He’s sporting the cardigan I made him last Christmas (ravelry page –but note, I pretty much abandoned the pattern and just worked to the finished measurements). It’s getting a bit short on him, but is still plenty big around the middle,so the next time I go up to Austin I’ll bring some extra green yarn (you know I have it!) and add some more rows to the bottom. That is one of the cool things about crochet- you can just add things willy nilly. This cardigan was definitely the hit of the party–everyone kept asking if someone had made it for him. You know that made Aunt LaLa (that’s me) smile.

While I’m here, I wanted to share a few links with you, as my inbox overfloweth.

- Check out Diane’s review of the new E-book, “Crunchy Granola Charm” by Yvette Doss. It’s full of cute natural jewelry (I definitely have some necklaces that could use some reconfiguring) so if you are into that, check it out.  I’m with Diane- I’m curious to see where self publishing goes.

- Janome is having a sewing contest with the theme of Pass it On. The basic premise is to pass on your love of sewing to a new sewist, and you could both win new machines.

- Thanks to everyone who has purchased something from my Etsy or Ravelry Shops. So far, including my sales from the the Craft Hope Etsy Shop, I’ve been able to donate almost $125, hooray!  Through generous donors and sellers, Craft Hope has raised over $27,000 with their shop– and that is awesome!

- Have you seen these awesome hand-screened stickers by Patapri? I admit it, I’ve had a thing for stickers since I was a little girl, and I couldn’t help but order some. Perhaps I was inspired by the huge box of letters my mom gave me from middle, high school, and college. They made me want to write letters again. You know, letters are always better when there are stickers involved!

- If you’re seeking crochet inspiration and haven’t yet stumbled upon the wonderful blog of Dottie Angel, you’re missing out. I love her sense of style and the bits and pieces of crochet hanging around her place.

- And, the preview for the latest issue of Crochet Today is up, and it’s adorable. This is the first time (in a long time!) that I don’t have a project in the issue, I was too swamped to submit, but I love what I see! These birdies are chirping my name!

Once I get a chance to take some good photos, I’ll be adding three more cake hats to my etsy shop. These three are special because they flew to Edmonton (Canada) and back just to be with you. Fun. I put the finishing pom-poms on this morning.

I added a few new button necklaces last night, in case you’re interested. I sold one to my high school history teacher while at a Christmas Eve party– that was pretty cool. She also owns the first (and only) painting I ever sold.

Paul and I headed downtown with a bunch of friends and we came upon a little Ugandan Craft sale. There were tons and tons of paper beads. TONS! And so inexpensive, for what you were getting, with all proceeds going to charity. Despite the fact that we’re not really putting up a tree this year (so sad, but I left my tree at the curb when I moved here, andI’m leaving on Sunday anyhow), I had to buy a “garland”– which was really ten or eleven necklaces strung together. Of course I detached one necklace to wear myself. I think it wil also look great on the tree. The some day tree.

I also got this super cool blue necklace. I wasn’t sure about it in the basket, but it looks GREAT on. This is definitely something that you can make from old magazines (or specialty papers, if you feel fancy), and if you choose a monochromatic color scheme, you can achieve a really nice look. There’s a tutorial on some very similar beads in the winter issue of Craft. Just taper your strips of paper and wrap them around a toothpick instead of the safety pin they recommend so that they can get chunky. You can slip them off the toothpick when they dry and string them however you want. I think the seed beads are a nice touch.

Other activities at the stroll included listening to the local high school’s Jazz Choir, sipping hot chocolate, and petting an alpaca!

I was seriously excited to pet the alpaca, and I made everyone come with me. Luckily most of the kids were lined up for Santa by this point. The alpacas were already full from being fed by kids all afternoon, but I lured one over with my teleke-knit-ic powers. I had an 8-year old’s smile on, according to my boss. I wish we had gotten some better pics of the alpaca, but it was dark. Some of them had these cute white faces and their fleece was trimmed so stylishly. Oh, those alpacas. One day I’d like to have a pair of my own.

And here we are, in a rare blog photo appearance. Coming to a Texas near you! Hi Mom(s)!

p.s. Tomorrow is the last day to order from my etsy shop in time for the holidays. After that, I’ll be out of town, so no orders will ship till 2008. Thanks to everyone who ordered from me this year- it really helps encourage me to keep on making stuff.

I updated my etsy shop this morning with some earrings I made on the way back to Montana. (It’s much better than writing cover letters) .I have a couple more pairs to post once I figure out how to photograph black thread.  If you purchase a pair, perhaps you’ll have good road trip karma, since they were made in: TX, NM, CO, or WY.   Please have a look & spread the word if they appeal to you.