etod_knits

(How I spent Friday through Wednesday--like Cameron, saying, "I'm dying." Certainly felt like it.)

My January went from bad--getting my wisdom teeth pulled--to worse--still dealing with the teeth situation *AND* getting super sick. Last Friday I was cleaning the apartment and watching Freaks and Geeks and started to get a sore throat and really tired. I laid down to take a nap before Price got off of work and when I woke up, I had congestion and a serious sore throat. The rest of the weekend it got worse until Tuesday when I went to see my doctor. Now thanks to antibiotics and a nice cough syrup to help me get to sleep, I'm back on the mend. I didn't get a chance to however thank my Secret Pal properly. :(

Meg, thank you, thank you, thank you! I got your reveal package and love everything! Now Sensational Socks is *mine*! :D And the snacks! Those are going to come in handy during the Super Bowl weekend--during which I intend to catch up school wise while movie-ing myself out! And you sent little Soak washes in my favorite scents, too! Thanks again to Secret Pal and fellow Texan, Meg!! ;)



And for those who want to know, my Secret Spoilee was Erin, The Bookish Knitster. My reveal package is on her way to her from a fantastic Etsy seller and I hope she enjoys it! I had tons of fun finding things for her. :D

As far as knitting goes, I haven't done much lately. I have been attempting to do some things with the yarn I ordered from Knit Picks, but I never get very far. Maybe this weekend, too. I have big plans for this coming weekend. Especially with Target releasing their next line of Go designers (who I love) Proenza Schouler on Sunday. I'm going to be there with bells on--I already have preshopped it in my mind.

Oh! And I had an email from my previous post on Jinky, the Dog of a Hollywood Wife! Carole Raphaelle Davis, the author of the book sent me an email saying that a chapter of the book deals with knitting. I am intrigued now... I'm going to try to get a copy of the book at Barnes and Noble (and confirm my Harry Potter reserve) tomorrow and check it out. Especially since I'm a big fan of knitting up outfits for Obi Kenobi (who I have a little Noro sweater to seam up for from before I got sick). If I can get it, I'll post about it after I read it.


FYI - Tomorrow the prognosticator of prognosticators is going to reveal if he sees his shadow or not. As per the annual tradition, I will be up super early to see the festivities at Gobbler's Knob on the Weather Channel and begin the viewing of Groundhog Day and the eating of flapjacks at my parent's house. When my friend Angela married in Pittsburgh in 2005, Price and I went there for a week and made a day trip to Punxsutawney to pay homage to the groundhog and it wasn't an easy trip to make I'll tell ya. But we ate at Punxsy Phils Cakes & Steaks, got nose-to-glass-to-nose with the actual groundhog, and stopped at Gobbler's Knob. Punxsutawney is a great little town and we had a blast--



Price at Gobbler's Knob


My Groundhog hat which I will be wearing to my parent's house. I love the little tail at the top! Here's a better picture of just the hat--


For some Groundhog Day fun check out GroundhogCrossing.com.

I have been a busy little bee this past month. Within these past two weeks, all I finished all the major semester projects and did presentations and what not and now it's just downhill from here. I feel so free and I absolutely can't wait until I take my only final on Dec. 8th (my other classes counted the project presentations as a final exam). I have a pile of TV on DVD to watch and knit to--Commander-in-Chief, Threshold (still haven't had a chance to watch this!), Nip/Tuck, How I Met Your Mother-Season 1, and Bones (which I got for a steal at Circuit City! $19! It was advertised for $34.99 in this week's ad!).

And I've been firming up the Christmas knit list and buying patterns for certain gifts. I bought Wooly Wormhead's Bobba Hat to make for my cousin's wife. I kind of wish I could give it to her early when I finish it (which will probably be tomorrow) because the temp is supposed to seriously drop soon and she's a bell ringer for the Salvation Army this holiday season. Here is progress on it so far:

Because I'm sort of stash busting my yarns if I think it will work, I'm knitting the hat in Lion Brand Landscapes that I bought before we had a LYS and before I started splurging on yarn online. I'm hoping it will get a tad bit softer after a wash, but I think the colors will suit my cousin's wife. And it will be easier for her to clean should she need to.

I've also been working on a wrap for my grandmother. I don't know if this will be her Christmas gift or her birthday gift. I may knit up a scarf for her birthday and give this for Christmas--she'll get use out of both because she is always cold. Even in our 100 degree summer heat. I'm knitting it off a Paton's pattern for ease and I knit it in the recommended Patton's Decor so that, again, it's easy for her to wash should she need to.


Now on to purchases--
In punk_knitters, one of the members posted that she was closing her yarn shop and posted a lot of her stock up for sale. I scored 5 skeins of soysilk sock yarn, 15 pairs of bamboo straights in various sizes and some other things for my secret pal for the whopping total of $32. And I placed my first ever order with Knit Picks. Part of that order is for a secret Christmas gift that I'm excited about starting. I may stop whatever it is I'm working on at the time to start working on the secret project when the yarn comes in!

And this weekend I'll be heading up to Austin! As an anniversary gift, my husband bought tickets to see Patton Oswalt (who is my geek crush) at Cap City Comedy Club on Friday and my brother is coming along with us because we couldn't leave him out (Patton does geek comedy and, well... we're all geeks). I'm working on getting the guys to let me stop at Hill Country Yarns on Saturday so that I can pick up some Noro and Lamb's Pride so that I can knit Fake Isle Hats for my two cousins.

Now for the best part of this post--I received my first Secret Pal Package!

My pal set me some SplitYarn goodies, which I'm excited about. I love indie crafts and this one's Texan! And so is my secret pal apparently... *hmmmmm* ;) I'm already using the stitch markers which my pal selected using the Obinator as inspiration. And I love, love, love the scent of the lotion! My husband loved the way it complemented my Stella perfume when I paired them together on Thanksgiving. And the yarn! When I saw it, I immediately knew I was going to knit socks out of it and what pattern I am going to use. Thanks a bunch, Secret Pal!

Finally, as part of the Christmas season and to feature Obi a bit more, I decided I'll feature some great gift buys for dogs--all Obi approved! Now, Obi is a fantatic tester. Seriously. If it is able to be ripped to shreds, he'll do it in a matter of minutes. We have spent so much money on puppy beds, toys, collars and blankets... and much of it is torn to bits in seconds in front of my eyes. Oh, the yarn I could have bought with that money. Anyway, here is the first gift suggestion for the season (I really wish that I could think up something witty as a title, but I'm way tired just can't)--

The Chewgar!


Nicole sent Obi a Chewgar in a swap package during the Hurricane Party Sock Swap and he absolutely loved it. Usually we give him Flossies, but they are gone within a day. But the Chewgar Obi savored. I'm serious. He carried it around with him everywhere in case a snack was needed. He lovingly chewed on it at his sunspot in front of our balcony door. It lasted for days. Maybe over a week? So can you imagine his joy at realizing that I was able to find more for him at World Market?



Here's Obi giving me a wet nose kiss after realizing all those Chewgars were his:

The Chewgars retail for around $3 a piece and an internet search shows you might even be able to find them packaged in a cute wooden "Chewgar" box at some retailers.
Obi gives the Chewgar 4 wet nose kisses out of 5 this holiday season.

( Click for my SP 9 Answers! )