Plygain is a Welsh traditional  Christmas carol service, held in the early hours of Christmas morning. The customs and format varied from area to area, but in many cases young people would often gather and stay up through the night and then all go to the church together, carrying candles in order to light the church for the service. Once in church there is little formal structure to proceedings. Groups of carollers simply get up and sing, and the same song is never repeated twice. Songs are often prepared throughout the year, and there can be great consternation if another group sings the song you were planning to sing before you! Families often have their own hand written songbooks, passed down through generations. 

Plygain carols are often unique to Wales, and not simply  Welsh translations of the carols that many of us are used to singing at this time of year. In modern times the tradition of the early morning service has largely disappeared, but many churches in this area do still hold a service, but they're often spread through late December and early January allowing people to attend more than one service.

If you'd like to hear more this is  a playlist filled with Plygain carols. 

This years 12 Days of Christmas parcels started with a hand dyed braid on 25th December, but then the following days all contain brand new colours of Superfine Merino & Silk. 
This is the exact same fibre composition as all the rest of the stock currently in the shop, so can be used interchangeably in the same projects. This was specially commissioned for the 12 Days of Christmas parcels, which meant I had to order lots of each colour. As a result the spare fibre is going online at midnight (GMT) on the day featuring each individual colour. Anyone can buy this spare fibre... it's really rather pretty! You can find it in the Superfine Merino & Silk section of the shop, and the usual Buy 2, Get a 3rd Half price offer applies to this fibre as well. ​

I've given them seasonal names, picking out traditions from all around the world. ​
Here in the UK many of our Christmas traditions are imported from Germany, thanks to the husband of Queen Victoria; Prince Albert. The newspaper reporting of the Royal Family Christmas celebrations set the tone for family Christmas in many middle class homes. 

Christmas in many UK homes would be unthinkable without a Christmas tree. The tradition of bringing greenery in to the home at midwinter long predates the Christian festival. Tannenbaum, despite what the song suggests actually means fir tree. The song linked above is a traditional German song, the English translation adjusted to fit the rhythm of the song. 

Either way, we will have our Christmas tree decorated early in December, and it won't be coming down until the end of the 12 Days of Christmas. 

The dark green of this colour echoes the pine forest, with branches dusted with snow. 

Todays colour is a beautiful dark navy, with subtle streaks of green and grey.
This colour is called Nochevieja, which is the Spanish celebration on New Years Eve (yes I know it would make more sense for this to have been 31st December, but I picked the colour way names after I packed the first parcels! It's 2020.... I'm letting go of perfect!). This dark blue is the perfect colour to give us the feeling of the dark winters sky. 

Nochevieja means Old Night, and the Spanish celebrate the end of the old year with some very specific traditions, including the eating of 12 Grapes as the bells toll midnight. 

On the following day it's also traditional to eat a Lentil and Chorizo soup. Which sounds perfect as a fibre rich dish after the rich feasting of the festive season, we often have Dahl as an evening meal at some point during this period for this exact reason! 
If you fancy giving it a go, here's a recipe. 

This years 12 Days of Christmas parcels started with a hand dyed braid on 25th December, but then the following days all contain brand new colours of Superfine Merino & Silk. 
This is the exact same fibre composition as all the rest of the stock currently in the shop, so can be used interchangeably in the same projects. This was specially commissioned for the 12 Days of Christmas parcels, which meant I had to order lots of each colour. As a result the spare fibre is going online at midnight (GMT) on the day featuring each individual colour. Anyone can buy this spare fibre... it's really rather pretty!  You can find it in the Superfine Merino & Silk section of the shop, and the usual Buy 2, Get a 3rd Half price offer applies to this fibre as well. 

I've given them seasonal names, picking out traditions from all around the world. ​

This shade is called Santa Lucia. It's made up of lots and lots of different shades of green, with a warm undertone. 

Santa Lucia is a Scandinavian tradition, celebrated on Saint Lucy's Day, 13th December. The origin of the tradition comes from Lucia of Syracuse, who bought food to the Christian martyrs, hiding in the catacombs in Rome. She carried candles on a wreath around her head to free her hands to carry as much as possible. Before calendar reforms  the saints day was on the shortest day of the year, so the tradition of bringing light fitted in nicely with many existing traditions. 
It's now celebrated by processions of young children, wearing white robes, with the girls wearing a crown of candles, and boys wearing cone hats decorated with stars. Historically of course the candles would have been real, many are now replaced with electric candles. 
Sweet treats are often given out, specifically Lussekatter, saffron flavoured buns coiled in to an S shape. 

This years 12 Days of Christmas parcels started with a hand dyed braid on 25th December, but then the following days all contain brand new colours of Superfine Merino & Silk. 
This is the exact same fibre composition as all the rest of the stock currently in the shop, so can be used interchangeably in the same projects. This was specially commissioned for the 12 Days of Christmas parcels, which meant I had to order lots of each colour. As a result the spare fibre is going online at midnight (GMT) on the day featuring each individual colour. Anyone can buy this spare fibre... it's really rather pretty!  You can find it in the Superfine Merino & Silk section of the shop, and the usual Buy 2, Get a 3rd Half price offer applies to this fibre as well. 

I've given them seasonal names, picking out traditions from all around the world. ​

​Next up is Panettone,  a soft cream colour, with slight peach undertones. 

