"Oh no! Old Man Winter!"

It may not be snowing, but Old Man Winter has definitely moved into the Bay Area. It's cold and drizzly, Club Mallard down the street has put up its giant Christmas-light logo, and Professor Lefty is giving his last final today.

So, why am I smiling? Could I have contracted a case of holiday cheer? Could I be looking forward to the end of the semester even more than my husband is? Could it be that I have exciting news to share?

Well, yes. But it's also because I can finally break out all my warm n' fuzzy knits!



This is my first foray into using those fancy-pants yarns that cost substantially more than my usual, newbie-friendly cottons and acrylics. It's Aslan Trends Del Sur in Scarlet, 100% Merino. Translated into plain English: It's pretty red and soooo very soft.

I picked up two skeins of this yarn over a year ago when I was visiting my sister-in-law in La Mesa, CA, and pawing through her local yarn shop, Two Sisters & Ewe. I instantly fell in love, though I knew a yarn this scrumptious was far beyond anything my needles could produce. So, I held onto it, knowing one day I'd have the skill to make something worthy of the yarn.

The day came last month, born out of a combination of impatience and inspiration. I'd hoped to make something a little more snazzy than (another) scarf, but then I spied an ingeniously simple pattern on Ravelry, courtesy of Twilightgirl. It's seriously the easiest knitting project I've ever done, and yet looks like one of the more complex.



On a side note, this picture also marks the last appearance of the black-rimmed glasses, both in this blog and on my face. Though I do love the new glasses I got today (hooray for no cracks!), I will miss those glasses.

Through those lenses, I saw New York, Washington DC, Baltimore, and Portland for the first time. They helped me read countless books, see hundreds of movies, and play dozens of video games. They survived a car crash, numerous baby grabs, and years being toted in my messenger bag on contact lens days. I'll miss you, old friends. You've earned yourselves your retirement.

As for my news...well, you'll have a wait a day or two. But I promise. It's awesome and exciting. Stay tuned.

Hand: Hello December

Though it usually fills me with a vague sense of terror, I'm actually glad it's December this time around. Maybe it's just because it's been such a bear of a semester for my husband the Professor (which I always get to share in at home), and December heralds the end of the insanity. Maybe I'm actually looking forward to the holidays, with the making of gifts, and thus avoiding the shop-and-gift-fair battles that come with the season. Maybe it's as simple as being excited to see both sets of families (his and mine) in the span of one month, plus the added bonus of two weeks off work.

To celebrate this new found joy of the month, I've decked out my blog layout in an appropriately "wintry" theme, though:

1. I know it's still Autumn for 20 more days.
2. I live in the Bay Area. The last time it snowed here was 2005. And that was a freak occurrence.

But that doesn't matter. I hope you check it out and enjoy!

I think I was partially inspired by one of the latest stitching projects I completed, this cute little snowman from a free Annie Oakleaves pattern.




I'm seriously hooked to her patterns, they're so simple and so sweet, I can't help but feel cheerful whenever I work on one. You can download this pattern from her Flickr.

I've already bought a matching fabric to make a little wall hanging with him, so hopefully I'll have pictures to share soon!

Another reason I love the snowman is that it reminds me of one of my favorite B-movies Cannibal! The Musical, which was Trey Parker and Matt Stone's first film, pre-South Park. It's hilarious, sufficiently gory, and filled with ridiculous musical numbers such as "Let's Build a Snowman!" A warning, Not work or kid-safe, as there is language and a bit of gore at the end. But then again, what holiday video would be complete without it?