Ignore the messy bookshelf. And, if you can, ignore the grumpy stare from Annabelle too... and look what I got for Christmas from my mom and mother in law! A new wooden swift and ball winder! I think this makes me a full fledged knitter who can now be worthy of the nicest yarns because I can wind them at home! Which is a good thing because my husband got me several skeins of some gorgeous angora yarn too. I've been winding balls like crazy lately, cleaning up my stash of left overs and preparing for bigger projects.
And, speaking of bigger projects: I knit this sweet little sweater up for Annabelle in about ten days. I used a really nice heavy cotton yarn (forgot the name and the labels got thrown away! tsk, tsk) and a pattern that I purchased at a knitting shop in Novato while we were in the San Francisco Bay Area over the holidays. Of course, I didn't really follow the pattern, but I did the best I could and made up the rest. It fits her almost perfectly, only slightly long in the arms... so it will be just great for her as she grows into it this spring.
I made Annabelle wear it to a baby shower the very day I finished it, just so I could feel proud of myself. Here we are at the party, and you can see I had to roll up the sleeves. But gosh, doesn't the sweater increase her cute factor by at least double?
