My Week In Instagrams: February 15, 2013

Friday has arrived, and I'm halfway through my very short work week. I only have a couple shifts, and they happen to fall on consecutive days, so there is some sense of normalcy in my life right now. I'm currently battling a pretty lame could/sickness of some sort. I woke up this morning and it felt like I'd eaten crushed glass. Not fun at all.

This is what I've been up to this week!

1. I downloaded Sims3 for my computer. It was an awesome deal, so I only paid $10 for it, which made me happy. I haven't played it much, mostly because my computer is quite slow, and I need to clean it up.
2. Rick rented some movies for us to watch. In addition to these three, we also got Eddie, the Sleepwalking Cannibal, as well as Celeste and Jesse Forever. I really enjoyed Perks of Being A Wallflower, and I thought Hotel Transylvania was cute.
3. I was fairly productive, and finished knitting three scarves. I blogged about these on Tuesday. I'm really happy with how they turned out.
4. Winston watched one of the movies with me. He stood a few feet from the television, and looked up in awe. Normally, he is kind of scared of it.
5. Megan of A String of Purls posted a photo of her wearing a half knit scarf on Instagram, so I had to do the same with the cowl I was working on. Go check out her blog, she's super cute, and knits some awesome stuff!
6. Tuesday was Fat Tuesday, and Rick's mom got us some paczki to celebrate. I had a custard filled one first, followed by this apple one. Those are my two favourites, so I really had to have both.
7. I photographed some items for my shop on Wednesday. I was hoping to get them all done, but Rick and I ended up going to Windsor to run some errands for his Dad.
8. We made a few other stops, one of them being all you can eat sushi (which I neglected to photograph) and another being Starbucks. This was our pseudo-Valentine's date. We also made stops at a few other places, and I bought a pair of jeans as well as some yarn (more on this later)
9. I worked last night. It was a pretty quiet night, be we had this awesome skull bottle returned to us. It's a brand of vodka which I found out is part owned by Dan Aykroyd.

When Rick and I went to Windsor, we were right near Michael's. I had a gift card from Christmas burning a hole in my pocket, and my favourite yarn was on sale. I picked up eight skeins of Homespun in all different colours. I've already started to use one of them (the light blue and white) for a neck warmer. I wanted to get mostly neutrals, but they were sold out of a lot of colours. These skeins bring my total to +16. And I have more yarn being given to me in the near future. Looks like I have my work cut out for me. I should stop writing and get to knitting!

Also, I picked up a basket and some lights to use for my craft shows at Value Village. I try to pick up things here and there to use for my shows and what not. I like to change my displays around and play with things.

My week was pretty great. Other than being sick, I really have nothing to complain about. How have all of you fine folks been?

Wednesday's Are For Gratitude: February 13, 2013

Today is hump day for most, but for me, it's more like the end of the weekend. I had a few days off work, and I'm back to the grind tomorrow. I have been relatively productive this week though.

Every Wednesday, I post about things I am thankful for. Studies have proven that showing gratitude has a plethora of benefits, including better satisfaction, improved moods, and reducing depression and anxiety. Anyone can use benefits like that! This is some of what I am grateful for this week

Richard and his family / My Family / My yarn stash / New yarn (more about this tomorrow!) / All you can eat sushi / Starbucks / Having a good camera to photograph stuff for my shop / New pants that make my butt look good / Bell Let's Talk day / Technology

What are you grateful for?

Fat Tuesday and Some Other Stuff

It's Tuesday, a day I don't normally post, but since we're at the Arby's office, I figured I should. I drew the winner of the giveaway yesterday, and she got in touch with me so her prize will be on its way very soon. ON that note, Lori of Evermore Studios is keeping the discount code active until this Saturday, February 16. The code is knkrocks and you will get 20% off your entire purchase, excluding shipping. You should definitely pick up some of her yarn, it's beautiful!

Now, Fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras, Shrove Tuesday and what have you. Rick's mom is making pancakes for dinner tonight, and I am so excited! I'm a big fan of pancakes and waffles and other breakfast pastry/bread type things.

In other fun and exciting news, I've been knitting up a storm. I've made a small dent in my recent stash enhancements. I finished three scarves in the past couple days, to knock out 3 whole skeins from the stash. Two of them were from the new Wool Ease Thick and Quick I got a little while ago, so that's really good.

These bring my total stash down count to +8. I've decided that I would be happy with a total of -50 at the end of the year. One skein a week is totally doable. I just have to counteract the skeins that will be coming in. I have some yarn coming to me in the near-ish future, NOT stuff that I bought so I'm not really breaking my New Year's goals, that means I will have to get more knit up asap.

