Well, what a nifty day. (Okay, I can’t help it. I like the word “nifty.”)

First, I got a $10 gift certificate to Knit Pixie from my SP6, and just ordered myself some adorable stitch markers and a tote bag . . . not that I needed another bag to carry my knitting in, but . . . well, really, you know, um, it was a gift.

Then, I got another knitting book in the mail. Yes, I know what you’re thinking. “What, Deb, another knitting book?” But, be serious. I think we’ve already covered my lack of self-control where book-buying is concerned.

Handknit Holidays by Melanie Falick. The subtitle is “Knitting Year-Round for Christmas, Hanukkah, and Winter Solstice,” so I think that pretty much covers everything. (Except maybe Kwanzaa?) But let’s face it, almost everyone celebrates something around December, and a lot of people get cold around that time of year . . . Yes, I know, people live in California, too, where it’s balmy all year, or Australia where the seasons are reversed from here . . . You’re supposed to be working with me here!

The point is, it’s a pattern book, which is actually the kind I usually try to avoid . . . Mostly because I usually end up making none of them and then feel I’ve wasted my money, no matter how beautiful the patterns.

  Yet this has some beautiful patterns.

The cover pattern of hood and matching gloves, for instance. Beautiful and practical, yet not boring.

Or, these beautiful, over-the-knee socks. Plain and simple in the front, but with this lovely line of eyelets up the back.

Or this sweet, Saint Lucia’s crown, harking back to Scandinavian Christmases (and which would look great just as a centerpiece on a table, too). Then there are the ballet-like slippers, the knitted votive candle-holders, the baby’s hat that looks like a chocolate kiss . . . some really pretty things!

And as evidence that I have been knitting, here’s the beginning of my unpronouncable shawl. I’m up to row #40. Exciting, huh? Copper-colored Jaggerspun Zephyr. (The yarn I started doing a stole in a month ago but decided it wasn’t right, somehow. This was probably what that yarn was waiting for.

And, if you’re interested in knitting lace. . . . Check out the EZasPi Yahoo group. Starting Sept 24th, they’re having a Shetland Lace workshop, taught by Liz Lovick. There’s even going to be a contest of some kind.

(I know. Snow is probably going to blame me for this, somehow, too….)

Oh, and I’m also saying prayers tonight for the Gulf Coast . . . Hurricane Rita, heading towards Texas and picking up steam. Oh no. Please, not another big one. Not this year. Not this soon after and so close to Katrina.

Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning // 3 Comments »