Wednesdays Are For Gratitude: May 1, 2013

Every Wednesday, I write up a little post listing various things I am grateful for that week. It could be simple things, or it could be something extravagant. Scientific studies have shown that people who show gratitude live happier, more fulfilling lives. I don't like to argue with science.
This post isn't meant to point out the things I have that others might not, in fact, it's a way to keep me humble.
So, here goes! This week I am grateful for
Richard  /  Our new (to us) car  /  TheKnitGirllls  /  DramaticKnits  /  Etsy  /  Facebook  /  Winston being happy despite some more health issues  /  Long walks  /  Casino buffet  /  Junk food  /  Ebooks  /  Winning a giveaway  /  My yarn stash
What are you grateful for this week?

In other news, I finished off another skein of yarn! I used it to make a baby hat for one of tomorrows RTS sales. I've been cranking these things out like crazy lately. I'm really happy with the way they look. I'll be taking pictures of some other hat styles next week when I finish the second one of the pair.
This brings my tally to -15 for the year! I'm so happy. I have another few skeins which are close to being finished as well.
I hope you all are having a wonderful first day of May!

Monday Knitting Update: April 29. 2013

This month has flown by! I can't believe May starts in just a couple days! This whole year is just zipping by, to tell you the truth.
I've been knitting this week, but neglected to take pictures of most of it. I made a few things for the RTS sales I will be taking part in, which I will be photographing tomorrow or Wednesday, depending on the weather.

I had quite a bit of yarn leftover after the grey and pink blanket, so I decided to do a stocking cap. I couldn't find a pattern that I liked, so I just winged it. It's done on US 10.5 (6.5mm) and I magic looped. I think it's absolutely adorable, and I'm making one in blue and grey as well. I hope to get that one done tonight so I can photograph the two of them together. I have a lot of ideas for the RTS items, it's just a matter of getting them knit. I still need to share all the RTS items I've already photographed on here for all of you to see! I'll be doing that soon!

The second project has been a striped Wool Ease Thick and Quick blanket. This one will be going to Trinkets and Treasures. I want to get a few more made and brought there. Mel has a few pastel blankets, and wants so variety. I think greys are a nice change from that. Once I get a few of them sold, I'll be picking up some more yarn so I can make more. I don't want to invest too much into this before I know if anything will actually sell!
This week, I finished off three skeins of yarn. Not a huge amount of progress, considering they were all pretty small to begin with, but I'll take what I can get. This brings me to -14. I'm starting to make progress again!
Now, it's time for me to get reading my book. I downloaded a bunch of books on my iPad and I'm loving reading on there.
I hope you all have a wonderful day!

Some Fun New Items

Recently, I've been pretty secretive about a lot of my knits. I didn't want to reveal anything, and then have it fall through. Well, all is going to be revealed today!
I started working on props for baby photography! I'm so excited for this new project. I have a ton of yarn that is ideal for these sorts of items and I can't wait to start making more stuff! I have a little stash of items I've made over the past couple weeks that I will share as I get them photographed. Here are the first few photo collages I've put together to participate in the RTS sale. (RTS stands for Ready To Ship)

I've made several of these pixie hats out of a few different yarns. They seem to be pretty popular, and are a really fun knit. I've added a few special details to some of them, that I will be sharing another time. For right now, just the simple ones. I think I have eight of these hats made so far! They're that much fun to make. I've picked out yarn for another half dozen of them already, too. If you'd like one of these in a particular colour, just let me know!

The second item available in today's RTS is a set. A pretty yellow and cream vintage cotton blanket, with a pretty tieback head band. I LOVE this set. It was one of the first things I made, and I can't get enough of it. I have quite a bit of this yarn left, so I'm hoping this sells so I can make another set.
If you would like to purchase one of these items, check out the RTS group, called PropInsanity on Facebook. I hope to sell in other groups in the future. For now, just one is enough.

