Friday Mishmash

The winner of the HooRag giveaway is:

Alicia Ryan-Wynn!!!

Congratulations!  Please send me an email (40somethingsjourney@gmail.com) with your mailing info AND your choice of HooRag pattern so I can give it to my contact.  If I don't hear from you within a week, I'll have to choose another winner.

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What does it mean when I receive these two items within days of each other:

 

Book courtesy of my BFF Barbara; laser lotion courtesy of the nice lady at the Clinique counter.

It means I'm heading toward a major milestone this year.  And honestly, I couldn't be more excited!  I was driving on the highway on Wednesday, radio blasting some good old rock and/or roll (the preacher from the Simpsons referred to it as that and it's stuck with me ever since), and loving life.  So what if I can't remember much?  If Nora couldn't, then it's normal.  NORMAL, I'm telling ya!

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I had to laugh at this comment from last week's FMM, courtesy of EmDub:

I really love how you love knitting, but sometimes when you explain stuff it sounds like Charlie Brown's teacher/adult :) But don't stop doing what you love!

I appreciate that y'all indulge me with all of my knitting recaps.  I DO love it, and I think I've found my creative calling.  That said, here's what I've been doing this week, knit-wise:

I've been trying to figure out what to knit with the yarn I received from my Secret Santa - the yarn is a  gorgeous Malabrigo Twist, and I wanted to do it justice.  I finally decided to make myself a cowl and hat, specifically so I could wear them next month while spectating Jeff as he runs the Austin Half Marathon.  Of course, the day I started knitting the cowl, our weather turned unseasonably warm (our high yesterday was 80 degrees...seriously!), but I'm working with the assumption that there are still some cold days ahead.  The pattern for is the Hunt's Lane Cowl; the pattern is just complicated enough that I end up chanting it as I knit (and this will make no sense to anyone who isn't a knitter): yo, sl1, k1, yo, psso (yarn over, slip one, knit one, yarn over, pass slipped stitch over).  It's the secret language of knitters!

Here's the beginnings of the cowl:

This is a fun one to see develop!

Remember the hat I was making with the yarn that my mom gave me for Christmas?  I loved the yarn, especially the purple - it's Rowan Lima, and incredibly soft.  I was close to finishing it (in fact I had started on the decreases) but I wasn't loving it.  I tried it on, and felt "meh" about it, so I ended up frogging it (knitter term for ripping it out).  I'll find something else to make with the yarn - it's too pretty to not be used for something that I love.

RIP purple hat.  You'll be reincarnated into something spectacular, I promise!

My most fun knitting project to date has been my Sarah Jessica Parker hat.  I saw a picture of her wearing a chunky hat with a giant pompom, and loved it.  I couldn't find a pattern like it on Ravelry, so I decided to make my own - it took me two tries, and I think I came pretty close.  I'm pretty thrilled with it, and I love that I was able to actually do this on my own!

SJP and me - hat buddies!

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Have a great weekend!