Party Like It's 1979

My wonderful knitting group, All Things String, had it's annual holiday party this past Saturday. Last year we had fondue and it was such fun that we did it this year too. The fondue party of the 70's is definitely back in full force! If you dip vegetables in cheese and fruit in chocolate it seems like overall the meal must be healthy. At least that's my theory (please don't correct me). We ate, knit, did a white elephant gift exchange, and ate some more. It was a fun time!

The gifts were all really nice, no true white elephants in the bunch. At first, people were playing nicely and there was very little stealing. We had a second round, just to make sure that this niceness didn't last. I was extremely happy with the gift I initially chose (some beautiful stitch markers and a bracelet counter brought by Crafty Carolyn). The fun of stealing was much too tempting however, and I am also very happy with my final gift, which included a Starbucks gift card (the knitting group meets at Starbucks), the newest issue of Stringing, and a beautiful skein of yarn handspun by Zona of Twirl Girl Fibers. It is spun from wool roving and Sari silk. Cool huh? I haven't decided what this yarn should be yet, but it sure is lovely to look at isn't it?



Knitting and crocheting are actually getting done these days, so I'll soon have some more completed projects to post about. Also, I want to give my husband a big congrats. He became a US citizen yesterday!!

Goodies from the North

So, awhile back Jennifer from Handmade by Jennifer said that during a birthday book buying spree she had somehow ended up with two of the same book, and she was looking to trade. A book called "Easy Baby Knits" seemed right up my alley, so I searched my stash for something worthy to offer. Turns out that I have much less to offer than I realized (how embarrassing), so instead of yarn I offered chocolate. I was hoping she would agree since it was not just any chocolate, but the world-famous See's Chocolates. So, I bought a nice-sized box of chocolates, grabbed a couple of skeins of hand-dyed Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride worsted and sent them off to Canada.

Meanwhile, Jennifer had generously decided that she would add some Montreal goodies in when she sent the book. She asked for my preferences to which I replied "I have a preference for dark chocolate, and I don't care for white chocolate. As for scents I like, I prefer food or natural scents like pine and citrus." As you can see below, she somehow managed to come up with something to fit every single thing I mentioned. There are three chocolate bars, one dark, one regular, and one that is orange and chocolate (yum!), a tin of lovely citrus candies, a pine-scented car freshener, a book of word searches (just for fun), and a lovely card. I definitely got the better end of this deal!



Oh, and let's not forget the book, which is full of adorable baby/toddler patterns. There is a cute jumper and hat set that I absolutely must make!



Thanks Jennifer, what a wonderful treat!

A Slow End to the Year

I apologize to all my usual posters and those whose blogs I regularly visit. I am slowly catching up reading about your lives and posting comments. Obviously, the moving/pregnant/end-of-the-semester combo is killing me timewise and many things other than my blog are also suffering. At this very moment I am extremely far behind in grading and have a paper review that is overdue and a chapter that needs to be written by Friday. I'm hoping you will feel honored that I took the time to post rather than work on these things (OK, perhaps honored is a strong word, but at least understanding as to why there is so little knitting content).

The truth is that very little knitting has been going on. My one-piece baby kimono is nearly finished, and I am quite happy with how it is turning out. I am eager to try my hand at another baby sweater soon and the Child’s Placket-Neck Pullover from Last Minute Knitted Gifts may be just the thing. Rachel from Lickety Knit just posted an adorable version, and made me want one too.

I also want to finish my Le Slouch before New Year's so I can wear it in Las Vegas. My brother is getting married there just after New Year's, so I just bought a very cute maternity coat from Target so I look stylish while not freezing to death.



I think the burgundy beret will be a lovely complement and may help me reach my goal of looking like a stylish pregnant woman. However, I have to admit that sweats and tshirts are looking better and better as my belly is expanding and I am "outgrowing" some of my maternity clothes.

Dreams Become Reality

“A house is made of walls and beams; a home is built with love and dreams.”

I know I've been absent for far too long, but this moving process has been very extensive and requiring more than I'm accustomed to. When you move into an apartment it generally includes all the necessary appliances. Our new house actually did come with many appliances, but we still needed a washer, dryer, and refrigerator. We also wanted to do a few things before fully moving in, including replacing some carpet with wood flooring and painting some of the walls. What this means is that we've been sleeping on our futon for the past couple weeks and most boxes are still not unpacked (thank god for ample storage space!). Here's an older photo of our neighborhood:



It now looks a little less like a construction site and more lived in. I have much knitting news to catch up on including an incredibly cool package I received from Jennifer in Montreal. Now I just need to find the charger to my camera, so that I can take photos.