EEEEEEE!!!

Good afternoon!  Here is the greatest news of my week, since I was by myself on Thanksgiving and my world has been isolated in the knitting house this week:

I BOUND OFF THE WAVES AND WARMTH SHRUG!  I BOUND OFF THE WAVES AND WARMTH SHRUG!

Oh, and I walked to the grocery store.  This may not seem like a big deal to others, but there are not too many sidewalks in Texas, as far as I can tell.  I'm cat-sitting for a friend's herd, however, and she not only lives in a neighborhood with sidewalks.  She lives in a neighborhood with sidewalks and STORES.  So in a weird way, it's been an exciting holiday.

Did you all find time to throw a knot on a needle in between bites of Turkey...or downs during the football game...yesterday?

The rest of my day will be spend seaming the sleeves on the shrug, and writing out a few more patterns.  Well, one at least.  Anyway, I use Lion Brand Vanna's Choice for this shrug...the reason I chose it in the first place was because the original recipient, Judy, won't wear anything that LOOKS itchy.  While I have my yarn-snobby moments, if you are knitting with acrylic yarn, nothing beats Vanna's Choice.  It's soft, a teeny bit sheeny, and obviously is washable.  The PR person for Lion Brand generously re-tweets my Knit Tips Tuesdays, so I was thinking of sending her the pattern as a thank-you (what DO you get a knitter, anyway).

Here is a story about Small Business Saturday, and local yarn shops in Chicago having deals...please share with anyone you know in Chicago regardless if they knit.  Bottom line is, everyone KNOWS a knitter or crocheter, even if they don't do it themselves:

http://www.examiner.com/knitting-in-chicago/support-your-local-yarn-shop-on-small-business-saturday

Thanks very much for your support this year.  Happy shopping!