Excellent Weekend

(I am having trouble uploading pictures...I will add them when Blogger isn't being such a booger!)

So, my birthday is on Tuesday but I celebrated at my parent's home today. We were joined by my sister, Marie, and her husband, my Grandma A, and Brooke --- my "unwanted little sister".

Note: Brooke is a very dear friend of mine and Marie. She's "the little sister we never wanted." That's where she came up with the name of her blog.

Marie & Tim gave me Mason Dixon Knitting --- which I've had my eye on for a loooong time. The photography is great and I can't wait to find the time to read through the whole thing. She also gave me a new pair of black Dansko's.

Funny thing about the shoes...Marie bought them for herself, but couldn't get her foot in the size 39 (our normal size). I told her not to return them, because I wanted a new pair (they are THE most comfortable shoes in the world). When I tryed them on today, I couldn't get my foot into them either! Why?! Because of the super thick insert they put in them. Once we took them out, they fit like a glove...and Marie got the new pair!

Brooke suprised me with a knitting book I'd never seen --- Folk Bags. Her timing was perfect. On Saturday night, I came across a bag I knit (and mom felted) last year. I thought to myself, why don't I knit more bags? Now I have this amazing book for inspiration!

Marie, Brooke, and I are doing our own knit along of the Irish Cable Bag. We spent quite a bit of time selecting our colors after dinner. It's going to be real fun...I can't wait to get started! Marie ordered the yarn and so it will be shipped to her house. This means I can't start on the pattern until she "lets" me. Ha-ha! If anyone wants to join us...let me know!

My super-wonderful mother passed along some other books from her library to enable my un-natural obsession with knitting...

• Knitting Without Tears - E. Zimmerman
• Knitter's Almanac - E. Zimmerman
• Wild Color - Jean Dean - a guide to making and using natural dyes

I'm most excited about Wild Color. Mom found it at an estate sale for $3. I just looked this book up on Amazon and found out that it is a hard to find book --- selling for over $50. Way to go Mom!

Now that I see how gardening and knitting go together...I think I'm going to be addicted to dyeing!

To help keep track of my knitting related books, I am using Library Thing. This week, I'll try to add the rest of my books...