Felted Warmth For Christmas

This is one humongous mitten in its present state, but it is going to be felted as soon as its partner is finished. These are a Christmas present for a family member who shall go unnamed because my family reads my blog. Pretty-felted-periwinkle-mittens. Go guess, all of you, until Christmas. These are another of my knit-in-an-afternoon projects. I seem to be caught in a cycle that is productive, but leaves longer projects like my socks and sweater projects unattended. Good or bad—I don’t know. It does, however, get Christmas knitting started with a bang!

Ahhhh Christmas knitting, or Christmas shopping of any kind. Is there anything in the whole world that is more fun and more of a pain at the same time? I certainly have a love/hate relationship with the planning and buying of Christmas gifts. Does it ever seem to you that the thing you want to buy for a certain person, that thing that you know is perfect, and that special person MUST have, is never received with the same enthusiasm with which it was chosen? I confess that I am a failure—a total flop at buying gifts. They say (you know, the infamous “they”), that you should choose the thing you want to give the other person, and it will be perfect. I don’t think it works that way—at least it doesn’t for me. Therefore, I have to set about ferreting out what the person really wants of Christmas.

“Honey, what do you want for Christmas.”
“Oh, I don’t know. Just anything.”
“Surely there is something special you want.”
“Uhhh, I can’t think of anything right now.”
“Will you tell me when you think of something?”
“Oh sure! If I think of something I will.”

They never do! I’m doomed to failure for another year. But Christmas is wonderful anyway, and life is good.