Christmas pretty...

Christmas is my favourite time of the year! I love, love, love this time! We don't always manage to spend it at our holiday home, but this year we are here! I love the whole spirit of Christmas, the family time, the friends we see, the wonder of celebrating Jesus' birth....it helps to place the year in perspective and gain strength for the year to come. I adore decorating the house and have collected a lot of very special decorations over the years.

I especially love Christmas decorations that have a homely feel, and if they light up, play music or move, so much the better! Every time we travel overseas, I try to bring back some Christmas decoration from wherever we have been...it serves to remind us of a special holiday each time we take it out and hang it on a tree, or place it on a table....

My all time favourite decoration is a resin figure of Santa kneeling at Baby Jesus' crib in adoration. I have one on my bedside table and one in the lounge....one day when my precious girls are decorating their homes for Christmas they will each have one of this special decoration :)

I have collected several Christmas themed crockery sets as well...however I am still looking for the "perfect" set, something with traditional gold, red and green trimmings, something Victorian and elaborate!

Our Christmas Tree is a large affair, and I have restrained myself from totally covering the tree with huge amounts of shiny things...I can't be sure that it will remain restrained...I may yet give in and overdo things next year! :)

I was pretty happy with my knitting today! I have knitted what I think is certainly the *perfect* short row sock heel...no wraps, no holes, easy peasy....it's called the Sherman Heel, and I may yet do a tutorial when I get back from holiday...have any readers used this heel for sock knitting? Are you as amazed at how perfect it is , as I was? :)

I spent a lovely afternoon with Debbie, chatting, sharing, discussing things ...she is a wonderful person and friend and I am very blessed to have her live so near...

My dear friend Dana and I were chatting yesterday about how much we enjoy learning new techniques in knitting. As knitters, we enjoy the actual knitting , but the intrigue and ongoing fascination with knitting , comes from exploring the seemingly endless variations of doing things with sticks and string! I sometimes knit just to be able to test a technique or try a pattern swatch...so Dana and I chatted about an interesting workshop Dana discovered on Ravelry.

It's called "Swing Knitting", and seems to be a technique using short rows to achieve wonderful wave like variations in your fabric. The workshop comprises 4 parts and the first few parts have both English and German translations. I reckon this will be my "new to learn" goal for the New Year!

Above you can see my bestest Christmas decoration...I am so attached to this figure :)

This holiday has also been a great time to listen to audiobooks! If you have yet to discover Audible, you have just found the perfect Christmas present for yourself! I love audiobooks because I can knit and listen anywhere! Yes, in the car, on the beach, in front of the computer, lying in bed at night, in the bath ...anywhere! And, there are tens of thousands of titles you can buy, including latest releases...check it out here. A subscription to Audible is also the easiest and most appreciated gift for someone that doesn't knit (*Ahhmmmm...*cough*...the DH)...

I made a divine Cape salmon bake for supper with some lovely buttered olive bread and salad. Trifle for desert and a crisp white wine...bliss! Holidays are so right!

Enjoy the evening folks!
♥Heidi