gifts!

The pictures above are of a simple snowman craft we made at my spinning group meeting yesterday, and some sheepskin fridge magnets made by Lynn, one of our group members!

Yesterday was a day of miracles. Despite getting up in pain again (lets skip that part) which made me very slow to get going, the day just got better and better.

First, I found my missing little black leather gloves. I have had these gloves for over ten years now and they are so comfortably formed to my hands, that losing them would be a real pang. Last week, I thought I had lost them at work. Actually, they were lost, because I searched everywhere. I turned out my Projects Bag several times, taking every single object out one by one, then putting them back in and the gloves were definitely not there! They don't fit in my purse and they were not in my coat pockets, nor were they in my car ( I checked, even though I had gone to work that day with my friend Lindsay). So. Yesterday morning, I opened my Projects Bag to pack for my spinning group meeting in Gamebridge, and the first thing I see is my gloves! Impossible, but true!

Then, at my spinning group meeting (really our Christmas get-together)we drew numbers for our little gift exchange, after eating a sumptuous potluck lunch. I managed, to my great surprise, to receive the gift that everyone wanted. Donna's incredibly inventive husband, Paul, had made a 'Mauridi', out of this and that. Let me tell you, it is a work of art. With a Mauridi, I will be able to do Kumihimo (Japanese braiding). I'm embarrassed to say, I have very little idea of what this entails, having only read a little about it in passing. As I learn more about it, and practice making some beautiful braided pieces, I hope to post pictures of my successes :). Those poor ladies at my spinning group! While they are expert in so many fibre arts, it seemed incredible that me, a humble beginner, should have lucked out and received what they all coveted. They did tease me a little!

I bought a phone to replace the old defunct kitchen phone. I've been missing messages because I used to rely on the old flashing light. Of course, being really, really cheap, I did not buy a new phone with flashing lights. So, I guess I'll have to learn new habits re checking for messages.

We are making plans to have Christmas at my oldest daughter's again this Christmas. I have been deputed to make my usual onion-cheddar quiche. We call it a more prosaic "onion-cheese pie" in our family.

I finished Granddaughter's multicoloured hat. I still have to knit the mitts. I had started on the mittens first. But when reading the pattern for the thumb gusset, I increased as told (I thought), trying to achieve a total of 40 stitches for the thumb gusset! A more experienced knitter at my paying job clarified my mistake. I had by this time, ripped out the mittens and started on the hat instead, because the mittens were getting so BIG, they would have been too big for an adult, never mind a 3 year old little girl. Funny how one can develop certain closed thinking that now matter how often one re-reads the pattern, that block keeps one from seeing correctly. Imagine!

I'm always fascinated by how the mind works--or doesn't, in this case!