How are all of you fine folks doing?

The Evermore Studios Giveaway Winner!

Monday is here! For me, this is a cause for celebration, as I now have three consecutive days off. Which is actually pretty nice. I have a lot of plans to get things done, starting with laundry. The first load is in the wash as I type this.
Anyway, onto the winner! I had to go through a couple people, because some didn't do what the entries required them to do. That's a bummer, but I want to be fair. If you didn't do the work (which isn't much at all) you shouldn't get rewarded.
The winner is

Lindsey

Lindsey hearted this gorgeous raspberry yarn. I love this colour, too. I think it would make a beautiful cowl or hat. Or really, anything, it's that pretty!
I've contacted her to let her know she won, and she will let me know which prize she wants.

Thank you everyone who entered! I'm hoping to do more giveaways, so if you would like me to host a giveaway for you, please let me know!

My Week In Instagrams: February 8, 2013

I'm kind of a big grumpy pants today, but I'll try to not let that ruin this post. Work today was a bunch of crap. The car was frozen shut, so I had to take a cab to work, where it turns out they didn't even need me, so I could have stayed home. I wish they would have told me that, because I would have just gone back to bed. Okay, that's enough complaining!
-Rick and I made noodle bowls last Friday night for dinner. He did 90% of the prep work before hand. Chopping all the vegetables, cooking the shrimp and meat etc. I cooked the vermicelli in a strainer in the pot for easy removal. I then rinsed it to stop the cooking, and assembled the bowls. Clockwise from the top there was pickled cabbage (that Rick made), marinated beef strips, cucumber, pickled daikon and carrot (also by Rick), marinated shrimp, lettuce, and pickled red onion (another by Rick) with a fried egg in the centre. I always add some hoisin sauce over top, and then I'm set to go. Just describing it right now has made my mouth water. I want more!! Each family member got their own bowl, and it seemed like everyone enjoyed it.
-The order of my pictures is a bit off; the Laughing Cow cheese and the next photo are supposed to be after the craft show. Anyway, Laughing Cow is one of my favourite snacks. I've been eating this stuff since I was a little kid. I usually just spread it on a cracker and gobble it down. No exception this time around. We still have 3/4 of a package left. I'll probably go eat a couple once I'm done this post.
-Rick made more Asian inspired food the other day. We had udon, with stir fried bok choy and onion. Before Rick and I met, I only ate this kind of stuff when I went out to eat, which was very very rare. Now, we make it at home most of the time, and it's just as good, and sometimes better than going out to eat. Plus, there isn't a ridiculous amount of salt/MSG, and we save money! And, we can put exactly what we want in it, so I'm not stuck with a bunch of stir fried bell peppers, which I think are pretty icky. Definitely a win all around.
-Saturday was my craft show at Colasanti's. I didn't do too badly. I met my goal for total money made. I'm not the happiest with how I did, though. I only sold one knitted item, and the rest of my sales were earrings. I'm not complaining about having sold anything, I just wish I'd sold more knitwear. Knitting is what I am passionate about. The earrings are just something fun to do on the side. I didn't expect to sell a ton of knitted stuff, but I thought I'd sell at least 3 things. Oh well. My next two shows, I don't expect to sell much winter knitwear, if any. The shows are at the beginning and end of March, and by that time, most people are over the coldness, and ready for spring/summer to come in full force. For those, I'll definitely be bringing more earrings.
-Winston has been pretty cute lately. I have a photo of him like this that I took at our old apartment where he looks so much younger. Not that he looks old or anything, but he was definitely more of a puppy then. He's going to be three in just over a month. I can't believe we've had him almost three years! We got him in May of 2010.
-Wednesday night was the fundraiser show at Phog. Tracy and I split a Phonion not long after I got there. A Phonion is a Phog specialty. It's a poutine made with onion rings instead of fries. Now, in case you're unaware, poutine is one of my most favourite foods ever. It's usually piping hot french fries, with a bunch of white cheese curds over top, and some steaming hot gravy to slightly melt the curds. Wonderful! Phog's gravy is vegan, but you wouldn't know it unless someone told you. Later on in the night, I had some of my brother's friends poutine as well. I love that stuff. Every time I go to Phog I have to get one.
-Billy Raffoul played a couple sets, and did an absolutely amazing job. He is immensely talented. I would definitely go see him play again. I'll be keeping him in mind for future shows.
-A bunch of yarn was donated at the fund raiser, and I kept a small amount for myself. I added four skeins of cotton (likely for dish cloths) and four skeins of acrylic to my stash. The acrylic will probably turn into some manly accessories. I've used this yarn in the past, and it looks really nice knit up. It's a creamy white colour with flecks of grey, brown and black. This adds four skeins to my stash down count, which means I am at +11 for the year. I am going to have to crank out some stuff to get my number back down. I haven't had much knitting mojo lately, which has been a problem. I'll dig through my stash and get some more little balls and skeins of yarn used up. Even the tiniest of balls count! Once I start seeing the number go down, I will be more motivated to keep knitting.

