I've become a true yarn hoarder. I just broke the hinge on the cedar chest where I try to corral the stash. It's mighty hard to actually overstuff something like that with stuff that is (supposedly) soft and fluffy like yarn but I've achieved it!! Oh well...I guess if you haven't yet broken door hinges on the house, there's still hope for you.
I'd offer this as proof that I'm doing my best to reduce the stash by finishing projects like this little sweater but actually I bought the yarn last week just for the project. It was my birthday - I was loose in a yarn store with my husband's presence and pledge to buy me stuff - it was on sale!! What do you want from me?! 
As is often the case, I wasn't happy with the finished project. I just made it up and I liked the color change in reverse stockinette. But in the end it all seemed a little too sweetsy. I liked the two colors but together with those buttons...
Anyway, Latrice seemed to like it. She's Joanne's (from church) daughter and she was expecting but had the baby back in Sept/Oct at 23 weeks. The baby only weighed 2 lbs. She's actually still in the hospital but she's doing extremely well and should come home soon!. Her name is Laila. (God bless, little one!)
It's official.
Happy Birthday (to me too)
No pictures of curtains but AHA, The birthday booty! Abby, we are blessed indeed. The Vintage Knits book is from my sis-in-law Carolyn (hi!). It's by Sarah Dallas and I really like her stuff! The other book, Pluckyfluff's Handspun Revolution, was actually a gift from me to me (I'm shameless). My mom and dad gave me the vacuum. They also gave me Unexpected Knitting by Debbie New, unpictured for really no good reason. I just forgot it, probably because it's huge (really a large, lovely, gorgeous book full of wonderful art) but maybe my conscience is getting to me too, making me picture the vacuum which will mostly likely get far less action than the knitting books!! Mark was wonderful for my birthday, taking me home to visit AND stopping at the yarn store on the way!! What a man! I bought the two rovings at the store. I couldn't make it to Stitches last weekend because of the Lit/Film Conference I needed to attend at Towson and my biggest regret was missing out on whatever yummy stuff Mama-E took for Cloverhill to sell. But low and behold, they'd saved some for me!!! I really can't express how beautiful this stuff is. It's the same merino/tencel blend that I made that little orange/green shrug out of in Oct. These color's are "platinum" - a wonderful silvery shiny color that absolutely isn't captured in the picture. The other is a purpley greeny blue combination that is also stunning!! But the most favorite and loved presents are those weird green spools in the front. Storage bobbins!!! I've been wanting something and finding no good solution until I decided "heck, my daddy could make these!!" and make them he did...and more are promised! This could only be so exciting to a true spinning geek...oh well, such I am!
close ups for your enjoyment!
I have all manner of on-the-needles projects that I could show but the constant battle with laziness is being lost at the moment!! Soon perhaps soon!
Happy Birthday! (to me)
So, here's the birthday haul:
Yes, those people were birthday presents. Lexi and Lolita traveled from far and away (ok, New York and Washington) just for me! Aren't they the best? Other presents include Tracey Ullman's book (from Vijay), some handmade yarn and a beautiful little bag (from Sam), and Debbie Bliss Cashmerino (from mom and grandma). Non-knitting presents include a tshirt from Loli and a sweatshirt from Angela. THANKS EVERYONE!!!
I've recently finished some projects:
I made up the cable rib pattern on my own and wasn't sure if it would work, but it seems to so far. Blue socks! Yeah!
This scarf is made from the wool I bought at the Algonquin Mill Festival. It's long and large and awesome. Hmmm...I guess I'm not so humble, am I?
remember this?
Ah yes. The never-ending lace project finally ended! I finished them in time to take them to my aunt at Halloween. I was hoping to have pictures of them actually hanging up but the weekend was too crazy. Maybe I'll get some this weekend since we're leaving today for another weekend visit. You can get the idea from this picture though!
And a good time was had...
...by those wearing little pumpkin hats, of course! I would tell you to try and ignore the funny looking lady in the black shirt holding Pierce but he's so cute you won't notice her anyway.
I've been...busy.
We all remember the deco ribbon purse. I was at AC Moore helping a friend pick out yarn for her first knitting project and I picked up this ribbon because I wanted a more spohisticated bag. As it turned out, the bag was a perfect match for my Halloween costume:
Arwen, from Lord of the Rings. Where did she buy that AMAZING costume? SHE MADE IT FOLKS!!! Yeah, I spent many hours cutting, pinning, sewing, and otherwise constructing this bad boy. You can't see them very well, but I'm wearing elf ears too. It was a fun night.