My Week in Instagrams: March 8, 2013

We've reached the end of the work week for most, and I'm pretty much just starting. I worked one shift so far this week, and now I'm working the whole weekend. Most days, I prefer weekends, just because it's busy, and it makes the shift go by faster. But the way it's going right now, I'm thankful for any shift. Soon it will pick up! I have to keep telling myself this.
This is what I've been up to this week.
I mentioned last Friday that I picked up a 6 pack of Shock Top Honeycrisp Apple Wheat. Well, I tried it that night. No joke, it's one of the best beers I've ever had. I love wit/white/wheat beers, and this one is no exception. It smells like fresh apple cider as soon as you open it. It's really smooth, and not overly apple-y. I will definitely be getting more of this. It is a seasonal brew, so I'll have to keep an eye out for when it is available. I'll probably also get some of their other types.
At the craft show, I was knitting quite a bit. I used some of the sparkly pink yarn I picked up at JoAnns to make a pair of boot cuffs, and a matching headband. With the left overs, I made some bows a couple days ago. Haven't gotten those photographed yet, but they're looking pretty cute! I made a few other things at the show. I'll probably have a sewing up marathon before my show at the end of the month, and you can see everything then. With these bows, and some stuff I made from another skein, I eliminated two more balls of yarn from the stash. Small ones, but like I've said before, I have to start somewhere.
You also saw this earring rack last week, before my Dad and I made some adjustments. I picked up the teensy weensy clothespins when we were in Michigan, and they were MUCH too small to use over the cord my Dad had put in there. It was an easy fix, and less than a half hour later, the improved rack was ready to go. It fits a ton of earrings, which is awesome. It got most of them up off the table, which was my goal. I got several compliments on it, which I passed along to my pops. You can't really tell in the photo, but there are dowels on the top that I put my rings on. I didn't sell any of those, but I will be making more of them, for sure. I want to get some of those up in my shop as well.
I am so incredibly happy with how Lucy's blanket turned out. It's the perfect size to tuck into her cradle now, and transition into a crib or stroller blanket. I have leftovers of both colours, and I might make something for Christine that matches. A hair bow or brooch maybe? I'll have to see exactly how much of each I have before I make any decisions.
Winston has been kind of weird lately. I mean, he's always weird, but the past few days it's been extra strange.
he likes to carry his pig ear around, and bring it to the cat to see if he wants some. He's the most gentle dog when it comes to toys and such. He still has all but maybe one of the toys we've ever got for him. He's the same way with pig ears. It can take him days to finish one. Chew a little here, a little there, carry it around for a while. Oh, wait, I can eat this thing!? I swear that's how he thinks. I'm not complaining. We save money on toys and treats this way.
Rick's been making some fantastic food lately. He picked up some groceries while I was at my parents and that's turned into some pretty yummy meals. Wednesday, we had asparagus with lemon juice, couscous-quinoa salad with tomatoes, zucchini and mushrooms, and bacon wrapped filet mignon on a bed of fried onions, mushrooms and garlic. That makes us sounds fancy! It was very good, and I love how well Rick can cook. I'm so lucky that he makes amazing food for us.
Yesterday, I spent some time working on photographing new and old items to put up in the shop, and on my Facebook page. I have an album on the latter full of scarves for as little as FIVE DOLLARS. Yeah, I might be crazy, but I need to clear out space in my KNK storage abyss! The bin hasn't been even close to closing for aaaages, and now it's even farther. I knit much faster than I sell, and I need to remedy that. It's so hard finding a balance between knitting and promoting. I should start getting into the habit of posting and tweeting stuff daily again, that seemed to help drive traffic to the shop. I'm going to be bringing all the super sale stuff to the show I do at the end of the month and have a discount basket on my table. Hopefully that will help clear things out if the Facebook album doesn't do it.
We also picked up an elliptical machine yesterday, which was... fun. I used it while we were watching Wreck it Ralph, and my legs were burning. I think I'll enjoy using it.
This week just about did me in. I was quite busy for a good chunk of it. I'm looking forward to a couple days off again next week.

Some Finished Projects: A Baby Blanket and a Scarf

Over the past few days, I've been knitting quite a bit. With having received my nine new skeins of yarn, I wanted to get my stash down back on the rails. I knit a whole Wool Ease Thick and Quick scarf in under 24 hours. I probably could have gotten it done much faster than that, but I did spend a lot of time playing silly Facebook games, and eating.

The baby blanket for Christine's soon to arrive little one has been finished for a little while. I finally wove in all the ends tonight, and got around to photographing it nicely. The final measurements are about 26"x40" I'm very happy with that size. It was quite a bit narrower before I blocked it. I just love the way the vertical lines up the peaks and valleys of the chevrons look. I probably could have gotten the edges to lay perfectly flat and smooth, but I didn't want it to be too perfect for fear of it being somehow ruined. I always worry about this when I knit gifts. Some of the stuff I've given to people have pretty much never been worn because the recipient is scared of wrecking it. This blanket is something I want the little lady to use until it's worn out. I want her to drag it around into toddler-hood, and maybe make it into part of a blanket fort later on down the line.

