On the fourth night of Hanukkah, Smart Bitches gave to me…. books, more books, yarn and tea!
Elyse is sharing her yarn stash and her favorite loose tea, along with a mixed bag of books to keep you knitting, reading, and sipping tea well into the new year.
I know many of you have really enjoyed Elyse’s knitting patterns, so this might be a good opportunity to try one – but if you’ve made them already, she’ll be including a Ravelry pattern with the prize as well.
Ready to enter? No needles required! Here are the spiffy particulars!
The fourth Smart Bitches Hanukkah Party giveaway is 3 skeins of Knit Picks City Tweed DK is Basil (123 yds each) and 2 in Plush, a free pattern from Ravelry, 1 oz Winter Blend Fava Tea, plus a mixed set of books, including:
- Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
- The Highwayman by Kerrigan Byrne ( A | BN | K | G | AB )
- Scandal Takes the Stage by Eva Leigh ( A | BN | K | G | AB )
- What She Knew by Gilly Macmillan ( A | K | G | AB )
- Missing Dixie by Caisey Quinn ( A | K | G | AB )
- The whole K-9 rescue set by DD Ayres: Irresistible Force ( A | BN | K | G | AB ), Force of Attraction ( A | K | G | AB ), and Primal Force ( A | K | G | AB )
The yarn is beautiful – have a look:
Plus, tea! An ounce of loose tea from Elyse’s favorite tea shop, Fava Teas.
So, ready to enter? Leave a comment below and tell us about your favorite relaxing combination. Is it knitting, tea, and books? Audiobooks and stitching? Music, noise canceling headphones, and a book while hiding from the family gathering for a bit?
Standard disclaimers apply: I’m not being compensated for this giveaway. Void where prohibited. Must be 18 years of age and ready to tote and read. Open to international residents where permitted by applicable law. May be too intense for some viewers. Do not stamp. Use other side for additional listings. For recreational use only. Do not disturb. If condition persists for more than four hours, please consult your physician. Had this been an actual emergency, the tone you heard would have been followed by instructions and directions to your nearest bookstore. Comments will close on or close to 8:00am EST Thursday 10 December and winners will be announced soon after.
Cheers, happy shopping, and Happy Hanukkah!
ETA: We have a winner! Congratulations to MS8196, and thank you to everyone who entered. Happy Hanukkah!
I don’t have time to read all the comments right now, but I assume I’m not the first person to suggest sex for relaxation?
Or yoga, a nice bath, cup of tea (glass of whiskey), reading, knitting…ooh, hot springs if you can get em, a cathartic opera, baby animals, all very comforting and delightful.
I suppose my relaxing methods are diverse for diverse situations. Is it a treat day? Planning a new embroidery project or organizing my threads (I once spent three days making an inventory) is delightful. Baking is (as others have said) excellent for diffusing stress and warming you up down to your toes. Audiobooks are like little buses that take you away from the real world. Tea cures homesickness.
But for grief and fear and the really BAD hurts that linger and fester right beneath my sternum, it’s got to be seedlings. All gardening is therapeutic, but only seedlings heal. There’s something about seeing the little sparks of color against the dirt and knowing that this is the only time nature paints something with the New Green crayon. Morning Glories go from seed to sprout in literal days. Herbs take longer. Tomatoes pop up and wait until you’ve given up hope of anything other than two starter leaves before they grow.
Reading is my primary passion, but it’s consuming, not creating. Even things like knitting and embroidery and cooking are just rearranging at heart. With seeds something amazing comes out of a fifty cent packet of what looks like dirt or rocks. There’s a whole plant in them, roots and stems and leaves, all folded up and pre-programmed.
Then again, maybe I just watched Fern Gully too many times as a child.
Any combination of tea, books and knitting 🙂
Right now I am liking tea (Adagio’s Abbie Mills is amazing), knitting, and Doctor Who or Supergirl. I also like a good book and the quilt my mom made me. Thanks for the great giveaway!
Hmmm…I loom knit and I have been making a lot of icord lately (I do have plans, fiendish plans…) I find that relaxing but best is when the family is out of the house, I have some fresh brewed ice tea, an excellent book and something nice to eat.
Love hot tea and a good book.
A warm blanket and my e-reader while my kids are asleep is my peace. Well that and a nice glass of wine with that too. 🙂
I like relaxing with tea and a book or my knitting.
I’m not a knitter, but I do crochet! I like to keep my hands busy, even when relaxing. I also bake…a lot.
