3 sleeps 'til Santa

Oh, it's so good to sit down with a cuppa and have a chat! I've been busy all day today. I drove into Norwich (in a mini-blizzard!) to call in on my good knitting pal Snoopydog and we exchanged Christmas presents. She also gave me my birthday presents, and I have to tell you that I have been thoroughly spoilt! We tend to give each other 'yarny' gifts, as we know each other's taste pretty well. When yarn-shopping, the general rule is 'one for me and one for Snoops' (or vice versa!) as you will see when Christmas presents are opened in a couple of days time! I shan't say anymore for the moment!!

There was a tower of beautifully wrapped parcels sitting waiting for me. First I unwrapped a skein of yarn from Juno Fibre Arts. We discovered Asti's gorgeous yarns at KnitNation this summer, and have quickly become Big Fans! This is a skein of Myrtle, 50% merino and 50% tencel, so it has a lovely sheen. It's almost too pretty to be a pair of socks - time will tell!

A tiny weeny parcel intrigued me - inside were some little metal tags to be sewn into knits, saying 'MADE WITH LOVE'. I've not seen anything like these before, and just love them! See what you think .........

Two vibrant braids of fibre followed suit, from one of my favourite fibre artists, Alchemy Fibre Arts. Go and visit her Etsy shop - but be warned, you'll need to wear sunglasses! The colours are just scrummy! I'm going to save these to spin up after I've been away on my spinning weekend in February.

I can't decide which one I prefer. I just hope that I can do them justice with my spinning!

You may remember that I got into a bit of a pickle back in the summer when I spent the afternoon chez Snoops, winding some yarn. Well, I now have my very own wool winder, so I'll be able to make my own yarn cakes, hopefully perfectly formed, with no knots!

Lastly, a book - Brave New Knits by Julie Turjoman.

I first saw this book when Anne Hanson reviewed it a couple of months ago, and thought that it looked like an interesting read. It is! There are some fabulous patterns in there, plus a little background information on all the designers. There are several patterns that I'd like to knit already. THANK YOU so much for all my presents Snoopydog! You are very kind!

I don't have anything knitted to show you today, but I'm hoping for a day of concentrated knitting tomorrow. Mr JK and I have treated ourselves to new sofas, and they are being delivered some time tomorrow. So I have to stay in all day waiting (and knitting!) Can't be bad! I need to finish a pair of socks by Christmas Eve. I'm still optimistic that I'll make it! You can be sure that I'll let you know! See you tomorrow! xxx