holiday bragging post (i’m so lucky!)

first before i forget again, i want to mention that i changed my comment options so now you have to register before commenting. i started getting an overwhelming amount of spam comments (like, 50+ per day) and didn’t want to have to sort through them anymore. sorry for the one extra step, i hope it doesn’t deter anyone from commenting…

and now some fun stuff! i was super sad to not get to see my family for xmas, but it turned out to be a pretty rad holiday, despite the lingering sickness. my mom totally went overboard sending me gifts, so i had tons of packages to open, which is always fun, and pete’s parents and uncle came up, so it was all family-y still, and they are awesome, so it was a really fun day. and, the snow!! we heard that it was portland’s first white christmas since 1937! and it just happened to fall on our first year up here – how lucky are we?! that was amazing…

and i am seriously blown away by all the amazing stuff i got. pete got me a beautiful wooden umbrella swift and a ball winder!! so now if you buy yarn from me, i would be more than happy to ball it for you! i’ve been balling yarn just for fun since i set it up…

and i got a pile of awesome books (and a few dvds) from my parents and pete, and a bunch of other fun stuff that i didn’t take pictures of. and i was given money from my grandma towards a spinning wheel, and from pete’s parents towards a new (24mm f/1.8 macro) lens!! wooo! i love my family so much! for reasons other than these material things, of course, but you know, i’m pretty happy about creative gifts. (a spinning wheel and a new lens, what more could a girl ask for?)

oh and also, i did a holiday swap with my favorite spinner, insubordiknit, and got a bunch of pretty dyed wool and these two skeins of gorgeous yarn! i can’t wait till i have some free knitting time!!

ooh and here’s the hat i knit for pete. it’s a modified version of my spiraling stripes hat, but with purl ridge spirals instead of color stripes.

ok and for a pattern update… i didn’t forget that i had planned to get a couple free patterns posted here by now – the sickness and all the last minute holiday stuff took over, i’m so sorry. one of my new year’s resolutions is to be more regular and reliable with my blog. i shouldn’t make pattern promises i can’t keep. and i should post more often. yes.

so right now, i am trying to complete a submission for the spring knitty, which is due on jan.5th. and then i need to put together my samples, due on the 15th (so, mailed out by the 10th). after those are all done, i should be able to get my next free pattern up. so now you know what’s up.