Knitted Gifts

When the mailman came today I wasn't sure I wanted to go out and bring the mail in because it was so cold and wet and icky outside. But then I saw the package sitting on top of the mailbox. I wasn't expecting anything, what could this be? The return address told me it came from my friend Cassie, who moved across the state to California in January. I wasn't expecting anything from her...

I ripped the package open and pulled out a gorgeous pair of socks! I love hand knit socks but, I confess, I don't like using tiny needles. So all my socks are thick, done on size 3 or 5 needles. So a pair of thin, lacey socks is a real treat for me! And you can tell she knows me well; they are in my favorite color--green! I believe the yarn is Panda Wool and the pattern is textured and lacey, quite lovely. She even incorporated her own signature toe-- each sock has a toe the slants the way that toes actually slant. Have you ever looked at your toes and then compared them to socks. Toes don't actually come to a point in the middle the way socks normally do. So its very clever of Cassie to knit them with "anatomically correct" toes. I'm pretty sure this is the first knitted gift I've ever been given.

Once I had the socks securely on my feet, I noticed that there was more in the bag-- a book! I love Stephanie Pearl McPhee's humor and writing and own several of her books already, Casts Off will make a great addition. And its perfect timing-- I am going to a book signing by the Yarn Harlot next week!

Cassie-- I can't thank you enough!

p.s. Cassie is one of the most talented knitters I know. She does exquisite lace, designs her own sweaters. I know I've mentioned her before-- she was the one who gave me the beautiful hand spun yarn in dark red, green and brown.

Feeling crafty

Don't these look fun? They are beaded bracelets that are used for keeping track of rows in knitting. I want to make one for myself, and for each of my knitting friends. In fact, I have a pair of socks that I keep messing up because I lose count of the rows (not because its that hard of a pattern, but because my counting skills are...disappointing). I wonder if Chris would mind spending his birthday weekend at the craft store?

Here comes Spring!

I just realized how long its been since I posted last. March has just been busy, I guess! But then again, so was February...and January...oh and December...

Anyway, spring is getting close. Okay supposedly its already here. But in NC the weather fluctuates a LOT, so one day its spring, and the next they are calling for snow. But yesterday it rally felt like spring. So I celebrated by going to the corner plant stand and picking up some assorted potted herbs and planting little pots of them to use as center pieces on the tables at my wedding reception-- maybe. We have access to a bunch of pretty urns that will look great at the site, so I think I am going to fill them with herbs, lots of different types together, spilling over the edges. The wedding isn't till July, so I don't think I'll start seriously planting yet, but its fun to experiment! What do you think?

I further celebrated by dyeing some new spring colors. :)

Chocolate

I was grumpy today. I had lots of hard homework that I didn't understand and I was frustrated with wedding planning stuff. Plus this week I have to work many more hours than usual and am not looking forward to the stress or lack of quality knitting time (tell me, how am I going to stay sane and balanced if I can't knit?). So today I was in a sour mood. But then Chris fixed me by suggesting that we make some chocolates. A few weeks ago his mom ordered some cute little chocolate molds with the letters B and L embossed on them (for our last names). So tonight we heated up some Ghirradelli chocolate chips, mixed in some flavoring oils (mint for mine, coconut for his) and made chocolates! Aren't they cute? I didn't get pictures of his but they looked basically the same, just with an L instead of a B. They are only about an inch long and pretty thin, so they are nice and bite sized. We are going to have to find a way to incorporate them into the wedding or at least the rehearsal dinner!