Do They Know It's Christmas?

Of course they do! 

Yesterday was Grant's Street Christmas Party - and oh what fun!  To find out a full accounting of the day check out Kathy's blog (Rugs of Mine in Time) She couldn't have said it better about her thoughts on friendship!

It was truly a wonderful and fun day filled with so many smiles and laughs and giving and receiving.  Thank you to Linda and Kathy for all your hard work to make it so much fun for all of us!

Nettie and I started out around 9:00 am. and between stops for gas and coffee and rest stops we arrived around 11:30 or so.  It took a while to unload everything!   Gifts, hooking equipment, some food for the party and the kitchen sink!

When we arrived it was only Kathy and Linda - the place looked great and so festive and already food getting set out!  

Next thing you know we heard it was snowing - sure enough everything was covered in white!  We would have stayed over night had it kept up but it was clear enough to make the long drive home (at 11:30 p.m.!)

The party wasn't supposed to start until 5:00 but that didn't stop us from actually working - image that!

Kathy actually pulled some loops and sewed some pillows!

 Joan in the background busily working on her large rug -again I forgot to take a picture.

I decided to let Jonesy work on the hit and miss while I was gone and took my Seven Gates rug to work on - finished up the hearts and the flowers and started on the background - not sure I'm liking the background - This is way out of my box with this "neutral" light background - will keep it going and see if I like it any better.  It's a wee darker than pictured.

Nettie was working on her snowman and got a lot done...

Linda modeling her new nightshirt (with sheep of course!)

Louis came up to visit - Kathy giving him a big hug - Hey everyone gets some Christmas loving!

Linda and Rex

Linda and Annabelle (or was it Crazy Moe?)

Finally people started braving the cold weather and wintery roads and started arriving - the tables were full of food and Kathy's meatballs smelled (and tasted) oh so good!   Dinner!!!

After dinner we started playing several games for prizes that Linda generously donated - there were pins, earrings, wool bundles and I didn't see everything.  I did win one game and won a 1/4 yard of some gorgeous wool!

We all brought 3 gifts - could be whatever related to hooking or not or white elephants!  We all got numbers and if Linda called our number we went up and grabbed a gift or took it from someone - if we took one we had to give one to the person we took from - Everyone took there turn...

Beth

Betty

 Genny

Jill

Joan

 Kathy

 Nancee

 Nettie

 Missed taking a pic of the other Nancy.  Once everyone got 3 packages and we thought the trading was done we started opening one by one. 

Here's Beth...

 Linda actually started the opening - in her third box was a true white elephant.  Oh how we laughed...

 Kathy was laughing so hard she was on the floor (Oh course she's the culprit that brought that snowman? We were trying to figure out what it actually was and why someone made it in the first place! See Kathy's blog for more info about that!)

Linda opening again...

And again..

 And again... Yes she's wearing a bag on her head - guess I lost my title for headgear!  Linda kept bartering with everyone to take her snowperson off her hands - the offer was available to you if you didn't open your package yet!  She kept trying and trying - Here she is bartering with her pomegranates!

Oh and she's opening again...

See the smiles from Betty and Nettie (the theme of the night!)

I believe Genny ended up with one of her own packages and Joan generously switched with her - Boy Genny had no clue what she was putting her hands on...

I so wish I had the pic right before her face when she first looked at the item!  As you can see she's shocked, and Joan just about looses it (for the big reveal you will have to visit Kathy's blog - I didn't get the pic of the item before it was whisked away) Big laughs all around for sure - some tears of laughter from all!

Me - i got the other white elephant in the room (you'll see in that on Kathy's blog too - I'm too lazy to take it out of the box again - too hard to get back in) Let me tell you it brought some laughs - I was laughing so hard I turned bright red!

After the games and gifts were opened - everyone started opening some individual gifts between friends and also ones from the "secret pal"

Sherri gifted Jill with this hooked gingerbread man pocket and these lovely ornies - Oh my they are amazing - Sherri you are truly gifted and generous soul!

Here's some of my gifts - my wool, Linda gave me some silver earrings, Nettie gave me some candles, I got Sherri's bag in the 3 gift picking and it contained the Gooseberry Christmas idea box and a basket of worms,  Also got Nettie's gift bag and it contained a candle and 2 cards. Also received a cute little Santa from Jill and some vanilla bean handsoap from Genny - I can't seem to find that pic - Thank you so much girls.

Sherri gifted me with some of her amazing ornaments - just look at these - the details on them were and are amazing and I will treasure them always! She also gifted me with a basket of wool and some note cards- Just love everything Sherri - and have mention that the little snowman  needlepunched ornament my cat Riley is in love with - I was walking around trying to hang it up - he kept taking it from wherever I hung it! I don't know if he was attracted to the cloves that Sherri hand sewed on or what! It was too funny - he would take it and then snuggle it!  Oh Sherri better watch out if you come to my house - Riley may be slightly in love with you!  (Oh and I managed to hang it without him seeing and it's still there!)

Sherri opening her gifts (sorry this pic should be up above!)

Nettie went way overboard too - she gave me a gorgeous bundle of wool, a gift certificate to Linda's shop, some bingo daubers,  and the candles and cards! Oh Nettie - you are way too generous - thank you so much!

Another one that way overboard was my friend Kathy!  She gifted me with these red cosmetic bags that I think I will use for other things but they are so pretty, a gorgeous bundle of red wool and mushroom colored wool (my fav!), some tea, some gift cards to the coffee shop around the corner from her - so now I have to come out and visit her and stop for coffee first!, and the coverlet pillow her friend Tanya made!  Oh and she gave me these set of wool pasties for those extra cold days!  Just kidding - you know how we get at Grant Street -they are coasters and what's great is the wools match perfectly to a kitty penny rug my friend Debbie made me a few years ago - so they now sit together on my table in the living room!  Oh thank you from the bottom of my heart Kathy - you are so generous with me and i can't thank you enough for you just being you and your friendship across the miles!

Oh and did I tell you how generous my friend Nettie is - Oh Nettie you are too much! She won the door prize from Linda's party - a milk can - and on the way home gave it me since I have a small collection of tin milk cans - so here it is nested between a couple of them my Dad used to use on the farm while he was growing up - Thank you again!

Again thanks to Linda and Kathy and all my wonderful friends!  I do not know what I did to deserve each and everyone of you that I have met in person or here in blogland!

Merry Christmas!