HO HO HO!! The Castoffs met at Marylane’s house for our annual Christmas potluck and gift exchange and it was a lot of fun. Of course, we always have a lot of fun whenever we meet, but adding food and gifts to the mix ramps up the fun level.
I brought my world famous Gorgonzola cheese ball and we nibbled on it and opened presents while the rest of the dinner heated up.
Ooh, Gorgonzola - cranberry - pecan cheese ball.
We had a little show-and-tell before we got down to the serious business of opening gifts. Carol finished her cowl for her sister and it was stunning. I want that pattern! I loved the buttons, too. Great job, Carol!
Beautiful cowl!
Marylane didn’t forget her little birdy friends for the winter. She bought this great bird, uh, thingy and filled it with scraps of yarn from her wrap that the Castoffs knitted her this year. Now the birds can use warm wool yarn to build their little nests to keep warm. Awww! I’m getting a little misty-eyed just thinking about it.
Bird thingy for yarn.
Marylane also finished her second newsboy cap for her daughter’s boyfiend’s sister…got that? She put a spin on the normal pattern by felting the cap and using an unfelted strip of knitting for the strap above the brim. It looks great and Kendra’s boyfriend, Luke, has a very lucky sister.
Marylane models the felted newsboy cap.
Francy finished her granddaughter Grace’s Christmas stocking and it turned out so cute. This will be an heirloom that Grace will treasure forever. I love the stripes. Looks great, Francy!
Grace's stocking from Bebe.
Here are some more fingerless beaded mitts. Now please correct me – I can’t remember who was knitting these. Poor Marsha. I should have a notebook and pen surgically attached to my arm to write down these things, especially after a glass or two of wine. Anyway, they are beautiful and many of the Castoffs have made this pattern.
Somebody's pretty mitties.
We sat and talked and ate cheese ball with crackers and anticipated our gift exchange and Leslie’s World Famous Roni-boo that we could smell cooking in the oven. Christmas is such fun.
Somebody help Francy out of that bag! She's peeking!
We finally chose numbers and started opening the gifts. Some of the gifts were seriously gorgeous and some were just…well, funky. But fun funk! Michele chose a beautiful tote that contained a kit for fingerless mittens. This was quickly stolen away from her. It is, after all, the Chinese variety of gift exchange where two steals are legal.
Gorgeous tote! Gone very fast!
Michele’s second choice was another fingerless mitt kit – already started, but with NO NEEDLES. I guess it’s a case of BYON – bring your own needles – to finish them.
Where's the needles?
Linda’s gift was a beautiful knitting themed greeting card with jeweled stitch markers. Very pretty! She can wear the stitch markers or use them if she’s out somewhere without her little bag of supplies.
Beauty and the beast.
Leslie opened a gift of yes and no. Yes, you can get in shape by using this Pilates tape. And no, you can’t stay in shape by eating the bag of Doritos in between sets of exercises. I think we have some new moves to learn when we meet at Leslie’s house in the future.
Eat and be strong!
I chose one of the funky gifts – binoculars! that don’t work, Christmas tape! that doesn’t work, plate! that’s cloudy, and the perennial favorite of Red Heart RED yarn – a pound of it. If anyone needs yarn for next year’s ornaments, just let me know.
Lucky me!
Mary opened a Kitchen Witch. Of course there was a lot of ribbing about Mary being a word that rhymes with witch in the kitchen. Let’s just say that Frank should stay out of her way while she’s baking this year. After all, last year, her stove exploded – no, really, it caught on fire! Better luck this year, you little Kitchy Witchy.
Magical Kitchen Bitch...uh...Witch.
Marylane opened some lovely jewelry – and it’s functional too! Stitch markers for the ears and a row counter for the arm. Ooh, lucky Marylane. Functional fashion.
Let's all wear our stitch markers in our ears! Yay!
Francy snagged Marylane’s first gift – yarn and a pattern and needles – that came with a disclaimer that promised nothing! Check your gauge, Francy, cause there are no guarantees with this kit!
This is the one that Francy snagged and sat on so no one else would get it.
Julie, after having the beautiful tote taken away from her again, chose the perfect gift – socks and book of sock patterns. We all kinda wanted it, but everyone had already had their turn, so tough needles!
"No, it's MINE!"
Finally. WE ATE! There were a lot of delicious dishes – Leslie’s Roni-Boo, Julie’s veggie salad, Mary’s bread, Carol’s ham, Linda’s salad and we were so grateful for Marylane’s hospitality. If I’ve forgotten who brought some of the dishes, forgive me because I was too busy enjoying it all.
Yum.
More yum.
To top it off, Michele baked a chocolate and peppermint torte that was excellent. Such flavor! Such chocolate! We felt great and full at the end of the evening.
Mmmmmm, chocolate torte!
We decided to institute a tradition by having someone else (a husband or husbands – thanks, Harry and Dick!) take a group Castoffs photo. We’ll do it again in the summer – as Leslie elegantly put it – to see how much we’ve aged. Well put, Les. Here we all are with our new Castoffs buttons that I had a lot of fun making – well, ordering.
Happy group of knitters.
Sisters one and all.
We really missed Deb and send her all our love for Glenn’s rapid and complete recovery from bypass surgery. We love you, Deb! Merry Christmas to our other absent Castoffs, Joan and Roxanne. We send you warm wishes for a wonderful holiday and a joyous 2012!
We meet at Linda’s house between Christmas and New Year. I can’t wait to catch up on all the Christmas ‘doin’s’ that we enjoyed and the projects that we are planning for the new year. Until then, Castoffs, keep the spirit of unity and love in your hearts, and keep those needles blazing!
