random and assorted

First, my new IK came in the mail this week. I must say I am very happy with it. There's a feature on Norah Gaughan, and I've decided I just love her, maybe even enough to try set in sleeves. Besides, the yarn shop that is just minutes from my house has a knit clinic of sorts to help with that kind of thing. I was a bit disappointed in the man sweater, it's constructed strangely (i.e. not in the round) and has unfinished edges, making it far less appealing that I originally thought. But, the welt and rib raglan is even more fabulous than I imagined. It too has sort of a strange construction, but one that I'm actually excited to try. I found the yarn over at Jimmy Beans Wool and added it to my wish list in a gorgeous grey color called Pewter (pictured above). It's delicious. I recognize that the yarn will cost $80 - that's why it's a wish list. I also decided I really like the Sweet Honey Beret (pictured below - I will be going sans fleur), and would like to knit it for my winter hat (because Wisconsin is a cold bitch). The yarn for the hat is on sale over at webs and so I added two balls in this pretty grayish blue called "chalky" to my webs wish list. I must say I am a big fan of the wish list.

I've also gotten started on the holiday knitting. With the economy in the crapper and money tight, I'm thankful that I can turn something I love to do into something nice for the people I love. As it is holiday knitting time, that means fewer pictures of WIPs and FOs on the blog, because I don't want to ruin any surprises.

Finally, I had a brain storm this morning. I figured out a logo for my blog and possible future knitwear design stuff. I am envisioning a ball of yarn with two knitting needles sticking straight up and down in it such that it makes the greek letter phi (pictured above, the one on the left is the capital letter, which is what I had in mind), which is the symbol for philosophy. Clever right? Now, I need someone with mad graphic design skills to bring it to life, hmm graphic designer friends? Who wants a nice new knit hat and gloves set?