sp stands for stretch your parameters...

or shed your prejudice (tbd later in post).

yesterday i mailed two items. the fluffy cuff mittens went out to my niece. and the aline bag to it's recipient.

earlier this week, the devil hat was finished, aidan's slippers are finished. now i'm going like crazy to knit a little cat hat for bea for halloween as she is the only one sans costume. i ripped it once already. now it's much smaller and i hope a more accurate fit. the yarn i am using is some that my sp sent along. i had it on the needles within an hour or so of recieving it, thanks sp!

so this sp thing. i have to say thank you to my secret pal for broadening my horizons. i'm sure many of you experience the same wonderment over the packages they recieve via this arrangement. beneath the overriding gratitude you feel from the kindness of a stanger who goes out of their way to please you, there are some items you say, wow! others... what? how? why? this mixture of emotions has overtaken me with the unveiling of each package as it arrived. the first contained post it notes? hmm. in another life i used post its like crazy and would have known what to do with one -at work. presently, it took my secret pal for me to rediscover them -for my hobby. they now litter my knitting books and mags with marks and comments. thank you secret pal!
the other was this yarn. i would never in a million years have picked this yarn, despite it's obvious beauty. the projects i plan for simply don't call for this type. but, i let my sp be my guide; she said, "for halloweenie inspiration". and inspired i am! i have embarked on this little hat for bea for the impending holiday. the yarn's beautiful halloween colors and texture are creating such a cool fabric. the black wool bits are actually forming circles and spots -just like on a real feline! how great is that? i am going to end up with this glam little cat cap for my cutie, she will we an edgy modern kind of kitty like from the broadway musical. i plan to make a band to embellish a witches hat for myself so we can sport about town together as a pretty pair. so if i haven't said it already... THANK YOU secret pal! i am growing because of you..
the package contained other lovely goodies. beautiful native american art stamps. a pasta cookbook. both items whose merits were immediately obvious to me, and yet my favorite, for now anyway, turns out to be the yarn i never would have picked! oh how i wish i had pictures to show you what i am talking about!

looking forward to stitch and bitch tomorrow. i am prepared for sparse attendance as the SOX are now playing the WORLD SERIES! i'm not a fan beyond being part of a family populated with fans. but i do care. how can you not feel for the team that has had this dangled in front of them for so many years. go sox!

my tea is cold, but the kids' feet are warm in slippers. how is your day going?