For Amy

In my last entry, I mentioned that I got to go home from the party at Lettuce Knit with several very cool people. Well, one of them was Amy of knitty.com, who at one point turned to me and asked if I'd ever made anything from Knitty.

To my great embarrassment, I had to answer no.

I hastened to assure her that I certainly had plans to make stuff from Knitty, but that I just...hadn't...gotten around to it...yet.

(I know, lame. But true, oh so true. In fact, I actually have a list saved on my hard drive of all the patterns from Knitty that I plan to make in my lifetime, and it's a big list.)

Flash forward to Monday of this week - we had a semi-annual presentation for our whole department, during which some groups did presentations of "cool stuff we've done lately". One of these presentations was interactive, where six audience members were randomly chosen and put into two teams to compete in finding information on the newly-revamped department Intranet website. Well, yours truly was one of the six hapless victims people chosen to participate, and my team won. To our surprise, there were prizes - we were each handed small, ribbon-wrapped cardboard boxes. I opened mine thinking it would be some meaningless swag, but instead found a $25 gift certificate for Chapters/Indigo!!!

How cool is that? I never win anything!

As luck would have it, Chapters/Indigo was having an online sale, in which Amy's new book, "Big Girl Knits", was 33% off. (Sadly, this special was not available in-store, where I could have avoided the $5.90 shipping cost. But still - 33% off online is better than a slap on the belly with a wet fish, eh?) Since I have been deeply coveting this book (I am not a 'big girl' myself but I do have designer aspirations and believe that owning it would be extremely helpful), I snapped it right up. It was shipped earlier this week, and if I'm really lucky, it'll be in my hot little hands before the weekend. Total cost to me was only about $11. Sah-WEET!

Hopefully this will redeem me in Amy's eyes. ;)

(Not that she reads my blog, but still. It's the thought that counts, right?)

Simple scarf for DH

On Saturday, DH headed off to an SCA event by himself. (DD never naps at these things and was still getting over a cold, and the temperature that day was supposed to go up to about 35, so we felt it best if we didn't take her, which meant DH going solo.) This gave me the time I need to finish the scarf. Saturday night I wrapped it up, and the next morning I gave it to DD as DH was starting to get up. She padded over to his side of the bed and handed it off with sweetly-lisped good wishes for Father's Day.

It was a success. :) DH put it on right away. He did remark later that it would be a while before he could really get any use out of it, but I think he liked it, and I think he especially liked that DD had helped to make it.

A photo will be forthcoming.

Garden Shawl for MIL

Just eleven more rows to go on the body! It's getting there! I just have to keep! Being! Upbeat! About! It!

Stornaway sweater for DH

The front is finished! The back has begun.

MP3 player cosy for moi

I cast on using my standard toe-up sock pattern and increased to 44 stitches. Then I just kept knitting, making double-yarnover holes wherever the buttons on the player were going to be. Once I got to the earphone plug, I stopped knitting in the round and started turning the work and purling back once I'd finished a row. Finally, I decreased to just a little flap and made that long enough to go over the top.



It was only after I'd finished doing all of this that I realised I'd completely blocked viewing access to the display window on the player.

Sigh.

I will be ripping it out and doing it again, this time making just a big honking hole in the middle where the window and surrounding buttons go.

P.S. - My friend Gillian had her baby! Yay! Congrats, Gill!