Every year at Christmastime, Bob and I attend a gathering of good friends where everyone brings a medium-priced bottle of wine in a brown paper bag and a gift with no name on it. We taste all the wines (as we proceed through our evening) and write our ratings and opinions on the bags. After dinner, we do the old pick-and-steal gift exchange. And then we unmask the wines and get to find out what the favorites were (and of course who brought them, where they got them, how much they paid). The gift exchange always clams me up a little bit — I have no idea what you get for an unknown person, of unknown gender and taste/hobbies/likings/allergies. Especially for under $20. So I like to knit a hat. Even though it’s plain stockinette in a gender-neutral color (because a. unknown recipient and b. last-minute knitting), it’s a big hit. A thing that gets stolen at least once or twice before winding up with its final owner.
This year, I’m going with the Hill Country Hat from Pom Pom 4, which I’ve been wanting to make for myself — and will. It happens to be written for Kathmandu Chunky, of which I have a magical neverending supply. I bought a bag (10 balls) of this nice grey at Stitches Midwest in the summer of 2012. I’ve made a cardigan, a decent-sized shawl, this hat — which will only use about half of this ball — and I still have another ball and a half floating around. Fishes and loaves, I tell you.
There’s a slight possibility that one or more of tonight’s attendees will see this blog post before the party, so I guess I need to make sure the package is not identifiably mine. I promise it will look more festive than it does in this grey-on-gray photo.
I hope you’re doing something fun this weekend! And lots of knitting. Do tell me what you’re making …
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