Birthday Haul

Shock horror, mere days after the last blog post, I'm writing another one. When you get such a wonderful haul of knitterly things for your birthday you have to share, even if it means dragging yourself back to the keyboard when staying up half the night reading has left you exhausted. Since I foist my knitting obsession upon just about everyone I meet, it shouldn't have come as a surprise to get so many wonderful knitting things for the big day, but it did. All of my friend Anne's gifts to me had a knitting theme, really no surprise since I'm the one who got her hooked on sock knitting, then again, she had already got me hooked on the Harry Potter books and films, so mixing the two must've seemed the perfect idea for her. She made me socks! Harry Potter socks! And she got me a little Knitting Personal Handbook (the perfect thing since I've got so many sock ideas I wanted to work out and this has the perfect graph paper section in it), and the little tin I begged for to put my stitch markers in.



Couldn't have asked for a better set of gifts from her. Of course I had to wear the socks when we went to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix again the day after my birthday, it seemed too good an opportunity not to flash them off during the film. My ex-boss Neil also did pretty well with the perfect gift for a knitter idea, he got me a beautiful book on natural knitting, The Natural Knitter. There's even a sock pattern in it, one that's built up of various pieces that are knitted first, then connected together into a very sweet pair of socks. Lots of sweater patterns in it too that are pretty tempting.

When your wonderful mother gives you cash every birthday rather than having a nightmare trying to find you gifts, you can't help but considering fibre and yarn if you're a knitter. Although I forced myself to spend most of my money on non-knitting things - a new watch strap from Fossil, some fantastic lingerie, some new DVDs and CDs, I had to spend just a little on fibre. Crown Mountain Farms had so many tempting things last time I'd bought from them that I decided to head back there for more spinning supplies, some of which was going towards another pair of my Brockmann socks (Brown Eyed Girl for Gina this time, and the Thelonius pattern by Cookie A. to knit the finished yarn up into), and some towards a pair of Gibbs (NCIS's wonderful boss) socks, Silver Fox for him. This morning the post man rang the doorbell at an unearthly 7am and delivered a little cardboard box that I had to tear open as soon as I fell out of bed at nearly 10am (I wasn't the poor schmuck who hauled themselves out of bed at 7am for the parcel, I merely buried my head under the pillow). And inside ... the gorgeous Crown Mountain rovings.

Gina's Brown Eyed Girl
Gibbs' Silver Fox

Seems that every day this week the postman has bought a little treat for me (he should do considering how much post should've arrived during the strikes last week), today the roving, yesterday the wonderful Regia yarn I'd ordered to knit Cookie A.'s Clessida Socks, for Joan DaCosta's pair of socks in my Brockmann Sock Project. It's a beautiful fiery red, sports car red I'm calling it despite the fact that it's real colour name is Hot Red, and its perfect for a fiery, sophisticated Italian Woman. The actual knitting of the yarn is going to have to wait until I've got a few more of the Brockmann pairs done though. At least last night the wonderfully bright Gilligan socks were finished.



Pomatomus Socks for Dan 'Gilligan' Gillman, in White Oak Studio's TV Yarn Gilligan's Island Colourway.

Now it's just a matter of casting on for the Cosmo socks when I get home. Natural Dye Studio's Titanium BFL and the Eagle's Flight pattern. At least it gives me something to look forward to throughout four very boring hours at the library.