The votes have been carefully tallied, and between the input of y'all, and on my Wordpress where I cross-posted this, AND from my husband (::exaggerated sigh:: "Knit whatever makes you happy.") AND from the dog ("Snwarfle!"), we've arrived at the following tally:

Looks like Gail has won it by a hair!

So now I can tell you - that one was my favorite all along

But there's something else I can tell you, too:  I fully intend to knit every shawl posted yesterday.

I even have the yarn for most of them.

For the Springtime Bandit:

That's Berroco Ultra Alpaca Light - a gorgeous and squishy sportweight.

For the Little Arrowhead:

Yummy Fearless Fibers light fingering weight (this is the same stuff I used for my Stardust shawl a year ago, with much success).  Or maybe this:

That's Bare Sheep yarn superwash fingering weight in "Blue Period", and if I'm being perfectly honest with y'all...this may be too pretty to knit.  I'm just not sure I'm ready to part with it yet.

And for the other two (Onerva and Heartland)?  I'll be dyeing my own:

(Squee!)

Or at least, that's the plan as of right now...we knitters are a notoriously fickle and indecisive bunch.

Tonight I plan to finish my Hey Teach and set it to blocking, then I'll cast on for Gail - I'll have plenty of knitting time tomorrow, as I'll be watching all 5 Harry Potter movies in quick succession   (Any St. Louis'ers want to join me? I'll make brownies...)

Yesterday my new Born Codders arrived, gratis, thanks to the lovely folks at Supershoes.com.

Now, don't go thinking I'm one of those bigshot bloggers who gets sent free stuff all the time - my quiet comments section and abysmal page hit numbers will serve as proof otherwise.

No, I had to work for these shoes - I had to Tweet my little heart out in spurts over the course of an hour, as I waited on hold with various manufacturers of architectural products (I make my job sound so romantic, don't I?).  And when I found out I'd won, I squealed so loudly that I almost certainly caused my co-workers to question my mental stability (as if that weren't already up for discussion...)  Good thing I wasn't on the phone with an aforementioned manufacturer when that happened.

Just a few short days later - last night, in fact, there they were on my doorstep - and all without use of my (or my husband's, or my mom's) credit card.

I had a heck of a time choosing which pair I wanted, but these are absolutely perfect - the red color is sort of vintagey, the style is sweet but not twee, and the comfort is all I've come to expect from Born (this is my, um...5th? pair of Borns).

I ordered them in a 6.5 (my other Borns are all 6 or 7), figuring that if they ran a bit small I could wear them without handknit socks, and if they ran a bit large I could wear them with socks.

Turns out they run exactly true to size, so they work with socks and without!

These are without a doubt the most cheerful shoes I've ever owned, and perhaps the cutest!

They'll definitely be coming with me to Minnesota - I think that between these, my Keens and my new Sofft sandals, I'll be well-prepared to tromp around the Mall of America, the north shore, or anywhere in between!

I didn't get a picture, but these also have an unusual footbed - most of it is lined with a mesh-like material that looks like it'll keep my feet cool and dry, and the arch support extends further toward the center of the foot.  I have super high arches, so this is a welcome addition.  They're every bit as comfy as my other Borns; maybe even a bit cushier.

Oh lovely little red Born Codders, will you be my friends forever?

PS> Another hearty "thank you" to the wonderful folks at Supershoes.com for the fantastic treat!

July is shaping up to be a much better month for me than June was.  This is, naturally, something I'm very excited about.

Cooler weather, coupled with a "first of July" gift from Mom and an awesome Twitter contest that I won, indicates that I may (hope I don't jinx it by saying this) be on a roll.

And dammit, it's TIME!

This evening Jeff and I are going to a co-worker's daughter's graduation party, so of course I had to whip up something for the Chicago-bound scholar.

What better gift for someone you've never met, who's about to go to a city where it's chilly 4 months of the year (and FREEZING for 6) than a pair of fingerless gloves?

This was my third pair of Fetchings and my first time using the Rustic Wool (which I chose because of its versatile color, awesome dyeing, and superwash-ness) and I'm not gonna lie - it was kind of nerve-wracking.

Why, you ask?

The dark, blurry photo above represents the sum total of yarn I had left after finishing.  (Knitters, I know you're hearing that horror movie EEE!  EEE!  EEE! screechy music)

But I was quite pleased with how the mitts turned out.  I'd been a bit worried about pooling, but there wasn't really any to speak of.

I greatly prefer the pattern with an extra repeat tacked onto the end - it's 5 rows longer that way, and makes the underside of the mitt go further up the wearer's palm.   Even though these things are supposed to be "one size fits all", I am a bit worried about them fitting the recipient - I've never met her, so I have no idea if her hands run large or small.

Now I've gotta hop into the shower and get ready to go.  Be back later this weekend, with some more FOs!