It's the little things that count!

A good friend, Cheryl, from Kavelizard on Etsy, makes the cutest garments and accessories. I met Cheryl in the "Day of the Dead" swap from last year, she was my spoiler. She made me the cutest knitting bag, and perfect for those real meaty knitting projects.

Remember this lovely bag?



I love this bag, she made it just for Lil'O me 8-), in fact she now offers them for sell on her site, she aptly named it "Rocka-ma-bag"! I love the tatoo'ish fabric, and requested a custom item from her Etsy site the other week for a Iphone cell phone case she has for sale, but since I'm a Blackberry girl, I asked for one that fits a Blackberry, in no other than my fave tatoo'ish fabric.

And she made whipped it up in no time and shipped it to me ASAP! I love it! It is now permanently attached to my Bella bag from Jordana. Funny, Bella, it's also the name of the lead female character in Twilight, kind of odd that name would mean so much to me now when I knew nothing of "Bella" when I purchased my Bella bag at the Stitches West 2008 conference. Isn't odd how one thing can mean something to you in one way at one point in time and then later on have a totally different meaning? Odd....

Enough digressing, here are some snapshots of my custom BB case.





Now you should know what my title means, it is little but definitely counts! I love it. A BIG thank you to my friend CHERYL!!! You Rock girl!

And onto a new WIP, real new, hot off the needles yesterday. I can't say the name of the pattern or who it's for, I can't ruin the surprise, but I will say it is a handbag and it is my first time working with pleats, but it's pretty much the same as cables or is cables, but knit somewhat differently. I picked this color because I know my spoilee likes neutrals, as I do, and this dark rich brown is luscious! The yarn is again a constant in my knitting stash, Blue Sky Alpaca 100% Organic Cotton. I've knitted with various weights of this yarn and I love it. It's easy to knit and very soft, and it won't felt, which is awesome in case it needs a good wash.

Here's a peek at the handbag, though it's about 40% done, it doesn't yet look like much, but I can't wait to see the final product. I need to go pick me up some 9 16' cause the 24''s circs aren't working out. I should be able to pick some up this weekend and have a spoilee FO to show off Sunday!



See that "Love Bites" stitch marker??? It's a gift from my spoiler for Love Bites, a heart with a band-aid, too cute!



And see that Golden Retriever stitch marker? So cute, from my other spoiler Minerva Wood a.k.a. Yogaknot. I've participated in so many swaps that I've been so lucky to have such wonderful spoilers who get me the cutest things.

More soon 8)

HSK - Quidditch Rd 3

1. This “Harry Potter� character’s first name comes from Roman mythology. The mythological character’s twin brother is named Romulus. What is the Harry Potter character last name?

b. Lupin

2. Which “Harry Potter� character’s first name is the Roman equivalent of the Greed Goddess Athena?
c. McGonagall

3. In ‘Harry Potter’ World, this wizard has created the Philosopher’s Stone (called the Sorcerer Stone in the US). The historical figure from the 14th and 15th centuries was a scribe and a manuscript-seller who became famous as an alchemist. Who is this individual?

I believe it's Nicholas Flammel.

4. What is the first name of a character whose last name is the name of a Bulgarian leader from early 9th century who doubled the country’s territory?
c. Viktor

5. Which character’s name is the name of goddess in Indian mythology?
b. Patil

6. “Where the Wild Things Are� tells the story of Max, a young boy sent to bed without his supper for his wild antics. Who created this winner of the Caldecott Medal?
a. Maurice Sendak

7. What was NOT one of the unexpected defense mechanisms that Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Griphook encountered in their attempt to rob Gringotts?
d. The Geminio Curse

8. What was Snape aiming at when he cut off George’s ear?

c. Another Death Eater’s wand hand
d. George’s face

9. How much older than James was Lily? (Referring to Harry’s parents, not children).
d. 2 months

10. Food is one of the five exceptions to what magical law?
b. Gamp’s Law of Elemental Transfiguration

Photo hunt

George
McGonagall
Patil
Where the Wild Things Are

I heart my spoiler

My spoiler for HSK7 swap is Minerva Wood a.k.a. Yogaknot on Ravelry. The funny thing is that she was also my spoiler for the Hogwarts - A little bit of everything swap too. I came home today to my HSK7 package from Minerva, and am utterly flabbergasted!

She put such a great package together, I just have to share this with you.



Can you see all the great stuff?

-6 skeins of Knit Picks wool in Red (hmm...soft)
-A full set of personalized stationery set with "R" as the logo (I love!)
-A quill pen set (this is so cool, I've been wanting one of these!)
-2 packages of natural buttons in animal and leaf shapes (so pretty!)
-Hogwarts logo type buttons (very nice!)
-US 9 Hiya Hiya needles (I love these!)
-Clover stitch markers & needle protectors & flower pins (a need!)
-Printed copy of "Brea" Bag by Norah Gaughan (so pretty!)
-The cute lion scissors (I'm a Lioness at heart!)
-HP stickers (the kid in me loves these)
-A skull patch (too cool, it reminds me of ED HARDY, one of my fave designers)
-Twilight Ghiradelli bar (YUM-O!) with Dove Dark & Milk Chocolate goodies
-2 Wee One's "Golden Retriever" stitch markers (OMG, these are too precious!)
-Handknit by Minerva herself, the "Fashion Cable Knit Bag" with the most gorgeous handles (I'm totally in love with this bag, and it matches the hat she knit for me for the Hogwart's Swap, hat pattern was Jared Flood's "Habitat"

I can't express enough gratitude to Minerva for being the most excellent swapper.

HLBOES spoiler post

As my post title says, this is a spoiler post for HLBOES "Harry Potter - A little bit of everything" swap. I made something special for my spoilee Pandora Phelps. She should be getting her package any day now, and I'm just hoping she loves it.

I knitted this hat in record time, literally one night! It went so fast and so easy, and it's cables for crying out loud!

This is the first time I knitted a hat using cotton, I really love the feel of it. I'm also using this same yarn to knit up my Tech Square Afghan blanket, which is currently hibernating 8)

Here are a few shots of "Hermione's Cable & Eyelet" hat. This is an interpretation of the hat that the character Hermione Granger wore in HP Half Blood Prince.

Spoiler pics...







I will definitely knit this again, probably very soon, still using cotton too!

Now onto my other HP swap, HSK 7. Homework for this week:

If you could be one character in the series, who would you be and why?

Throughout the entire series of Harry Potter, I've always been fond of Professor Snape. I'm a Gryffindor gal at heart, but Snape has always been my favorite character. What can I say about Snape? He can be deathly fearful at times, but it's like the character is a secret filled See's candie, inside there is someone who cares. His character is very deep and complex, and doesn't show emotion outwardly. In ways, it's alot similiar to myself, I'm not one to show emotion or be outwardly affectioniate, I don't think I'm deathly fearful, but my family may disagree (LOL). I'll have to admit I am complex, which I think is both good and bad, just means I'm totally neurotic! Everyone is probably going, Snape?!? What??? Well, that's my take on Professor Snape, definitely my favorite character, and most consistent too, and damn, can he do some hot magic!