Birthday loot!

I forgot to show you my fantabulous birthday loot! How silly of me.

First off, a friend sent me this lovely Alpaca Boucle from Plymouth Yarns:



Three whole skeins! I wonder what to make with it...

Another friend sent me Knitting Lingerie Style by Joan McGowan-Michael and Bead Knitted Bags by Julia Pretl. And I bought myself Stephanie Japel's Fitted Knits.



I never even considered Knitting Lingerie Style until I got it, but I am very, very taken with it. There's knitted lingerie and underwear, true, but there are also alllll kinds of garments. Socks, tops (shaped as camisoles or corsets), skirts, pants, shorts, and a dress. And while I may never make knitted undies (and if I do, I may never tell you), I'm definitely making at least some of the tops from that book!

And the beaded bags book is definite eye candy. Each bag pattern is preceeded with a smaller project to help you learn the techniques, and I want to make all of these! I love the feel of beaded fabric, and I'm a total magpie for everything shiny. And the book even comes with a DVD to demonstrate the techniques!

I'm also quite happy with Fitted Knits. It is pretty repetitive with the patterns, but since I like one of them, I like the rest. I am certainly planning a few things from there. Ooo, maybe I can make one of the shrugs with my Alpaca Boucle!

And I also got baking stuff. My sweet husband got me THE coolest Bundt pan ever:



He is so sweet. He says he thinks making and decorating this cake will make a great tradition for our kids. You know, the future, hypothetical kids.

And I got myself a shortbread mold:



Though the shortbread made in it doesn't quite come out crisply stamped, it has, nonetheless, been delicious.

And a question for you guys: do you listen to knitting podcasts? If so, which? I recently joined a gym and need something to keep the boredom at bay while I work out.

What I've been up to

Ever since the knitting frenzy of early September, I really haven't had much time to knit! The shawl and a pair of socks were the only things I finished since then, although I now have stuffing for the elephant. There's no excuse not to finish!

I did, however, start some new things, and I know that you're just DYING to see what they are.

First up, a sweater for J's baby girl (J, if you remember, will be the lucky recepient of these socks. This is the Robin Hood from Adorable Knits for Tots, in Swish superwash merino, Dublin colorway:



(I love it. It's so soft and the cables really pop. However, I don't have enough yarn and will need to get more. Darn.)

Speaking of J, I started a topsy-turvy Cinderella doll (by Jean Greenhowe, of course!) for her older daughter. I think she'll get a kick out of it, despite the random colors :) (please excuse them -- I was determined not to buy any more yarn!)



Here are the completed skirts and the almost-completed bodies/heads. The lavender is the dressy skirt, and the yellow is the patched Cinderella outfit. I converted everything to knitting in the round to save time on seaming, and am knitting both bodies in one piece. It's been slow, because I've been getting home at 8 in the evening every night, and then still have chores to do, so I've had no time to knit.

Finally, the Sweet Mary Jane cardigan, which is apparently no longer available on Knitpicks. Boo. It's a very easy, mindless knit, so I usually take it on the train. It's in Shadow, Lost Lake colorway.



I'm about 3-4 inches in so far. It'll take a while. A train ride makes maybe a row, so...

I went to a book fair at University of Chicago last weekend, and got a ton of books, all for $9 total. I got The Once and Future King and the 6th Harry Potter (hardbound, for $2! Brand-new looking, too!), and a bunch of books I would never pay full price for, like a book on taking care of household plants, and one on household tips and hints -- everything from getting out stains to first aid. I also got two sewing books (one from the 60s, one from the 80s), because I'd like to have a reference handy.

And, of course, knitting books! I bought 5 volumes of the 20-volume Stitch by Stitch series, which was put out in the 80s, and contains instructions and patterns for knitting, crochet, and sewing. While the patterns are outdated (although the kids' patterns, blankets, and even some adult wear are still just fine!), they seem to be really outstanding books! They illustrate, step by step (or stitch by stitch!) how to make different stitches and patterns, various techniques, etc. One of the volumes talks about modifying necklines, for example. Another illustrates making cables in crochet. And the illustrations are excellent! And each book contains 20-30 patterns, for everything -- men's and women's clothing, kids and baby clothes and accessories, home stuff, toys...

So I'm very pleased with them, and I went on Amazon to see if I could find more volumes. And I did! I found the whole set for $8 new, including shipping! So...I think I'll get it! Yay!

Oh, I also got my copy of Vogue Knitting, you know, the reference book, and am very happy with it.