The second item I finished was a basic seed stitch scarf. I used a skein of Wool Ease Thick and Quick in the "Fig" colour, and I think it's super pretty. I made it a few stitches narrower than the T&Q scarves I've made in the past. This is a more feminine colour, so I wanted the proportions to reflect that. I mentioned a while back that my stock of scarves was running low. I didn't think I'd ever see the day where I ran out of scarves. I guess it had to happen eventually, considering I knit mostly neck warmers these days. I'm going to make a few more and then return to knitting the tiny things like bows that I've been cranking out.

Keep entering the giveaway! I can't wait to see who wins the wonderful prize.

My Week In Instagrams: January 25, 2013

This past week hasn't been too exciting. I knit quite a bit, but I don't have many pictures of what I've done. I'll be posting some of those next week, though. This is what I've been up to.
-Rick and I ate some red gummy candies while watching movies. I love Hot Lips and Big Foots. We also had some Swedish Berries, but those didn't make it into the picture. I can't remember what we watched while eating these. I think I was on my computer for part of it anyway.
-Winston has been pretty good this week. He spends a lot of time napping on his bed while Rick and I hang out. He used to sleep in the bed with us, but since his attitude became an issue a little while back, he's been banished to the floor. It's helped quite a bit from what we can tell. He very, very rarely gets up onto our bed anymore, even when we tell him he can. This is a good thing, because we were able to take off the protective blankets we had on the bed to keep all his dirt and grime from getting on our nice bedding.
-One business related thing I did do this past week was add earrings to my Etsy shop. I didn't add too many, but I plan on adding more. Some of them are in multi packs that I think would be great for Valentine's Day. My next craft show is February 2, so I'm hoping to sell a few of those there.
I did sell two pairs this week, one to someone in California, and one to Greece! I thought that was pretty cool. Now I've sold to Canada, the US, Australia and Greece. I'm thinking about getting a map to put pins in with all the places my items have gone. Kind of silly, but it would be really neat to see!
-I finished knitting a neck warmer while watching some Round The Twist on my iPad. I am fully caught up with Carin's podcast, and I've started watching The Knit Girllls. I love watching videos while knitting. It makes the time pass, and I hardly notice how long I've actually been knititng, until I look down and see half a scarf/neck warmer/whatever hanging from my needles. I'll do up a post this week with pictures of all the items I've knit so far this year.
-I washed and blocked the baby gift. If you couldn't tell from this photo, it's a baby blanket. I also blocked Rick's lopi neck warmer, his alpaca blend scarf, and my neck warmer. I used some Soak in the Aquae scent, and it's absolutely lovely. The smell is subtle, but fresh and clean smelling. I will definitely be buying some of this. I also have a small pack of the Celebration scent, and I'm curious to see what that is like.
I still have to weave in the ends on the baby blanket, but I'm not in a big rush to do that. I'll probably do a few a night this week.
-On Wednesday, I went to the dentist to get my broken tooth fixed as well has have a cavity filled. It took some time to get those both done, and my jaw was getting sore and tired from being wide open. The dentist gave me a break for a while, so the hygienist brought me my knitting. We chatted for a little while about what I was making, and she thought it was pretty neat. I'll be posting photos of what these are this week as well.
-The very last photo is of something for myself. Something new that I've only done once before (the same as what I was knitting at the dentist)
It's made of Bernat Satin Sparkle in Platinum. I'm loving this yarn. Super soft, just the right amount of sparkle, and the perfect shade of grey. I went to Zellers yesterday to see if I could find more of it. They only had this yarn in ugly colours that I didn't  care for. With Zellers closing, I'm really losing out on a place to buy inexpensive yarn. The only other place is Walmart, and all they sell is crap. I'll have to start venturing into Windsor more often to hit up Michael's and get some stuff there. I could order online, but I'm hesitant to do so for the mass produced synthetics because of the cost of shipping versus the cost of just going to get it myself. Something to really think about.
This week has been pretty solid. I've been pretty productive as far as knitting goes, which is a good thing. I have two craft shows coming up that I am trying to prepare for. Work hasn't been too exciting, but that's not surprising considering the lack of hours I have. I'm averaging 8 hours a week currently.
How are all of you fine folks doing?

