Christmas Break Day 1

Today was the first official day that I did not have to go to work. I slept in and made a nice-ish lunch. I've got plans for tonight to go ice skating with some friends in Atlanta. A good start to the holidays I would say.

Last night we did our immediate family gift exchange (Mom, Dad, brother, and Brandi) so I can show you the gift that I made for my Mom.
She got this lovely set of dishcloths. My grandmother will get a matching set on Wednesday at our extended family gift exchange but since she and my grandfather aren't exactly internet savvy I think it's ok that I showed you these.

My gifts included a Vera Bradley bag and clutch from my brother and Brandi, socks, underwear, and shoes from my parents, and a gift card to Joann's from my parents. Last week I got 50% off coupons for Joann's so today I ordered a Needlemaster set of interchangeable needles, a row counter (since my other has been lost to the abyss), and some stitch holders. A great start to the gift giving/getting.

On a different note, a few weeks ago I was online looking at the information for Cascade Magnum (remember I received some in a swap?) when I saw that it was sold at a store listed here in Duluth. Well, I did some investigating and never could find said store. I did manage to find a website though. So, I sent an email to the owner. She got back to me and told me that, unfortunately, things with their builder had not gone as planned so the physical store was not in existence yet. She did offer to help me track down any yarn I needed and told me she had a large selection of yarns stored at her house. Well, I thanked her and told her I would let her know if I needed anything and that I would meet her at Stitches South (where she would have a booth). This morning I woke up to a delightful email from Kay (the store owner) telling me all about several meeting groups and inviting me to come to the Atlanta Knitting Guild with her as a guest! How nice is that? I mean, she could have just put me on the back burner until I meet her in April but she went out of her way to invite me into her community and make me feel welcome. Despite the fact that unknown social interactions (even of the knitting kind) give me a panic attack I want to go and brave the unknown. I want to meet these people who have been lurking just down the road and I never even knew it. The first meetings aren't until January so I maybe I'll be able to find some Valium before then...

In addition to all these fantastical happenings my favorite charity, Warm Woolies, just announced in their newsletter a new contest for 2009! It's called "10 for 10 by 2010" and knitters are asked to knit socks and sweaters for children ages 10-16. My personal goal is to knit at least on sweater in a size 10, 12, 14, and 16. I would love to knit two in each size, one for a girl and one for a boy, but I know sweaters can take a fair amount of time. Plus I have a sweater I want to make for myself! And a hat. Have you ever heard of a knitter without a decent hand knit hat of her own? Sad.

Well, I'm off to enjoy the rest of the afternoon before I venture out into the cold for some ice skating!