A night of calm

This is the first night I have felt really relaxed in a while! I went to Unwind tonight to visit with the ladies. Quite enjoyable.

What is more relaxing that knitting and fish....they are supposed to be relaxing right?

This is my fish Kyle! Yes the fishes name is Kyle.

I bought the fish last year for my class when we were studying living things in the spring and he is still alive and well (we have wondered a few times but he is still swimmin'). Not bad for a fish in a bowl I would say.

And after tonight here is the progress on the Adare Manor sock.



I am excited about maybe doing the toe tomorrow night but I am going to be at the school until after 7pm tomorrow so we will see how awake I am after that.

Party

Isn't it annoying when you work for a while on a blog entry only to lose it. Grrrr. that was yesterday. So today I feel a little less excited to post what I already wrote about but some will also say it is my own fault for not saving drafts as I go.

Saturday was the bf's Christmas party. It was a lot of fun. Pretty good food and even better wine and a full day to recover yesterday. I don't drink much or very often so it was bad news. I'm glad this pic was taken early on because I really like this pic of us and I probably didn't look so cute at the end of the night tee hee hee.



I must say that I really like to see him in a tie. This was the second time in almost 5 years. I like an excuse to dress up a little and wear cute shoes.

I love that my bf knows me so well. He may not always completely understand me but he knows me. This was our conversation in the car on the way to the bank on Saturday. I pulled out my sock as we pulled out of the driveway.
"Sarah we are going to be stopping in two minutes"
"I know"
"but you can get a row done by then eh"

This is what I was working on. Meghan I love this pattern! Here is the Adare Manor sock so far!


And a close up of the pattern


And this is pattern I have chosen for my brother-in-common-law for Christmas. I hope he likes it.


And this is the colour and the progress so far.

A little boring so far since I have this fun sock to work on! Back to it!

Sock it to me!

I am feeling rejuvinated. On Wednesday I was trying to knit a sock and could not get into it at all. Since last night I have been able to think of nothing else. Particularly because I have cast on a new pair (and finished one mind you!)

Here are a pair that will be given away for Christmas.
So I have cast on another pair for Christmas. They are Fleece Artist sock yarn and the pattern is Adare Manor. A pattern by the talented Meghan Jackson and was a part of the Sock of the month club over at Pick up Sticks.


I love it so far and can hardly wait to finish this and get back to it.

Tomorrow is the christmas party and my bf's work. It should be a blast! We have a hotel room for the evening and it will be nice to see some of the people that I used to work with in the summer. I am looking forward to having a weekend to enjoy myself and not have stress on me. Plus I'm excited about getting all dressed up for a night out. I had to take the bf shopping for pants a shirt and a tie..this is new for him. He is a very casual guy but he cleans up nice!

Back to my sock!

A knitting standstill.

Tonight is my night to take a breath and relax. I'm sure that breath will extend itself to the rest of the week as my biggest stress at the moment is out of the way. Phew!

Unfortunately there isn't anything to show because I haven't been knitting much...ok ... at all.....I'm running out of time really fast too. YIKES.

So I will have pictures soon and hopefully more time to blog. For now I'm going to get back to knitting...something with bigger needles that will progress fast. Like a Hat for my brother-in-law

One down...many more to go

The first Christmas knitting item is finished (remember my list of about 10? I am a bit obsessed with lists so I added one to the sidebar).

They are the Thrum Mittens:


Pattern : Fleece Artist Thrum Mitten Kit
Needles : 3.5 clover bamboo dpns

I love these mittens and as a teacher they are great for yard duty. Somehow one never seems the same size as the other. I don't know if it is because the first one gets tried on a few times along the way or if my stress level is so through the roof right now that my knitting is getting tighter and tighter as the days to Christmas tick away.

Tomorrow I am going to see Wicked. I am so excited. It means Friday is going to be a very long day but it should be great. My friend and I have a car to take us to the show and we are going to have dinner before the show.

Other than that I hope that I get over my cold soon because I just feel more and more wiped out.

WAHHOOOOOO!!!!!