A LeeLee Hats Donation

Yesterday, Tracy from LeeLee Hats and I taught a group of Brownies how to use knitting looms. That was an adventure, let me tell you. At their age, between 6 and 9 years old, many of them don't have the attention span to make one of the hats. In the end, we had to restart most of the hats. We said we'd bring them back today for a group photo, so it was a mad hustle last night fixing them all up.
This was what was next to me for most of the night. We went assembly line style for the most part. I undid all that needed undoing and wrapped all the yarn into balls to keep them from tangling. Then I made all the hats. That's where this pile comes from. Believe it or not, this is only about halfway through. Tracy and her sister Kim kept making more hats when I started sewing the hats up.
Once they were all sewn up, I counted how many I had made from the beginning, and I was really surprised to see twelve whole hats. In just a few hours! We are definitely considering making hats like this more often.
I'm really happy with the progress I've made on my 101 project. In addition to these 12, I made another three at home in the last couple days.

Self Portrait Monday: October 3, 2011

It's almost the end of Monday, and I am just now having a chance to blog. It's been a busy day today, with some errands to run, some cleaning to do around the house, and now I am at work. It's quiet now, so I have a chance to do a quick update.

I'm still working on the second baby blanket. I can crank it out pretty quickly, because it's just straight garter stitch. The only problem is that it's starting to get heavy. I have to tuck it under my arm, or knit with my hands close to my lap, otherwise, my wrists get tired really fast.
This Friday is the Fashion show, and I am really excited for that.
Rick comes back from his vacation tomorrow. We are possibly going to pick up a Kobo reader each in the next few days.
Life is great!!
How are all of you doing?

Self Portrait Monday: August 15, 2011

It's Monday, and I'm having leftovers for lunch. Rick and I went out for fish and chips last night, and I am attempting to eat my coleslaw. I am really not a fan, but I wish I was! I also have a few fries left, so that's the other part of lunch.
This past week was pretty awful for the most part, hence the lack of blog posts. I considered just shutting the blog down entirely. No warning, just hitting the delete button. Then I realized I wasn't thinking clearly, and I am glad I didn't delete this!
I've been knitting exclusively on the baby shower gift. I couldn't keep a secret, and I showed the mother what I had done so far. She loved it!! I can't wait to finish it and give it to her. I'm two balls in for the pink, and I have no idea how many more I will be using. Another lovely lady I know is expecting. If she is having a girl, I will likely knit her a blanket out of the pink I have left, with another colour. Who knows, I might even have enough of the white remaining!
Later today, I am helping my friend Jodi paint her new office at The House. That should be a load of fun. She is the one that taught me how to spin. I am hoping to bring some of my hanks to have her help me wind them once she is moved in fully.
There are only 19 days until we leave for Iceland. I am getting nervous and excited.

Self Portrait Monday: July 4, 2011

Happy Fourth of July to my American readers, and happy Monday to everyone!
I have three more dishcloths made! The white striped cloth and the middle seed stitch one finished of another skein of cotton. I am up to 13 items made, and a net change of plus three for my number of skeins of yarn. Just one more skein of cotton to use up and I will consider myself even. The other two that I added will be used in a few weeks. They will be my plane knitting for Iceland.
I am just a few rows away from having the baby blanket complete. That's a pretty large ball of yarn, so I am happy about that.
After these are done, I will probably make some baby hats. I have quite a few skeins that I have earmarked for some charity knitting, and a lot of them are on the small side. Instant gratification!

I am getting so excited for Iceland. There are about 60 days left until then, and still so much stuff to do. I am going to try to sell some of my knitwear and earrings between now and then to have some extra spending money. I will hopefully be listing some stuff in the next week or so in my downtime. I've been working extra shifts because of our new extended hours, so my free time has almost disappeared!

Self portrait Monday: February 14, 2011

Happy Monday everyone!

This past week has been pretty productive. I tidied up a large part of the office, where I keep my yarn. It's no where near being clean, but it's a lot better, and Rick is much happier.

I'd been having some issues with inspiration, and hadn't knit much of anything for a little bit. I knit some baby hats (more on this further down) and then a little while later, I saw something online (I can't remember what it was) that told me to make this neck warmer.

It's knit in Homespun (of course) and it's quite a bit different from what I usually make. The grey is ribbed and the yellow is seed stitch. It's long enough to wrap around twice, and wide enough to be wrapped up and over your head while still covering your neck. I'm working on another one in a different colour already.

