My Week In Instagrams: February 1, 2013

This past week has been a fun one. I worked a few shifts which were alright. It was also Rick's birthday on the 30th, so we did some fun stuff for that.
-Lately, people have been bringing in LOADS of empties. We always get them, but for a little while, we were getting an abnormally high number of them. This is a photo of one of the bins we collect wine and liquor bottles in. They're sorted into two bins, one clear, one mixed. I take a sick satisfaction in slamming the bottles into the bin, and making them bust into a million pieces. There is a cover over top so glass shards don't come flying out, don't worry. (I took the cover off for this photo)
-One day, I think it may have been Sunday, my coworkers and I each got a hot drink from Tim Horton's and our cup height relation matched up with our heights. I was way more amused about this than I should have been. It's really nice having a Timmy's right across the street from work.
-I wound a couple skeins of handspun into cakes. I got this yarn at Art in the Park two years ago. I started making a shawl, but I really didn't like how it was working up. I think I'm going to knit this into a shawl of a different design. The initial one was centre-out/top down. I cast on something like 4 stitches and was increasing every other row, and it was a boring triangle. I'm probably going to do it side to side like the Baktus. I like the way these ones fit more like a scarf, rather than a shawl. Rick's mom has a kitchen scale, so I'll definitely be using that to weigh the yarns and make sure I get the most out of my yardage.
-These neck warmers are something I'm particularly proud of. I finished all of these since the start of the new year. Normally, I'm more productive, and I can knit one of these in two days, but I've been working on other smaller projects in between. I'm still loving this slightly lacy pattern. I hope to sell a couple of these at the craft show tomorrow. I think I have enough stock to fill up my display racks again. This has been stressing me out for a little while. I sold so much at my shows pre-Christmas that things were looking a little sparse. We'll see how it goes!
-This is what remained from a skein after I finished some cuffs (more on this soon!) and I counted it as eliminated. I think there's less than three yards here. I wasn't considering skeins eliminated unless they were seriously gone then I realized that's not really realistic. I always have something left over no matter what I do. I'm going to donate the little bits like this to LeeLee hats for tying the tags onto the hats. Or, and this is somewhat unlikely, I have an idea that will use even the tiniest pieces.
-I spent some time this week making earrings. I got supplies a while back, and I'm finally getting around to using them. I'm running low on posts, so I'll probably need to order some of those pretty soon. I'm also looking for more unique flowers and such to use to make the earrings. I've contacted a couple Etsy sellers, and I have a few ideas, it's just a matter of having the money in my Paypal account to purchase them. I'm trying to not add any money to my account. Anything I earn from Etsy is fair game for purchasing supplies.
-Last night, Rick and I went into Windsor for a Broken City Lab event. They had a call for submissions for their Regret/Resolve project, and I sent mine in. They chose my resolution (the one shown in the photo) to be printed onto two shirts: one for the show, and one for me. The whole project was great. The idea was that people could submit regrets or resolutions they had, many of them relating to the city of Windsor, which could be chosen and printed. It's a really neat idea, and there were some great submissions. It took me a while to find my shirt up on the wall, because there were so many people jammed into a small space. Rick pointed it out to me, and I snapped a quick photo. I resolved to create more. I want to be self employed, and this can only be done by creating more than I do now. Yes, there are other things I need to do, but creating is the only way all those other things can happen.
After BCL, Rick brought me to Pho Xic Lo. This was one of our favourite restaurants when we lived in Windsor, and we knew we had to make a stop.
How has your week been?

New Yarn Day!

A little while back, I told myself that I wasn't going to buy any yarn until the new year, unless it was for a pre-paid custom order. I have so much yarn, it's ridiculous. I have a bunch of cardboard boxes full of yarn, and Rick asked me to try to get rid of those. He doesn't mind the yarn in the clear bins, but the cardboard has to go. I've been making progress, eliminating a couple skeins a week. That was halted when I bought a package of mill ends from Zellers last week. I bought a bag of a really nice steely grey a few months back, and I'd wished I would have bought more. Well, when I went there to kill some time after work, there was one lonely bag sitting on top of some uglier stuff. I knew I had to get it. It's either 6 or 8 skeins, and cost $7.99. I couldn't say no! I've been using that yarn to make some colour block neck warmers. There is only one using it in the shop right now (the aqua and grey) but there will be more in the future!

