Self Portrait Monday: October 10, 2011

Happy Monday! And Happy Thanksgiving to the Canadians. We don't have anything big planned for this weekend. Saturday night, we went to Rick's brother, and future sister-in-law's house for dinner. Tonight, we are going to his parents.

I just noticed how unhappy I look in most of my self portrait posts... I think I might stop taking them, and replace the Monday post with something else.
I am currently working on the Homespun scarf I started last night. I should finish off the skein today.

I need to make an inventory list soon. I don't want to have to scramble in the couple weeks before a craft show to make up more stock. I will be able to quickly see how many of each style of item I have, the colours and price. I might include the cost/amount/type of yarn used in each one, and the date completed if I want to really get fancy.

Do any of you keep inventory lists for your products?

Self Portrait Monday: August 29, 2011

Happy Monday!
This past weekend was a long one. I volunteered saturday evening in the beer tent at a local festival. I do this every year. This one was a bit different, though. Usually, I find myself serving the wine coolers, but this year I was on the beer side. Most of my evening was spent in the refrigerated transport truck moving cases of cans onto the conveyor so they could roll out of the truck as needed. When I wasn't in there, I was moving the cases to the tubs of ice they were being held in before being served. All in all, I had a lot of fun. I was a bit sore after, but I am fine now.
I added a couple pages at the top of my blog. There is now a short About Me, as well as a list of all the treasuries I've been featured in. I will be adding more to this Page section as needed.

The other day, I had to restart my Colonnade shawl. I was knitting just fine, and the needle slipped out, and there were ladders starting all over the place. Rather than mess around trying to get everything back on the needle, I figured it would be faster to just restart. I haven't had as much time to knit as I'd like, and I am really thinking I won't have it finished for Iceland. I will bring it regardless. It will make for good knitting while we have down time.
I've finished a couple small projects in the last week. I will try to blog about them before leaving, but I am not sure if that will be possible.
Hopefully, I will be able to post from Iceland. If not, I hope you all stay safe! I will return with lots of fun things to share!

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: August 8, 2011

It's Monday, once again! Hope all is well with all of you.
Rick and I are starting the Master Cleanse today. We're two glasses of juice in, and it's not that bad. I like maple syrup and lemon, so other than boredom, I don't see any issues.
I am cranking through the yarn I bought for the baby gift. This is all that remains from the first ball. I should have it finished in less than an hour, and have the second one started right away.
I have also rid myself of three skeins of yarn, two of which were about the size of my head. In addition to those, I gave LeeLee hats another five hats. I am determined to get this stash to a manageable size.
I finished a dishcloth this morning, as well. I have almost enough dishcloths to fill my basket for craft shows! If I could make a dozen more, I'd be more than happy.

Self Portrait Monday: August 1, 2011

Holy flying time! I can't believe it's August. Only one short month until our Icelandic vacation!!!
But, between now and then, there is still much time.
Twenty-two dishcloths! That's how many I've made recently. I've tied in all the ends, now I just have to trim them.
About half of them are spoken for (between my Mom and Sarah) and the others will be for sale. I am still unsure about putting them in the Etsy shop. There are so many sellers that have them available, it will probably just a waste of a listing fee. I think I may just put them on the Facebook page, and they will be available for people local to me to purchase.
Since the last update, I have finished two dishcloths. One of them is the purple and white here, and the other is for my mom. That one finished up another skein. The purple is getting pretty low. One more cloth will finish it off, for sure.
I have also finished a few hats for LeeLee Hats. I think two more of those. I did finish one skein of brown with those. When I finally get to another knit club meeting, I will be donating even more yarn.
I am starting to realize how much yarn I have that I won't ever use, for whatever reason. I will donate it to this group so it can be used.

Self Portrait Monday: July 25, 2011

It's Monday once again! I am knitting at the chiropractor's office, as I just finished my weekly massage. Rick is in getting his back worked on right now. Our massages aren't the nice relaxing ones people enjoy getting... Because of the car accident that happened in May, we're both still a bit out of whack. This is to try and get us back in place.

