There is was, and there it goes…

Does anyone else feel the let down after Christmas like I do? All that prep, the shopping, the decisions, all that work, and then at the speed of light, it comes and it’s gone. Just like that.

It’s not that I don’t think that my gifts were well received, or that the thought and effort put into them wasn’t appreciated – I think actually they were very well received this year, and I loved each and every one of mine for sure! It’s just that it is such a blur that I hardly have time to truly savour the event. People coming and going, rushing around to be places for specifically timed events. I never really feel I get enough time to spend with the people I love, just hanging out, talking, and enjoying the rare opportunity to be in the same space at the same time. It is an especially prevalent feeling the older my children get and with the distance between family homes and the challenge for some of getting together even annually increases.

Still, I am grateful to have received the opportunity to spend even a few precious minutes in the comfort and warmth of my family. I do know that truly in the eyes of some, I am blessed to have those small moments, the most precious of gifts.

And speaking of gifts, will you look-y here. I have some new books to add to my ever-growing library, and I can hardly restrain myself from rushing out to the yarn shops and casting on yet another project. I can tell I’m going to have a hard time sticking to my post-Christmas commitment to finish up some of the long-languishing UFO’s I have in my basket. However, I find that inspiration is a powerful motivator for getting things done, so read on!

First we have this book that I have coveted for so long, and extracted a promise from DD2 that I would get it for Christmas, and she delivered, god bless her! I just love this book, and it smacks of inspiration and experimentation and un-expected knitting ideas:

http://www.amazon.ca/Nicky-Epsteins-Knitted-Flowers-Epstein/dp/1931543887/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1198762615&sr=1-1

And then a total surprise was this little beauty from DD1 – just the most adorable little book! Big tea drinkers we are, and the cover was the exact replica of a sturdy little tea cosy we had for years and years from a church bazaar long ago:

http//www.amazon.co.uk/Tea-Cozies-Cozy-GMC-editors/dp/1861085001
Strangely I could not find a US or Canadian link for this, so where DD1 found it I haven’t a clue, but it is as cute as can be. I think more than a few tea cosies are in the making for sure. Perfect to use up those half skeins and leftover bits! Great for presents to for my tea-drinking pals! I have already determined which one I will make up first! Accompanying this charming read was two balls of Sirdar Snuggle babybamboo in colorway 135 Sleepy Blue! So soft and smooth, I will just be fondling it for a while until I decide what to make with it. Still look at the color, icy and very New Year!

http://www.yarnfwd.com/ca/babybamboo.html

And this beauty, from one of my Tuesdays Are For Knitting and long time dearest friends, a beaPost Optionsutiful book that shall be very, very useful during stash reduction or moments of weakness when we must have a skein of something new and wonderful, this inspiring book by Cheryl Potter, which I had not seen before:

Special Little Knits from Just One Skein http://www.amazon.com/Special-Little-Knits-Just-Skein/dp/1564777197

As well, a birthday present ordered way back in the fall finally arrived from being on back-order forever, Elizabeth Zimmerman’s The Opinionated Knitter, which I have been reading at night, saving the deliciously written reprinted newsletters as a bedtime treat. It is every bit the must-have book I was told it would be, and I am eager to start a Baby Surprise Jacket or infant’s Tomten Jacket as we have a imminent arrival in the circle of friends on it’s way. It is hopefully the only caveat I will be making to the afore-mentioned commitment to finishing my UFO’s:

http://www.amazon.com/Opinionated-Knitter-Elizabeth-Zimmermann/dp/0942018265

Now in case you think I’ve been virtuous over the holidays and sticking to my plan to finish the WIP’s I have languishing about that I promised I would finish, you will no doubt not be surprised to know that I did indeed cast on, or rather hook up one new project. I couldn’t help myself.

This Tunisian Crocheted purse is just for me:

http://www.interweavecrochet.com/issue/materials_win07.asp#lockhart

I’m almost done – one more round of the second side and then piecing together and inserting the lining and adding the button. Fast and easy – the perfect knitting bag, don’t you think?

Now with all these wonders surrounding me, I can begin to feel the post Christmas blahs slowly seeping away as my mind turns to the promise of new projects to knit, new yarns to try, and new techniques to challenge the brain!

New Year’s must be right around the corner, and I’ll be damned if I don’t feel better already!

Knit on!