Self portrait Monday: January 31, 2011

Today is a big day. Well, yesterday more than today, but that's all unimportant.
Yesterday was Rick's birthday. I had the day off work and we spent most of it together. I did also spend quite a bit of time knitting.
I bound off my Boneyard shawl!!! I started it back at the beginning of November, and just finished it yesterday. If I was to dedicate knitting to it and only it, I could probably finish in two or three weeks. I couldn't be happier with this shawl. It's a tiny bit on the itchy side, but I have a feeling it will soften up with wash and wear. It still needs to be blocked, but I wore it out to Rick's birthday dinner last night anyway, and it is amazingly warm.
Forgive the morning face, and bed head, I was too excited to post about this to bother about any of that. I want to get a shawl pin so I can wear it a few different ways rather than just wrapped this way.

I've finished a few other items in the past week. The biggest one was three very similar cowls. They all use the same yarns, just in different accent colours.

It's just a simple seed stitch with two yarns held together. I think I will be making many more of these. they're the perfect length to double around your neck, as I did with the blue one. I really hope I can find more of the dark grey yarn I used because it's easily the best yarn I've ever bought in the mill end bags. I will check the Zellers I bought it from to see if they happen to have any left. I got it a long time ago, but I know they had a couple bags when I went there about a month ago.

Overall, life is pretty good. I am likely going to start posting many of my finished objects on Facebook so I can hopefully sell a few to local people and not have to worry about shipping and such.

Self portrait Monday: January 24, 2011

I am not in a good mood today. Winston was being horrible this morning when I took him outside. I'd rather not talk about it though, so on to the good things!
Yesterday was a very, very long day at work: 10am until 7pm. The windsoriteDOTca one year anniversary party was at Rino's, and it went over really well. I was busy serving up appetizers, coffee and mostly just chatting with the people that came out to celebrate. I saw quite a few familiar faces, and a few new ones, too. It was a ton of fun.
I've been watching a lot of House MD lately. I'm almost finished the second season, when I will take a break and continue on the third season of Weeds. It's so great to be able to sit down and knit while watching a couple episodes. This is when I get most of my knitting done.
I've finished a couple scarves and a neck warmer in the past few days. The neck warmer is a bit of a prototype. I'm hoping to make more in a similar design very soon. Pictures of these will come in the next few days.
I'm off to watch the most recent episode of Community and knit for a while.
What have all of you been up to?

Another new blog to follow

I've been looking for new blogs to follow lately, and this one is probably my newest favourite. Rick sent me a link to wikstenmade last night, and I have been looking at it since I got home from work today.

I love finding new blogs to follow. I often read from the beginning (yes, the very first post) all the way to the most recent, in order. It can be a daunting task, but it is something I really enjoy.

What blogs have you come across lately and fallen in love with?

More knitted shawls!

As I said on Monday, here are the rest of the shawls!
They're all folded up nicely and sitting on the table next to where my computer has been set up for the past couple weeks.
Next to the stack, I have a simple Homespun scarf that I have been working on for a couple days. It's leftovers from another project I made in November or December.
I am still trying to work out how to price the shawls. This is likely the most difficult task in selling my wares. I want to price my items fairly for myself, but not so high where no one will want to buy them. I am only working one job right now (the new restaurant hasn't called me back yet, they hired too many people before they opened) and a little extra income from knitting would really help out financially.
In any case, I knit for pleasure first of all. It keeps me from going absolutely insane on bus rides and while reading blogs and such. The selling of the items is always secondary. Sure does feel great, though!

Self portrait Monday: January 17, 2011

Here it is! One of the six "secret" projects I've been working on for the past few weeks. It's a very simple triangle shawl made from Lion Homespun. I love making these! I picked up some grey, black and white yarn on Saturday so I could make more. It's super simple to wear, and can be worn a couple different ways. This is how I plan on wearing mine once I finally settle on the colours I want mine to be. All you have to do is tuck the ends under the part at the front and it holds itself in place.

