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View Full Version : I found the Gifts!


Zoebird
11-21-11, 1:33am
I'm so happy. serendipity gift giving, my favorite!

So, for my mother, she definitely got the slippers, but because the other gifts are AWESOMELY priced, it comes out in the wash.

We found the coolest, hand knit fingerless gloves in this beautiful "lothlorian" yarn. It's a blend of merino wool and possum fur. DH has a sweater made out of it that yarn and it is so warm and cosy. I have a light poncho made out of it, and it's the best -- so warm! When DS is old enough, we plan on sweltering him in it!

Anyway, we bought a pair for FIL -- because he does wood turning in the garage (unheated) in winter, and can't wear gloves. $15!

Then we bough them for my father (with fingers): $18! And then for MIL: $18!

SIL wants trader joes gift card, so that was easy, and my sister wanted iTunes -- so i got one for her and her husband, as well as the book for the baby. So, we are ALL done.

Between that and the arthritis rub and the DVD of our NZ adventures (pictures, video, music in an entertaining 30 minute format (divided into 5 min chunks so you can play all or choose one to play it), and we are done.
kally
11-21-11, 12:53pm
I was done with my christmas shopping by june. Because I do nothing except 2 gifts for my little nieces. I will bring some homemade food where I go and that's it. Nothing else for no one else. Easy peasy. I think the others llike it just fine too.

Once you get on this wagon you won't want to get off.
KayLR
11-21-11, 4:33pm
Zoebird....are you kidding (I hope) about the possum fur?
Zoebird
11-22-11, 6:07pm
no, why would i?

possum is a horrid pest here in NZ, and trapping them is an important environmental issue. here, people use the possum fur in a lot of ways, and -- like angora rabbit -- it makes the wool fiber softer and even warmer than wool alone. It really makes a wonderful garment.
Zoebird
11-22-11, 6:08pm
oh, and to not start another thread, I'm so psyched that we have the holiday reservations all sewn up as well -- so we should have a nice, simple holiday lined up for us, going through some nice parts of the north island.
redfox
11-22-11, 9:23pm
http://nordicyarnimports.com/zealana.htm

http://nordicyarnimports.com/possum.htm

Wow, what incredible yarns! Thanks... Btw, when I asked The Google about lothlorian yarn, your post, Zoebird, came up as the fourth choice.
Zoebird
11-22-11, 9:41pm
how funny. LOL

we really love the stuff. It's so soft and SO ridiculously warm. It's, like, insanely warm. I think muskox is warmer (and finer), but still. And besides, they don't have muskox here. They need colder environs, like alaska.
redfox
11-22-11, 11:12pm
I have friends who are in Australia for a year, and she's a knitter. I am sending her on the hunt for this yarn there. You've made a yarn fanatic very happy. :) not that I need any more!
Zoebird
11-23-11, 12:46am
hey, fiber folk are fiber folk. I don't knit, but i love good fiber!
KayLR
11-23-11, 11:58am
no, why would i?

possum is a horrid pest here in NZ, and trapping them is an important environmental issue. here, people use the possum fur in a lot of ways, and -- like angora rabbit -- it makes the wool fiber softer and even warmer than wool alone. It really makes a wonderful garment.

Sorry...no offense. Just ewww. They're horrid pests here too, and nasty buggers. If you'd ever seen one kill a chicken, you'd never want to wear its fur, I don't think.
Zoebird
11-23-11, 3:34pm
i don't know about that. I know that they are 'nasty' creatures, but I don't think that it should be a reason to forgo a particularly good fiber.
early morning
11-25-11, 11:30am
....but ... I like possums! Zoebird, are the fibers from what we call possums here in the states, or from an Australian possum? They're both marsupials, but they look quite a bit different, and their fur is different, too. Sorry about your chicken KayLRZ, I've never heard of a possum with enough gumption to attack other than a very small critter, although egg-stealing is ok with them - they're pretty lazy and prefer carrion, love cat food, and like to root in the trash for easy pickings. Racoons, now - we've lost birds to them plenty of times. But possums haven't ever bothered our chickens, and we have lots of them (possums, that is). They're so ugly, they're cute!
Tiam
11-25-11, 9:50pm
Lothlorian yarn?
iris lily
11-26-11, 12:11am
We have possums as well here in the city and they don't steal from us that we can tell. While they can startle us, they are benign unless they get into it with a dog.
Zoebird
11-26-11, 5:12pm
the possum here kill the native bird life, and so have created a huge ecological problem.
Zoebird
11-26-11, 5:13pm
i think they look more like aussie ones.