The Other Gina Spoiled Me

I don't know if I mentioned that I was the winner of Gina of GameCockDoc's blog contest....guesssing how many skeins of yarn she had in her stash. I was only 1 off with a guess of 87. (She's just moved from South Carolina to a place around the corner from WEBS in Northampton, MA...where I'll be going on Saturday to shop and meet her!) I was very excited to win...not that I need anymore yarn, of course....but it's exciting, nonetheless.

I was expecting one skein from her odd stash...maybe two at most....but what I got in the mail was THIS!!!!



-3 skeins of RYC Classic's Cashsoft (the yarn I just knit Ian's hat out of that I LOVED) in a bright, lovely red
-2 skeins of Shetland Heather 100% shetland wool yarn in a soft spring green
-1 skein of Trekking XXL (oooh, this is awesome) in a blues/grays colorway (I can't wait to knit this up)
-1 skein of .....get this....Malabrigo merino wool (the past week's YarnGasm yarn!)...in a wine/purple colorway (softer than a baby's bottom)
-a large tin of CHOXIE spiced hot cocoa (oh, Gina, you know me sooo well) which is delicious!
-and a sweet, handwritten letter with red trim to match the red striped tissue paper she lined the box in (and also matched the Cashsoft yarn)

WHOA! Am I lucky or what???? I feel outrageously spoiled and I thank you, Gina, for everything...You are FAB-U-LOUS!

Hmmm...the rest of my news really pales in comparison to this, but there are some good things....

like....



My sister in law, Felice...who is a beauty and so sweet (I am so lucky to have such a wonderful sis!)....wearing the new green beanie hat that I made for her....using the Moda Dea Superwash Merino yarn...about half a skein is all it took....and she really liked it. She put it on right away and that made me SO HAPPY! I know she is one of the few people who will appreciate and wear something that I knit for her...she is definitely YARN WORTHY!



Here she is with her friend, Cliff....they both stayed over (they're from Texas) and it was great to meet him and visit with both of them. Cliff was one of the friendliest and most polite guys I've ever met and he was so nice to the boys, too. He's funny and not at all uncomfortable to be around (you know how sometimes strangers stay in your home and you don't know them at all...so it's a little uncomfortable?....well, not that way at all with him.) Ian and I had fun showing them passages from Ian's newest book I got him, "The Alphabet of Manliness". If you haven't seen this book, you must get it...it's hilarious! There's a whole chapter on Chuck Norris and how to sneak a peak at a woman's cleavage...and how to hide a boner. Great stuff!

Did I mention that Felice is about 5 foot 8? Do you see the difference in her height and Cliff's? Well, he's way over 6 feet tall....forgot how much, though. Ian wanted to take a pic of me next to him, but I figured that it would only be the top of my head and the rest of him, so why bother? LOL!



Here he is trying to figure out how I'm knitting a sock on those "two wiry things" for Jackie. He looks pretty confused, huh? Careful, Cliff, don't strangle yourself with the Cascade Fixation!

Okay, what else is new....oh, yeah...here is something VERY EXCITING! (forgot about this....bad me!) We got a new bunny! This story is funny....

We went to Bob's Furniture to get a new couch for our playroom/tv room (though there is more play in there than tv use)...we picked out a "broccoli" colored (not flavored) microfiber couch with chaise at the end...pretty nice.....and the guy who sold us the couch jokingly asked if we wanted a bunny...not sure how that came up...maybe about the furniture protection against pets or something...of which they have NONE....

Anyway, I think he was pretty surprised when we said we were very interested. He went on to say how his tenants had been evicted and had left their bunny behind....cage, toys, everything. And he and his wife already had a bunch of bunnies at home to care for. That night, he emailed me pics of the bunny (we're still not sure if it's a boy or girl) and once we saw this picture, we were HOOKED.....



As soon as we went to get her/him on Saturday, we looked into its eyes and knew it was for us....the bunny, who Tim has named "Cocoa"....is so friendly, sweet, cute and great with the kids. She/He lets us hold it and is so adorable running around the playroom. She tries to be friends with the cats, but they run as soon as she gets close. Here she is (I think it is a she, but maybe that's only wishful thinking) with Ian...



and then the boys...Ben is making his crazy face...



Oh, and here's the new couch with the lace afghan I knit last year using Knit Picks Suri Dream Alpaca yarn (in fern) and the coordinating pattern, Dreamy Throw. What do ya think?



And, last, but not least....here is the handspun that I made for my Spin to Knit pal using Heather's handdyed superwash merino roving, color Lagoon......I renamed the yarn, "Winter Razzleberry" after plying it. It came out to be a 2 ply dk/lt. worsted yarn, with a tiny bit over 200 yards. It's so soft and wonderful...I hope she likes it!



Oh, I also did a little promo for my podcast if anyone wants to take a little listen...it's 1 minute long. Had NO idea what to say, but hopefully, it works...

Sleepy Eyes Podcast Promo

Well, off to get the house ready so that I can leave with a clean conscience tonight for knitting group....woo-hoo!!!

Happy Knitting and Spinning!