I am working on a hat for LeeLee Hats again. I want to get 10 done total, and then go back to working on winter accessories.

Speaking of winter accessories, I am planning on approaching a few local stores with some of my items to see if they will sell on consignment. I am not completely sure on the percentage I should offer them... I will have to figure some things out before doing this, but I would really like to be in a handful of stores soon!

Self Portrait Monday: July 18, 2011

Today's portrait is a little bit different.
I FINALLY went to get my passport photo taken.
It kind of looks like a mug shot. But, I can kind of see a resemblance to both of my parents in it. Not the mug shot part, just the shape and features of my face.
This photo will serve me well for the next 5 years. With Iceland in September, and I am sure a few visits to Michigan in the following months, it will be used often. I still need to get my guarantor to sign the back of one of these, and then head down to the application office.

In other more knitting-centric news, I helped my friend Tracy at a craft show. She is the lady behind LeeLee hats. The show was a let down, but we had fun regardless. I finished knitting one hat, and I gave her 6 skeins of yarn. This puts me at 16 items made, and a total change of four less skeins. Not bad, so far, I'd say. I've started working on another hat already, and I still have a dishcloth on the go. I will post all my recently made dishcloths later this week.

Self Portrait Monday: July 11, 2011

Hello Monday!! It's been a loooong weekend. I worked a food festival with Rino's Kitchen, and that just about knocked me out. I ate till I almost burst... On Friday, Saturday AND Sunday.
Saturday was my anniversary with Rick. He was at his parents because I was working all weekend, so we didn't do anything until today.
I've also finished knitting a couple dishcloths. Two more cloths added, and one skein finished. I m now up to 15 items made, and +2 as far as skein count goes. Soon, I will catch up!
I haven't been knitting all that much the last few days. Between work, the gym and the weather, I haven't really felt like doing much.
I did, however, go to the LeeLee hats knit club on Saturday. I finished half a hat, and left it there so I could continue it next time, or someone else can work on it.
I should get back to knitting. I have an order for some blue dishcloths from a friend, and I want to get them made!

Self Portrait Monday: June 27, 2011

It's that time again! Monday, Monday, Monday! I've already been pretty productive today. Went to the gym, did a couple errands on the way back, and I am going to make myself something to eat soon.

You are not seeing things... Part of my head is shaved. No, I did not have brain surgery, a brain scan or shock therapy, as I have told some of the whack jobs that questioned me. I just got bored and decided to get a nice summery hair cut.
I've been cranking out dishcloths pretty much constantly. I've finished a couple since my last post, but none of them have finished off a skein. I'll have to try and get a couple skeins knocked off so I can post about my stash killing effort again.
Life is pretty swell. I've been working a bit more which is great. I am working tonight, and the big annual fireworks show is tonight, so I'm hoping it will be busy before that starts.
How are things for all of you? What sort of summer knitting projects are you working on?

Self Portrait Monday: June 20, 2011

It's Monday, once again, as it always happens right after Sunday is done. I had an appointment this morning, and then a lunch date with a friend, so this is coming a little later than usual.

I'm at work right now, working an evening shift, and it's quiet at the moment, so I figured I should get my blog post in for the day.
Air conditioning, fast internet, and yummy food at my leisure. I really love my job.
Don't get me wrong though, I don't spend my shifts playing around online. This is the first time I've brought my laptop with me, and I am actually doing some work for my other job.

I picked up quite a few knitting books from the library today. I've been getting books from there quite often, as I am looking to knit a few larger pieces for myself and some people close to me in the near future. One of these is definitely going to be a sweater.

Self Portrait Monday: June 13, 2011

Happy Monday!

This past weekend has been crazy! We finally got our liquor license at work, so people have been coming in and getting fancy drinks all day, Saturday and Sunday. I didn't sleep well, so I look a little groggy. Yes, groggy, I guess that's the nice way of putting it. I did a bunch of laundry last night, and I still have more to do today.