It is official news time! I didn't want to say much before in my ramblings because things weren't for sure and I don't like to...well you know.

Anyway! My bf and I have just been approved for a morgage on a townhouse! WAHOOO! I'm so excited and scared and.....man my mind is everywhere.

I usually love Thursdays because the house is empty and I get a ton of work done but tonight I can't concentrate. Usually I love to be left alone for few hours and tonight I can't stand it and am feeling very lonely.

I don't want to call my family when my parents aren't home but I'm dying to tell everyone about the house. Maybe I need to do some laundry to calm myself. Yikes I really don't know anything better to do with myself.

Last night's knitting did not involve the baby blanket or socks it was Thrum Mittens. They should be finished tonight I would think.

How sick do you have to be?

Today I was faced with that question. How sick do you have to be that you will miss out on knitting with your friends. The answer is simple. You have to throw up and have a pounding headache, spend most of the day unintentionally not eating and sign your name more times than you can count. This is a sure way to put yourself in bed for the night.

It is now just after 8pm I still have the headache but the sick to my stomach feeling is pretty much gone and I am fairly sure than baring any unforseens I will be at work tomorrow. I can't afford to miss a day of work(money wise and time wise there is just so much to do)

So my plan tonight is to finish this post, have a relaxing bath and then knit a bit before bed. I know that isn't helping me to get work related stuff done but I just can't focus with this pain behind my eyes. The question then becomes... border on the baby blanket (yep I'm finally on the border) or socks? hmmmmm

What happens to time?

I was just looking at my calendar, thinking, and planning and thought to myself...OMG where does the time go. I remember when I was a child how long a year seemed to be and how in November, Christmas seemed so far away let alone summer holiday away from school.

Now that I am an adult a year seems to go buy in the blink of an eye. Work is going crazy this time of year. I have family asking if we have started our Christmas shopping yet! (Does Christmas knitting count even if very little progress is happening?). When did it become November all of a sudden? OMG and then once Christmas hits it is only a few more months until summer and summer vacation. Then I have to wonder where my job will be then?

This question is becoming more and more a preoccupation on my mind. Partially because I have always thought that this summer should be a time when I think of getting out of my parents house and out on my own. Then this conversation turned into wanting to move in with my bf. All of a sudden, taking our time and moving slowly is right around the corner.

Tonight my bf and I sat down with my parents and had a talk about us moving in together. I feel so much more comfortable with moving ahead knowing I have their support. WOW!! I know I'm probably rambling on. I have so much in my head right now I don't know what to do with it so....while I'm trying to get to sleep I am blogging about my whirlwind life.

I guess the question I am left with is...if time seems to have sped up so much since childhood does it just keep passing faster and faster as we age? Any thoughts?

I just don't get it

I don't understand why when I'm enjoying myself and when I'm feeling relaxed... my loving mother has to tell me what she thinks I should be doing or what she would like me to do with my time instead of what I'm doing. GRRRRR. I love my mom.....but I love my quiet time and if it looks to her like I'm not doing anything...something must be wrong.

Last night I spoke of me new found love of blog reading, TV watching and knitting all in one. Well tonight my mother came in "what are you doing on the computer"...reading knitting blogs "hmmm sigh I would really like it if you could spend some time in your room dusting or something this week. Have you even done it since you moved in. That should be done every week". And just for the peanut gallery...I have dusted in my room quite frequently but not every week.

Well Happy Halloween everyone! I was good and didn't eat (much) candy. Instead I went to the gym. Aren't I a good girl?

I have also worked on the thrum Mittens a little tonight. This is last nights picture that wouldn't load. I thought this kit from fleece artist looked more purple than it is turning out to be and it is a gift for a girl who loves purple.

I'm sure she will still enjoy these mittens and they will keep her hands warm on yard duty. Maybe even more so because they are a little more neutral. Now I shall turn off the computer and roll over and go to sleep. (I still love laying in bed with the computer... sigh ... small joys I know)

The excitement builds

Yes...Halloween is coming. The sugar rushes are about to begin. The punks who smash pumpkins that young kids have worked so hard on. And somehow in spite of all of the negative things that seem associated with Halloween.....I LOVE IT! Not in the same way I did as a child but I love seeing kids in costume and fun decorations. And I even still kinda like to dress up myself.

