Without further ado

My favorite little gold medal winner, Ella!



I cast on a few hours after the opening ceremonies, since I was toiling away at work then, and finished it early Thursday morning, Feb. 23.

She's knit from Brooks Farm's Four Play in colorway Amy, also known as crack spun into yarn farm. I can't say enough about both the yarn -- silky and shiny -- and the company - responsive and kind when I thought I was going to run out. Plus, it blocked marvelously, though it took up nearly all of my floor space. Stinking studio apartments. I had to tiptoe over it for two days!



I'm not necessarily a shawl person, but I like how this looks. It's dramatic and certainly unique. And this weekend, when the wind was literally pushing me down a block in Tribeca, its wooly goodness was much appreciated.



So after two intense weeks on one project, I'm suffering from serious startitis. I've finished one of my Fruit Salad socks and made a major yarn purchase today that I'll share later this week.

I also wanted to show you all the adorable buttons made by one of my favorite bloggers, Leah of Use your Hands. She and the husband have an etsy shop called Repurposed Goods where they sell all sorts of cool accessories made from vintage materials.

I bought two sets of her buttons created from encyclopedia pages. I can only tell you about one, since another is a present for someone who reads this. Aren't these cacti and cowboy buttons adorable in a "Brokeback" kinda way? (I'm sorry, that movie really affected me. I tear up at commercials.)



Also, though I can't typically get to the Point to see the Spiders every Friday, I did meet my friend Shannon there on Sunday. That's a Debbie Bliss baby vest, and it's going to be too adorable for words.



When I walked in, I heard a voice that sounded oddly familiar, and I quickly realized it was designer Annie Modesitt. How on earth did I know her voice? From a recent episode of knitcast, of course. I think I'm officially a geek.