Don't forget, the giveaway is still going on. There are over 415 entries the last I checked, and that number is climbing steadily. Get your entires in!
Rick is making some macaroni and cheese casserole for dinner tonight, and I'm looking forward to that.
How are all of you folks doing?

Wednesdays Are For Gratitude: February 6, 2013

Before anything, I'd like to say Welcome to all my new readers! I know many people have started following for the giveaway, and I hope you find something interesting here so you stick around.

Every Wednesday, I post a list of things I am grateful for that particular week. They can be big or small, it doesn't matter. The reason I do this is that there have been studies done that show people who are grateful lead happier, healthier lives. I don't often argue with science!

Here is what I'm grateful for this week:

The Knit Girllls / My boyfriend Richard / Delicious food that Richard has made / My yarn stash / New yarn / Winston / Hexipuffs / Lori of EvermoreStudios / My parents / My brother and his girlfriend / Silly facebook games

What are you grateful for this 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.

A Giveaway From Evermore Studios! CLOSED

I'm sure you've seen my hexipuffs. I posted them a little while back and I mentioned that I'd bought yarn from Evermore Studios to make some puffs. I contacted Lori to see if she'd be interested in me hosting a giveaway, and she said yes!
I ordered yarn from her shop in November, and received it not long after. I had some important projects to work on, so I put the Beekeepers Quilt on the back burner. Once I got the right sized needles, I went to town! I cranked out quite a few in a short period of time.
The yarn is absolutely beautiful. The colours were exactly as they were pictured in the Etsy listing, maybe even prettier. There were NO knots in any of my mini skeins, which is another plus. I also didn't experience any colour bleeding/rubbing off on my hands while knitting, even from the really saturated blues and pinks. This has happened to me on some of my other commercial yarns and it's a bummer when it happens. I get worried that the colour is going to fade, or change. I don't have that problem with this yarn!
I can't recommend this shop enough. Quick shipping, beautiful product, and a fantastic price point. You definitely need to check out Evermore Studios!

You can enter to win a skein of hand dyed yarn OR a pack of mini skeins. Either one would be a fantastic prize. There are lots of ways to enter, just check out the Rafflecopter below!

If you are impatient, or aren't feeling lucky, you can also use the code "knkrocks" to get 20% off your purchase!

You have until 12:00am on February 11, 2013 to enter. There are a bunch of ways, so make sure you check them all out!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
I was not compensated in any way for hosting this giveaway.

Monday Update: February 4, 2013

This morning was one of the first Monday morning shifts I've had in a little while. It snowed quite a bit overnight, but this didn't stop our customers from coming in and complaining about it.
Last night before most of the snow fell, Rick and I went to my parents to pick up our mail we'd gotten shipped to our American friends. Dad had gone over to visit and pick up our stuff, and we were really excited to see everything. Rick got a couple books, some computer stuff, and I'd gotten him a stand for his new MacBook. I ordered some yarn from Craftsy, and Rick got me a skipping rope for working out. Rick has some reading to do, and I want to get to knitting!

Craftsy had a deal a little while ago for packs of 3 skeins of Wool Ease Thick and Quick for a really good price. I ordered a pack of each of the three colours (Cilantro, Fig and Oatmeal) and was eagerly awaiting them. They weren't quite the 70% off my new year's goal stated the yarn had to be, but it was pretty darn close. T&Q is one of my favourite yarns to work with, and a pretty popular yarn as far as my sales go. I'll probably do a cowl and a scarf from each colour, and I'm not sure what the third of each will become. We'll have to see!
These 9 skeins bring my total thus far to +4. Not bad, I'd say!

In the last couple weeks, I've been working on some new projects. The biggest one, that I've done a few times, is boot cuffs. I've seen these all over the place on Etsy, and I wanted to make a pair for myself. I used some mustard Homespun to match my neck warmer, and went to town. They were a pretty quick knit, despite being ribbing (which I kind of hate). I ended up making two Homespun pairs, and I really like them. I tested them out for a few days, and I don't really like how they wore. They did look great, I got quite a few compliments, but the fibre for stuck on the zippers on my boots and made them look really frayed and fuzzy. I'll have to try some other yarns, or just suggest that they are not worn with zippered boots. Overall, I'm fairly satisfied with them. I can't wait to make more!

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?