The only problem is that the time between Halloween and Christmas is not very long. So far I am working on two sizes of the same sock pattern (in two different colours and types of yarn) and a pair of Thrum mittens.

Socks:
This is one pair. The pattern is a garter stitch rib in Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in the Black Purl colour. The first pic shows my progress the second one shows the colour better.


The orange is the same sock pattern knit with Fleece Artist sock yarn


I had a picture of the Thrum mittens as well but blogger doesn't want me to load it. Maybe tomorrow.

So there you have it. Proof that I am still working on my Christmas knitting. I don't know how much I will get done tonight because I have some Halloween goodie bags for my class. I am hoping that I can finish the last repeat of the baby blanket and get started on the border.

I must say that I am enjoying having the bf's laptop for the week. I don't know how I ever got along in the cold damp basement. Last night I watched TV (halloween movies) and was knitting...while reading knitting blogs, all from the comfort of my own bed. Ah yes it was wonderful. More of the same tonight I hope.

I should be sleeping

This is the fourth time I have tried to post. When I wrote this it was early on Sunday morning...6:10am actually now that the time has changed. So regardless of what time this actually gets posted please understand that I wrote it in bed in the dark.

My bf has just left for work and this is usually the point where I roll over and go back to sleep, enjoying having the whole bed to myself. After all, tomorrow I will have to get up at this time but today......Ah no...it is Sunday, one of two days made for sleeping in. I like to take full advantage of those days.

The reason I'm not sleeping I'm sure is that I am thinking about all of the work I have to do. I am prioritizing because I want some time for me as well. Yes my time for me could be spent sleeping, and yes if I was really prioritizing then I wouldn't be blogging I would be doing work right now.

I need to decide what it is I want to for sure have done today because after all of the work I did Yesterday I am not as focused as I was. So one or two things to work on today and then time for me and time to knit.

Afterall....It is Sunday!

Big Sigh

I know I have not been posting. I know I have said there will be pictures. I do have every intention. Today....no appologies just a post. With some pictures but not lots.

I have a finished project. It was a gift for the bf. I did already give it to him because it was getting very cold here for a few days.

This is the Devon's Toque from Handmaiden. 100% Cashmere. I would have never knit this for him when we first started dating but....I found out that he listens. He understands that this is a hobby that I love and he really does listen. I mentioned Knitty and Amy Singer. I said ..."I know you don't know who that is" and he said "yeah I do...she has a knitting thing online" WHAT?? Wow!!! he really was listening to me. So because of this amazing fact....he gets a cashmere toque.

I have also been working madly on the baby blanket for Marley (who is now one month old). I have two more pattern repeats and then the border. I love the blanket but I don't want to be knitting it anymore.

Christmas knitting is well underway...but not well enough that I think I might make it in time for Christmas. The only gift I don't have planned it Gareth's present because I want it to be the scull and crossbones argyle and so far I can't make it fit in a pattern for him with the yarn that I have already purchased.

On a final note. I have done a little spinning. Practice helps for sure! This yarn is what I am most proud of so far.

Still no pictures

I know I promised pictures. I said I was knitting so much. So what happened you might ask? Life steps in again.

My poor puppy (an 11 year old lab) has been sick this week and we have had her to the vet and just generally keeping us worried for most of the week.

Also I have felt so incredibly tired. It seemed like I have been tired for no reason. I didn't even turn on my computer once this week let alone take the time to upload pictures and blog. I have started to think of reasons I may be so tired. Stress is probably a good one. School this week has been crazy. I think I have a bit of a cold and a slight soar throat that has been hanging on this week.

But I have also been wondering if my iron is getting low again. I used to have to have my iron checked regularly as a child. I am supposed to go get my blood checked but haven't made it there yet. Funny thing is that my father has high iron. He had to donate blood every couple of weeks for a while because his iron was so high.

