.
24. Who’s the first person on your received call list? Ed.
25. What does the last text message you received say? That would require digging the phone out.
26. Do you chew on your straw? Generally not.
27. Do you have curly hair? VERY straight, but I've seen what Shelley has to do with her hair, so I'm okay with mine.
28. Where’s the next place you’re going to? Downstairs probably.
29. Who’s the rudest person in your life? hmmm...
30. What was the last thing you ate? Thanksgiving dinner.
31. Will you get married in the future? October 10, 2008
32. What’s the best movie you’ve seen in the past 2 weeks? Hot Fuzz.
33. Is there anyone you like right now? Yes.
34. When was the last time you did the dishes? Last night after Ed made pie.
35. Are you currently depressed? No.
36. Did you cry today? No.
37. Why did you answer and post this? Melissa tagged me and I felt the need to do it...good internet etiquette and all :).

Don't worry I won't tag anyone.
Hope everyone had a really Happy (and relaxing) Thanksgiving.