Friday Potpourri

We woke up to a Winter Wonderland this morning … if you like ice.


It’s a damn good thing that Duquesne Light fixed that transformer yesterday. It never would have made it through the extra weight of the ice.

Everything was melted and rainy by about 10 am. Ho-Hum.

So I have enough stuff sitting around that I should be posting both days this weekend. I have a FO that deserves its moment in the sun, and Julie asked me to show and tell on my M&Ms blocks. So I will! Later. Now? On to today's stuff.

First and foremost, I was extremely surprised and truly honored to receive an award! Turtlegirl76 picked little ‘ol me for a “You Make My Day Excellent Award!”


While presenting this award to me, she said “Through blogging and e-mailing alone, someone I can refer to as a friend and mean it.” I couldn’t have said it better myself.

The Turtlegirl's blog is one of the first blogs I started reading about 18 months ago. From that first day when I was using Safari bookmarks and had never heard of “bloglines” or "google reader," she has been one of my favorite reads. In fact, after my Day of Darkness yesterday, I didn’t read the post with the award because I was tired and wanted to save Cristi’s post until I was awake and could enjoy her snark wit properly.

And so, I pass along the spirit of Bill and Ted and would like to share this award with 10 of my favorite reads

I’ll start with the people who I met online and who felt like family the minute I met them. They were so critical to my transition away from my amazing quilting buddies in Los Angeles and it has been great to get to know them in person. Although I’ve only known them for about six months, I’d have a gaping hole in my new life without them.

1. One Small Stitch for Mankind. Jen’s was the first Pittsburgh blog I found and started to read. She had some wonderful encouraging words for an aspiring sock knitter and is just as wonderful in person as she is to read.
2. Knit/Wit. The Yarn Harlot introduced me to SJ’s blog and I’m glad she did! A prolific sock knitter, I’m always impressed by her spot-on observations and blatantly honest yarn and pattern reviews
3. WierdyPants. We can talk football, disagree on our favorite teams and kibbitz over the pathetic prospects of the Buccos. Now I just want to meet Rufus!
4. Knit’nat. My Hurricane Knitter dinner buddy, Yvonne reminds me of my roommate from my senior year of college. That’s a good thing ☺

And now, for a few newer discoveries and WebFriends!

5. Baseball Knitter. Her life is very different from mine, but I have really enjoyed getting to know her through her blog
6. Kim’s Big Quilting Adventure. I miss my quilting buddies terribly, but Kim’s fantastic sense of humor reminds me almost daily that I love working with all that fabric in the basement.
7. Laurie’s Random Musings. She hasn’t been posting very often lately, but she is a very profound writer. She’s not afraid to tackle any topic and always has thought-provoking posts
8. Mehitabel’s Musings. She’s my link to those LA quilting buddies that I miss so much. Marie knits and quilts, so I get to see glimpses of my yarny haunts and the quilters that I love so much.
9. Cabin Cove. He lives in a city that I enjoy and has a fantastic eye for photography and color. Although I’m immune to the spinning virus, he spins stuff that makes me drool. He also sews, so he’s a source of so much inspiration, and I hope he'd be willing to show me a fiber stop or two the next time I make it to Boston.
10. The Tucci Family. Misty is a dear friend from my old life at UCLA. She became a mom in August and decided not to go back to work. I smile every single time I see that she has posted, and I’m very very happy that we’ve maintained our friendship despite our very different “real lives” and the 2500 miles between her home and mine. Mwah!

Please feel free to download Cristi's button and pass the award along to your favorite 10, or just enjoy the shout-out. This is a small sampling of the blogs that I read, but they are all people that make my day every time they post!

Although I’m sure I should wrap up this post here, I have a serious problem! I have talked to Zonda about making a custom needle case for my KnitPicks Options needles (Go! See her stuff! Order one for yourself!) Since I have a ginormous fabric stash, she has agreed to use my fabric. I just have to pick!!!

HELP!!!

Here are the four fabrics I’ve narrowed down to. Top left is a Laurel Burch animal print. Top right is a batik print that I just found the other day. Bottom left is a yellow star print. Bottom right is a rainbow batik leftover from a quilt top. Please vote! Please! Please!



This is my first attempt at a poll. Cross your fingers that the thing I chucked in the sidebar over there --->> works. If not PLEEEEEASE leave a comment! Please! :) Oh, and I have No Freaking Clue how I turned the background of my blog title brown. I'll try to figure it out when I'm not quite so tired.

That is all. Have a great weekend!