Mmmm... Cookies

Even if you never click a link in my blog again, click this one. Over the weekend I got a neat email from a knitter in Rhode Island who is using my hat pattern in her knitting ministry. The whole story can be found in her blog. It's a really inspiring story, plus someone learns how to knit. You know you love it when people learn how to knit! So seriously.. click the link.

Saturday I got a package. This was very exciting, as I had to work on Saturday and wasn't in the best of moods. Anyway, I got a package! As I opened the package, a card fell out that said "READ ME FIRST". I thought the package must have been packed very cleverly to have the "READ ME FIRST" card fall out in my lap as soon as I opened it. Inside this notecard were a bunch of very strict and cranky instructions about "open this then" and "don't mess with that" and "you have to wait for this other thing" and "just do it and stop whining".* Basically, each other thing in the package had a number on it, and I was supposed to open them in order, one per day. That's a great idea until you realize that I got the package on Saturday with items #2, #4, and #5 inside. That means I could open number 2 on Saturday, but I had to skip a WHOLE DAY in hopes that #3 will arrive on Monday. Anyway. I'm not whining and all that. I mean, we likes packages.



Here's present #2. (#1 was that Halloween t-shirt I told you about last week.) It's Death Match by Lincoln Child, half of the team that brought you such classics as The Relic, Cabinet of Curiosities, and my most recent read from the pair, Brimstone. If you like mysteries with interesting characters, plot twists, and a little blood and guts thrown in, check them out. This particular book has been on my Amazon Wish List for a while, and I'm excited to start reading (and I will, just as soon as I finish Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman).

The inside of the card for this gift reads, "Happy Birthday My Lovely Looney Brooky! Brookey Brookie Mmmm.... Cookies" and is signed "Brenda 'Wild Eye' B*******". This makes me slightly nervous.

Anyway, here's hoping #3 is waiting for me when I get home from work today.

And, as promised, I did do some knitting this weekend. First,
I made a pumpkin! The pattern is one of Knitty's fall surprises. This one is pre-felted, as I don't have a washer in my apartment that is felting-capable. Here are two amazing facts about this pumpkin. Are you sitting down? You should be sitting down. There. I've given you enough time to sit down. Okay. Amazing Fact #1: I started AND finished this project in one weekend. When was the last time I did that? Hmm? Please remain seated. Are you ready? Amazing Fact #2: I had ALL the yarn for this pumpkin already in my stash. I didn't buy one lick of yarn for this pumpkin. I had the yarn, I had the needles, I had the everything. That's right. I find those two things to be incredibly amazing. If you don't find those things to be incredibly amazing, you don't know me as well as you think you do. Find the pattern here. I used Light Lopi for the orange and brown and a wool I'd gotten off of eBay a while back for the green. I can't wait to felt it.

Also, I finished the first Liberty Chevron sock. I am a big fan of this pattern, and I'm really glad I started trying toe-up socks. They make me happy. The only problem with toe-up socks though is the cast off. I've had a hard time finding a cast off that isn't so tight that you can't get the sock on your foot. This time, I tried the tubular cast off, and I think it worked pretty well.

Here's the cuff. I k1p1 ribbed for 10 rows, then double knit for four rows, and then used a darning needle in a manner not unlike kitchener grafting to bind off the stitches. The best tutorial I found online was from this website, which also includes some other cuff-cast-off ideas. What do you think? It seems stretchy enough although there is a point where there's no more give. I'm hoping that it will give enough for the recipient, because if it doesn't, I'm not sure how I would fix it. Plus, I like the way it looks.

This photo is a gratuitous showoff of the sock and my camera. I really like the way the colorway works with this stitch pattern, and I'm really impressed with the close-up quality that my camera provides. All in all, I'm very happy with the sock. I just wonder when (if) the other one will be started and/or completed.

Last, but not least, an object lesson for Halloween:
Good Pumpkin.

Better Pumpkin. (Now please excuse me while I mop up the drool on my keyboard.)

P.S. (or P.B. as my brother would say) Never fear, dear Brenda. I have obeyed orders and gifts #4 & #5 are safe and sound. For now.





*These may or may not be direct quotations from the notecard. I'll never tell.