How cute is this Bally Bag? And how easy would it be to duplicate (apart from some of the hardware)? It retails for $895 so it might be worth a try....

...whether one is having fun or not. I don't have any knitting news for you, other than I made a hat for myself out of yarn Neal got me for Christmas. No new project on the needles yet, but some of the bulky stuff in the latest Vogue Knitting looks fun.

So the holidays are finally over - thank goodness! Not that I'm ready to get back to work or anything (I'm not) but at least I don't have to deal with anymore holiday-related stress.

I got some lovely yarn from my lovely hubby, and a gift certificate for YarnMarket from a friend. Dad got me a copy of Knit One Below. Now I have to start knitting again (I took a several-week break from the action) but what to start with? And what to order from YarnMarket?

I didn't mean to let two weeks go by between posts! But it's been busy here chez Minx, what with last minute holiday stuff, helping Dad and my brother with their Christmas shopping, planning meals, and generally attempting to enjoy the season. Bah humbug. Hopefully I'll find some Christmas spirit in the next few days, huh?

Let me leave you with Pete, passed out in front of his favorite watering hole. He's such a lush.

I joined Facebook last month, just to have the ability to see a person's profile. Now I have 100 friends and I'm sadly hooked. It's incredible how many folks I know are on there, particularly people with whom I wished I had kept in touch. I've found over a dozen girls who were in my class at Catholic High, the vast majority of whom I haven't seen or spoken to since graduation (25 years ago!). I also found a couple of former teachers. One of them I had not seen in at least 12 years, but the day after I "friended" him, ran into him at Petit Louis. We both took a double take at that!

On a completely unrelated note, I need chocolate.

My friend Andree bought me the new book, Mason-Dixon Knitting Outside the Lines for my birthday, and I've already started the Flapotis scarf. Why this particular pattern? Because it involves casting on very few stitches at a time.... :)

...sorry I wasn't particularly attentive this year. :(

If you've completed something this month, why not post a pic for all to see in the Flickr group (link on the sidebar, under the list of participant names)?

May you all have a safe and happy holiday!

Found this on Mousie's blog so I thought I would give it a go.

1. Magazines subscribed to - at the moment, InStyle, Allure, Interweave Knits, Vogue Knitting, W, Beauty & Fashion (trade mag), and Lucky. I'm letting a few of them expire so I can pick up a food magazine again.

2. Aside from knitting, my favorite pasttimes are - reading, cooking, playing with my beads (sometimes actually beading!), and sleeping.

3. If I were not a research supervisor for a group that studies the welfare and child support programs in MD(insert your profession), I would love to be a professional jewelry designer, world traveler, and restaurateur. Oh, and a zillionaire. :)

4. I am irrationally worried about - alternately, my finances and my Dad.

5. If I were the opposite sex - why on earth would I want to be a man?

6. The thing I miss most about childhood is - no responsibilities

7. I like to collect - mermaids, chile peppers, beads, yarn, dust

8. Though I’ve never been there, I feel inexplicably homesick for - Asia, in general

9. I’ve never really liked to eat - lima beans

10. When I have nightmares, they’re usually about - stuff I have to take care of

I'm not tagging anyone - take if you wish.

Here are my finished Felted Stash Accessory bags, awaiting zippers, knit from a combination of Silk Garden and Kureyon leftovers.

And here's my Retro Scarf, in Silk Mountain.

What have you finished?