First – Etsy.  I’ve determined that my new Twitter habit is very, VERY dangerous.  People like to tweet about awesome stuff they find on Etsy.  Since I’m not usually an Etsy browser (I go when I’m looking for something specific), this shows me things I wouldn’t otherwise find.

Exhibit A: Stellar Babble Creations‘ DPN cases.

Beautiful little sleeves that hold multiple sets of DPNs, with a coordinating clear vinyl zippered case to hold them all.  Each of the sleeves is labeled with US and metric sizes, and holds DPNs up to 7″ long.  The green and purple sets are sock sets – US0-3, including 1.5 and 2.5.  The green one holds my Harmony DPNs and the purple holds my nickel KnitPicks DPNs.  The multicolored print set is one of the hat and mitten sets.  The 5 sleeves are for US5-8, with the buyer’s choice as to whether the 5th sleeve is labeled for a US4 or a US9 (I went with the 4).  Those are my nickel KP needles, which are 8″ long and don’t quite fit in the sleeves.  They do, however, fit in the zippered case, so I’m ok with them sticking out of the sleeves.  They are beautifully made, and I absolutely love them.

Exhibit B: Flower Pie Circular Needle Cases.

OK, so, technically, I found these on my own.  But I blame having cute DPN cases for creating the itch for cute circular needle cases for my KP fixed circs.  These cases come with 12 pockets, but one of the nice thing she offers is that she’ll add another page to the center of the case, for an additional 4 pockets.  There was a small mixup on mine (she missed the message that I wanted the extra page in each of them), but once the pages get here and I sew them in, I’m thinking of using printable iron-ons to label the pockets with the needle size and length.  Haven’t fully decided yet, though.

So, with my new DPN and circular cases in my hands, I decided that I needed a new case for my KP Options.  I figured, hey, I have a sewing machine, I have plenty of fat quarters, I can come up with something!  So, I came up with this:

It’s not quite right.  It’s a little too big and unwieldy.  I was hoping for something I could put in my knitting bag.  This doesn’t roll up quite right.  I do like the snaps I put in to hold the cables, though – those will stick around for the next iteration of the case, which will happen when I have a little more time.

Speaking of time, yeah, it’s a little short right now.  Not only am I still working on the LazyMan (update to that to follow), I’ve also been recruited to help with PGLT’s upcoming production of “Alice in Wonderland”.  The director is a friend I met during “Laughter on the 23rd Floor,” and she is a bit stuck.  She’s short a soldier for the second weekend of the show, so I agreed to step in.  I’ve been at rehearsal this week, and it’s been fun.  It’s not a big role, mostly moving scenery around, but the cast is great, and it’s fun to be on stage even a little bit.  It has certainly whetted the appetite for next season’s auditions!

Oh, and yes, the laptop survived the surgery just fine.  I haven’t noticed any more skipped v’s, so I think the problem is solved for now. 

That is the start of the “Some Like It Hot” gloves from Annie Modesitt’s book Romantic Hand Knits.  I’m using Knit Picks Risata in “Burgundy”. And yes, they are on double-points. Try not to faint.

And a little something for Amby:

Since I am, apparently, the world’s foremost collector of Julip Bags, I decided to take a shot of the collection for her.  L to R, that’s my “Sushi for Knitters” Everything but the Sock bag, a spindle bag, my new Lily Tote, another Everything but the Sock bag (current home of the gloves above), my Gabrielle Lace Keeper (currently housing my Mystery Stole), and my Hannah Tote, a custom order in the sushi print fabric.

Yeah… it’s an addiction, I’ll admit it.  But seriously, they kick ass.

And before you tell me I’m moving fast, someone in the MS4 Ravelry group was done yesterday afternoon.

Here is a closeup of the center beaded section:

I love the way the multicolored beads are working out.  I wasn’t sure if they would be a problem, but they look really cool.  I’m picking them completely by random, so there is no rhyme or reason to the color arrangement.

Here’s one of the lace motifs, too:

From what we’ve been told, this will have mostly symmetrical ends and be grafted (EEP!) together in the center.  They will differ at some point in the middle, I’m guessing so that we graft not at the exact center of the stole, but off to one side or the other.  As such, I’m going to start working on the other end today, planning on having both done before clue #2 comes out next Friday.

Also, since my mailman just came by, my Mystery Stole has a new home!  I saw on Amby’s blog that she had come up with a design for a lace-specific project bag.  So, I am now the proud owner of my very own Gabrielle Lace Keeper!

And yes, it is currently stuffed to busting with the GIANT ball of Lisa Souza fingering weight I’m using for the Mystery Stole.
And because her bags are freaking ADDICTIVE, I picked up one of her Lily Totes for those days when my big sushi-themed Hannah Tote is a little too much.

Thanks, Amby – I love them!  And I know all of you will love them too – go check out her shop!

I asked her for dragonflies (duh) and yarn, and said I’d like greens, oranges, and purples (I like secondary colors.  ), and look at the work she did!

I’ve got a Knitter’s Rule (sized from 0 to 15),

I’ve got a 4″ gauge square, a WPI tool,

A Sock Rule set,

And look at these cute stitch markers she included!

Thanks, Karen! They are amazing, and I can’t wait to use them.  The details are so awesome – the little yarn balls and skeins have labels!  And they say things like “Alpaca” and “Silk”!  How CUTE!

And now, go!  Shop!  You know you want a set of your very own! 

Oh, and I finished up my February Lady Sweater at long last.  It’s in the washer now, and once it dries (and I put on the kick-ass buttons Carrie gave me), I’ll get some FO pics.

