Wish

Happy Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/(belated) Winter Solstice and New Year!
(I'm pretty sure everyone celebrates that last one in some fashion.)

A box! A box!

There was a shiny gold box on my desk on Monday morning. Here's what was inside....


Thank you, Janet, for my big box-o-yarn! There's Paton's Divine in a soft purple, red and green Moda Dea Jai Alai, Bernat Boa in turquoise and Lion Brand Fancy Fur in black and green. I've never worked with the Jai Alai or Fancy Fur before, so I'm starting to scheme little schemes involving more scarves. But I should show restraint and not cast on until after the Christmas knitting is done. They're really only two projects that need to get done. The first is the very end of a striped stocking stitch scarf knit in the round, like the preppie-looking Harry Potter scarves.


And there's one other project that, shhh! (she says in the tiniest whisper) I haven't even cast on for yet.... but I need to keep that one under wraps for now.

It's so cold.....

How cold is it?

No, I didn't knit it. And no, he was not happy to wear it. When will we humans learn?! He would much rather park himself by the heater, or bury himself under some pillows or just about anything except wear clothes!

On a roll

What can I say? It's been a good week, and here's why:

1. I managed to guess my Secret Pal's name - it is indeed Iris, who, in addition to being an awesome SP, knits and spins and writes and waits patiently (not in the dark, I hope??) for electricians.

2. It's supposed to snow tonight (anywhere from 2-8 inches, depending on elevation, humidity, and which television meteorologist you happen to be watching). This raises the hope, however faint, that I won't have to go to work tomorrow.

3. And yesterday, I got even more gifties! It's a whole plateful of treats from Bethieee and Peacock:


There were some pretty sparkly stich markers and a cute mini potholder (they look really nice together, don't you think?)


not to mention some excellent shortbread

How many pieces are left a day later? Now that would be telling!

SP Package - and a guess...

Thank you, Secret Pal!

She sent a fantastic package! I absolutely adore the silk yarn! It is so soft and the colorway - it's called "Joker" - is a lovely rainbow that's a bit more muted in real life than in the picture. I'm not sure what to make with it yet, but it's all wound up and ready to go for when I find just the right project. There are also 4 balls of Debbie Bliss Merino Chunky in a pretty deep purple, which I think I'm going to make into some variation on the Irish Hiking scarf. I'm jealously guarding the Smarties - just try and take those away from me! I'm not familiar with the Horlicks drink, but in the Philippines, we have (or at least used to have) Horlicks candy that had a malted center and I think it had a chocolate covering, kinda like Whoppers. Now, the microwavable Christmas pudding is just adorable! I'm saving it for Christmas Day, though I will go for a non-flaming version.

Now here's my guess as to my fabulous Secret Pal 6's true identity: Iris, who has a bone to pick with a certain electrician :) Am I right??? (About the secret identity part, that is. I'm pretty sure about the electrician.)

Decking Halls

The tree is up. The living room's ruined, but the tree is up. Isn't it pretty? Mom and my aunt Dee put all the ornaments on while I made these:


I reprised my annual post-Turkey Day role of crazy baker lady so we (i.e. mom) could get the holiday cookie packages sent to the out-of-town-friends-and-family list. Going clockwise from the top, I had: marbled brownies, white chocolate fudge with cranberries and almonds, chocolate chocolate chip cookies, mini apple muffins, caramel heavelies, fudge with pecans; Center: wedding cookies (a.k.a Christmas cookies or Russian tea cookies).

I have about a million other WIPs on my needles, but of course, I let myself get distracted by the Lion Brand landscape I got at the local Joann store's after-Thanksgiving sale.


This is the "My So-Called Scarf" pattern in the color "Rose Garden." I really like the pattern and the way the piece turned out. Here's a closer look of the scarf as a WIP:

The yarn's pretty nice too. It's handwash so I gotta be careful who I give the scarf to, but on the plus side, it's feltable, or so the label claims. Hmmmm...very interesting.... It would make a pretty bag, don't you think?