A Letter

Dear City of Saint Paul,

Hi! So, it's starting to be winter around here again. I'm sure you've noticed what with the flurries and feezing rain and all. Um . . . so . . . not to be picky, but would it be too much to ask that you sand/salt the roads in the more "urban" areas of the city? I do enjoy the snowy weather, but much more so appreciate being able to stop my car from sliding through major intersections. I'd like to live at least until Christmas so I can give out all of these gifts I've been working on. Thanks!

P.S. Um . . . So, street sweeping? Are we not doing that in every neighborhood this year? Because, yeah, I've seen you guys out, just not near me. I have some leaf goo all over my street that I would love to see gone before it gets too snowy. Thanks!

A Semi-Quiet Weekend

Not much crafting news to report fromt his weekend. I started and am almost finished with this hat for my husband, but that's about it. I did spend several hours on Saturday raking and gathering up leaves. Oy! We have a lot of leaves (I raked a pile taller than me) and all from 1 tree! Talk about your workout.

I did some shopping - I am almost done with things that need to be bought which feels really good. I need to get some sort of big gift for him which is always a challenge. Maybe a watch? Tools? Ugh!

I set myself up for some more crafting insanity by buying glitter, stamps and paint because apparently I really need to make some ornaments for people and, of course, stamp up my own gift wrap. Yeah, I'm a little insane. I hope to work all of that up this week and will post pics.

How was your weekend?

That New Yarn Smell . . .

Even kitties love it!


My cat, Cooper, was excited to get a whiff of the awesome Lorna's Laces sock yarn that Heather (aka The ADD Knitter) sent. Thank you so much, Heather!



And, on the Holiday Craft Spaz Out-a-Thon front (see button on right), I have some finished items to report:

That's 2 Hurricane Hats (blue for my Dad and grey/tan for my brother-in-law) and a Morningside Neckwarmer for my father in-law. This leaves me with a hat for my husband and a cowl for my step-mother-in-law to finish. Except . . . oh wait . . . yeah . . . I'm crazy and really think I need to make myself a pair of these first. And maybe some mitered mittens, and I really should make a dog sweater . . . Help.


Cooper loves finished objects too!

It's Here!

Snow has officially come to Minnesota. When I left for work this morning, it was dark and it looked more like rain. It wasn't until I got in my car and saw the windshield that I realized it was rain's chillier sibling, snow. Darn . . . I just don't feel ready for all of the wet pant hems, crappy driving and manual labor (shoveling). Oh, well. Welcome, snow!

Holiday Knitting Status Report

I am making progress - hooray!!!! Only 3 items that I need to make left (2 hats and a cowl which is well underway). I am feeling a lot more comfortable now. I know they are all small items and logically I know they don't take very long to make, but I am kind of anal and feel much happier knowing that, with a month to go, I am well ahead of schedule.

So, here is where I am so far:

Hats/mittens for my sister and brother's girlfriend (I embroidered the hats after I took this photo - cute!), malabrigo cowl and Fetching mitts for my Mom, cowl for my brother out of Berocco Jasper,

Toasty mitts for my niece and a modified (i.e. much shorter) pair of Toasty mitts for my aunt out of Noro Silk Garden.

This was my very first time working with the Noro Silk Garden and I was really impressed - the colors were amazing and it was really soft. Maybe I will make myself something with it . . .