Winding down

I woke on Christmas morning to this strange and beautiful sight:

Christmas Morning comes to my door, 7:00 AM

Which, happily, became this:

Sagg Main Beach, Sagaponack, 11:30 AM

It was raining by sunset, though. I had some help with my last-minute wrapping before heading out the door:

And then I had a lovely Christmas Day with J and her family...

Even the camera was tired by 8:30 PM

...and a quiet, relaxing Boxing Day in my own little home. I am still struggling to recover from the last push at work, so I need some quiet hours at home with Miss Annabelle, Comfort Knitting, and some good music. Thanks to J, I have this new-to-me artist to enjoy.

~:~

This week between Christmas and the New Year is always a reflective time for me, and I can feel myself begin to settle inward, to wrap myself up in my own thoughts. I try to tune out the external chatter, to become quieter and slower on purpose. It's a time for breathing deeply, and doing nothing too demanding.

I cast on a new pair of socks last night, even though I told myself I would wait. They're going to be the definitive Happy Feet socks. I did a little online yarn crawl, too, ordering a few skeins of Socks That Rock and some Fleece Artist Merino. It's Cara's doing; she posted a beautiful picture of some Fleece Artist yarn, and that gave me ideas...

I'm looking forward to a nice long winter of knitting socks and maybe a sweater, of spinning silk and merino and a little bit of cashmere, and of making room for the real Rick Reeves wheel that I decided I get to have after all.

It's time

"Love came down at Christmas,

Love all lovely, Love divine;

Love was born at Christmas,

Star and angels gave the sign."

Christina Rossetti

It's time to put up the little tree, drape the lights, and arrange the ornaments. It's time to smile and remember what these treasures mean -- this little sheep was my mother's when she was a little girl, as was the blown glass ball -- and they represent love and family to me.

It's time to celebrate the Solstice and the return of the sun. It returns ever so slowly, it seems, as winter is just beginning. Winter is for peace and quiet, for knitting and spinning, for looking inward and making plans.

It's time to let the frenzy recede, though only in my own heart, because the next few days at work will be anything but calm and peaceful. I say I am taking the day off today, but that's not true. After I post this I'll be on my way to the store to order books. Silver Spoon Cookbook, if I can get any. Illustrated Elements of Style. Tasha Tudor's version of Night Before Christmas. Anything else? Oh, I'm sure there is a long, long list.

It's time to say Thank You to all of you who read this, who have shared your knitting and your lives through your writing, who have made me laugh out loud, who have opened your arms and hearts to me this year, and who have become my dear friends.

It's time to sing and dance and celebrate with loved ones near or far -- with nog or cider, with too much chocolate or too many cookies (or both). Off we go, then!

~:~

Edited at 5:30 pm to add: The phone rang as I was deep into decorating the tree (I've gotten as far as lights, and antique tiny shiny things, and the handmade stuff is next). It was my so-called "not obsessed about knitting" sister, reporting that she was just in Stitch DC buying some mohair for a scarf, and she found "something called Noro." Need I say more? Oh, and I already sent her a copy of At Knit's End for Christmas.

Come into my parlor...

...said the spider to the fly. It began innocently enough. Here's part of an email from my sister:

"I grabbed some yarn on impulse at Michaels yesterday...I want to do skinny scarves for my book group. Or do you have a pattern? E."

Then the real journey began:

"...found another skinny scarf pattern that’s my old favorite...big needles for a lacy look...just want skinny with some texture...Am I getting on your nerves yet? E."

There was a bit of back and forth, a couple of phone calls, some progress, and:

"After messing around, I am progressing with the pattern you gave me...looks good, so I’m going to make a scarf for myself. I decided it’s too ambitious to make six scarves by Dec. 21 after not having knitted for 20 years. I’ll never be ambitious about it, but it’s fun anyway...E."

Within ten days, we were almost there:

"I am beginning to understand how you can get hooked on this knitting stuff. In trying to find patterns on the Internet for a dog sweater, I found my way to The Knitting Garden, and I want to make everything—scarves, a purse, different little wraps. And some of it isn’t very hard, so it’s not threatening. Forget sweaters, though—too risky! Time for a conference call. I need a new headset so I can knit while talking. :) E."

And finally, we have arrived at our destination:

"No, I have not been knitting during work hours."

I love my sis. She's funny and smart and the Best big sister. But she'd probably kill me if she knew I was posting the evidence of her latest addictive obsession little pastime for all the world to see (nobody tell her, okay?). When the spider (that would be me) catches the fly (that would be her) she wants to share the good news.

My own knitting? A sock heel here, a washcloth there. Nothing major, but all good. I need to get going on the Christmas shopping, though -- right now, today. What makes me think I can bend time? Eleven days is eleven days, and I'll be spending eight of them at the store helping other people with their shopping. I have a tree to put up, festivities to attend, and cards to make (yeah, like that will happen), and the last time I checked it was December 14th.

Visions of...

...sugarplums? Or two poufy silk jewelry pouches for two sweet R's who have just turned twelve (and have had their ears pierced).

~:~

I've just had the best online yarn-buying experience. I decided to order some hemp yarn after all, so I headed over to kpixie for a few balls of Hempton and some AllHemp6. I ordered a pattern for a bag, while I was at it. This was on Wednesday morning, and he box arrived on Friday morning! I've read about the great service that Jessica and Missa provide, but this was more than great. I'm going to become an instant-gratification girl if this keeps up. I started this yesterday:Hempton is nice yarn: 50% hemp, 50% cotton. We'll see how it does for a washcloth. I'm knitting this one on size 3 needles because the yarn just seems to want it that way. I began making a bag, too, but there's not enough to show off yet. The AllHemp6 is a bit hard on my old hands, so I can't work with it for extended periods, but it's knitting up nicely.

~:~

My hands are worn out from work anyway, and I have to remind myself that they can use a rest now and then. My whole self could use a rest, but with two weeks till Christmas, there's not much chance of that. I'm pacing myself, and trying to put as many quiet moments into each day as I can manage.

Today will be a puttery day. I seem to be in the middle of about five sorting and tossing projects, all in different corners of my apartment. It has to be done sometime, and if I want to make it Christmasy around here I have to clear some space.

So on with the Christmas CD's -- Emmylou Harris' Light of the Stable, George Winston's December, Shawn Colvin's Holiday Songs and Lullabys, and A Charlie Brown Christmas, of course! And there's a party over at J's tonight, because two R's have to celebrate, you know.