Wow, eh? Wow! A new decade! My fiancé and I have been having fun making jokes about not having done things this decade. Like, I’ve not had a glass of juice this decade! Or, just after midnight yesterday, I’ve not had a shower this decade! Silly, but fun!

So, how was your Christmas? Ours was very good! My fiancé’s mother decided to give us lots of surprising gifts, including a sound system and huge juicer for my fiancé, and a sewing machine and overlocker for myself! I was so shocked… it was awesome! I’ve been using the new machines, and they sew like a dream! Much easier to use than my old sewing machine, and much, much more that I can do with them! I’ve got more than forward straight-stitch!

I’ve been sewing that faux fur cape, again. Got it to the point where all I have to do is sew together the lining and outer together at the bottom, which is, unfortunately, a really irritating thing. Because the whole bottom of the cape is bias cut, it’s really hard to get a smooth line together, and this leads me to be very irritable with it so it’s sat for three days with nothing happening, even though I’d done nearly all the sewing the day before that and was SO CLOSE to fishing! Bah! Anyway, after that I’ve just got to iron down the seams and then sew on the clasp. So pretty close to being finished! It’s very, very weighty, perfect for a really cold day. I feel like a gigantic diva in it! I just need one of those stupid little turbans!

I’ve also been knitting away and have nearly finished my fiancé’s scarf. I’ve only used three of the four balls I bought for this, otherwise it’d end up a three meter long scarf and that’s just silly. So with the last ball of yarn I’m thinking of making some fingerless gloves to go with it, a ribbed cuff with the herringbone stitch over the hands, I think.

Anyway, now for a pattern and then I’ll pack this post up! Hmmm, I think this Helvellyn hood is very cute!

Christmas has always made me happy. When I was a little girl, I would get so excited during Christmas Eve that I would wake in the middle of the night, and go and sleep beneath the Christmas Tree. My mother always made an effort to make our Christmas Tree pretty impressive, and the lights would make me feel happy and safe to sleep under.

As a child I loved all the effort my mother would put in, she was nearly always nice to me on Christmas. Oh I know how pathetically sad that sentence seems, but it’s the truth, she made an effort to be nice to me on that day, something she pretty much didn’t do on any other day save my birthday – until I was about 12 I suppose – and Easter.

I love going out and seeing all the houses with lights up, it’s beautiful and joyful, in my opinion, though I can’t help but think of all the power used. But part of me doesn’t care.

I also LOVE to sing Christmas carols! They’re so beautiful and happy, and they suit my little bird voice. I don’t know how anyone can not love this time of year, and all that goes along with it. I’m not talking about all the shopping and forced family functions, I’m talking about taking joy in what you already have. In my case, a man that I love with all my heart and that loves me just the same way back, two gloriously fun kitties who are lovely, and a snug little home to share with them all, and knit to my arthritic finger’s content. Ahhh, that’s it, that’s the stuff. Add some carols in the background and I’m just stupidly happy.

Of course the knitting pattern here has to be a Christmas Tree! This Evergreen Tree pattern is so cute and open to so much adornment!

It’s really quite mind boggling when you walk into a department store in the final few weeks before Christmas, the shear amount of people in those stores is impressive! It sort of makes you wonder where they’ve been for the last few months, because it seems like either the population grows substantially for Christmas time, or failing that, everyone is out of their house and in the exact spot I happen to be in!

Sheesh! So, to help those of you who’ve not done your shopping, I’m going to be offering a few sites where you can get cool things, as well as a couple of lists to help you out in thinking what to get!

First off, if you are stumped with gifts for men here’s a groovy site offering experiences, ranging from skydiving to paintball to sphereing! Basically, there are at least ten things here my fiancé would go nuts for if I could afford to get them for him. This is just such an awesome way to give a gift, in my opinion, so long as you do it together, of course!

Here’s a list about gifts for women, most of them are pretty cute/cool. I like the elephant poop in the box with the rose seeds, personally, I think that’s lovely and because it’s supporting elephants I’m even happier about it!

Christmas presents for kids are always fun to buy, because you have to of course spend ages around toys, and I personally like that! I personally don’t want much, just the moon. I’ve wanted that moon light thing for my room for such a long time, it’s just awesome, in my opinion.

I’m a bit of a geek so I can’t go past a good list of USB gifts and gadgets, either. I mean, they’re so cool! I especially like the greenhouse, chameleon, and hamster wheel which actually goes faster the faster you type! Now that’s awesome! The chameleon is a very nifty PC pet, though I’m more of a fan of the USB owl that’s out there.

Okay now for a knitting pattern. Back in August I made my fiancé a felt bowl for his birthday to put little things in, so far I’ve been regularly getting him crystals to put in there. He asked me for another knitted item, this one to sit in the nest as we call it. He wants a little sparrow, knit up in just the same markings as a girl sparrow. Sparrows are kind of my moniker, so that’s why he wants one. It’s a wonderful challenge, one that I’m rather looking forward to, so here’s a little bird pattern called Spring Chick that I may use, though I may use another, but it’s not free so I won’t link it here right now.