Christmas Came Early
I was tickled pink when hubby handed me the mail last night on his way in the door from work. He handed me a nice white envelope. What was inside? Christmas from MOM. I wasted no time today in making her perceived wish for me to have a very Merry Christmas by spending her money; and spend I did.

I have exhausted my sock stash except for three skeins of a cotton blend that I am not sure I really like that much now that I have knit one pair with that brand. I love the wool and wool blends so that means technically, I am out of sock yarn. Now what's a girl to do??? Shop of course. With checkbook in hand, I helped to support my most favorite LYS. I have been lusting after some sock yarn there for some time now but sometimes my appetite for yarn far exceeds my cash flow. So I knit from the stash until I get the cash. My mom's envelope pushed me over the edge! Yeehaw!

I have never knit with either of these two yarns, so I am very excited to have them in the fold.I took this under the light of a living room lamp so it's a bit darker than most photos, but you get the jest. It's Austermann Step. Other knitters at my Thursday group have used this before and say it's a dream to knit with because it's soft. So, I am excited about knitting with this. My friend Susan J said that it really does make stripes like the picture shows on the label, and I am counting on that! Then Susan S brought out some new yarns that I missed out on the first time she had them, and this time I was ready! This is the second helping of sock yarn purchased today with such JOY! It's Araucania. It's a hand dyed yarn from Chile by Araucania Yarns. I am not a huge fan of pinks but this was muted enough I could handle it. It's 100 grams and boy I can't wait to get into this stuff. Has anyone else made socks with it yet?

Then I was lucky enough to have been in the shop on Monday when Susan S got a nice big shipment of cool things and I have bought two already. I was in the shop looking to buy my niece some crocheting supplies for Christmas and bought one of these for her crochet supplies so they can sit neatly near to where she is crocheting. I loved it so much, that I also bought one for me. This is a little organizer that is made from clear plastic. It stands up with a metal stand and is just small enough to hold a pair of in progress socks. Both sides of the stand have three little pockets where you can put little (non-sharp) items in. I am lovin' this! I posed my new yarn next to it so you would have an idea just how small it is. The proper name is Handy Caddy. This would make a great gift for a knitter if you want to spend less than $20 for a gift. I am sure my niece will love it!