Sam, my roommate, was Galadriel and also made her costume. Patty is a van Dyck portrait, Alison is a dead woman, and Sarah is a pirate.
Other than that...I've been really busy with school and traveling. I went home 2 weeks ago and last weekend I went to...
Boston! I love it there! I got to see Harvard's campus and I'll definitely be applying there for PhD programs. Exciting! I visited 2 yarn stores in Boston but didn't bring anything home with me because my finances just don't allow for impulsive yarn purchases these days. I think that about does it for updates...
What she was waiting for
I don't have time to post pictures now, but if you went to the link we sent you, you already know that I finished the blanket.
I finished the blanket Friday morning and labor started Saturday night.
it's rainin' pumpkins
I went to the Sept. spinning meeting determined to buy no fiber. I chanted 'no fiber, no fiber' all the way there and then Erin, one of the spinners who also happens to be a fantastic dyer and who also happens to stock Cloverhill with her phenomenal fiber, had made seasonal colorway rovings for the shop. I was utterly helpless in the face of it, truly. Before I knew what I was doing I was buying up 4 oz of merino/tencel gorgeousness in "late harvest". It was like an out of body experience. I could see what I was doing but had no control. The colors are so lovely (of course the pictures can't do justice, again). I spun (rather badly but slowly I improve) all of it up that very weekend and started knitting without even stopping to scribble any sort of plan, just had to knit. Wanted something simple and small that looked kind of "viney". Couldn't finish last weekend because of Robin's visit and of course the now legendary "illness" of which we shall not speak had to pass, but today...today is pumpkin patch shrug day! I love it so much today really should become a national holiday in it's honor.
fanged sheep pumpkins and other things
Seems appropriate for Friday the 13th and all...but first,
whole lotta finished objects going on! Actually many of these were completed a while ago but only now can be revealed because they have found their true home at last.
Much knitting for the much anticipated baby McD.
Loved these kinds of warm-up tops when I was a kid. Thought they looked so cool. So here's a little knitted version. It turned out a little wonky. Had to reknit the sleeves and back a couple times to make it right and then still didn't really work. It's what I get for making it up as I go along.
This is actually the MasonDixon knitting books warsh cloth turned into a bib. I love the texture and don't we all know that baby bibs really just hang there doing little good while the kid eats and then, afterwards, get used as washrags to wipe down the kid, the highchair, the floor around the highchair, uh...the walls...the ceiling...the walls in the living room...
The MasonDixon knitters claim that a baby that has a burp cloth with an interesting pattern is 40% more likely to go to an ivy league school. It's hard to tell in the photo but I used really bright lime and yellow for this...I love it! But with Caleb and Brandy for parents the kid has no choice but to be a kind, wonderful genius anyway. The pattern is even more "interesting" than intended because I actually screwed up the color repeat and didn't notice for inches. That's what I get for knitting during my student's screening. Honestly, by the light of an old black and white movie that green and yellow look exactly alike. So like any knitter worth her rosewood doublepointed needles I made it a "design feature"!
But here's my favorite...I almost couldn't stand to stuff him in the box to mail and thought I'd have to hand deliver him!
But lest you think that I've been sitting around doing nothing since completing the mcd load, there's been other fibery happenings but I'm still too puny to go take pictures. So here's a few shots of the pumpkin carving at my house last weekend to entertain you as we close...ah last weekend, when my best friend in the world Robin was in town and life was good and there was no hint of the stomach flu that has made my week a blur and I even felt well enough to try a big fried worm from Zimbabwe (no it's not what made me sick) and I carved pumpkins just like we did in college. No they aren't your traditional jack o'lanterns and they are only minutely relevant to a fiber post because of the fanged sheep but here they are...scared aren't you 
Brest dressed bear
You read the title right.
So when you are pregnant you have to take lots of classes. Even though I'm pretty sure cavewomen knew nothing about a "focus object" or breathing techniques when they delivered, you just aren't a good parent now if you don't do these kinds of things.
So last Saturday was our breastfeeding class (called feeding by those too uncomfortable to mention the first part). When we got our registration confirmation letter it informed us we were to bring a baby doll or stuffed animal about the size of a baby.
So I took the little black bear in the purple sweater that I knitted. We definitely had the best dressed, if not the most lifelike baby in the room. No one commented on the cute sweater and I did my best to be offended.
You really haven't lived until you have spent your Saturday morning with a bunch of other pregnant women, their ill-at-ease husbands, and a bunch of animals propped up on Boppy pillows. And, oh yeah, the class was taught by a lady who was clearly from Minnesota.