Friday, December 21, 2012

I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas


Hello,

Well, I have been praying for snow and it here it is!!  We got all of that from yesterday morning till this morning.  The day before, you could see the grass and now it's like a winter wonderland out there.  It's so beautiful, and I couldn't be happier.  It's the nice kind that piles up on the trees, yet is surprisingly light.  From my desk as I'm writing I can see it blowing off the roof in great white puffs every so often.  Now it's finally starting to feel like Christmas.




As of last night, I have most of my baking done and it's in the freezer.  The baskets will go out on Sunday.  These next few days will be dedicated to knitting and crocheting as fast as I can to finish up the last couple of gifts.  I've got one sock, one mitten, a wrap, and four little things left to do.  All are started except for the four little things, but they shouldn't take too long.  I'm planning them as a reward for finishing up the sock and the mitten since I've been wanting to make them since last Christmas.  I also have to do some wrapping and clean my room.  It has become the catch-all for everything lately and is in need of some serious tidying.  The plan is to get all this done by Sunday, as well as bake my Mom's birthday cake and bread since we are getting low.  Wish me luck!!  

xoxo  

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

I Have to Have My Knitting

Hello,

Something you may not know about me is that I occasionally have panic attacks.  I'm telling you this because it gives you some insight into this story I'm about to tell of my adventures over the weekend.

