Post-Christmas post

How was everyone's holiday? We had a really nice one, spending time with Ron's family both Christmas eve and Christmas day. We managed to keep the gift exchange to a minimum which was great and just spent a lot of our time together visiting and eating...a lot...like everyone else. Next year we'll head to PA to spend the holiday with my parents which is what we did last year. It's kind of nice to alternate the holidays like that and that keeps all the parents happy!

We ended up getting both sets of parents a silly little gift that ended up being a big hit. It was a scalp massager that we got at Bed Bath & Beyond for a whopping $4. It looks pretty much like a whisk with the bottom end cut off leaving a bunch of wire hanging down from the handle. The ends of these wires are coated with rubber.

You then hold it by the handle and press it down onto the scalp. It opens up as you press down and you use it to 'tingle' your scalp. It's actually a pretty fun little gadget and for what ended up being a last minute addition to their packages it was the one that got the most attention. If you're interested in checking them out they do sell them on Amazon as well. Just click here... (and no, I am in no way affiliated with Amazon, nor do I get a kickback...in case you were wondering!)

Knitwit!

The other day Ron and I headed out to the grocery store and on the way there I mentioned that I had just been emailed a 50% off coupon for Borders. Borders is right next door and I hadn't been to browse the knitting books in a while. And a 50% off coupon is pretty rare, so I thought I might as well at least take a look. Well, it definitely paid off as I found the new toy book "Knitwit" by Katie Boyette (FYI: the following images are not mine. They are all the property of Katie Boyette and have been used by me to show what can be found in the book).

Katie's designs are great. They run the gamut from traditional creatures such as a bird (albeit a make-believe one)...

...a lobster, an elephant, owls...

....and a ninja...

 ...to totally original creatures like a vampiric panda...

...a cyclops dressed in a bunny suit... 

 ...and numerous monsters including a rather forlorn-looking yeti...

As you can see she makes a lot of the creature's faces using felt that is cut out and then stitched on giving them a lot of expression. I can't wait to get started on one of these guys, but can't decide which one to pick. Stay tuned to find out which one it'll be!

New music...

I've gotten interested in a new, up-and-coming artist. Her name is Aly Spaltro but she goes by the band name of Lady Lamb The Beekeeper. She used to live in the next town over from mine but has just moved to NYC to pursue her music full time. I knew her, kind of, because she worked at the independent DVD store in town, but sadly I didn't even know of her music until after her move.

In a time of such artificial and label-dictated music, she is refreshingly herself, real and sincere in what she does. If you HAD to give her music a label I would lean towards folky-rock with some similarity to Cat Power, more by chance than design.

If you would like to check her out, you can find her on Youtube, her website, and for a limited time you can buy her first two albums here. They are titled "The Tingly Circus" and "Someday We Will Levitate." She has decided to post these for only two weeks, so get 'em while you can!

Here are a couple of videos you can check out...enjoy!

Maddox

Well, there's been a slight delay on the aforementioned project so that I could make a house-warming present for a friend. The present just so happens to be a monster by the ever-talented and lovely Rebecca Danger. I've added a picture below so you could see what I've been working on...I've been busy, really I have!

Maddox was very fun to knit and I'm sure he'll be welcomed in his new home.

Tomorrow finds Ron and me helping a different friend move, so probably not much knitting on the horizon until next week. Enjoy the rest of your weekend everyone!