I have finished Aaron's cashmere hat. I have one thrum mitten finished and one sock finished for a friend's Christmas present. Almost one other sock for another Christmas present and I'm coming up on halfway finished the baby blanket (not including the border of course.

I am still puzzling over how to fit the skull and crossbones into a pattern for my bf's brother. I don't want to do socks I have some Mission falls wool that I would like to use. I had thought mittens originally but I can't scale the pattern down enough to make it look nice going around. I had thought about having the pattern in a strip legthwise up the mitten or trying to work it into and earflap hat. Any ideas or suggestions leave me a comment.

Emotional Knitting

Well this thanksgiving has been like no other. My favourite place to be was on the couch with the fleece blanket my cousin made (she's a seamstress not a knitter) knitting! I don't have any pictures because I am still at my Grandmother's house. Thus no cameras and no access to pictures that I do have.

This Thanksgiving was very emotional. We have been working to try to move my grandma out of her HUGE old home into something smaller where there is someone to check on her and make sure she takes her medication and eats properly. The biggest problem is that she has had a male friend staying with her for a while now and he doesn't want us to move her. It has turned into a big family drama and is putting us all at odds with each other.

Yesterday we took a girls trip to Mary Maxim. I must say that with all of the crafting things there I don't really get to excited about much there. I bought some wool wash and some hand cream and that is it this trip.

Anyway we are ready to have a quick bite of toast and then hit the road home. Then I am off to the bf's house for some dinner and a comforting cuddle!

Finally a Finished Object

This can only mean one thing! Yes.... Charlotte's Web is finished!
I was so excited to finish this that...yes I was in bed Connie, and the clock on my bedside table was very close to midnight when I finished the picot bind off. My one change to the pattern was to take off the fringe and to add the picot edge. So here she is.


Start Date: Late June 2006
Finished on: October 2nd very close to October 3rd 2006
Pattern: Charlotte's Web (duh)
Yarn: Koigu KPPPM (yum)
Needles: Addi Turbos 4.5 mm I think but the size is rubbed off
Notes: I have quite a bit left over from the beginning colours the brown and the pinkish colours and started to run short on the final green. Because I chose to do the picot edge instead of the fringe I did have to start to use a new colour to finish binding off. You wouldn't know if I didn't tell you but it is a bit purple if you look close. Shhhh!

Anyway I was very excited and I am very proud!

Life certainly gets in the way

I have been knitting. Quite feverishly the last few days actually. I find I need the distraction more and more.

I know that everyone has different bumps along the road of life. Times where you wonder if you have gone to off the paved road and have lost your way.

Right now in my family we can still see that we are on the road....we are heading in the direction that we need to be....but this road is a very rough ride. Sometimes the bumps seem more like road blocks or close to dead ends. Together I'm sure we shall perservere and overcome the recent obstacles in our lives although at times it seems an impossible path. I don't know what else to do right now but to hold on to that hope that it will all work out somehow.

I know that this post is pretty vague. I'm still unsure of how much of my personal life I want to share with whoever may stumble across my blog. At the same time I have this desire to spill my guts out just to relieve the pressure. There have only been two close people in my life I have chosen to share recent events with at this point and I would like to thank them for their patience with me and their support.

To sick to knit

Well at least I was yesterday. I spent a good deal of the day sleeping my sniffles away. This of course after I got ticked off with the bf last weekend for sleeping all day long so we didn't get to spend much time together. He was very sweet bringing me tea and rubbing my back. What a doll. He has no idea how much I appreciated it.

Anyway. I am feeling much better today. Did not miss a day of work or going to the gym. However, I have changed my routine at the gym. I am working with my trainer still and she has moved me from the machines to doing free weights. I thought that my sweet and fun trainer was trying to kill me. All weekend I could hardly walk. My legs just started to feel better today and then...yep we had another appointment. And when I got this cold,.....every time I sneeze, cough or blow my nose, my abs hurt. I joke but I do feel much better about myself when I make that effort to get off my butt and go to the gym.

