Isn't that the most swell mini-sweater ornament you've seen? A bit of knitting-holiday spirit from my Seasonal Stealthy Secret Pal. But that wasn't all! Continue reading for all of my holiday knit-bounty.

My SSSP got me some great goodies: a fun & funky flower ring, an "n" pin, some lip gloss, festive tissues, and a yummy candle. She got me some shelled pistachios (and you know how I feel about those!) in a cute lil' holiday mug. Plus my secret pal gave me that cute sweater ornament, two skeins of Debbie Bliss SoHo yarn in blues (color 05) and Crystal Palace Daisy size US#11 needles. So you see how much my pal rocks! And bonus... we have another gift exchange plus reveal in January!

I received two wonderful, gorgeous, fabulous, can't-say-enough-nice-things-about-them, wooden knitting needles from my MIL. One set of ebony needles, size 10 1/2 (US) and one set of coconut palm with rosewood top needles, size 19 (US)! (Yep, size 19s - eek!) But they're loverly and she went to a lot of trouble to find these, despite MI LYSs claiming no knowledge of ebony needles. (In this picture, they're posing with new yarn... which I'll get to in just a moment.)

My own mother got me the 'Everything You Need to Know About Knitting' book. And that's pretty kewl.

My sweet, kind (and possibly mental) husband got me the best: the ultimate gift certificate currency (cold hard cash) specifically set aside to be spent only at the Woolie Ewe - and their end-of-the-year sale. Ain't he a sweetie. I even bought some yarn up in Frankenmuth, but he didn't care - that is separate from my Ewe dollars. I *heart* Matty Bonez.

I wasn't certain what I would find in touristy Frankenmuth, but boy was I surprised. Not only did they have a nice yarn shop, Rapunzel's, but there was a wool factory close by, too.

I picked up two skeins of wool sock yarn at Zeilinger's and admired all their roving and the carding machines. (Maybe next year I'll try for a factory tour.) The gray yarn is 227 yards of sport weight wool & kid mohair fibers. The yellow is fingerling wool/kid mohair mix, approx. 335 yards, and a loverly color called sunshine. At Rapunzel's I bought some loverly Hand-Dyed yarn from Ami-Knit. It's 100% wool (Wool Once) and the color is Peach Tree. (Okay, so typically that name would have me turning the other way, but I just couldn't resist these colors. I think I'll call mine Nectarine Tree instead!) I also picked up two more skeins of Regia sock yarn. A nice bright 'Surf Color' cotton, and another hubby wool sock yarn.

And finally, my MIL asked me to knit her a hat. Now I ask you, how could I say no after her wonderfulness and those needles? Please let me insert a comment here that these colors are by no means my choice. She specified the colors and I only selected the yarns (from those available). What does the combination of that bright, bold red and A.F.K.A.P* royal purple mean? Yep, she's gone and joined The Red Hat Society! (No, this has nothing to do with open source. Geek.) The bold red yarn is Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted and the purple is Berroco Zoom. Now I just need to find the perfect pattern...

* Artist Formerly Known As Prince!

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