I am going to cut to the chase here, and announce the winner of the contest. I had so many people who entered! I'd like to thank each and every one of you! To thank you, I have made a coupon code for 10% off. It's usable for everyone, and won't expire for a month or so. Just enter GIVEAWAY10 when you check out from my shop, and 10% will be automatically deducted.
So, drumroll, the winner is

Number 9!!! Congratulations B_ahoot aka Lauren!!! I am messaging you on twitter to make arrangements for you to collect your prize!

Self Portrait Monday: June 6, 2011

Happy Monday evening! Sorry this has taken so long to get posted. I don't usually work Mondays, but today was an exception. We had a few food critics/journalists in from various publications sampling our food. I was on my best behaviour, and they all seemed to enjoy their food.
Immediately after getting home, Rick and I had to leave for our massage and chiropractor appointments. We have three chiropractor appointments a week, as well as either one or two massages.
I went for a quick swim at Rick's parents after I had dinner. I was out there for all of 20 minutes, and was bit twice by mosquitoes. Welcome to Summer, I guess, right?
In other news, I purchased some amazing hand spun merino on the weekend. The first weekend of June, every year, Art in the Park happens. Artisans from all over come and sell their products. For the most part, the art available is not my taste, out of my price range or otherwise unappealing to me. Not a fault of the artist in any way. At the event last year, I saw some beautiful hand spun wool being produced by a lovely woman. This type of yarn didn't appeal to me as much at this time last year, but this year was different. I purchased two skeins which I will photograph when I get back home later in the week.

Don't forget about the giveaway! Still a few days to enter.

Self Portrait Monday: May 16, 2011

It's Monday, and it's cold. My neck and back are still very sore. I spent a few hours in the emergency room on Saturday, several of them in a neck brace, some time in a wheel chair being transported to and from the x-ray clinic, and then released sans brace. The doctor said everything looked okay, all things considered. This meant nothing broken, nothing too severe. I am to ice my neck often, take ibuprofen as needed, and try to take it easy. If things do not improve, I am to head back to the hospital in an ambulance. The front and sides of my neck are still tender to the touch, but it doesn't hurt as much to just be sitting there, supporting the weight of my head.
The cold, damp weather isn't helping much when it comes to feeling better.
I haven't been doing much in the way of knitting or Etsy-ing lately. I need to photograph some things for the shop, which I have been meaning to do for a while now, but I have no batteries for my camera. I need to find some, and get some new items posted!!! No more excuses!!!
I am off to mail some dishcloths to my friend Paul in Ottawa.
Hope all is well with you!

Self Portrait Monday is Back! May 9, 2011

I know, I know, I've been a terrible blogger! But here is a sweet shawl to hopefully make up for it.

I got an awesome yarn cake in a bag of yarn that was given to me recently. It's pale pink, lavender and grey, with a sort of yellowy-green strand of something shimmery through it. It sounds totally gross, but looks awesome in person. I am doing a very simple stockinette stitch shawl, with yarn over eyelets at the edges to make the increases. If I had any idea of what the yardage of the ball could be, I would have probably attempted my first lace shawl. I'm about halfway through the ball right now, and I still love knitting it!
In other news, I've won quite a few contests recently. Earrings, yarn and address labels so far. I have entered a whole bunch of other contests that haven't been drawn yet, so I might win some more! I also ordered a few things on Etsy. The mail will finally be something more exciting than bills and junk!
I received my order of buttons from Wicked Wool Gathering that I ordered a little while ago, and I couldn't be happier. I ordered three different packs of buttons with which to make earrings. I haven't started making any yet, but I certainly will be soon!
If you need colourful buttons, roving, or other supplies, you should definitely check out Wicked Wool Gathering! Brenda is super funny, and great to deal with. She also sent me a sample of some other button packs she has in the shop! They're all unique, so not good for earrings, but I will probably use them on iPhone cozies, or to embellish a cowl or scarf.
I bought a Heartsy deal a little while ago, and I got two pairs of earrings from it. Once I get those, I will surely post about them! And I will do the same when I get the other prizes and purchases.
Well, I'm off to go attempt to photograph some new stock for the store!

