We talked about heroin and condoms!

And catnip cigarettes. Jenny the Bloggess and I did. See, tonight I went out to the Barnes and Noble out in the boonies to listen to her read from her book and have her sign my copy. It was such a treat to hear her words in her voice, which was, of course, different than I heard it in my head. It was also cool that everyone was having such a good time, laughing/gasping in all the right places as she read. The place was packed! It was beyond standing room only - people were spilling into other sections of the store. I'm just glad I got there early enough that I was able to get a seat where I could actually see.

Once Jenny finished the reading and the Q&A, it was time for the book signing. I came bearing a small gift: one of the alpaca condom cozies I made ages ago from some leftover sock yarn. When I grabbed it to give to her, I noticed that the condom was expired, so I threw it away because you can't go giving someone an expired condom, especially someone you just met and probably won't meet again. I told her about how the cozy was ribbed, because condoms, and that she could use it for whatever else she wanted such as storing tampons, or Lego minifigs, or as a cat toy. She thought it was just the right size for heroin storage: a nice, discreet little drug pocket that can go anywhere! I had also considered making a catnip cigarette for her Hunter S. Thomcat, but I didn't think of it in time, and it's kind of a dick move to get someone else's cat hopped up on the 'nip.

While I was there, I made plenty more progress on the Tea Time socks, which you can just see in the bottom of the photo of me & Jenny the Bloggess. As I had gotten there more than an hour before she was supposed to start, I had enough time to get through two or three rounds on the feet. I had completed the heel flap and gussets last week and with just a few more inches left to go, I hope to finish the socks entirely by the weekend. After that, I'm not sure what I'm going to feel like working on, but I'm pretty sure it won't be anything on size 0 needles.

Well, that's all I have for tonight, Friends. Until next time.

Three, I mean, Four Things

First, I only have one project on the needles: a hat for one of my two trainers at the gym. They've both been really patient with me, as the clueless newbie in class. Thanks to the both of them, I managed to lose 5 pounds in 6 weeks. We start up again in January, so I should have this finished in plenty of time.

Secondly, I made a couple hats over the Christmas break. One was the purple hat for my other trainer. It was a really quick knit, on big needles with aran-weight yarn. I still need to decide if it should have a pompon on it. As I was finishing that one, my sister-in-law said how much she liked it and wondered if I could make another for her. As it happened, I had another ball of the Nashua Isabella in my project back, this one in topaz. Since we were snowed in, I was able to whip out another hat in time for her to take it home with her the next day. Yay for bringing along that extra ball of yarn!

Thirdly, my copy of Colours of Shetland arrived the day we got home from Christmas! I'm so excited. The photography is gorgeous and I want to make just about everything in it. The highlight of the book (aside from the patterns, I mean) is the accompanying text about the inspirations for the patterns. I love that the whole book is a testament to Kate Davies' love of Shetland.

Lastly, I have some yarn I haven't documented, so I thought I'd throw that in this post, too. It's three skeins of Cascade Ecological wool that I got in a trade with a friend. I'm pretty excited to have it, though I haven't decided yet what it will be. I've been thinking I might want to make another afghan or throw, but I'm sure I'll have to get more yarn. Of course, I have plenty of other things in my queue that I want to knit, so who knows where my fancy will take me?

So, short and sweet today. I'll see you all in January. Happy New Year, Friends!