The only problem with gym time is that it gets in the way of knitting time. Christmas is coming and here are the gifts I "plan" to knit. I don't think anyone getting gifts reads this blog so I might be safe incase a few items get crossed off the list.

1) Meghann's baby blanket (this is a pre-Christmas gift I hope.... A.S.A.P)
2)Pam - socks and thrum mittens, maybe slippers if I can get the mittens done by her birthday
3) Mindy - socks and thrum mittens
4) Aaron - slippers and cashmere hat (yes he is a lucky boy)
5) Meghann- socks (orange fleece artist?)
6)Gareth - Something with skull and crossbones argyle (any suggestions as to what to make leave a comment)
7)Kathryn and Laura - socks, I hope they liked the socks last year.

That is my planning. But here is the scary part. There is only 90 days until Christmas. Yikes I better get off the computer and get knitting.

A lil' this a lil' that

Well this week has been yet another crazy week in the world of me. I have been to tired to do anything. Anyway a little of what I did do this week is here:


Things were going a little smoother this time and I think for the most part I was a little more even. Here is where the mistake happens.
What I have learned about spinning to date. Just because it is starting to feel easier doesn't mean you can let your treadling slip and start to go faster. It is feeling easier because you are going at a good even pace. Pay attention because your hands and feet want to go faster and that is when weird things happen to your spinning.

Also I have two very small skeins here because as I was plying some of the thinner spots (as a result of the above) broke and I got terribly tangled and decided to make a fresh start. I still have some more of this pink to spin up so I hope to pay attention a little better the next time.

I have also been thinking about Christmas knitting so a lot of my WIPs are going to have to remain that way until the holiday season is over. I don't have too big a list of people who I would like to knit for but my attention span means I have to start now.

Spin until you fall over!

Last night was my first real chance to sit down with Little Gem (yet to be given it's own name). I was excited. I had some time.... there was nothing on TV that I wanted to watch I could just sit downstairs and listen to some podcasts and spin away. The other thing I was really looking forward to was being left alone for a while. I didn't want to be rude to my family and I wasn't in a bad mood, but just a few hours on my own after being surrounded by people all day for two weeks sounded like heaven on earth.

So I proceeded to the basement. I set up my Little Gem. I sat down and started spinning. It was going ok and it was getting easier. It was so peaceful and quiet.

Then my mom came downstairs to use the computer. We have been having some problems with our router so only one computer can have internet at a time so she wanted me to try to fix it... like now. I have already tried everything I know how to do (unplug it and plug it back in) and that didn't work but I plugged and unplugged again just for her and her hundreds of questions. I gave internet to her computer by taking it away from mine and she sat in the basement to read email. She wasn't being loud she wasn't sitting right next to me but I felt crowded like she was in my space. But the spinning shall go on.

Then dad came down to work on his project of tearing apart an old pool table to make another table. What happened to my time alone? I was wondering the same thing. Again my dad is not a loud person and he usually just leaves me alone. He watched me a bit but kept to himself but....my plans were squashed.

Overall though the evening produced this.

This was just practice and it may not be overly exciting to the average eye but I was thrilled! And I can't wait to spin some more. Maybe a little tonight before I meet the girls for stitchen' and sippin' at one of our local coffee shops.

Not Quite Tomorrow

Yes it is not quite tomorrow but here is my finished object.

Project Specs-
Date Finished: Se[tember 11, 2006.
Pattern : Outdoor Snuggle - Zoe Mellor (Nursery Knits)
Yarn: Debbie Bliss - Baby Cashmerino
Needles: 3.75 mm Britteny

I had read a few review of this pattern which were....lets face it... less than complimentary. But this little sac of a hoodie was tooooo cute to resist. I didn't have the problems with the pattern that I had read about so that is a good thing. The little one's Mommy and Daddy think it is adorable and that makes me very happy. I always worry that people my age that do not knit may not appreciate everything that has gone into making their gift. It is nice to be appreciated.

Anyway, back to work today. I always feel like another day on the weekend would make everyone a little happier. I heard someone mention on the news that there are more accidents on Mondays than any other day. I wonder if that is true.