Spring is coming...time to think about Christmas!

Yep, I'm just that insane.

When planning this kind of thing, I like to start with a fantasy list, and then winnow it down to realism. So here we go.

• DH: Durrow, in dark purple Cascade 220
• DD1: Ruby, in blues, greens and whites with pink accents
• Mom: Spanish Knight, in purple Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool
• Bro: Ragna, in navy Patons Canadiana (it is apparently wise not to give him anything handwashable)
• BIL1: KWB/TSF Hat, in something soft and warm
• BIL2: Kilkenny, in olive green Berroco Ultra Alpaca
• DD1's teacher: no idea who it is yet, so I don't know what I want to make
• DD2's teacher: ditto

It's a lot.

I always like to give handknits to teachers, because I know I won't be giving them the same thing as another family does. And honestly, if I were a teacher, twenty students a year multiplied by two gift-giving occasions a year? That's a crapload of chocolates and teacher-themed swag cluttering up my house. And I'm uncomfortable giving gift certificates - they don't seem very personal. But children have all kinds of opportunities to pump their teachers for the sort of information a knitter needs to know about her intended victim gift recipient (favourite colour, interests, religion, etc.) in order to come up with a really personalized handknit.

(Seriously, think about it. If you were a teacher, and one of your students asked you what your favourite colour was, would you have any inkling that their mom instructed them to do that so she would know what colour of yarn to buy for your custom-knitted hat? Hell, no! Kids are curious, they ask teachers all kinds of crap. I bet I could even find out the pattern of a teacher's good china without them ever suspecting anything was in the wind.)

All of that to say that it has always seemed to me that getting a personalized handknitted gift is a really good choice for the teachers. :) So unless they turn out to be incompetent educators that spoil my children's enjoyment of school, they're getting knitted gifts.

Mom's Spanish Knight and my brother's Ragna have already been on the needles for quite awhile, but I have axed them in previous years because of time constraints. I think I might try to get the Ragna actually completed this year, though. Definitely I want to do the hat for my older BIL, because it will make a nice change from the socks he usually gets. Also, his usual hairstyle of choice is a shaved head, so he really should have a very warm hat for wintertime. I suspect I will succumb and do Ruby, because both DD1 and I are really taken with it. And I find my younger BIL quite hard to buy for, so it would be really nice to just knit him something and not worry about whether he'll like it (because he always appreciates my handknits). But...to do the Kilkenny on top of two other big projects, plus a hat, and two other things for teachers...mmm...that doesn't sound very reasonable. Hm. Perhaps instead, I will make him a Jayne hat! He is a big Firefly fan, and has hinted in the past that such a hat would be extremely welcome. Yes. I'll try to fit that in, too. And if I can't, perhaps some "boughten" Firefly swag will do just as nicely.

Yarn store, here I come!