Happy Day after Boxing Day

I've always loved the day after Christmas. In fact, all the days between Christmas and New Year's Day are among my favorites. The house is clean and nicely decorated. There are plenty of cookies already baked to serve when people come over. The stress of the holiday itself is over.

And there are toys to play with!

Christmas was wonderful -- over many days, we saw friends and family. We went to Greenfield Village for the Holiday Nights extravaganza. (Of course, on our chosen night, Dec. 23, there were wind advisories and a wind chill factor of -1F. But hey, that's what wool is for, right?)Gifts were finished on time. Scott loved his vest. (Perhaps not quite as much as his new Nikon D40x digital SLR camera, but close) Caroline loved her knitted, felted mittens. Ileana was happy with her alpaca scarf.

And Andrew's socks were a hit, except for a bit of bagginess around the ankle. His legs are slimmer than his size 13 feet would suggest. So, I'm going to try a bit of fulling. I'd better not over-shrink these, because I dread the idea of making another enormous pair.

Kathy's felted tote, filled with handspun yarn and crochet materials, was well-received. And everyone loved their ornaments. All in all, a good gift-giving holiday.

And a great gift-getting holiday. Among many lovely things, I received some Schaefer yarn and a knitting bag from the Point in New York, courtesy of Ileana. (coincidentally, we got each other's names in the family name-draw. No, really, the fact that I was the organizer of the drawing is just serendipity. )

My son gave me Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitting Workshop DVD, my daughter gave me a knitting book.

And my darling husband gave me a 32" rigid heddle loom!

I have wanted to dabble a bit in weaving. Nothing too much. Perhaps. In any event, after warping it wrong -- and then figuring out my mistake, cutting off all the yarn and warping it right -- I have started playing with weaving. There is nothing like trying to learn a completely new skill to appreciate how much I don't know. But hey, it will keep my mind sharp, right?

And even though this one was finished this summer, I never took a picture of it. So, here is the beaded evening bag I made as a wedding gift for my new sister-in-law, Cathy. It's 100% silk, lined with velvet. And was a bit of a pain to knit.

Hope you all had a wonderful, peaceful holiday and wishing you a fabulous new year!