This colour is called Panettone, after the Italian baked delicacy. I have a confession.... I can't stand panettone. I find it dry and really boring. I'd much rather have a piece of Stollen with it's generous hunk of marzipan! 
I won't be baking one this Christmas, but if you feel the urge this is a recipe from an Italian Pastry chef. 

This years 12 Days of Christmas parcels started with a hand dyed braid on 25th December, but then the following days all contain brand new colours of Superfine Merino & Silk. 
This is the exact same fibre composition as all the rest of the stock currently in the shop, so can be used interchangeably in the same projects. This was specially commissioned for the 12 Days of Christmas parcels, which meant I had to order lots of each colour. As a result the spare fibre is going online at midnight (GMT) on the day featuring each individual colour. Anyone can buy this spare fibre... it's really rather pretty! You can find it in the Superfine Merino & Silk section of the shop, and the usual Buy 2, Get a 3rd Half price offer applies to this fibre as well. ​

I've given them seasonal names, picking out traditions from all around the world. 

This beautiful shade of red is called Julekurver. 
It's a vibrant shade, but darker than some of the other red shades I've stocked, and has some beautiful shimmers of gold running through it.

Julekurver are Norwegian paper heart decorations. They can be incredibly simple, but look really pretty and elegant. They'd be a great way to reuse some pretty wrapping paper from Christmas presents. 

Here's a link to some step by step instructions, scroll down for the English translation. 
This site gives you some links to make ones that are very simple like the ones above, or ones that are far more complicated, with more complex cut out patterns.  
This site shows you how to make them in step-by-step instructions, scroll down for the English version. When done correctly they can be opened out and used to hold treats as a little basket. 
​If you google you'll find lots of lovely instructions, for variations, I'm recommending starting off simple with just 2 cuts and 3 strips, they can be surprisingly fiddly!

In a year when many things have changed it seems apt that this blog is being written in the car, on my laptop, in a hospital car park. I always dispute the word remote, when applied to our location, but we have no major hospitals in our part of the country, and anything that requires more than basic care means getting in the car and doing a 90 minute drive. Mum's having a guided injection done on a joint in her hand, and the hospital is too far away to justify going home and driving back again. Because it's being done in theatre there's no set time slot.... so here I wait! 
Normally I'd go and do some shopping, have lunch out, or go to an art gallery or museum. But this being 2020, and I'd like to be here to see 2021 with all my family members... here I sit. Wearing as much wool as I can put on. 

Last month I ended the blog with a note about Brexit... one month on and I'm not much wiser. 
Gradient Club members in the EU have just had an email letting them know that I've delayed the date of their next payment, these are normally processed on the 1st of every month, and I decided to put their payment date back to make sure that the subscription software is set up to not charge them VAT as it is likely the UK will no longer be part of the customs union. 
Time Travellers Club members I'll be doing similar for you in the next few days. 
The Low Value Import Threshold will remain in place for the next 6 months. This means that fibre club parcels shouldn't be charged any extra fees as they are below the €22 limit. 

If you are an EU customer and contemplating a purchase I strongly recommend buying now, so it arrives with you before January 1st, as larger value parcels will be taxed on arrival, and most postal services will also charge a handling fee. Until January 1st legally I have to still charge you VAT, and this quirk of postal delivery times means you could end up being charged VAT twice. 

During Fiberworld this summer I put a warp chain on my rigid heddle loom to weave in some live demonstrations and discussions about choosing a weft to maximise the beauty of a hand painted warp. I finally finished weaving it this month because I had a plan for turning the cloth in to a Christmas present. 
One of the key things to make cloth successful for sewn projects is to full it, and that means using a lower sett, the warp threads need to be far enough apart to give you space for them to contract and lock together with the weft threads. The top photo is the cloth straight off the loom, and the one on the left shows how open it was. You can still see all the strands of yarn, and lots of daylight. After 15 minutes being swished and squeezed in a sink of hot soapy water it had firmed up, the holes virtually disappeared, and the strands of yarn stuck together. 
A couple of hours with the sewing machine later...

It's now a roll-top bag, with a hand dyed cotton lining. 

I also did a lovely online workshop with Betty from THE LANSDOWNE HOUSE. I've done lots of eco printing on fabric, and used indigo vats a few times, but never used both together, and never printed on paper. 

The stacks of soggy paper look so very unpromising, but the end results are really beautiful.

Over in the Hilltop Cloud Community Group we're spending the run-up to Christmas taking part in the ADVENTure Gnome Mystery Knitalong. I've been on a serious scrap busting mission this year and have transformed my scraps in many things, including finally finishing my mitre square blanket. These were the hottest project 12 years ago... and I made the error of making mine wider than a double bed for my first rows. Every now and again I've pulled it out and added more, but progress has been sporadic! 

However, it would seem that 2020 has been good for something, and knitting 30 stitch mitred squares using scraps of yarn has often been all that my flailing brain can handle. It is done, and is currently around my knees attempting to stop my feet becoming ice blocks. 

I've got a few posts lined up over the 12 Days of Christmas, I'll be sharing the new colours of Merino & Silk I created specially for the parcels this year, so this won't be my last post of 2020, but for now, stay safe everyone. Much better to have an all mighty knees-up in the summer with all your loved ones, without risk of killing or disabling them, than it is to cram in to the living room, quarrel over what to watch on the TV and accidentally pass round a virulent plague. 
I'd love to see you all in the future, either in person or online, and for that you need to still be here.