Good Things Come in Small Packages

Well, I finally got the last border on it and now I present... Blue Mountain Rhapsody! I'm going to hand it off this week for somebody else to make the border. I'm really pleased at how well it turned out. It's probably the most complicated top I've ever made, uh, make that completed. Moreover, Stashbuster Alert! I used 132"--that's almost 4 yards--from my stash!

And in the mail yesterday arrived a nice little package.

I looked at the return address (Mary Jane's Cross and Stitch) and had to zoom to my studio to open it. I thought you'd like to come along for the ride.

Hmm, packaging material...

Looks intriguing...

Ooh! Yes! It's my first installment in the Over-the-Top Series from Just Nan! Cute, huh? I can hardly wait to start. I just need to get past this finishitis first....

Speaking of which...

I couldn't sleep last night so I got up and knitted the i-cord (kind of a square strap for you non-knitters) for my iPod carrier while reading more of Sense and Sensibility. Then I took advantage of the fact I was using cotton yarn. Cotton yarn is plied loosely. I was able to separate 1 of the 4 plies and use it as a thread to sew up the sides of MiPod. It worked like a nice strong button thread. Now I don't need pockets to listen to a podcast! Hoop-de-do!

MiPod has Cables

Whoa! It's been a week since my last post! How did that happen? It must have been that crazy trip with Joaquin Phoenix to Malaysia... Oh, no, I dreamed that. Ah, well.

Okay, I haven't been jet-setting, but I have kept busy. I finished the stippling on the Polka Dot Garden...

...and the chartreuse thread rocked it!

And I got the medallion done on Ben's quilt. I worked about 8 hours on it on Friday. Whew!All that's left for the top is a border. I still don't have a good name for it, though.

One of my favorite things to do while creating pretty things is to listen to podcasts and music on my iPod, Ruby. Ruby also keeps me company while I exercise and do housework. The only problem is that I am a female. Hence, most of my clothes are pocket-free. So, I looked up iPod knitting patterns and found this one! So soon I will have my iPod caddy all ready to go!

Notice the cables? That's right, this girl can do cables. (Woot-woot!) And I only had to change needles three times and yarn once.

Last night I went to one of those Murder Mystery Parties. It was such fun! I was the tarty character (how come I got pegged as the tart?) and the Man of the Place was a gangster. Surprisingly, we were both innocent. It turned out to be the guy who, in real life, is a pastor! Go figure...

Welcome to 2009!

You know what I love to hear? When a party hopper says, "I was having so much fun I stayed longer than I meant to." That's a very good sign. I like to run New Year's like an open house so party hoppers can come and go, regulars can stay all night, and those who barely made it out of the house at 11 pm are still comfortable to arrive late and stay late. Tiny has an annual sleepover to extend the party and that makes for buckets more fun.

We had a great crowd. Not too many and not too few. But there was still room for you.

Many games got a good airing out: I played Imaginiff (a Christmas present), Apples to Apples (Santa's surprise gift), and Trivial Pursuit 20th Anniversary--it was so hard we wound up helping each other to get the answers! That made for a very congenial group. And noisy.

And this morning, with God's help, I woke up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and ready to watch to Rose Parade. Meanwhile, I cut out the fabric for Ben's quilt. I think the colors are toned-down enough for a fellah and I know he has a special affinity for dragonflies. Say a little prayer for Him will ya? He needs help getting a new start in a new place.This is the pattern I'm working on... from this book:I took a class from this teacher in the summer and she made this sooo do-able.

Oh, and Stashbuster Alert! I'm making it from fabrics in the stash! Can I hear a woot-woot?!