My cousin N had his birthday party on Saturday and since I'm not usually a fan of big social gatherings, I was a bit nervous about going.  This is where knitting has become a big help in my life - my knitting and I are like Linus and his blanket.  Anyways, since I'm not done my holiday gifts yet, I quickly ran through them in my mind to see which would be a suitable project to take.  I thought I might be able to work on the Jaywalker sock, but then I remembered that I count all the time on that one, and didn't think that would work if I had to also talk to people.  Most of the other things weren't suitable either for various reasons but I thought Mom's crocheted wrap might work, even though I hadn't started it yet, and didn't know what my gauge was, or what hook to use.  But this is Christmas and I'm running short on time so I packed it up and threw in my notions pouch along with all my crochet hooks and decided I would get it started in the car.  We left home and stopped for gas along the way, which was when I thought it would be best to get started.  I dug around in the backseat for my project bag, and that's when I came to the horrible realization that I had forgotten the pattern.  I had everything else one could ever need, but not the pattern.  A mild bit of panic hit me and I found myself contemplating for a second whether I could knit a sock out of the mohair/silk laceweight.  I knew I couldn't go to the party without my knitting, it was my coping mechanism.  I had to have it.  A quick look at the clock assured me that there was time for a stop at Michael's along the way, so that was the new plan.  I felt much better and was so glad I had thrown in my notions pouch because it had my sock needles in it.  I knew I could quickly run into the store, grab two balls of sock yarn and get out in time to still make it to the party as if nothing had happened.  Once there, I entered the store and immediately got distracted by bags of sock yarn on sale in bulk at the door.  After trying to choose colours and thinking of all the cute things I could make, I came to my senses and had a firm talk with myself about how I have enough yarn and do not need 6 or 12 more balls in my stash, and how the plan was to only get two balls of sock yarn to help me through the evening.  I got myself back on track and made a beeline to the yarn isle where I proceeded to pick up four balls of sock yarn because I thought they were pretty, and justified it by thinking at least it wasn't 6.  I didn't have time to feel guilty about it, so I started to make my way to the checkout and tried to focus on keeping my eyes from wandering over to the dollar bins.  The dollar bins and I have quite a good relationship, I always visit them, but not this time - I was on a deadline here, I had to hurry.  I couldn't afford anymore distractions.  Now this is where the panic attack part comes into play.  I guess with all the excitement of leaving my pattern at home and the yarn on sale at the door, and finding so many pretty colours to choose from when I got to the yarn isle, I got a tiny bit lightheaded, which was added to as soon as I seen the line of people at the checkout, and also with the fact that I thought I recognized the people now in line behind me (and it wasn't one of those good acquaintances either, it was people I would be a bit embarrassed to see me buying sock yarn to begin with -  yes, I will admit that there still are times when I can feel a bit embarrassed about people knowing I knit, I'm working on it.)  Okay, now if you have never suffered from panic attacks I will let you in on something, they are not reasonable and tend to make you think that things are way worse than they really are.  They also can make you think irrationally.  I'm telling you this because it will help you understand what next went through my head.  First off, I decided to stand in a way that wouldn't allow me to make eye contact with the people behind me just in case they were the people I thought they were, then I tried to distract myself by reading all the signs and magazine covers around me to get my mind off the rising panic I was starting to feel.  This helped for two seconds before I realized that looking all over the place was making me more dizzy and now I felt sick to my stomach.  I quickly ran through all the things I had ate that day, and if I had been anywhere recently where I could have contracted the flu, which would make sense for the sick feeling, but I came to the conclusion that I had not ate any food that could have even remotely been bad, and I had not been around any sick people.  I chalked up the feeling to nerves and told myself firmly to "get a hold of yourself."  (In my head, don't worry, it didn't get so bad that I started talking to myself right there in the store.)  Next I thought maybe the people behind me could see what I had in my hands so I turned a little bit more to the right so they definitely wouldn't be able to.  That comforted me until I realized I was in front of them in line and would have to put the yarn on the counter at the checkout and then they would for sure see what I was buying.  I couldn't just shove them under my armpits and walk out, no matter how appealing that sounded right now.  I have to add here that these people were distantly related to me, so it wasn't like there would be a slim chance of me ever seeing them again.   At this point I remembered I was paying with my debit card and would have to put it into that little machine since it has a chip and by now my hands were shaking, and for goodness' sake I didn't want anyone to know I was nervous, so now I was trying to will my hands to be still.  It was at this moment that I suddenly realized I could not talk.  The fear was so great in me by this time that I was now rendered speechless.  This would be a problem when it got to be my turn and I had to talk to the checkout clerk.  Now with my head spinning, my stomach doing flip-flips and my hands shaking so much that I was concerned I would drop the yarn, I had the overwhelming urge to throw the yarn in the air and just run for the door.  This was also the moment when I realized that I couldn't get to the door without going through the line.  I also started to think about the party again and how I had to have my knitting, I just knew I would be bad company if I didn't.  Now was when the unthinkable happened (or at least it was the unthinkable to me).  The checkout clerk on the right-hand side recognized me and yelled out, "so you're back for more, eh?" and I stupidly in my confusion held the yarn up in the air and waved it at her and yelled back "yep."  Now if there had been any chance that those people behind me hadn't seen the yarn, they sure did now.  It was then that I had a flashback to a few months ago when I had purchased a significant amount of yarn and checked out with this particular clerk and I remembered she had made a comment on how much I was buying and was surprised I could use it all up.  I was purchasing yarn for my Christmas knitting, so you can sort of imagine the amount and why someone would be shocked to see me back again so soon for more.  By this time I was praying I would just make it out of there without making a scene and preferably with the yarn.  It was now my turn and I got the same clerk, who was very nice and talkative.  While she was waiting for the receipt for the person in front of me to print, I felt this tug on my arm and looked down to see a cute little girl who wanted to talk to me.  I said hello and asked what her name was and she said it was Sophia so I told her mine was Raili, and as soon as I said it, I realized that if those people behind me weren't sure if it was me or not in front of them, they would be now.  I willed myself to not do anything else stupid and just get out of there as best as I could.  The clerk now started talking about the big yarn purchase I made last time and wanted to know if I made it through it all yet, and I told her I had made a very good dent in it, but the real reason I was in here was because I left my knitting at home and was going to a party where I just felt I had to have it with me.  Now I sounded like a crazed lunatic who horded yarn and had to take it places with her.  Don't worry, it wasn't lost on me that those people behind me could totally could hear every word that I said.  I then, in my nervousness began to tell her how I was going to this birthday party and it was a bit stressful and that the knitting helped me cope, especially when it was family and people you sometimes didn't like.  (Remember, keep in mind that those people behind me quite possibly could be members of my extended family, who will now be looking at me in a whole new light next time I'm knitting at their get-together.)  And then the clerk says, yeah, I remember you said that this, gesturing to my yarn, is what you do now.  It was then that I realized that, you know what, yes, this is what I do and there is no reason to be embarrassed about it.  At least I am being productive with my time and what does it matter how I choose to be entertained?  At that moment I came to the conclusion that I really could care less what so and so behind me thought of me, after all, we weren't that closely related, and I never really liked them anyway.  And it was also at that moment that I happened to turn slightly and lo and behold if it wasn't them at all to begin with!  I finished my transaction and proudly took my yarn in its bag, wished the clerk a good night and strolled on out of there with a whole new confidence and a pretty good story to tell my Mom and sister on the way to the party.

