Birthday Presents are Gooooood

I went home on my mom's birthday to have a joint mommy-and-me celebration. We had strawberry ice cream cake and lots o' sushi.

My family just isn't big on huge birthday celebrations or present-giving, but I can always count on old-fashioned pocket money from my parents. I remember when I was a kid and they'd hand me about twenty bucks at the end of the month for the chores I'd done. I could make that twenty-dollar bill stretch pretty far on candy, a paperback book, maybe a scented body lotion. Given the inflation rates these days, my parents like to offer a little more than a twenty for my birthday pocket money. But instead of spending it on a momentary splurge (e.g., shoes), I decided to invest in a more time-consuming alternative.

Annie's just got in a ton (I honestly think it might be a metric ton) of Malabrigo yumminess. There are so many colors in the laceweight, the silk blend, and the regular ol' worsted that I wanted to stuff a swimming pool with it all and sink into it. Maybe I should join Yarnaholics Anonymous. I really, really, really wanted a big cushy sweater made out of the worsted, so I bought seven skeins in the Pagoda colorway.

This is what Pagoda shall be:

Honestly, I overlooked this cardigan for a long time because the model's eyes are kind of freaky. They're a lovely color, but she's frowning and staring at the camera so intensely that I half expect her to burn a hole through all the pages of Knitting Nature. But I saw several beautiful renditions of this cardi on Ravelry and the knit-lust consumed me. As soon as I brought the Malabrigo home, I swatched:

First on US 10s, then on US 9s. The 10 is recommended, but I like the 9s better. There shall be other adjustments as well, since I am not that fond of asymmetry when it comes to the fronts of cardis. But one thing stands between me and Symmetrical Cardi:

Caroline's Nightingale is pretty much all knit, but I'm still finishing. There is a lot of finishing required of this li'l sweater. The seaming is just the beginning of it.

I'm a little afraid of this:

Stripes are lovely. Sewing in all the ends...not so much.

On top of that, I went through a long process of inventory. There are some WIPs in my stash that are just not going to happen. I cry uncle. Woven Trellis Scarf? There's no way I'm finishing that in the near future. I seriously do not have the patience. Mindless knitting is one thing, but 500+ inches of tiny tubes = crazy making. My Clapotis made of Colinette Lasso? Blech. The colors are pretty, but it won't be that warm and it's not draping the way I had hoped. Argh. Also, my Lady Eleanor is not to be. The yarn is beautiful and the pattern is fantastic, but I realized that I simply won't get much wear out of it. Nope. The Noro is so lovely that it deserves to be seen. So that will be ripped out and turned into a sweater of some sort. This is a bit sad, but really it's refreshing. I don't feel so obligated to these dead-end projects anymore.

But on a happy note, my BFF gave me a curious little bird:

His name is George. He is an owl. George tells me that I am a cool cat and he likes hanging around. George tells me that next year, he will protect me when every last one of my friends wants to buy me a drink for my birthday. He promises he will ward them off so that I will not wake up with the kind of headache I suffered this year. I've learned my lesson and I've learned it well, George.