Ravelry

This may be the cutest knitting pattern I have ever seen: Snails and Slugs

I found it via Ravelry - I requested & received an invite to the knit/crochet community ages ago, but chickened out of actually logging into the site. I was worried a) that it would be a huge time-suck (it is) and more importantly b) that I would be completely intimidated. Let's face it, I may have been knitting for a long time, but I do it very casually and I'm neither fast nor a maker of complicated items.

However, some people I know recently joined and started playing around, and I figured I might still be intimidated, but at least I wouldn't be lonely.

It turns out to be very interesting, and there's lots to do and see. The temptation to sort through my stash and catalog every. single. yarn. to the site... is kind of strong. So far, I am resisting.

(Oh, and for those curious, I found my camera cable. Yay!)

Christmas knitting: not quite complete

I found out right before Christmas that my cousins are coming to visit tomorrow. The thought of going out to buy them something filled me with dread. So instead... I'm attempting to whip out 2 pairs of child-sized armwarmers (adapted from Knitty's Voodoo pattern) by tomorrow afternoon. Some knitters could do this in their sleep, I realize... but I have never been particularly speedy.

The good news is, I managed to whip out one last night, and the second is in progress... I'm double stranding some purple fuzzy acrylic/wool (Sirdar Salsa DK) from my stash (probably purchased 6+ years ago, finally seeing the light!) with some shiny bouclé novelty yarn from Abby.

I took some pictures to go with this, but lent my camera cable to my brother in law over the holiday and now can't find it. In fairness, I remember he did try to give it back to me, but I was in the middle of something and said, "Don't give this to me now, or I will lose it." And then I never saw it again. Sometimes it hurts to be right.

Update: apparently I then changed my mind and took it anyway. So it could be ANYWHERE. Except in the drawer where I usually keep it. I've already checked there. Boo.

Snow?

So I didn't go to the library as scheduled this morning because there was supposed to be snow on highway 17 and snow showers in the morning in Santa Cruz, and we people from California just don't rock like that. I rescheduled for tomorrow, when it is supposed to be a low of 34 (rather than 29). If you've ever driven on highway 17, you know that the nastiness of the road is only surpassed by the idiocy of the people who drive it, and I really didn't want to add ice to that equation.

But I was all up and showered and everything, so I went out to run my errands. This turned out to be far more difficult than expected. The stamp machine at the Saratoga post office is now no longer in service. If you want to get stamps, they recommend going to Campbell or Los Gatos, according to the sign. I thought about standing in the line to get stamps, but that was clearly going to take ages, and I had other things to do. I decided I could run my other errands in Los Gatos, most likely, so I went there. After finally finding the post office (I started at the wrong end of Santa Cruz Ave, it seems), I park a billion miles away, trudge through the rain - pity I didn't bring my jacket - and get to the post office. It does, in fact, have two postage vending machines. Neither of them have seasonal stamps in them. I look at the line - every bit as long in as the one in Saratoga. I decide the green ink I've used to address the envelopes is festivity enough, and buy some liberty bell stamps. Not exactly "silver bells" but slightly more seasonal than the flag, right? And dump my mail into the slot. I've just missed the 10am mail time. Oh well.

Now I am ravenous, so I go in to Los Gatos Coffee Roasting Co. to grab a mediocre bagel and some coffee, only to find there is nowhere to sit. I stand at the condiment counter for a while until an older gentleman takes pity on me and invites me to share his table. I review my internship notes as I don't have any other reading material, the newspapers all being read by other customers.

Then I go to run my other errand, and since it's Christmas related I won't say that much about it, other than the fact that there was a sample out of the item I wanted, but none of the right boxes behind it. After trying 20 minutes to get the attention of a sales person, I left. The thought of driving out to find another store was too mch for me, so I gave up and came home.

I was feeling pretty disgruntled by now. But then, as I was driving up the street, I saw this:
I know, it's a bit glare-y and blurry, but that, in the center hill there, is snow. In Saratoga. Snow! By afternoon it will most likely be gone - it's warmed up quite a bit in the last 2 hours. But this is only the second snow in our area IN MY LIFE, and I cannot help but be happy about it. Merry Christmas!

Holiday linkage

Yarn Harlot spends some time musing on knitting gifts.

This is the cutest thing I've seen in quite some time: balaclavas for your keys.

A Christmas pinata is the best idea evar.

(some of these links via Not Martha)

Tea Time

Did some Xmas shopping at the Republic of Tea, and rounded out the order with a few refill packages for myself. I feel oddly proud that I found the original tins for all three teas (Cranberry Blood Orange, Apricot Decaf, Cardamon Cinnamon), so I don't even have to do any creative labeling.

Making myself a nice cup of CC (caffeine free) right now. I haven't had any in the house for ages.

I love Etsy

Flitting about on Etsy, doing some shopping and putting together a little "here are some things I like" list (on request). Nothing like a little armchair windowshopping, right?

I just wanted to point out how gorgeous Rachael Sudlow's rings are. Pretty much I want all of the ones that don't involve a large stone. They're on the expensive side, but for good reason - just gorgeous.

I've done a bit of Esty shopping for stockings and whatnot this year. I like supporting independent craftspeople, and there are a lot of beautiful, creative objects for sale. I wish I could afford to spend more money there - but it at least has to wait until I become gainfully employed.

I suppose I should get back to work doing my own Christmas crafting.

Confusion

The headache can't be that bad if you went into the bathroom for aspirin and then forgot why you were there.

Or maybe I'm just completely befuddled because I just TURNED IN MY LAST PAPER EVER.

That's right - there is not a single thing left for me to do. I have just finished grad school.