Lots of Pictures!

Finally! Today I have time to update my blog. :) Lots has been going on lately, and I haven't had much computer time at all.

First things first -- a big THANK YOU to my SP9 partner who sent me the greatest box from Norway! :)

I got 6 skeins of superwash wool, a cute viking figurine, a book about Troll Valley (Joshua loves it!), some tea, and a postcard. :) Thank you! What a super box -- I loved everything. And the yarn is already being put to good use, as you will see later on in this post!

Here's a picture of my goodies:



On the needles right now, I have several projects. I'm working on a crocheted bag for a friend. And I've been knitting small projects. I'm finishing up a kitchen project in cotton -- the pattern will be posted soon. I've also acquired a few new knitting pattern books and mags and made a couple of quick projects. Here's the new books I got:



From left to right, the new Knit Picks catalog has a lot of great pattern ideas and yarns in it. :) I downloaded a couple new patterns, and plan to order some wool and sock yarn from them soon. Nobody has better prices (IMHO), and their shipping is zippy! Beautiful Knitting is a great book...it not only includes patterns, but also tips/how-to knitting instructions. It's a nice mix of pattern book and reference. The small Shawl book is from Vogue, and I have my eye on several patterns to try. :) The colorful rainbow shawl on the front is my favorite. I have promised myself that I will buy the yarn for it when I have lost 50 p0unds. Great diet incentive, eh? :)

I got the latest issue of Interweave Knits last week. Just love it! Great sweater patterns (more diet incentive), and a knitted headband that I just couldn't resist. I knitted it up in blue wool. Pictures later in this entry. :) Garden Dishcloths to Knit is a pattern book I picked up because I only needed a couple more dollars on my order from Joanne's to get free shipping...I haven't knitted up any dishcloths from it yet, but it does have some cute designs in it. Showy Shawls has 4 lace shawl patterns in it -- I am DYING to try making lace shawls, but haven't gotten around to it yet. Too many current projects to finish up. But, this winter I WILL make one! :)

And last but not least, my FAVORITE new pattern book: The Knitter's Bible Knitted Accessories! I just love the patterns in this book! And, I have already started making the fingerless gloves shown on the front of the book!



Recognize the yarn?? :) The wool my SP9 partner sent me is making me a pair of toasty gloves! This is my first pair of gloves. I'm really enjoying trying something new. It's given me a great chance to practice my M1 and cable cast on skills. I'm sure the 2nd glove will work out neater than the first one....I came out with a bit of a gap at the thumb gusset (just like socks!), and my picked up stitches at the base of each finger left tiny gaps. When I weave in the ends, I will pull them closed from the backside. I figured out how to make the gaps smaller by the time I reached the last finger.

I really love this pattern -- the gloves are fingerless, but you also knit and attach a mitten flap, so you can cover your fingers if you choose. :) And the mitten flap secures with a button to keep it out of your way when you're not using it. Right now I'm 1/2 done knitting the flap. I'll take an updated picture before I join the two sides.

Over the weekend while we were out of town to a game convention (yes, we got our geek on), I knitted the cable and bobble headband from the new issue of Interweave knitting. I had some blue wool a friend sent me from England. It came out pretty!



The variegated yarn makes it a bit difficult to see the pattern....here's a closeup



It's definitely toasty! :) I'm going to make another one in a less fuzzy wool so that the cables and bobbles will stand out more. :) I like headbands a lot better than hats in the winter. No hat hair. :)

Now, how about some catching up? I have lots of backlogged photos I've been wanting to post. :)

It's been a great fall! We had a nice Halloween, and Joshua has been loving playing outdoors in the leaves with Buddy -- our puppy.

We had our traditional Halloween party this year. Planning was last-minute this year, so it was smaller than usual. But we are planning a big blow out for next year.

Joshua was a bat, and Daddy was Davy Jones.



Sonya and her boyfriend Brian came over for the evening.



We bought a new punch bowl for our Halloween festivities:



Gruesome, eh? The punch was Ocean Spray Cranberry-grape with Sprite mixed in. :)

Our good friend Tim brought the dip this year:



Mmmmmmm.....brains. The other other other white meat. lol. :)

November has been a busy month so far -- lots going on!

This past weekend we went to High Point, NC for the weekend to attend the annual Mace Gaming Convention.

Here is Mike with our friend Bill during a friendly game of Ra:



Joshua even enjoyed the convention. During the day, Mike and I took turns babysitting, and in the evening I took Josh upstairs to the hotel room where we played with Hotwheels and watched television. The Wizard of Oz was on two nights in a row (still not sure why they played it two days in a row...but not complaining), and Josh LOVES that movie. :) This year Daddy bought a new toy to share with Josh -- a portable DVD player. Josh watched Veggie Tales while we played boardgames and talked with friends.



At about $80, the dvd player was a good investment. It helps on long car rides. We drove nearly 3 hours to get to High Point, and Veggie Tales helped the last half of the trip to keep Josh occupied. :)

And to close out this really longggggg catch-up post, here's a couple of pictures of Josh that I thought were really cute.

Josh played with the puppy one afternoon out in the backyard for so long he couldn't even stay awake long enough to finish his supper.



Tired, tuckered Josh. :)

And, since it is getting cooler at night, sometimes Josh needs friends to keep him warm.



Kato is such a sweet kitty. :)

That's all I have time to post now.....a new pattern will be coming very soon! :)

TTFN