So we finally entered the digital age with a digital camera. Merry Christmas to us! Merry Christmas to us!
Thus, this post contains pictures with actual details! Imagine that!
Remember these?! 
"Up from the ashes, up from the ashes, grow the roses of success!" (50 balls of left-over yarn from various projects to anyone who can name the children's musical that's from...come on Brandy, you got to start knowin' this stuff)
I give you the Pheonix sock
love it! made up the pattern with some help from a Nancy Bush pattern.
requisite gratuitous close-up just because I can
so two for the price of one really...the post shows both the crappy old sock project compared to the new good sock AND the crappy old camera picture with the new good camera which will hopefully actually get better! Those pictures are just with the thing straight out of the box just point and shoot. Imagine after I actually read the directions!!
The camera's debut!
The blanket's debut
Typing one-handed here girls...
Here is a photo of the blanket's first day out. I haven't used it a lot because it doesn't go with all the pink outfits she has.
It's not a great pic of the blanket because apparently the real subject is the baby.
From yesterday's paper...
Really, I can sympathize with poor Leonard. I keep trying to figure out how I can nurse the baby and knit at the same time. My mom assures me that with more experience I will get it.
It's official.
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!)
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.