more birthday stuff
See what my mom gave me for my birthday? A knitter's dream: a whole big box of YARN! Including enough Patons Classic Wool to do my Must-Have, some Gedifra Carioca, several skeins of Opal for socks, and some miscellaneous novelty and eyelash for good measure! And she threw in the nifty basket too. Nice goin', Mom! xoxo

summer doldrums
Have been too busy to troll the webring the way I'd like to, but many of you seem to have joined me in the summer doldrums. I've been doing some knitting but my WIPS don't seem to be getting much closer to completion, and therefore there's not much knitting news. OK, well, that's not exactly true: I'm working on another secretive design for my students. Can you guess what it is? Here are some hints:

1. I'm using worsted-weight yarn
2. it features stripes, and:
3. my students have requested I show 'em how to knit socks.

Well, OK, that's not so difficult, is it?

name the dressform contest
In the last batch of comments Chris had the very excellent idea of coming up with a name for my new dressform. How about we have a little contest? E-mail me your ideas for a name by 7:00 PM ET next Friday (July 2) and the person who comes up with the name that I like the best will get the brand-new book simple knits by Barbara Albright. Have fun--and scroll down to the last entry for inspiration and a photo of the dressform. I will (with glee) post the winning entry and its creator sometime over the July 4th weekend (and perhaps some of the runners-up). Speaking of the weekend: what are all of you doing to celebrate the Fourth? What do you like the most about being an American?

yayayay!
Just lookie at my birthday present and new best friend: the Dritz Twinfit dressform, modeling my aran cardi! I *love* this and have been wanting one for a while. Watch out world: now I can create garments for myself and possibly even others, since the dressform is adjustable. The keen observers among you will notice that yes, my waistline is basically non-existent (I'm working on this problem and will alert the media when corrected). Thanks to the best DH in the universe for being smart enough to get exactly what I wanted!

Been so busy lately that I forgot to share the last cool package from my secret pal, the fabulous Mindy from Gidget Casts On. This is an adorable baby or toddler sweater, complete with what is coincidentally my favorite color of Classic Elite's Flash! Thanks to the tasteful Mindy--will cast on for this as soon as I've finished the next design for my students (who by the way are hungering to learn how to knit socks).

half done
Last night I got halfway finished with my "100 things about me" list. Here's a preview:

16. The person I admire most and would most like to emulate is: my dad.

23. I am a skilled but sometimes pushy and impatient driver.

31. I stuttered as a child and didn't outgrow it completely until high school.

48. I usually prefer second helpings of dinner more than dessert.

52. I have a secret desire to get a tattoo, but haven't yet come up with an image that I want to live with for the rest of my life.

Check this space for the entire list soon!

student work
Just look at how cute my students' Fionas turned out! That's Susan's bag on the left (trimmed with a lovely silver button), my original bag in the center, and Missy's beautiful berry bag on the right! Both used their connections to get the inside of the bag lined--nice work ladies! And now check this out:

Here's Nita's vest-in-progress using the incredible hand-assembled fantasy yarn she got in Texas. So, as you can see, these ladies are well on their way to knittin' nirvana!

goodies
Been meaning to show you guys the last package of kewl stuph from my secret pal! She sent a wonderfully aromatic bag of thyme that is hanging in my kitchen right now, a set of beautiful green frogs (Allana, are you listening?), a nifty handmade bookmark, and a too-cute little sachet bag that also appears to be handmade. Thanks, secret pal, and I apologize for not showcasing these treasures before! By the way, who are you? :)

holy cow

B	Brilliant
R	Radiant
O	Odd
O	Organic
K	Kind
S	Sensitive

Name / Username:

Name Acronym Generator
From Go-Quiz.com

Hey, I guess it could be worse, right? Actually, I've always been proud of the "odd" part. Something to keep people guessing! Thanks Gibster and Sandy for the idea.

rehi
Ah, hello world--now that it's a new month I can post pics again and was going to do so last night, but couldn't get into mo'time (suspect they were doing their weekly backup), so the photos will have to wait until this evening. How have you been, everyone? Between lots of good things happening at work, the end of school for our teenager and the disappointing news that we will have to wait until at least July on our adoption, I've laid low for a few days. I have been knitting though, and will prove it this week with some new fotos.

secret pal
My secret pal was Allana of The Green Frog, a knitter and needlepointer and a lawyer in NYC. She's got one more package coming, and I have had such fun picking out stuff to send to the Big Apple. Sandy, let's do it AGAIN!

crochet
Believe it or not, I'm working on a crochet hat design. Is anyone else out there crochet-challenged? I'm an advanced beginner crocheter, and haven't yet mastered the art of whipping the hook through the loops without the help of the hand that's not holding the hook--I have to pick up the stitches and manually pull 'em over the top of the hook. :::sigh::: I guess I'm crocheting too tightly. Any crochet veterans out there who can offer some guidance? Thanks in advance! xoxo