THE DAILY CHUM

Entry 4: Season of Shindigs “The Hostess with the Most-est”

I thought, it being December and all, ’twas the season to party. So I decree that the next 5 weeks (this being week 1) shall be the Season of Shindigs. I may not get as much knitting done when I’m also hanging out with people, but at this time of year I get so busy there are days I barely knit if I knit at all, so a few hours devoted to knitting, and hanging out, sounds pretty good. To start out the season right, let’s figure out this party thing.

    I am of course assuming that your party will be for knitting, crochet, spinning, or other crafting purposes, and the crafter has more specific needs than your usual party guest. Crafters almost universally need to be seated, and a host will definitely need to make sure there are enough seats, but they are also talkative and love to look at each others projects. Unless they are working on the simplest of socks a knitter needs a bit of space, not only for themselves and their elbows, but also for whatever crafty paraphernalia they carry around. If the party is in a home you should rustle up as many chairs as you can into the biggest space you can. If your party is not in a home environment coffee shops or yarn stores are usually well stocked as far as seating goes, but the arrangement might not be ideal for a large group to converse in.

Most crafts are not improved by the addition of food or foodual residue, so the ideal food is neither crummy, nor is it sticky, juicy, saucy, drippy, complicated, or greasy. Dried fruit is a pretty good option, although some of it can be sticky, and biscotti are also great, especially if you are serving warm drinks. Seasonally, Christmas Cookies are actually a decent option, they are a bit crummy, but they are also delicious. Drinks, causes of the nasal douche, are a tricky situation in the best of times. You could condemn your guests to die of thirst on your couch, or you could be removing coffee stains from pure white alpaca laceweight. I personally think that caffeine is worth the risk of spills, but it’s your party. Water is the exception to the drink conundrum, it doesn’t stain, helps splice wool yarns (I don’t like to actually spit splice unless there are no other options), and while there is a risk of felting if it spills, the risk is minimal unless you are literally wrestling with your yarn.

I would advise against extensive decorating for your crafty guests, a clear space is nicer to work in and I have been tempted to knit everything from tinsel and garland to Marti Gras beads and Easter grass so any seasonal decorations are at risk. The risk is even higher for those who decorate their homes with yarn (it’s not stash that way, right?), a skein or two may be abducted.

Music!  Essential for any party.  This time of year I can crank Carols 24/7 and it will be just fine, but the rest of the year (if I’m not still listening to Christmas music) I like to knit to upbeat, sometimes poppy music, early Beatles stuff works well. A lot of times I knit with the beat, so I try to keep it fast. Coffee Shops’ tastes tend to run along the Jazz line, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Michael Buble, etc. and I love those guys. At my local SnB, the hostess’ tastes run towards more mellow sounds, which is nice and calming, but I’m not sure what any of the stuff she plays is. Finally if I’m working on the most intense, sit at home project imaginable, we’re talking intarsia with cables or something, then it’s study time, and that means classical music. The Lord of the Rings soundtrack is a favorite, as are the works of John Williams and Greg Edmonson (serious geek points if you know who he is); I also like works by Tchaikovsky and Handel.

So now you have your space, your food, your drinks, and your music and I would say you are ready to party. Let me know how your shindigs go!

Erin is…probably in Minnesota somewhere. She adorns the land of 10,000 lakes yarn stores with her glorious presence and profound geekiness. Erin knits, when she is not studying, singing herself hoarse, and reading whatever comes into her notice. Erin also enjoys speaking in the third person, although she does not do so on her blog.

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