Self portrait Monday: April 11, 2011

I feel awesome! I'm kind of a total grease ball in the photo, but please ignore that. I didn't sleep well last night, but I still feel great. Maybe it's the fact that I have a brand new yoga class in two hours. I've never taken this class (Sivanadana) before, and I don't really know what to expect. I am also going to be taking a beginner class this evening, so I should be quite sore by bed time. I'm really loving the yoga classes I've been taking. There was one that wasn't as great as the others, but I know now to avoid it next week. I have a few classes that I am definitely going to do every week.

I listed quite a few new items in the Etsy shop this week. More earrings and some baby booties. Rick and I are going to photograph my phone cases and hair bows this week and I'll list some of them soon, too. We just have to wait for the weather to cooperate. It's been rainy and dreary off and on the past couple days, and they're calling for more of the same this week. Once the clouds part for a little bit, we'll get stuff done!
Like I mentioned on Friday, I submitted myself to Heartsy. I only have a couple hours to go, and I really hope to be accepted. I need less than a dozen "Yes, Definitely" votes, and I will make it to the next step. If I am not accepted, I will wait until the early fall and try again. That season is definitely more "me" friendly, considering I knit primarily wintry items.
I also still have the contest running. Only a few entries! If I don't get more than 10 entries, I am going to postpone the contest. All the people who have entered so far will have 5 entries into the next contest I run.
How are all of you doing? Anything exciting in your shop or on your blog?
I have to get ready for yoga now!

Self portrait Monday: April 4, 2011

Happy April! I was planning on doing a once a day posting for this month, but we all know how that turned out last time.

I took some more photos of earrings this morning, during cloud breaks. It's been kind of icky out there, and good lighting has been difficult. Rick is going to do some editing on them, and I will have them in the shop throughout this week.
I'm starting yoga this afternoon. I bought a Groupon a while back for one month of unlimited yoga at a nearby studio. I am finally getting around to using it, and I am super excited. I've never done yoga before, so I'm a bit nervous, too.
I haven't been knitting a whole lot lately. The main reason for this is that my storage for all my finished objects is over full. I don't want to knit more stuff, and have nowhere to put it all.
Don't forget about my contest that I posted yesterday! You can win a free year on Flavors.me! It's been confirmed by one of their employees that it is in fact one year from sign up. Hurry, go comment on the post for your chance to win!

Self portrait Monday: March 21, 2011

Happy Monday, everyone! I've been up for a few hours now, and my day is going incredibly well. I made an awesome breakfast wrap, and took Winston for a short walk.
I've been working on dishcloths the past few days. There is a chance I will have a table at an upcoming craft show, just before Mother's Day, and I need some seasonally appropriate things to sell. The sale is going to be on a weekend, and since I work weekends, I am going to try to have Rick or someone else sell my things for me. I want to have a couple dozen dishcloths, and hopefully have my earrings ready to go as well. I want to figure out some sort of interesting packaging for the earrings. So far, all I have is a little plastic zipper bag.
Rick and I have been watching Better Off Ted on Netflix lately. We're about half way through the first season, and I am really enjoying it. I am still working my way through season 6 of House. I'm about halfway finished. I'll probably go back to a season of Big Bang Theory after House, and then find a new show. Nexflix and downloading older episodes of television shows has been great at boosting my knitting output. It's way more mindless than reading knitting blogs. I have been saving those for when I need to find inspiration for new knitted items.

