Hooray, Koigu! I won a contest on Bethiee's blog and got this wonderful parcel yesterday. It's a skein of beautiful green Koigu KPPPM, pretty purple and green stitch markers made by Bethiee and Peacock, a tiny photo album and a doggie card (it is the Year of the Dog, after all). What great prizes! Thanks a bunch, Bethiee!

To further feed my Koigu cravings, I received some Kersti that I bought from ebay:


Don't know what to do with it quite yet, but I really like the color and will probably just gaze at it adoringly for a bit.

And also in the stash expansion catagory, I stumbled onto a yarn store in Virginia and got some Lamb's Pride for a present for my SP7 spoilee (I will send it for her last package, so this should not ruin the surprise):


Mom and I were at the Sugarloaf Craft Festival at the Dulles Expo Center on Saturday. There was so much cool stuff, but sadly a lot of it was too pricey for me. Hence the consolation yarn shopping at Capital Yarns. It's a nice store, with a very helpful staff. Now, if only it wasn't an hour and a half away. *sigh*.

Now, my own Secret Pal is also up to something. She even sent me a pretty card that said as much! The funny thing is that my address on the envelope has a middle name that's not my middle name.....hmmm, a clue? (Yes, I can be quite dense sometimes)

I haven't made much progress on my very many works-in-progress. The toy rabbit is still headless and my Koigu hat is still brimless, because lately I've spent most of my knitting time on a little cardi, which now just needs a collar and some finishing:


I'll close with a distinguished doggie picture (again, for the lunar new year):

Don't let the pose fool you - he couldn't wait to get out of that coat. I think it makes him look like Sherlock Holmes...you know, if Sherlock were a dog...

Baby (and other) knits

Finally, I have some finished objects!


The first is a Knitpicks baby pullover made from some Tess's Designer Yarns Supersock and Baby I got at Maryland Sheep and Wool. I used about 3/4 of one skein for the smallest size, 0-3 months, which leaves me with one skein and a quarter to play with. Maybe I have enough for another pullover the next size up, too? I'm debating whether or not I like the button closure thingy over the left shoulder. It's functional and cute, but it also complicates the left sleeve attachment process.

The second is a Hearts scarf from Knitty.


This is made with the dark purple Debbie Bliss Merino Chunky from Iris, who spoiled me for SP6. I love this yarn! It's pretty and squishy and knits up fast! Thanks again, Iris!

As for stuff still on the needles, there's a bunny from Last Minute Knitted Gifts:


The poor thing is a bit farther along than this. I had gotten to the top of the head when I realized I had done the head decrease wrong. It looked like a conehead, so I had to undo a few rows.

I also got a copy of Vogue Caps & Hats Two over the long weekend, and wouldn't you know it, I found a project!


It's going to be a flapper-esque knitted cloche made from Koigu Kersti. I'm working on the center crown section now. I'm a little anxious about making a hat, because I have a large head, even when I wear my hair down, which is a fairly rare event. So, I've taken a few measurements:

Side crown (2 identical pieces, already knit ): 7 inches each
Center crown (about an inch worked so far): 9 inches
Total diameter (without the brim): 7 + 7 + 9 = 23 inches
My head (measured according to the book) = 23 inches

Will it actually fit once sewn together? I'll find out soon enough.

What's next? I picked these up at the Knit Happens sale two weekends ago:


I'm going to make the blanket as soon as I can scrounge together enough needle extensions (i.e. when the bunny is finished). This is going to be the warmest summer baby ever!

Deadly Sins

I had my own little Mardi Gras, with sloth and gluttony rolled into one. Hmmmmm, sacrilicious!

Secret Pal

For my dear Secret Pal 7, whoever you may be, here's my questionnaire.

One done!

Scarf Harvest

At last, I got to put all those knitted scarves to use! You can see the holiday presents I knitted here. There were a couple of gifts not pictured (I forgot to take photos before gifting them - doh!). Anyway, one was a sort of knobbly orange novelty boucle from handpaintedyarn.com, done up in a light, lacy pattern. The second was a hunter green cable from Knitty.

I'm working on a couple of Baby Bobbi Bears. This one's tired of having no arms or ears, so he's taking a nap beside Doggie:


And this is his somewhat-less-developed younger sibling:


I've also started a Branching Out scarf with the grey-green laceweight Bethieee sent me. It's at about seven or so repeats:


It's odd that this piece photographs nicely, when it looks kind of messy in person. Maybe blocking will work magic on my uneven knitting?