A Gift, and Knits

This is the absolute coolest knitting gift I've ever received. Given to me by the lady I knit the Swan Lake Stole (MS3) for, she did what any non-knitter would do: walked into the Loops yarn store in Tulsa, told the friendly Loops Troops there about her knitting fool of a friend, and asked what could she get me as a Christmas gift? They had the best possible answer: buy something a knitter would always want but might not buy for themselves. Are you ready? Here it is, and I LOVE it:

Looks kinda like a burrito, doesn't it?

What is it, you ask? Well, if you knit, you know what it is, if you don't you might ask, what is it?

Don't you just love the pattern? My friend and I call it Sedona, because it reminds her of the colors of the sunsets, the hills, the vegetation... (actually it's called Hip to be Square - Mocha)

The burrito unfolds.....

And this is the wonderous inside! A place for all my needles, circs, straights, and dpns, and notions and gauges, and Everything! You can see my new KnitPicks Harmony Options in the bottom row, and the pair of size 10 straights she gifted me in the top row, middle. I was giddy about it, and still am. It's from Offhand Designs, the Deluxe Clutch.

Knitting has taken place, and now that obviously the batteries are working in the camera, I can share.

My first pair of socks using self-striping yarn. This is just about the niftiest thing, the way the yarn makes its own stripes. Almost magical. It's from Cascade Sassy Stripes, size 1 dpns, the basic sock pattern from Silver. I'm pretty chuffed with how the second sock is spot on in lining up the stripes.

And lastly, the progress on Skin of the Sea. I can see the homestretch. Short rows come next, plus the edgings, and of course finishing, washing, and blocking. This is grand!