Friday the 18th, I went out for lunch with the woman that organizes LeeLee Hats so I could give her my donation. I ended up with exactly 30 hats. I am going to continue making hats for the group over the next few months. I am also working at getting yarn and other crafting supplies donated to the group. My mom knows quite a few people, and she is talking to a lot of them, as well. I have a personal goal of donating 100 hats, and enough material to donate to fill at least two large garbage bags. As it's looking now, the second part of that goal will be met very soon.

Self portrait Monday: March 14, 2011

Today, I kind of feel like garbage. I spent the night at my parents house last night, and slept in a fairly cold bedroom in the basement, so I am thinking that has something to do with it. Sinus pressure, stomach ache, and an awful headache that hasn't been alleviated with medication. I'm just going to have to deal with it, I guess.

I went to a charity hockey game last night and that was so much fun. I saw so many of my old coworkers, and caught up with a lot of them. One of the girls that I worked with drove me to my parents, where I pretty much crashed right away. I read a few blog posts and such in my RSS reader, and then went right to bed. I got to sleep in a bit, which was nice.

I went to see some of my relatives with my mom after we picked up a few groceries and some things for Winston. We were going to stop at a yarn store that moved to a new location, but they are closed on Monday's. I'll have to try to get there sometime during the week soon. I've been to their old location a few times, and they have really nice stuff, and usually really good prices.

I am going to keep working on the baby hats and try to get 50 done this month. I am getting pretty close, and I still have a lot of yarn to use up. I really hope to get to Zellers or Michael's to buy some inexpensive baby yarn to make more hats. I really wish I hadn't gotten rid of all the yarn before I moved. It would be perfect for these hats. On the bright side, one of the women I gave yarn to knits for this group, so I know some of the yarn is going to be used for this cause.

No self portrait post today

Unfortunately, our internet has been completely dead for most of the day. I couldn't get online long enough to do any sort of posting.

For the month of March, I am going to do a photo post every day from my phone. It might be what I am working on that day, something I made before and haven't photographed, or something else entirely.
I'm hoping that in doing this I will help myself get inspired by the things around me. I've had some trouble lately with motivating myself to make new things.

Do any of you want to join me in this? Not a whole lot of work to do!

Self portrait Monday: February 21, 2011

Today's self-portrait is neither taken by me, nor taken today, but I am using it. I look like garbage today, and feel about the same. I've had an ongoing headache for a few days, and I slept horribly. I also had a pretty ridiculous nightmare which involved getting walked in on while using the bathroom, Sprawl*Mart, running from some terrifying people, breaking into a bathroom, and someone allergic to bee stings. Ridiculous and terrifying. I'm surprised I didn't wake Rick or Winston up.

Yesterday, Rick took a bunch of photos of me "modelling" a few of my knitted things. Most of them made me look completely crazy and unattractive, but Rick managed to get a few to look alright. I make some really gross faces when there are cameras around. I really don't know how to smile properly, as far as I am concerned. But, I really like this one, and this cowl is probably my newest favourite. It has one cable down the front and the rest is seed stitch. I'm really getting the hang of cabling, and I've already made another cowl with three cables on it, and it looks pretty nice, too. I'm going to make more cabled items soon. I love the technique, and it makes everything it's on look so much more luxurious. I'm so glad I learned how to do it, I don't know why I was so scared to learn before.

I tweeted yesterday about making some earrings. One of my followers, Crissi Cochrane, who is an awesome musician, and an awesome crafty person, asked if I could post some photos of them. I just took one of all of them with the built-in camera on my computer (as all of my self portrait photos are) and managed to keep my face out of it. I'm pretty happy. I made 6 pairs out of buttons I found at Value Village, the Salvation Army, and an et Cetera shop. I was looking for nice buttons a while ago, and I was super excited when I found all of these. I am going to keep these ones as my personal stash for now. I don't want to start selling them if they are going to fall apart. I did use really good adhesive, so fingers crossed, they'll all be ok.
It's a holiday here in Canada (maybe just Ontario? I don't know, Family Day is kind of a silly holiday) and there is a TON of snow on the ground that fell yesterday. It's going to be a nice day to relax.