In other yarn news, I received a beautiful handspun merino/silk blend from Melina, at Midwest Yarn. She had some other mail to send me, and included a little something special. The colours are wonderful. I'm trying to figure out if I want to knit a little neck something, or a slouchy beret. I have no idea how much yarn there actually is there, so the latter might not work out. I'm going to try to figure out a way to calculate the yardage. It might involve some intense math (haha) but it will definitely be worth it in the end! You can see some of her yarns here.

Monday Magic: September 10, 2012

Before I start, I just wanted to note that exactly one year ago today, Rick and I were enjoying our final day in Iceland, at the Blue Lagoon. I miss that country terribly, and I can't wait till we have the opportunity to go back.

First up on this fine Monday afternoon, is something from good night, day. I've come across one of Tara-Lynn's past blog/shop incarnations as YarnOverMovement, and stumbled across her blog via a sweater Rick shared with me. Since then, I've been reading her blog in it's entirety. I've mentioned that I have done this several times before, and this is definitely in my top three blogs out of all of them. It's incredibly inspiring. She screen caps vintage films, posts photos of ballets, and lots of in progress photos of her projects.
As soon as I have money in my Paypal account, I am planning on buying this pattern book. I love everything she has available for sale, and I would love to knit about half of them for myself. Not to mention, she has instructions for seamless knitting techniques, that I just haven't been able to figure out thus far.

Second up is a knitting pattern from Brenda Lavell. It's both a cowl and a scarf, depending on whether you button it or not, and how you wrap it. It's made out of one of my most favourite yarns on the planet: Lion Brand Wool Ease Thick and Quick. It seems like a fairly simple pattern, which is made with a herringbone stitch. I haven't a clue how to knit like that, so this pattern at $5.50 USD would be a great investment. How to knit a textured pattern, and a project to use it on? Yes please! You should definitely take a look at this, as well as Brenda's other patterns. They're all striking.


Last but most certainly not least, is this hand dyed AND hand spun yarn from SpincycleYarns. It's called Wrath, and is part of a series called Seven Deadly Solids. It's such a pretty colour, and seems to be a very even worsted weight. Not to mention, the price is phenomenal considering it's done by hand from beginning to end. You should also check out their yarn called Sloth. That colorway is pretty amazing, too.

Currently Listening To: I Won't Try To Break Your Heart ~ Crissi Cochrane

Monday Magic: June 25 2012, Pretty Pretty Yarns

After a brief hiatus, I'm bringing my Monday Magic posts back! This week, I chose three yarns from Etsy that I absolutely love. There are loads of gorgeous hand spun and hand dyed yarns available on Etsy and it was difficult to choose just three.

This beautiful pale green/blue fingering weight yarn is called Mermaid Tails. It's made from superwash merino and Tencel, and just looks so so so soft! When I first looked at it, I noticed the blues and greens right away. But when you look at it more closely, you notice the yellows, pinks, purples and oranges throughout it. I think this would make a really pretty shawl or stole.

This pretty grey yarn is from Gynx Yarns. I've been ogling her yarns for aaaages. She has some awesome colorways, and even more awesome names for them: Margarita on the Rocks, Ice Cream Sundae, and Wonka just to mention a few. Another great thing about her yarns is that they are organic. This skein in particular is one of a kind. It's mostly grey with blue and purple throughout. It would make a beautiful textured slouchy hat or pair of socks. Check out the Gynx shop on Tuesdays for updates with new items.

Last but certainly not least, are these wonderful skeins of aptly named Acid Washed Jeans. That was the first thing I thought of when I saw them. They are a pretty merino/silk blend that I think would feel fantastic worn against the skin. I would probably knit a cabled cowl, or maybe some fingerless gloves out of this. Maybe both? Who knows! There are three skeins available, so definitely lots of options.

Don't forget! If you want to see one of your items in a future Monday Magic post, leave me a comment, send me a message on Etsy, or shoot me an email. You might see one of your items here in the future!