christmas eve... live!

Christmas Eve so far has involved hanging these cardboard decorations on the chimney breast.  I got my parents to bring these with them as they had stopped using them once my sister and I got beyond a certain age and my mum wanted a more "classy" Christmas look.  I'm very happy to have them out on display in our house (I don't really do classy!) and Dulcie loves them, so I think we'll be hanging onto them.

 My mum, who even brought Christmas dinner with her, was out with the hoover, slaving away while I fannied about with the camera.  Please ignore the cat-ravaged furniture and focus on the semi-festive atmosphere...

Dulcie stole some tinsel from the tree and demonstrated a multitude of ways to wear it, which kind of undid all my mum's hoovering in an instant.  This is why I don't tend to bother.

And I am still crocheting like a woman possessed, as I probably will be for most of the day.  Can you tell what it is yet?  Yes, it's Dulcie's Christmas stocking.  The plan is that it will say "Dulcie" up the side, but at this rate she might have to make do with "Dul".  The colours are much deeper in real life - a dark violet and kind of a fluorescent coral.  I didn't have a pattern for this, which explains why it looks like a misshapen lump, but I'm hoping it turns out OK in the end.  I spent a small fortune on the wool to make it, but I hope Dulcie will use it forever more.  I'll try to post again later on to let you know whether I've managed to finish it.  I know you will be on tenterhooks, right?

OK, no time to hang, I'm getting back to my hook!