"Happy 1/2 birthday...or something" was boyfriend's line to me tonight as he handed me an envelope and ran out the door to work. Inside was I swear to good you are god at this from Holiday Matinee. Yeah, I had to read the title a few times too. It's a fun little book that presents 25 people and their creative projects in a fun, graphic coffee table-style.

After reading it I headed over to their web site for more. In the about section the minds behind the site each list their top 5 things. I like that.

Two years ago Boyfriend and I went to Costa Rica. Handmade treasures from street vendors

1. I love handmade things from others even more than my own. I'm an Etsy nut.

2. Saturday mornings and Thursday nights.

3. Cushy carpet after five years of hardwood apartment floors. Yummy.

4. A Kiss to Build a Dream On – Louis Armstrong. Thanks Pandora, for the new favorite song.

5. Casting-on and binding off.

Very fun indeed.

On Friday I got a handy little tool for storing, editing, enlarging, lighting up and propping up my patterns.

When the first iPad came out I really thought it was silly. That is, until I realized how it could become one of my most powerful knitting tools – behind my interchangeable needles, of course. 

In the few days I've had this little guy (haven't named it yet, but surely will) I've added my favorite files to iBooks and Dropbox – making them easily accessible for knitting. For my patterns-to-be, Quickoffice is a simple editing tool for .doc and .xls files. Not all of these programs let me enlarge content as much as I'd like, but all present it at a perfectly readable size when propped up a few feet in front of me on the coffee table.

There's still plenty to figure out but I think we're going to get along beautifully. The only drawback so far is the cameras kind of stink.

On another knitterly but very different topic, I have a few more spring patterns to share. (Click the images to enlarge.)

Lacy Valence in Firefly – Crocheted Mat in Summer Sox – Herringbone Curtain Panel in Allegoro

All three are available in Home Sweet Home, a new pattern booklet from Classic Elite that is filled with designs for the home. It was photographed in a greenhouse and is just a beautiful booklet to look through. Taking these pieces out of their home element really makes them pop!

The Lacy Valence is one of my favorite designs in my design portfolio. There is nothing complicated about it. The rod pocket is done while knitting, omitting any need for seaming, and the curtain is knit as a rectangle with a simple eyelet pattern. The eyelets flow into a more complex pattern at the bottom and the curtain is then drawn up with cords in finishing. 

Firefly is a wonderfully drapey yarn and couldn't be more perfect for this sort of project. It easily blocks open and the finished fabric is slinky. I wish I had about twice as many hours in every day so I could knit up a trio of these for the bay window...

While I'm at it, I'd like to note that today I cast on for sweater #4 in '11. Number three I designed and will not be released for a bit, but it surely counts because I also knit it. Number four is going to be a sleeveless top. My friends have assured me that sleeveless tops still count as sweaters, but I admit I feel like I'm cheating, just a bit.

Happy knitting!