Friday, December 30, 2005

so, it's 2:30 in the morning, i have a pound cake in the oven, and look what i accomplished in the process:

a finished project! (i can't believe it!)


1x1 rib knit long scarf

yarn: katia's 'nepal', color #5000, 2 skeins on #15 needles

time it took to complete: 5 days, off and on

Thursday, December 29, 2005

merry (belated) christmas!


o christmas tree, o christmas tree...with all my 2600+ lights...

i know. just call me ms. griswald!

i'm very excited! two days after christmas, i'm about to leave to go after-christmas shopping on north michigan avenue, and look what shows up on my doorstep:


sp 6 treats! yay!

a box 'o stuff from my secret pal! yay! i received a beautiful purse, a copy of the reader, stitch markers (hey! what happened to my other ones?! hmm...), a giant stitch holder-thingey (is that what they're called? i can't remember...) which i *totally* need for all my bulky scarves that i've been working (and procrastinating about) on lately, and, my very, very favorite part:


beautiful!

a pattern and yarn for this gorgeous lace (yikes!) scarf! i'll probably work on this after i finish my french girl project... i can't wait to start it, though!

and speaking of the french girl... this is what has become of it:


o unfinished stuff, o unfinished stuff...

well, at least i only have 3 (1 not included in photo) projects on the needles at this particular point and time. one, of course, is my beloved french girl, the second, is a 1x1 rib scarf out of katia's 'nepal' yarn in this gorgeous darker-rainbowish colorway (#5000) to replace my beloved chez casuelle bulky scarf that i knitted up last year but am *so* allergic to, and the one not pictured - a 2x2 rib scarf in a charcoal bulky alpaca yarn that is *sooo* soft for my boyfriend. (that was supposed to be part of his christmas present. oh well. so much for deadlines!)

so, thanks again to my fabulous secret pal, marissa, for all the goodies, and, here's to a safe and happy new year's! see you in 2006!

Tuesday, December 13, 2005

okay. yah. yah. it's been a while.

it's just that...i've been busy...procrastinating!


stitch markers!

first off (as usual)...a very special thank you goes out to my secret pal... i received a not-lost-in-the-mail-this-time (ahem, thank you, usps...) envelope yesterday...and guess what it had inside! stitch markers! they're blue and lovely and gorgeous...and, my digital camera is freezing in my car right now, so, i'll post photos soon. (promise!) thank you, thank you, thank you!


one balls worth of progress on the french girl

secondly...big news...i've actually *made progress* on french girl! i started it thanksgiving day, while waiting for the rest of my very late (umm...it's a well-known fact that we have to be told that we're having lunch - at noon - for people to start arriving by 6 pm) family to arrive, and, i actually was able to complete (and not tear back) enough that i actually finished one entire ball of rowan big wool. the color that i'm using is called 'lucky', this gorgeous lilac-y/purple-y color. will also post photos of my progress (excited! excited!) soon, as soon as i defrost the camera. i just hope i'm not breaking it (or messing it up for that matter) by leaving it in the console of my car. i guess we'll find out now, now won't we?

thirdly...other big project accomplished. my boyfriend, dan, threw a holiday party last friday, and, me, being the neurotic girlfriend, had to overindulge in cooking and baking in preparation for the event. of course, he assured me time and time again that i wouldn't have to do anything - and i shouldn't make anything - but, that wasn't good enough, of course! *of course* i had to prepare "just a little something" - there was no way that i was going to be involved in this whole thing, and risk the chance of someone saying, 'geez! he has a girlfriend, why didn't she do anything?' so, my little something ended up being my delicious chile con carne (with my secret ingredient...corn), a chicken and shrimp jambalaya (which turned out *much, much* better than my previously mentioned attempt), a 'chicago dip' spinach-dippey-type-thing, a cheddar and bacon log cheese-ball-type-thing, brownies, chocolate dipped pretzels (white and milk chocolates, of course...and, i'm so bummed, i broke my much-coveted glass double boiler from cooking.com while in the process of cleaning it), peanut butter kiss cookies, cupcakes, and rice krispie treats. i should've taken a photo of my kitchen once everything was said and done; i don't think i was able to see my counter...at all. it was truly a mess...truly! but, the aftermath is all taken care of, and, my kitchen is now beautiful once again. (so glad that's over with!)

*if all that* wasn't enough, the next few weeks will be filled with christmas parties, dinners with parents, surprises, friends, family, love & laughter. and then, to top it all off...new year's 2006 is a mere 18 days away! and to think...it was only new year's 2005 the other day! where has the year gone?!?

so, my apologies to my secret pal (whom, for some reason, i just never get back to) for not getting back to her sooner, and, i'll *hopefully* get better at this blogging thing and actually post more often than once a month. :) ah well. c'est la vie!