Sunday, February 21, 2010

My Tagine Runneth Over

I thought I would share my good fortune and at the same time offer a huge thank-you to everyone who shared my birthday and made me feel so very special. Your generosity is overwhelming and I am so happy to have you all as my family and friends.
To my darling Badkitten and her father, I just love you guys! BK whipped up this cake for me, and she says you can have some for yourself if you follow this link.
My brother and his family gave me this elegant Tagine, in which I made this for dinner last night. He also gave me a rice cooker. We love to cook chez BadCat, so these will get good use.
My sister and her family gave me these, so I can keep that Tagine full on a regular basis!
Harry made me this, and I was told the stickers were hand selected with me in mind. I love them.
This is just a few of the cards I got, that I though were most appropriate to share. The peas in the pod are yarn...
I snuck this little swatch in, for lack of a better place! 2/80 merino cashmere on 4-0 needles. More later!
My friend Sandra gave me a selection of these amazing stitch markers. These fit on US 2 and smaller needles, are totally handmade (even the headpins) and the nicest I have ever had. They are from Spindle Cat Studios. I love them.

My friend Dawn gave me a pair of US 2 needles. Not just any needles. THESE needles. She selected the shortest length and the stiletto tip. She knows what I like. I love them.
The swatch is from a cone of 2/18 Cotton and linen that my friend Pat gave me. Purple. I love it.
My friend Jeri made this name tag for me. She is an amazing art quilter, beader and knitter. I still can't believe that she made this just for me. And in purple too...I love it.
This is a terrible photo, so please forgive me, but my friend Mary Rose made me this a little while ago and I wanted to share it. She secretly grabbed my Ravelry avatars and made me a shirt with them. How cool is that??? I love it!
This is just a "little something" my friend Lara sent me. A real knitter's kit, I have no idea how she stuffed so many goodies into one bag! You can see just a few of them, but I believe she thought of everything a hardcore knitter might need in a pinch, including some cool things I had never seen (note the crochet hook with a knitting needle end, the handmade stitch markers and a perfect clip light for knitting in bed while your honey is trying to sleep.) Amazing! I love it.
One of the most stunning surprises I got was a package from my friend Malle. She sent me all sorts of goodies, but I will share two with you! This mitten book was just published and is in both Estonian AND English. It is full of wonderful history and MANY charted patterns for traditional Estonian mittens. It is another gorgeous, hard cover book from Estonia. I love it!
She also sent me Valentine's Day yarn. I understand it is a typical Estonian yarn, and it has very long color repeats. It is a 2/8 yarn. I have not decided what it will be yet, but I love it.
And not to be outdone, I selected a few things for myself, and we can say they are from my little family even though I ordered them, right? These are two cobweb weight yarns from Bev, at Land O Lace. One is a 2/56 and one is a 2/60. Both are in colors that are new, in my favorite color family. I am note sure what they will become yet, but they are gorgeous.
I got this Folca box, from The Gossamer Web. You can see that I filled it with some of my little necessities. It is really cool.
I also got another skein of Love Potion #3, which was such a pleasure to work with. I am not sure what it will become yet!
Finally, I got this little Kuchulu spindle from Jenkins Woodworking. The penny (it happens to be Canadian as a little homage to the Olympics) shows you just how tiny this baby is. Lilac wood and pink ivory. Perfect.
Finally, a little Snow Queen update, so you don't think I am all goodies and no action! This is a closeup of a beaded section in Chart F.
And this shows everything through Chart E. Our group just moved to Chart F last week and we have some serious knitting to go.


Again, I thank everyone from the bottom of my heart. I love you all. I will be back next week with a picture tutorial on fixing nupps. You know how those nupps seem to give up a loop every once in a while? I will show you what I do to repair them. Until then, knit on!

3 comments:

  1. Awesome bday haul. Looks like you have lots of knitting in your future!
    =^..^=

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  2. Holy cats! Even Harry sent you something! I didn't know he could draw that well. The Snow Queen is breathtaking!!

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  3. Isn't it great to have friends! You are so unbelievably generous with your time and talents, especially for those us you have never met. You deserve all the goodies and so much more. Have a great birthday today and as many future ones as you would like

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