xoxo

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Productivity

Hello,

I've had a nice productive weekend and last few days here at my house, so I have some FO's to talk about today.  I finished the Christmas bunting you see above hanging on my TV stand this afternoon.  I had an idea at the beginning of November of what I wanted - 5 little stockings hanging up there to replace the hearts that are usually there, for the holiday season.  After making one stocking from this pattern (which is great by the way), I put it aside to work on Christmas gifts and never got back around to making any more.  So a few days ago, I seen Lucy from Attic24 had wrote up a cute little star pattern and it clicked in my brain that I would do two stockings with a few stars, since I thought I should be able to make them up relatively fast and it wouldn't interfere too much with my holiday crafting.  I made the stripy stocking and the three little stars this afternoon - it was all so fast, and so worth taking that small chunk of time out of my schedule.  I still think I'm going to add a few buttons and maybe a flower to them, but for right now I think they look pretty cute, and they've inspired me to make a bunch more little stars to hang over my desk.  I think they will add just the festive touch it needs.  Since I've been having some difficulty getting into the Christmas spirit this year, I think any little festive touch is a good thing.  I've already got 10 hooked up so far, I'll let you know how the rest of it goes.  They're quite addictive little things to make I have to say.

So with all this productivity that's been going on, here is some of the fruits of my labour:


The December Socks are done.  These ones were a joy to knit as they're for someone very special, plus I'm such a fan of a plain sock.  I find nothing more soothing than knitting round after round after round.

I also made all the pompoms for the Mod Circle Hats and attached them:




And then today, I finished the hair on the fairy and got Mom to do her sweet face - she is the best at embroidery.

She is now ready to be wrapped up and mailed off to the special little birthday girl.  

Speaking of wrapping, that is what I'm off to do now.  I have a couple of packages that need to be mailed tomorrow (hopefully) and I wanted to get the wrapping done tonight.  I hope you've been enjoying these days leading up to Christmas and that you are having a fun time with the holidays.

xoxo

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Christmas WIP Pile


Hello,

I'm back today with what is in my WIP pile this week for gifts.  First up is a pair of Cloisonee Mittens, this is the first of two pairs I'm making.  As soon as I seen these on the Yarn Harlot's blog last December, I knew that I had to make them for gifts.  It's a really great pattern, they're very quick.  I'm doing one stained glass version and one regular version.  This one here is the regular version.


The Jaywalkers are still in-progress.  I'm only on the foot of the first one at the moment.  My Mother did say she doesn't care if she only got one sock for Christmas, so that's reassuring.  She knows she is getting a pair of socks, but she doesn't know what they look like-I try to keep some element of surprise if I can.


And this is a Fairy Doll that is actually for a birthday present, not a Christmas gift, but since the little girl's birthday is close to Christmas, I thought I'd include it in the list today.  She still needs her wings sewn on, hair, a face and ears.

I've got a few more gifts that need to be started, but as of right now, these are the ones that are currently on the needles.  Hopefully at least one of these things is finished by the end of the weekend-I need to speed up my knitting!

xoxo

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Counting Down the Days


Hello,

Wow, it's December 4th already!  My how the time has flown by the last couple of weeks.  We have been in decorating mode here at my house the past few days, and I think we're almost finished.  As you can see, I've got my Advent bunting out and have begun to count down the days to Christmas.  It never fails to bring a smile to my face every time I see these colourful stars hanging up there.  It makes getting closer to Christmas seem like a happy time, not something to stress over because I haven't gotten my gifts done yet.  Which is a reminder I need quite frequently.

Speaking of gifts, we finally had some sunshine this morning, so I took a bunch of photos of my finished and in-progress gifts.


I did finish Dad's Sesame Street Socks, which were the November socks-of-the-month, actually in November.  The 18th to be exact.  I know the colours are a little "out there" for his tastes, but I was trying to work from my stash, and this was the most manly yarn I had.  I do hope he likes them, and like I said before, I'm just going to tell him they are his "happy socks."  Really, they go on your feet, so it shouldn't matter too much.

I also finished a couple of crocheted cowls:


This one is the Cuddle Cowl from the book Crochet Boutique by Rachael Oglesby.  Which on a side note, I want to make almost everything in this book!  This one worked up very quick in a nice bulky yarn.


And the Calm Cowl, which I showed in-progress a little while ago, is now done and I'm very happy with how it turned out.  I didn't have quite enough yarn, so it's a bit thinner than the pattern, but I still think it's rather cute.

I also knit up a couple hats:


Modern Rib hat for my cousin's husband.  I made it a bit shorter than the pattern because I thought the brim might be too bulky when folded twice.


And my Mom picked up a skein of Patons Delish after seeing a hat sample at the local yarn shop and asked me to make her one for Christmas.  I used the same pattern, but I had a little less yarn for the pompom when I was done than I would have preferred, which I'm sure has something to do with my gauge.  I still made a little one, and it looks alright.  If she doesn't like it, I can always remove it for her.