It wasn’t enough that I got a TON of birthday wishes via email, blog comments, and my very own threads at the Knittyboard and Ravelry, but I also got lovely thoughtful gifts.

I don’t have a picture of it, but Kiddossk sent me a little surprise from the Fat Witch Bakery (tell me that’s not the best name ever) – an assorted box of their Brownie, Walnut, and Blonde Babies, and a bag of hot cocoa mix. Let me tell you, these are some of the most incredible brownies EVER. And keep in mind, I usually make the Barefoot Contessa’s “start with a pound of butter” brownies – I know good brownies. Thank you, sweetie – it was a lovely surprise. And yes, I did share with Kris. He got one.

While I was at my regular Thursday knitting meetup today, the lovely (although blogless) Kathy gave me a huge box of assorted teas – I totally didn’t expect that, and it was so sweet of her! I will smile every time I have a cup.

Today, an envelope arrived from my Crafty Sister herself, Ms. Turtlegirl. Now, I knew this was coming, mostly because I’ve been getting daily text messages from her asking if it had arrived yet. (In her defense, she mailed it LAST Wednesday from Charlotte. My mother mailed my card from Las Vegas on Thursday, and it arrived on Monday. So I see why she was anxious). I opened it up to find these:

(Oh, and if you are curious, the markers are from Seahorse Designs over at Etsy. She’s got some fun stuff over there!)

Second – check out that Hats for Alex counter! Since Weezalana started her contest, I’ve gotten 32 hats! And today’s mail isn’t here yet, so I’m betting I’ll be adding to that tally again later.

Third, there was much curiosity over the cellphone charm I was going to make for Kris. Well, he was going to sacrifice a D20 (that’s a 20-sided die, used for Dungeons and Dragons, for you less-geeky-than-me types), but the more he looked at it, the more he realized that the ones he had were just a little too big. He did discover one on Etsy that was made with an older, smaller D20, but figured he didn’t really need it. Yeah, whatever. So, I convo’ed the seller, and she had some other colors available. She made two of them for me – the blue is for Kris and the green… yeah, that’s for me. Go check out her other stuff – it’s really cute!

I had a great weekend – Amanda decided a while back that I needed to have a birthday party, so she came up Saturday morning and we cooked and laughed (and, um, perhaps had some wine) and then some other folks came over for the afternoon/evening. There was lots of Wii-ing and we really had a great time. Sunday, we went over to the Maryland Renaissance Festival. Amanda and I both got henna tattoos (pics to follow when Kris uploads them), and we watched some shows, ate some food, and had a little mead.

So, a while back, if you were reading my blog (which was of course still on Blogger back then), you might remember some activity about blogstalking. There was a group of folks from the Knittyboard who decided to post according to a theme each week. It eventually died off. However, OLPP decided that it needed to be revived, and I figured I’d join in again. It was a lot of fun last time, and hopefully this will encourage me to post more than just WIP Wednesdays (lame as they have been lately) and Yarn Pr0n Fridays. Due to the parental visit and prep for the party, I’m a bit behind, so we’ll be doing two weeks at once.

So, Week One is “Who Am I?”

I am a wife, daughter, sister, cousin, niece, friend, but not a mother, which breaks my heart on a daily basis.

I am a very good knitter and crocheter, and a newbie spinner who knows she’d get better if she ever practiced.

I am a collector. I have collections of cookbooks, Wizard of Oz memorabilia, and Marvin the Martian stuff. I also have a habit of needing to complete collections even if I’ve lost interest (hence the continued purchases of Xanth books even though the series has been really repetitive for some time now)

I’m a geek. I love fantasy novels and movies, and I still enjoy the occasional game of D&D with my hubby.

Most of all, I’m happy. I really am. Are there things I’d change about my life if given the opportunity? Probably. But the truth is that I’m in a place where my life is good. I adore my husband, we’re healthy, my parents are healthy and happy, I have great friends, and I have opportunities to pursue my hobbies and interests.

Week Two is a much simpler proposition: Purse Guts. This one was kind of fun. And yes, I played honestly – I didn’t clean it out first!

My purse (Thank you, Target. I love a cute, cheap purse!):

The front pocket – my wallet, my fingerless gloves (thanks, SP!), my iPod, headphones, my keys (see the sheep key cover? Thanks again, SP!), THREE lip glosses (remember that…), a roll of Tums, a pen (which is usually clipped to one of the rings at the base of the handle, but got put in my purse at some point), and some stuff from the RennFest – my old horns (I bought new ones this year to match my hair), the program, and the care instructions for my henna:

The back pocket – lint remover stickies, a spare pair of contacts (I wear daily disposables, and I’ve had them rip at very inconvenient times), the silica gel pack which apparently never got taken out of the bag, some wet wipes from heaven knows where, my makeup bag, my travel container of Mineral Veil (love my Bare Minerals!) and my pocketknife with my discount cards from various stores.

You know how I said to remember the three lip glosses in the front pocket? This is why. Here are the contents of the makeup case – EIGHT more lipglosses, a mini mascara (DiorShow – way expensive, but damn it’s good stuff), a mini mirror, and a sample jar of Peter Thomas Roth Mattifying Gel.

I may have a minor lipgloss addiction. Someday I’ll have to show you the rest of it…And in the little back zipper pocket on the back side – 2 packs of gum.

And you might remember that whole “Which STR should I use for my second Charlotte’s Web shawl” thing. Amanda sat down in my craft room Sunday morning and played with my STR and came up with this:

Peaseblossom, Titania, Fire on the Mountain, Firebird, and Knitty Rocks.
I think we have a winner! As soon as I finish up the project I’m working on for my SP, I’ll get started on it. Yay!