Alyknitsandknits: Every Day is a Little Gift!

This week has been a goodie-filled one at my house. Fun Stuff that I ordered, and swapped for started arriving. A couple weeks ago, I discovered the concept of Kick Spindles. I look at a Kick Spindle as a logical step between a Drop Spindle and an all-out Spinning Wheel. I've had a hankering to learn to spin for a while, and even tried to learn to drop spindle. But I discovered I have a lingering rotator cuff injury that makes learning to drop spindle painfully illogical. Still, my desire to learn to spin has not waned. Tried to convince the DH that a nice traveling wheel would be a fine gift for me, but he saw it as just feeding my obsession with fiber. (OK, so the $1000 fly fishing trip - where he brings home NO FISH - and the $4000 hunting club membership don't feed HIS obsessions) But once I found the Kick Spindle, it seemed to solve a number of problems.....inexpensive (less than $60), compact, and the spinning method does not involve my right hand over shoulder-height for inordinate amounts of time. So.....thanks to the Internet, I located and ordered a Little Meggie, from Heavenlyhandknits.com.

I haven't had a chance to sit down and try this little sweetie out, but plan to soon. I have been watching Youtube Little Meggie instructional videos intently trying to suss out the mysteries of the Kick Spindle.

It was also a fun day when my copy of Mason-Dixon Knitting Outside The Lines came to my door through the kind auspices of Amazon.com and my friendly (he really is) neighborhood UPS man. The first M-D Knitting book was fun....this one....AWESOME and as my Ravelry friends say "Full of WIN!" There are at least four patterns in the new book that my life will not be complete without. Even better, I already have the yarn for some of them!!

And a couple of weeks ago, I swapped a copy of Favorite Socks with a Ravelry friend of mine who had lost almost her entire knitting book collection in a move (may the Gods curse moving men to wear machine knit socks their entire lives!). She in turn sent me a skein of recycled sari silk yarn. (PIC HERE) I have been coveting this yarn for quite a while, although I have never had guts enough to pick up a skein "just because." Now I have one lucious skein of the stuff. Probably only enough to do a scarf. But I will spend the next six months dreaming of the possibilities.

On the Knitting Front, I have been working deligently on my Hey Teach sweater. I'm hoping to have it done in time to wear to a professional thing on October 5th...hey and the Yarn Harlot's book signing the night before!. Only the right front and the (thankfully) short sleeves to go. I just may get it done. Keep your fingers crossed.

The professional thing I have to go to is a REALTOR's Education Conference. Two days of classes. Read that two days of blessed knitting time, while pretending to be learning something about the Real Estate Profession. Actually, I do pick up quite a bit knitting and listening to these classes. If I didn't have the knitting to keep me occupied, the blind screaming fidgets would kill me at these things. I plan on adding to my knitted hat and glove collection. I'm getting quite a collection going now. But between chairty donations, and Adopt-a-Crew donations, the hats and goodies will not go to waste. Here are a few I forgot to post before.

A Fake Isle Hat made from Cascade 220 in Forest Green and a random skein of Noro Kureon.

And Cigar Gloves, made for one of #2 son's friends, bound for college in Montana (Go Montana State University!)

I haven't even begun to wrap my mind around Christmas knitting for this year. We're half-way through September and I haven't even given this a minute's thought.......I'm screwed!

One more thing.....just because I think it's cool. For those of you with a Post-It Note fixation......have fun!