And the Winner Is...

Best Quote That Made Me Go "Where the Hell is She Going To Go With This One...": Jacqueline
"What you might not realize about me is that have very – I mean VERY big connections in Vegas due to the fact that I am the love child of Wayne Newton and Liza Minelli."

Best Creative Idea That I Am Taking into Consideration for Actual Use: Jen
"You know those signs in restaurant bathrooms that explain in several languages that employees have to wash their hands after wiping themselves whether they want to or not because it's the LAW? Well Viva has this habit of not cleaning up after digging around in the cat box, so I finally pasted this sign to the inside to help her get the hint. I just hate trying to enjoy a glass of wine and cruise the blogs wondering the whole time if the cat sitting mere inches from me is turning my desk into something resembling the floor of a public restroom. Ya know??"

Best Improvisation On My Knitting/Fiber Skills: Christie
"This is the gown that I knitted up on the plane back from LA last week. It was a breeze and only took 30 minutes on a size 00 needle. I can't believe what a quick knit this was! It's for my best friend Julie's wedding next week. The yarn is a silk that I engineered from mutant silk worms in my underground wine cellar/bio-lab. No tailoring necessary, since the silk will expand or contract with the wearer! Julie can eat, dance and feel comfortable all night long! I should recieve my patent later this week."

Best Incorperation of both Significant Others [man and cat]: Sorka
"On another front Viva is complaining about her litter box again, guess I better get off my butt and change it before she starts plotting another world takeover. Hey secret pal! How about sending me one of those auto cleaning ones? She already took over the satellite box, and the reception is getting a little fuzzy lately, who knows what she will get into next? Did you see how she was cuddling up to Jason? I might just be out a man!!"

You got me. I couldn't pick a winner because they all were so funny. I picked up a little something for each of you, so shoot me at email at delia dot ann at gmail and I will get them off to you. Thanks again for compensating for my laziness using your creative genious to add some humor to Wine and Needles.

Now for the real stuff. 1) The card and stitch markers were a RAOK from Beth at Diamonds and Purls (Thanks again, Beth!). 2) This dress (which I still believe I could have whipped up in a weekend a-la-Christie) was a part of a cross-city dress excursion for my dear friend Kaci who is getting married in August (and this was later decided to be 'The Dress'). 3) I picked up the Jaeger Merino and Pattern Book for my step-sisters impending baby shower (booties AND a cardigan... I'm not THAT bad with my yardage estimations* ;) ). 4) My Star-Gazer sock in it's almost finished stage and 5) A little sketch to accompany a story about Viva mistaking my laundry basket, FULL of fresh laundry, as her litterbox. 4 loads of laundry, $10 in quarters, and 1 missed date with the man later, I've pushed that memory out of my mind. Therefore, I won't elaborate on the gory details.

* although I am dragging JSwag back to ImagiKnit on Sunday for 1 more ball of Karabella for the Clap.

On to the Knitting Content!

	First up, we have a finished sock! Look Secret Pal! It happened all because of you! As predicted, I love knitting socks. What you can't see in this picture is all the picked up stitches at the top, but I will probably cast on for the 2nd one tomorrow.
Next up, I got all my supplies together to start the Lucky Clover Wrap ASAP [since the temporary abandonment of Kyoto]. I liked Lolly's idea of starting on St. Paddy's Day [get it? Clover Lace --> Irish --> St. Paddy's Day?], but I was busy at work on my baby sweater and by the time I was on to my 4th draft cider, I needed to put down the tiny needles so I wouldn't hurt myself.
	Finally, here is the ever-so-popular Clap. I do really like this pattern, and the Karabella yarn makes it super soft and super warm. Unfortunately, by the time I finish it is probably going to be 90 degrees in San Jo and I am going to have to hang her in silence with all the other wraps destined for later use. You can see a little boo-boo I made in the corner. C'est La Vie! These aren't current photos because last night after I didn't trust myself with the little needles anymore, I attached the 3rd ball (what you're looking at is at the end of ball 2) and got to a point where I dropped two more rows.

I also started the Jaeger cardi for Jr. (no name yet for the nephew, just 'Jr.'), and have a goal to finish it by April 1. The photo didn't upload for some reason, but it's just the plain back of a baby cardigan so I'll let your creative minds invision it however you like. Finally, I was totally inspired by Fig and Plum's To-Do list. What great style she has! I followed the link to the Magknits Hug Modifications [link] and FELL IN LOVE! There may or may not have been some yarn purchased for this item along with the gifties for the 4 winners above.

The Weekend Ahead
Since I am now on the downward slide towards the big 2-5 (6 Days! EEK!), I feel a need to reaffirm the fact that I am not turning into a house slug and can still get out there and rally like a college girl. This stems from my desire to 'just stay in and eat Greek food' last night instead of hauling my ass to an Irish Pub like I do every year [to my credit, there were 6-er's of draft cider and McMenamins involved]. On that note, Jason and I are going to San Fran on Sunday to drop his sister at the Airport, and then onto the Buena Vista where I plan on consuming about 8 cups of Irish Coffee so I can get zero sleep, come in to work hung over, and all the while sing to myself 'yeah baby, you still got it'. It'll be GREAT!

That, or I'll sleep in and knit a lot.

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Finally, I leave you with Viva whom has now decided that she will not consume from her food/water bowls on the ground anymore. Oh No, they now must be placed on my desk so she can continue to survey the whole room while she munches away. Plotting, I tell you!