Packed and linked

As you can see, I am prepared to knit while visiting my family over Christmas. Whether I actually have time to do so is another matter, but my bag is well stocked with an in-progress project, yarn for another scarf and several dishcloths, and yarn to add fringe to the striped scarf.

I would like to point out that Kristin's friend Chandra made the messenger bag. Kristin has raved about Chandra's work, and I can understand why. I love what she made and will get a lot of use out of it. This replaces my backpack, which wasn't suited for carrying knitting supplies. It's also more stylish. I know that Kristin has been helping Chandra work on a plan to make some money selling her creations. I don't know where that stands, but I'm sure I could find out if anyone is interested. I intend to be a repeat customer.

Along with my knitting, I packed up everything I needed to bring with me to Indiana. Rather than take photos of my scarves, which I need to do for that upcoming 12 FOs of Christmas post, I boxed and wrapped them. (I've never been adept at wrapping gifts, so this was a small accomplishment.) I'll take pictures on Christmas day so everyone can see what the scarves look like without the tails hanging out of them.

It's very, very tempting to give my family their gifts now so I can knit. Unless I can steal some knitting time tonight, this will be my second consecutive knitting-free day. The horror... I've waited this long to keep it secret, but this last day is going to be rough.

Unlike yesterday's thwarted attempt, I made it to JoAnn's on the way to Hagerstown, Indiana. I've mentioned before that the Dublin store is superior to those closer to me, and today's visit proved it yet again. I needed to get scissors. Mine are dull, and I wanted a pair a little smaller. I went to the yarn section and looked but didn't see any. I found a store employee, something that's been practically impossible at the other locations, and was pointed in the right direction.

How hard can it be to buy some scissors? Harder than I anticipated. There were a lot of options, and most appeared to have specialized uses. I spotted another employee and was assisted in finding the right scissors for me. The $27 scissors in a case looked sleek--and I did have a 50% off coupon--but that seemed like an awful lot for my modest needs.

This site has been linked in the last couple days, so it's time for me to return the favors. I was delighted to see what Donna Bowman had to say on her blog Union, Trueheart, and Courtesy. (You'll need to read her December 20 entry, which does not have its own unique URL.)

I "know" Donna and her husband from an online film discussion group. (I use the scare quotes because I've met her and Noel once, which is one more time than might be expected since they live in Arkansas.) You might recognize their names if you read The Onion's AV Club. Since she enjoys tatting, I thought she might like to take a look at what I write here. Well, apparently I am an infectious carrier of the knitting bug because in that blog entry she says she is "mad to learn to knit" since she started reading about how much I'm enjoying it. How wonderful!

Jennifer over at Knit Wit Girly tagged me to participate in a meme in which I'm supposed to share six weird things about myself. Only six? I'll get to it but not until after Christmas.

So, that's all for now from the Hoosier state. My mom picked up my great aunt. My brother and his wife finally got here after waiting on standby all day at the Dallas-Fort Worth airport. My other two brothers, who live closer than the rest of us, still haven't arrived. I'm assessing the situation to see if I might be able to knit without getting caught. Wish me luck.

Next...knitting in secret for the final time in my parents' home.