I've been saying for ages that I need to post photos of my knitted things online, and I am really hoping I'll actually get around to doing it this week. I just need to bribe Rick into doing it. I'm thinking Pho, all you can eat sushi, or Mongolian Grill will be the way to go. (Are you reading this Rick? Or just skimming?)

Now for the hats.

I got a message on Facebook from a lovely lady named Jordyn whom I haven't talked to in ages. She recently had a baby named Jessiah, and asked me to knit him some hats. I happily obliged.

These are two of the three that I made. The third is all dark blue. I made them on my Knifty Knitter, so I'm really hoping they fit him, because there isn't any smaller I could go.

I am going to see them tomorrow to drop the hats off and catch up.

Life is good! Happy Valentine's day to those who celebrate.

Baby Blanket Progress, among other things

The blanket I posted about on Monday has grown quite large in the past few days. I knit a ton of it while at Rick's house the past few days. We went on vacation together, and I hardly did any knitting on the trip. Totally okay with that, though. This photo is another one from the market by Mark Bradley.
I picked up 6 skeins of Patons Soy Wool Solids in a really amazing burgundy/berry colour to make a shawl with. I haven't decided on the pattern yet, I'm between two right now. They're similar, but still entirely different. I also have the needles ready to go.
Later on in the trip, Rick bought me an amazing handwoven shawl from The Owen Sound Artists Co-Op. A gentleman by the name of Ken Welch made the shawl, and I am so happy with it. I think weaving is quite interesting. I'd love to try it out one day.
I also got a request for a pair of red baby booties. I picked up that yarn while on vacation, as well. Those will be made as soon as I'm done this blanket.

Overall, life is good.

The Made In Windsor Crafters Market

The past three Sunday's I have been at the Made In Windsor crafter's market in downtown Windsor. It's been going on for about a month now, and has been steadily improving every week. I didn't have my items put out to sell because I was selling some shirts for Shane. It was kind of a quiet day, I am assuming because of the Labour Day weekend. Hopefully it will be bigger and better next week.
Among all the set up and making sure everything was in order, I did manage to start a baby blanket for a gift. I got a couple inches done, and I'm super happy with it. The yarn I am using is a HUGE ball of remnant yarn from Zellers. I got two balls of it, and one should finish a whole blanket. I have no idea what sort of yarn it is, but it's super colourful and super soft.

At the market, I got three pairs of super cute earrings from someone I hadn't met before named Kelly. Turns out she is my friend's step sister, and a favourite teacher's step daughter. Small world.

I am planning on doing all of my holiday gift-getting at the market this year. I have some gifts from certain vendors already picked out, I just need to remember to bring money with me to buy them one of these days.

There was also a very nice gentleman named Mark Bradley who took some amazing photographs. He took the one of my laughing my head off at the top of this post as well as a few others that I will be posting soon.

Finished baby booties!

I literally just cast off the second bootie and sewed it up in the last hour. I am super happy with how this project worked out.

I am trying to use Ravelry a bit more, so I will start linking to the patterns and such on there.
I used the Eco Baby Booties pattern, as I mentioned before, and some blue Bernat Handicrafter cotton. It was one of the tiny skeins (the one dishcloth size) and I still have about 4 or 5 yards left. I'll probably use that as trim on another pair.
I knit the pattern as indicated, but went to 4.25mm needles, because I didn't have the correct size.
I will definitely be making more of these, and probably tweaking the pattern to make larger sizes (this one says 0-6 months, but I'd love to do some up to 12 months)
Overall, I'd say these are a great project for someone like me who wants to get out of the habit of knitting rectangles, or a beginner who is looking for a small challenge.

I never thought I'd see the day when I knit something that is a pair

I really didn't. I've been knitting for something like 10 years (although, a couple years in the beginning, I wasn't knitting at all) and I've never made something that is one of two. Dishcloths, scarves, hats, neck warmers and blankets. That's about it.
Today, I cast on Eco Baby Booties (non-Rav link) in blue cotton.

I've been having a bit of trouble with them, which is 100% my fault, not the pattern at all. Because I am knitting with cotton on the same needles as I do the dishcloths, I keep trying to knit in the cloth pattern. I have had to un-knit and re-knit at least 5 different rows. Some of them I had to do twice. In the end though, I got it done.
I am very close to casting off, and I will start on the other one right away. They should both be done some time tomorrow, and I will post about them again.
This could be a whole new knitting obsession. I could develop my own baby bootie pattern (many seem to be based off the same basic idea, I could probably combine them) and then make a whole bunch of them.

Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves, Nicole.
They are REALLY cute!