November Celebrations

It had been a busy week, but busy in all the ways that I love.  Saturday we celebrated Mark's birthday with his family by going to sushi and sharing a few (okay, maybe more than a few) libations.  Then on Sunday I got the supreme joy of watching Mark open his birthday presents.  I always love watching people open presents I have gotten them.  I love that look of joy that crosses their faces when I have got it just right and given them something they have been craving or given them something they never knew they wanted until I gave it to them.  The second is what I got from Mark's main present I made him.

I took a couple days off work to drive around and take photos of signs on various buildings around town and use the letters to spell out his last name.  I think it looks great against the red walls in our kitchen too!

Of course there was Thanksgiving day itself.  I love celebrating any holiday with Mark's family.  For one thing, Mark's family has become my own.  Second though, you have to love a family that potlucks the big meals and celebrates with jello shots...

and truly know how to demolish mexi-layer...

Mark and I also took on the insanity that is Black Friday.  We gathered some great buys, but my favorite stop was my favorite LYS where I snagged some Lantern Moon bags I have been eyeing and some lovely yarn that just need to come home with me.  Some of my goodies from Paradise Fibers will find their way to my swap partner for the Winter Solstice swap on Ravelry soon.

Puppy Sitting

Today I got to puppy-sit Porter for a few hours.  He is Kerri and Justin's newest baby.  The afternoon started with some extensive playing...

Then it lead to some heavy napping...

Charlie tried to help me knit Sadie's second mitten for Christmas, but he just could not keep his poor sleepy eyes open...

Don't fret though little Charlie Bear.  I was able to finish it with your cozy little body keeping my lap warm.

Swap Love

I love swaps, especially those I do on Ravelry.  My most recent one was with the Outlander Fans group.  I am definitely one of those people that love to spoil as much as be spoiled, and my swap partner has successfully received her package so I can now share the two goodies I made her that joined lots of bought goodies.

This is the mini messenger bag I made her from 101 Designer One-Skein Wonders.  I wish the picture showed the cables better.  Even with the wonders of felting, they really pop out in person.

I also made her these stitch markers. I like to make them on earring loops that flip closed so they can be moved if necessary or be attached to the yarn instead of the hang on the needle so they do not distort stitches, especially if they need to be placed where there is YO stitch.

My next swap is with the Winter Solstice Swap group and I have already been messaging my partner and spying little goodies to make and buy.

Mmmm....Fall

Tonight's perfectly chilly evening called for a perfectly toasty meal.

Mark started things off by making us hot buttered rums...

and I finished them with some homemade pumpkin soup and grilled cheese and tomato sandwiches.

Inland Crafts

I went to the Inland Crafts sale today downtown and came home with a few goodies. 

This gorgeous hat by Lillie & Cohoe. I fell in love with nearly all of their hats, but settled on this one.

I also met a fellow knitter (Carolina Cristina Manzoni of Between the Threads) who had some beautiful and reasonably priced scarf/shawl pins so I scooped up these three. Unfortunately she does not have a website, but if you think you would like to snag a few of these yourself, let me know and I will give you her email address.

This was my first time visiting their annual sale.  I am sure it will not be the last!

I'm going...

... to Stitches West in February.  I have never been to Stitches or to the Bay area (it is in Santa Clara, CA) and I am practically vibrating with excitement.  I am going with the wonderful crew of Paradise Fibers to help them run their booth.  I am so unbelievably flattered that they thought of me as a good addition to their team and I think they will be fun to work with.  I am also ecstatic to be surrounded by fellow fiber lovers for nearly a week.  If you are planning on attending Stitches be sure to come say hi!  Did I mention I am excited?

Loving it!

I love coming home to packages, but I had an extra special treat today because I came home to this gorgeous handspun by theurchiness. Check out her blog while you are at it!  You will actually see a  much better photo of this gorgeousness there as well.

I cannot wait to knit it up into something spectacular.  I am thinking fingerless gloves/mitts, but I am open to suggestions.  Recieving this is also inspiring me to get practicing my spinning.  I learned how to spin with a drop spindle this summer, but I have been so focused on my knitting projects I have not played with it as much as I would like.

While visitig etsy to give Brie the glowing feedback she deserves I also came across this gorgeous locket.  Paging Handi-man...oh Mr. Handi-man.  Can you say "Christmas present" with me?

I can see I am easily going to become an Etsy addict.

Boo!

First of all, I am blessed to be surrounded by fellow Halloween lovers at work.  Every year we come up with a  spooky theme for the office and try to surprise everyone at work with what our costumes will be that year.  Word has gotten out about how we love to decorate and as soon as people flip the pages of their calendars to October they start coming around to see what we are up to. This year we decided to go with a vampire theme.  See this post for a picture of the decorations.

We usually have a party as an office after hours to further celebrate Halloween with another theme entirely. This year it was going to be an 80's theme, but unfortunately our lovely hostess became ill the day before.  We are all hanging on to our costumes though in hopes that we can organize a bash in November that has an 80's theme just for the heck of it.

So instead of rockin' our bad 80's selves on Saturday night, Mark and I found ourselves at home handing out candy to the neighborhood ghouls.  In between answering the door I made homemade guacamole (hey the adults need treats too)...

and listened to my brand new Sting CD. 

Both were equally delicious!