Finish Line

That title may be a bit misleading since there are only a few things that have actually reached the finish line and there are still more that are on their way there and maybe even one that hasn't left the starting gate yet (gulp). Did I mention the deadline was Christmas? Double gulp. But on to the finished stuff.

Last night I stayed up into the wee hours of the morning finishing Spinning Forward.
This was the book I purchased a few weeks back when Terri (the author) came to out Wednesday night knitting group and did a talk/signing. The book was great and I couldn't wait to see how it turned out so I stayed up extra late finishing off the last few chapters. Several things I really liked about this book: Easy read but still pretty well developed, nothing seemed too contrived. Also, the chapters were short. In another fiction knitting book I started (hmm, hmm, Friday Night Knitting Club I'm looking at you...) the chapters were so long and involved I could only get through about one a night and I was trying so hard just to slug my way through so I wasn't truly interested in seeing what was going to happen next. With Spinning Forward I found that the chapters were just long enough to pique my interest and make me want to keep reading to see what was going to happen. Was there anything I didn't like? Not flat out. I thought one of the story lines was a little bit far fetched but then, that's the fun of fiction, the mostly improbable can happen. I also wanted more knitting but then again, I live and breath knitting and can never get enough. I think a non-knitter would actually like reading this book because it wasn't overtly about knitting. Overall, a really great read. I can't wait for her next one!

Next done thing: Warm Woolies! I sent in my box the Monday before I left for Thanksgiving and I knew the prizes were due to arrive any day now. Yesterday I found this in the lock box by my mail slot:
The top one was a "Ravlery Prize". I wrote a little paragraph (I'm post #23) about why I like(d) knitting for Warm Woolies and they sent everyone a thank you gift. The bottom box was for the 10 for 10 challenge. Here's what was in the Ravelry prize box:
10 skeins of Rowan 4-ply Soft in a pink/salmon color
1 skein of Blue Heron in rayon and metallic in hot pinks, oranges, and reds. It reminds me of a recycled silk yarn.
6 skeins of Artyarns cashmere
A yarn requirements booklet (which I have been wanting/looking for for over a year...), 2 copies of The Big Book of Knitting (I will be giving one away, don't know when or how...maybe a contest or something...?), Finishing Techniques and 2 sets of bamboo circulars.

In the other box there were these goodies:
Domiknitrix and Little Treasures
14 skeins of Alchemy Synchronicity in denim blue, grey, and white
10 skeins (not all shown (obviously)) of Rowan kidsilk spray in a fuchsia/purple color
3 more sets of circulars
And, hidden in the bottom, 3 more books! Fabulous Felted Handknits, Wrap Style, and Miss Bea's Band (a kid's knits booklet). Overly generous, in my opinion, and warmly welcomed. I plan on using some of this yarn to knit a few things for charity, in the spirit of honoring Warm Woolies. I've been trying to find other organizations that collect clothing for orphanages or even orphanages that will accept donations of clothing directly. Specifically in Russia and Eastern Europe. I've found some pretty good leads but do you have any idea how many orphanages there are in Russia?!?! And every other time I click on a website it has a link to another website that has links to 10 other websites. Before I know it I've lost myself down the rabbit hole. But it's also a lot of fun imagining the possibility of connecting with one of these groups and seeing clothing distributed to kids.

A final FO, Harrison's sweater.
2 down one to go...and here it is! I had started a Baby Surprise Jacket for Britt.
This was from yesterday night. Notice I said, had started. See, I knew that Elizabeth Zimmerman was notoriously vague and this pattern is notoriously awkward for people who have never done it before and the pattern is old and some other adjectives involving notorious and...well, I threw caution to the wind. I didn't read the wiki. I didn't join the group. I didn't sweat it because I figured, hey! if Elizabeth Zimmerman doesn't think it's important enough to include in the pattern then I can just muscle my way through it. I'm a competent person. Right? Right?!? Um, well, 14 rows in and it just didn't feel right. I mean, it looked ok but it wasn't consistent enough for me. So, I found a row by row counter chart thingy, came home and poured myself a hot cuppa and sent that baby to the frog pond. After working on it for the first 45 minutes of The Nightmare Before Christmas, the first hour of Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (I got bored with Nightmare and switched it to LoTR), the better part of A Charlie Brown Christmas and (finally) Prep and Landing (cute, btw, hope you caught it) I have this:
18 rows of much better looking BSJ. The only thing that will keep me from getting further tonight is if I lose my battle of wills with the heater (it is staying set on 69 until snow falls and that is final!) and go take a hot bath.