The ones I've made already are all different colours, all striped though.
So far, I have:
-light blue and grey (the one in the photo)
-dark grey and olive green
-light blue and cream
-light grey and rose
-cream and rose
-dark grey and royal purple
I'll post a photo of the rest of them very soon! It's part of my New Year's resolutions to photograph each of my knitted items.

I am planning on making many more of them, and hopefully selling a few at a small event this upcoming Sunday.

Are there any particular colours you'd like to see? I have just about everything available, and I'm always looking for suggestions!

Self portrait Monday: January 10, 2011

What a lovely day! Seriously, today has been a great day so far. I took Winston out a couple times already, and we ran around in the snow. I'm finishing up a pot of Sencha with honey. I've watched a couple episodes of House. Winston is being hilarious. When I was trying to take my self portrait photo, he came and joined in and gave me kisses. Right in my ear. So I thought I'd share a photo with him. He's on this new kick where if I don't pay enough attention to him when he's next to me on the couch, that he'll basically high five my head. It's hilarious, and cute, and kind of annoying. I love this dog.
I found out a few days ago that I will no longer be working at Teaopia. This is fine, it was a seasonal position, and I was looking forward to a bit of down time. Turns out, I haven another job out of the deal. My manager at Teaopia is the assistant manager of a new restaurant opening not far from my apartment. She got me an interview, and I got the job. They're opening in the next few weeks, and I'll be in there before then for training. It's a really cool concept, and I'm pretty excited.
In knitting news, I've completed three of the secret projects, and I'm working on a fourth. They're all different colours, and I love all of them. I'm going to make one for myself after I finish five to sell. It's going to be great!! I'll be posting photos of these soon. I just want to get all the ends woven in on them, and I need to set up a bit of a photo shoot with Rick.

How are all of you doing?

Self portrait Monday: January 3, 2011

Happy New Year everyone! I know I've posted once already this year, but that was a quick update to try and get my brain juices flowing. This is a real update.
I just came in from taking the dog out, and it's a million degrees in the apartment, hence the messy pony tail. We rearranged the living room a few days ago, so I have a large open space behind me where we have a couple bookshelves with random stuff on them.
New Year's Eve and New Year's day were both spent with Rick's family. His mom makes a ton of food, and we eat like kings and queens.

I'm working on a new item that I am hoping to be able to replicate fairly quickly in order to sell them in a few places. Really hoping this works out as I plan. I started it yesterday in two colours of Homespun (some of the stuff from the ridiculous Boxing Day sale at Michael's) and I'm really liking how it is working out.

I've started a Super List, which is basically a few resolutions I have for this year. They are important things to me that are in line with where I want to be in one year. Feel free to check it out.
Part of this list is to photograph all of the things I knit this year. I am really bad at doing this, and I want to be able to see the progression of my knitted items over time. The only thing I've finished thus far is the last dishcloth of that custom order. I used a different colour that the rest of them because I ran out of that. The woman who ordered them is super excited to get them. I'll hopefully be bringing them to her this week.
Tomorrow is my twenty second birthday. I'm celebrating tonight with Rick and our families. I'm also doing some sort of lunch thing at Rino's Kitchen on Wednesday. I've invited everyone I know on Facebook, and I'm really hoping a few people come out. I know that a few people are going to be coming on the weekend while I am working because they work Monday-Friday, so that will be great, as well.
I hope everything is going well for all of you. Do any of you have any resolutions you're working on?

Blank

My mind is completely blank. I am at the point where I have no orders for anything knit, I have no upcoming shows/stores that are pressing in any way, and I have nothing I really want to work on.
My mind is blank.
I have no idea what I want to knit!
I have a ton of yarn for inspiration, but no ideas to start on. Part of the reason is because I want to learn to spin with a drop spindle. My mind is focused there. I have a willing teacher, I just need to acquire the spindle and the roving. I have a good idea of how I will use the spun yarn once I start spinning.