Happy Valentine's! BONUS-SUPER LONG ENTRY

Hope Eros and Cupid and Venus find their way to your door today!
Here's a lil shot of some homeade gifts for my two sissies:


I made the soap and the heart-motif washcloths, which were made from a pattern I found free on-line. I've been using patterns a lot lately, as I am LAZY right now. I hope to begin designing again in a few weeks.

I should insert a warning here: I am home sick from work today so this may be a long one. And what better to do when home sick than...taxes!!!
The longer this post, the more I get to delay the fun of tax prep. Makes sense, right?

I attended the 4th Annual Pittsburgh Knit and Crochet Fest this past weekend. I would love to say how fabulous it was, but something is amiss when you pay $15.00 just to enter the door for the priviledge of buying expensive fibre. I bought one of my FAVES, the 2nd Time Cotton, which is RECYCLED cotton fibres leftover from the textile industry all spun up like new into soft, happy colorful skeins. Here is the bounty:



Here is also Ms. Madison Penelope, who finds work, as some of you know, as a supermodel. Basically, when the camera comes out, she comes running over. I missed the shot of her running up and trying to grab the yarn from behind the chair back slats. She's a crazy lil monkey, that one!

So, what does one intend for all that soft, sexy skeinage, you ask? I happened to get the newest Interweave Knits in the mail right before said Fibre Fest and wouldn't you know it, found a use BEFORE I even purchased it! Here's a peak at what I hope to accomplish.
And here amidst my taxes is the start of the chemise: For those of you trying to keep track, here is my "how many projects do I have going" roundup:
1. Socks on needles--forget the name, driving me crazy in Maizy (which is CORN!)
2. Sweater of my own design (started this fall, yikes!)
3. New Chemise pattern from Interweave
4. A Steeler-scarf somewhere upstairs is still on some needle-age.

Really, not too bad. So here are some future plans:
1. Make a rug out of leftover shirts/jeans whatever cut and tied together to make a giant ball of recycled fibre. This one will take some time...
2. Make curtains for the kitchen and dining room (Hardanger embroidery)--once we get things painted.
3. Knit a pillow for the couch of for the floor with some remnants in the stash.
4. Find a use for the mostly-orange skein of bamboo I got but don't know what to do with. Maybe a hat? Some covers for containers? Anyone need anything orange?
5. Make some cushions for the radiator covers Nature Boy has started but has yet to finish (in his defense, he works in our garage which is not heated and has no electricity. He hooks up a power cord to the inside of the house, runs it through a window or door and then uses the power tools. It's freezing and there is snow and ice and he really can't work more the 10 minutes at a time without the risk of hypothermia).

One more set of pics--here is a shot of the Beachcomber fingerless mitts I made (both are now done and are being put to good use, thanks to the frigid tundra outside, proof as follows):

I will end with the bestest news of all. Nature Boy, in his sweet way, left me a Valentine card this morning before he went to work. I opened it and suprise---he got me a gift card for Knit One! I feel bad cause he wrote inside he got it before he learned of my "feelings" about Knit One (not-so-likey and I am dying to get to a new shop, called Natural Stitches, that I learned of recently--hello, they carry lots of "green" fibres which makes me so happy. Trust me baby, that card will not go unused!

So after I figure my taxes out, I plan to knit away my sick. And dream of taking my tax return moolah and going somewhere warm, with an ocean and a great yarn shop...