Finally winter has actually turned into winter and it's snowing! Being from Florida, I never thought I would say that but after the seemingly weeks and weeks of rain, snow is a really nice change. Hopefully a little bit of sun will soon follow!

And finally my computer woes are over! Atleast for now... god, I am such a pessimist :(. Thanks to a goddess named Tira, I have a brand new computer in my possesion! Brand new, I can't believe it! It was a bit of a fight, but totally worth it if this one is ANY better than the old one. And when I say "old", I had purchased it (new) only about six months ago so therein lies my frustration. But thankfully I found a wonderful person to help and now it's business as usual.

We have a winner! Two, actually! I felt so bad about postponing the contest and I had so many great comments that I went ahead and picked two people to get some fun after-holiday goodies. Andrea and Melissa should be getting their packages very soon. I hope you like them! Thank you so so much to everyone that left me a comment. It was really great reading about what y'all made (or didn't make ;))!

I don't have much knitting to show. I've been dyeing like crazy trying to catch up from the holidays and I have one of those "secret projects" that I've seen mentioned so many times on other blogs. I've started a sweater from Vogue Knitting Fall 2006. The cabled cardigan that you may have seen at cosmicpluto. Hers is amaing and although mine has been toseed aside for the moment I can't wait to pick it up again. I'm using a fabulous 100% merino from laines du nord that I got from pureknits. Since I don't have anything new, I'll show you a couple of my favorite gifts that I made for Christmas. Both hats, hats were the name of the game for my holiday knitting!

This was a simple top-down hat that I made for a friend obsessed with monkeys. It's extra large cause he complained about never being able to find a hat that fit his big melon. Funny thing is, I think it ended up too big! The yarn is also Laines du Nord from pureknits, the chunky weight. I managed to get two hats out of three balls. knit on size 9 needles. The fabric was nice and dense and super warm. After I knit it, I stitched on a felt sock monkey. Just simple shapes with a little puffy paint for the eyes. I love how it turned out!

As soon as Yahaira put up the yak yarn at pureknits, I was totally lusting after it. The price threw me but I finally caved and couldn't be happier. You get amazing yardage and the quality is unbelievable. I have yet to knit with 100% cashmere, but after knitting with the yak I don't feel like I'm missing out. I finished my husband's hat with plenty to spare and as soon as I get a chance I'm definitely making a beanie for myself! I haven't checked recently but if Y gets in any more of the earth color, I might have to get another skein to make some matching mitts!

Ooh, I can finally show you something else! Jo at misocrafty made me this amazing pouch to give to a friend. I told her that I wanted a piratey-type fabric and the next thing I know she's emailed me dozens to choose from! I love love love how it came out! Sometimes getting the perfect present can be stressful but this was NOT one of those times! Thank you, Jo!

You may have noticed that I have no links in this post, so I have a question for all the computer savvy-type readers. Usually there is a bar where I write my posts that has the link icon and a couple others for simple formatting (I think that's the right word). Well, it's not there and I have no idea how I can link. I use Movable Type and if anyone has any idea, I would really appreciate the help. My husband has no clue and I've looked everywhere I can think of. Please help! Thanks!!

One last thing... please check out Stacey's blog, www.peaknit.blogspot.com if you haven't already. I sent her a skein of my semi-solid colorway, port, and asked if she could knit up a little something for a sample. Well, I expected a simple pair of socks or mitts, and she ended up going way above and beyond and made an absolutely gorgeous swallowtail shawl. It's amazing!!!