Jameson’s, my ginger kitty on my lap, and a fire in the fireplace. Add entertainment medium which will vary by mood: book, television, or my own writing.
Lounging with feet up, either reading on a Kindle or listening to audio books on my ipod, with both cats in my lap (which means I can’t read physical books since they are in the way). No liquids or food, since cats would try to sample. The cats are kind of big and usually require petting, so I only have one hand free (hence purchase of a kindle where you can turn pages with one hand.) It works for all three of us.
Tea, chocolate, and a good book or video.
I like a mocha or latte with some homemade cookies and a book! (Sometimes, if I’m really stressed, I’ll put on a Muppet Show DVD–the old fun version, not the new angsty one.)
It’s good coffee and the circle of ladies in my knitting group. I always feel better after time with them. (And, no, it’s not reading a book because I get too wrapped up in the tension!)
My favorite relaxing combination is drinking tea, knitting, and binge-watching netflix. Close second is coloring while I listen to an audiobook.
I love Earl Grey and a great book!
A comfy chair big enough to put my feet up, a cup of coffee with a shot of Baileys and an engrossing book. Wish that’s where I was now!
Hot chocolate, my ipad, and something fun on Netflix like Leverage.
All summer I did audiobooks and knitting. For the winter, I’m doing crocheting and NCIS marathon on Netflix (Mark Harmon is dang hot :).
My favorite way to relax is with some good herbal tea, curled up in a blanket on my couch with a good scented candle in the room, and knit while watching a tv show or movie. Or reading instead of knitting.
Swapping between reading books on my Kindle and playing Solitaire on my iPad is my favorite way to relax. I read for a bit, then put the book down and play Solitaire for a bit, wash, rinse, repeat. The whole day can go by and I won’t even notice (except for the occasional cookie break).
tea and reading
For a really relaxing combination, first, no internet access. (It helps to relax when I can’t check Twitter or Amazon deals or Goodreads updates every five minutes.) Then, a potful of tasty tea that doesn’t need sweetening. (I have a couple of rooibos I like, a white spiced with ginger, and several blacks. Green, I’m … careful with.) And last, a really absorbing book in print or digital format. Though the problem with print books is that when I press my finger to a word, the dictionary definition does not pop up for some reason! (I know, right?)
I love to relax with an audiobook and some embroidery. If I’m really realxing, I like a warm cup of tea and a trashy novel.
A glass of a big, fruity, jammy red wine; a cat (or two) in my lap; a good book (currently Ruta Sepetys’s ‘Salt to the Sea); and a cozy lap blanket combine to make the perfect antidote to a stressful day–or any day, if I’m perfectly honest.
coffee/chocolate/books OR coffee/chocolate/knitting/netflix bingeing. (but i do tea too!) 🙂 Happy Hanukkah to you too!
A cup of hot chocolate, a good book, and Michelle Branch’s The Spirit Room in the background.
Chips Ahoy, a glass of milk, and a keeper shelf favorite to reread.
My e-reader, the tv for background noise and either some cross stitch or a crocheting project usually works for me.
My nook in my lap, the tv on for background noise, a tall glass of ice water and either a crochet or needlepoint project works for me.
Cozy blanket, husband cuddles, a great book, and cheap wine.
Thank you for contributing such awesome goodies to the giveaway, Elyse!
My relaxation is a cup of tea and a good book. It is how I start my day and how I end it. The only difference is in the morning it’s at the kitchen table with my morning cup (or two) of jasmine green for my health, and in the evening it’s in my ratty recliner with one of my many flavored teas. (The one drawback of the new house I’m probably moving to soon – no place to put the tea cabinet! D8 ) Or in my ratty recliner with a good cup of tea, my latest stitching or crochet project, and an old musical.
My favorite combination is listening to a great audiobook or musical (Hamilton!) and crochet by the fire. Bonus points if there is a toddy on the table next to me. 🙂
Flannel jammies, hot tea, and petting a kitty.
I love sitting by the fireplace with a good book and a glass of wine. If the cat deems to sit on my lap even better!
Yep, knitting or reading. I’m not a good enough knitter yet to do both!
This time of year, podcasts while baking cookies. I’m looking for a raspberry chocolate recipe now.
My favorite relaxing combination would be some hot orange spice or fruity tea, reading a romance novel (Duh!) and listening to soothing classical music softly in the background. Awwww… What a wonderful day that would be! 🙂
Knitting and TV. Or reading on the couch.
Reading a book for pleasure with a nice glass of wine and chocolate.