While I thought about pulling a number out of a hat, with 152 comments, that didn't seem feasible.  Instead, I used a random number generator and got this:

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

127

Timestamp: 2007-12-19 13:39:28 UTC

Congratulations Jen!

(Ok,I've been knitting for 4+ years and today I read about tuck stitches.What are these?! Does this book have the answer? I'm hoping to find out.
Posted by:Jen  |December 18, 2007 at 08:51 PM)

For the record, I don't know what tuck stitches are either!  Jen, email me your address and I will get the book in the mail to you right away.

In other knitting matters, here is Fatty's completed hat.  It's been finished for awhile now, but I've neglected to take photos until now.

I wanted to post the pattern for you all, but just haven't had the time to write it all down.  The 70's ski hat over on the Purl Bee is made almost the same way.  Theirs has stripes, mine has fair isle  and theirs has two decreases and mine has four decreases per round.  On mine, I knit one round between my decrease rounds.  Have I lost you?  If you need help, email me and I will try my best to explain it better.  I do use the provisional cast on, but, alas, no cashmere for Fatty.  Just some super soft bel air by ggh.  Love that yarn.  I used it to make these mitts for Meg which just happen to match the green cabled hat.  Coincidence?  I think not.

Back tomorrow with a completed project I can actually share (imagine that!) and my newest wrapping technique.

or rather, Knit Speak.

The folks at Stewart, Tabori & Chang sent me two copies of Knit Speak - An A to Z Guide to the Language of Knitting Patterns by Andrea Berman Price.  Yes, two copies.  One for me and one for one of you.

This little book (about 5" x 7") is a wonderful resource to tuck in your knitting bag.  It reads like a dictionary, listing all those abbreviations and confusing terms from the beginning of the alphabet to the end.  It covers the symbols, too.  You can find out what an asterisk means when you see it in a pattern and why there is a difference between brackets, [ ], and parentheses, ( ).  How do you Sk2p?  It's in there.  Kitchener stitch?  Covered.  Different cast on methods are included as are cables and bobbins.  The illustrations are wonderfully simple and easy to follow, also.  And this my friends just scratches the surface.  Knit Speak is a very comprehensive reference tool and I feel lucky to have one on hand.

So how do you get yours?  Leave a comment on this post before 8:00 a.m. EST (New York time) Wednesday, December 19th.  In your comment, tell me what knitting term befuddles you the most.  I will randomly pick one winner.  If that doesn't work out, you can always buy it here.

Now, back to gift making.....

I am in the midst of crazy, last-minute sewing to finish up our gifts for our six nephews.  They all have to be mailed and I really need to have it out the door tomorrow.  All was going well until I cut through a seam on one item last week.  Yikes.  I really don't have time to re-do this item, so I have been scrambling brainstorming to think of something else I can complete in my limited time.  I also wanted to make the boys appliqued shirts and had a hard time coming up with fresh ideas.

Sunday morning, Kate was up earlier than Jane.  I asked her if she had any ideas for the boys.  With ten minutes, a stack of paper and a marker, she came up with more ideas than I did in days of thinking it over.

According to Kate, boys like things like spiders and ants.  Turtles and lions, too.  She gave me enough good ideas to jump start my brain.  Thanks for the inspiration, Kate.  You also reminded me to keep it simple.  I swear that sometimes I just forget.  Simple = fast and good.

I had four t-shirts finished in two hours and the other two got completed last night.  It felt good to check that item off the list.  I should be able to check the next one off later today.

It is beginning to feel a bit like Christmas.

It's pretty much the same every day while the clementines are in season.  Have a great Friday!

It's been raining here for what seems like weeks.  I am sure it is only days, but man, I am sick of the rain.  So it's only natural that when I saw these I had to buy them.

Yes, peonies.  In December.  Not in season here, so probably from someplace on the other side of the world.  I did think of that before I bought.  I hesitated.  But then I scooped up two bunches and brought them home.

I'm not feeling very festive these days.  And it bothers me.  It bothers me a lot.  I am not sure how I can change it either.  I really want to feel all Christmas-y and excited.  I do.  I think the rain and the gray skies are a big part of it.

So basically, I treated myself.  I spent $34 dollars on 10 peonies so that I would smile every time I saw them.  I'm tricking myself and it's working little by little.

Snow would help, too.  Come on, Jack Frost.  Bring it on.

For the record, these are the only presents I've wrapped.  But I made them both - that has to count for something, right?

Day

and night.

...my ornaments will be mailed out today.

If I spoiled your surprise, I am sorry.  They are so cute - I just couldn't wait.

The pattern is from Last Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts.  I had something else in my mind until I saw Kristin's version and the vintage patchwork fabric sitting on top of the red corduroy in my studio.  I knew right then.  I was supposed to make these birds.  Enough said.

I feel a bout of photo posts coming on.  Thanks for the suggestion, Susan.