Secret crafty Santa is deployed...

Last year my knitting group did a "secret Santa" project that was hugely successful, so we decided to duplicate it again this year. We each drew a name and are assigned to make a gift for that person, not spending above $20. The big reveal comes at a luncheon in December.

I'm not going to mention a lot about my project, since my knitting group reads this blog. :) But I will say that I had a tentative project in mind (a lovely one, if I do say so myself) but once I drew the name, the project just didn't feel "right" to me for that person. So, I decided to use the project I originally had in mind for one of my other friends (and it seems perfect for her; I actually had her in mind when I bought the yarn for it) and waited for inspiration to set in for my secret Santa gift. I want it to be just perfect. Because that's just the way I am, and I realize that it's very annoying. :)

A week or so went by with me searching Ravelry for patterns at every given opportunity. I adore Ravelry. If I'm not careful, I could spend all day on there and have nothing to show for my productivity save for a few printed patterns, a scribbled list of needed supplies, and heavily self-justified plans to procure more yarn. But I didn't worry, you know, like I usually would. Yes, I'm already tremendously concerned about Christmas in September. I'm as bad as the retail stores that already have trees and reindeer out in their decor. I just want to make sure that I have enough time to get everything made that I want to. I knew I'd find the right gift when the time was right. It's not like I'm not making something else right now anyway. All right, several other things.

And yesterday, it happened. I love that little excited feeling you get in your stomach when you catch a creative chain of ideas that leads to a perfect project. First, I saw something in Ravelry that caught my eye. Then I started thinking about other similar patterns, and then I happened to see someone else's project in a yarn that I'm currently very interested in trying, and away I went! Yes I know that most people don't get this excited about yarn, but humor me here. Next thing we knew, I had printed the pattern and stopped at the yarn store on my way home. I was a very, very happy girl. Nothing makes me more thrilled than standing amongst yarn without my husband or children in tow (sorry, I love them, but they don't enjoy yarn as much as I do and their whining would put a damper on my crafty high) selecting a color. Oh, oh! I love it so.

So, last night while Mike and I watched Downton Abbey (a wonderful PBS series that we picked up on DVD from the public library) I started my project and I'm just thrilled.

Anne is sleeping better (read: not great, but not up every 20 minutes, so we'll take it), so in the evenings I'm able to sit uninterrupted by Mike's side with a glass of wine and my knitting.

It's blissful.