I made this cute little Tiny Cactus for a silly gift.  I've had this pattern in my queue for a long while and thought it was about time to crochet it up.  I crocheted through the back loop for the whole thing, which I find easier to do for tiny toys like this, and I think it looks quite good this way.  I always enjoy making things like this, they never fail to bring a little extra fun to my crafting.

I also have quite a few more WIPs, but I think I will wait and share those with you all tomorrow.  I hope you are enjoying getting ready for the Holiday Season too!

xoxo

Friday, November 30, 2012

A Day Early

The December socks are being started one day early :)

Have a wonderful weekend!

xoxo

Thursday, November 29, 2012

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like...

Hello,

I wanted to share a couple of pictures from yesterday.  We had snow squalls all throughout the morning and early afternoon, and I tried to catch a few snowflakes to show you.  It was like a swirling winter wonderland out there.  These are taken from my bedroom window looking out over the lake.




As you can see from this one, the snow is adding up.  Although, I've heard it might rain this weekend and it's going to warm up again, so this all might be gone in a few days.  I was lamenting that fact to Mom last night, and she said, "Don't worry, it will come back."  Which is true, it always does.


And during all this snow storm business, Bingley hunkered down for a nice long nap on my bed.  He really enjoys going outside, but he is not a fan of the snow.  I think he's made a wise choice here.  It's nice to look at through the window, but I don't want to be out in all that blowy weather either.

xoxo

Monday, November 26, 2012

In Just a Few Words...

More snow, but this time at my own house! (this was yesterday, we have more snow today, but I didn't get a picture)
Three Mod Circle Hats for three adorable little girls Christmas gifts.
A little Pre-Christmas candle light before bed.
Nighty night,
xoxo

Saturday, November 24, 2012

A Look Out My Window

 Hello again,

I know I rarely post twice in one day, but I wanted to share these pictures with you.  Two days ago it was so warm here it felt like early September and not the end of November, then overnight the temperature dropped and we woke up to snowflakes in the air.  The picture above, and the one below show what it looked like by mid-afternoon yesterday.



And then this is what I woke up to outside by bedroom window this morning.  I am staying at my sister's house in the city right now, and apparently we don't have snow at home.  They always seem to get way more snow than we do.  It really makes me feel "Christmasy"!



 I had to take a photo of these yarns because I thought they mirrored the colours I was seeing out the window!


Here's my progress so far on the Calm Cowl.  I'm using some Knit Picks Comfy Sport in Fedora from my stash.  I don't have quite enough yarn though, so it will be a bit thinner but it still should look nice I think.

Well, I'm off to cuddle up with my puppy, a cup of tea, and my newest Craftsy.com purchase Crafty Crochet Embellishments with Linda Permann!  

xoxo

P.S. Don't forget that Craftsy has all their courses on sale for $19.99 or less right now through Monday at midnight, it's the perfect time to pick up that class you've always been wanting.

A Glitch in the Plan

Hello again,

I know it's been a while since I last posted.  I got busy, then distracted and then I just didn't feel like I had anything of consequence to say.  I finally decided that I would just try and ease back into blogging, so today's post is my first attempt at it.  Please bare with me.


My most recent work-in-progress has been a pair of Jaywalkers that are part of my Mom's Christmas gift.  This is my second time knitting this pattern (which is rare for me!) and I have to say I'm hooked.  It thrills me so much to see each coloured stripe turn into a perky little zigzag; making for quite addictive knitting.  I always want to see what colour is coming next.  

I have a few other Christmas gifts on the go as well: a ribbed hat, and a calm cowl.  There are more on the list, but I haven't got them started yet.  Dad's Sesame Street socks are done, I just haven't photographed them properly, but I think they turned out great.  I should have a post about them up sometime next week.

The gift I'm really stuck on right now is my Mom's birthday present.  Her birthday is December 24th.  I want to make her something really special, but I also want it to be practical, something she can and will use.  First I thought a Zuzu's Petals cowl, so I knitted it up, but it turned out too big (I shouldn't have gone up so much in needle size), so I decided I would knit it again, this time either with smaller needles or a sport-weight yarn.  However, she mentioned to me the other day that she didn't really wear cowls much because she found them too hard to get off when she got too warm, say when driving or while shopping in the mall.  So I crossed that one off the list.  Then I thought I'd make her a nice scarf, that way she could just undo the ends whenever she needed to, but she said she already had so many scarves that she didn't even wear.  Mittens were my next idea, but she said she prefers gloves (the leather kind) and would only use mittens when she walked the dog, so there went my idea of a beautiful pair of colourwork mittens.  She does want a hat, but she already picked out the yarn and pattern for that one, and it's going to be for her Christmas gift anyway.  My next idea was a shawl for her to wear when she has somewhere fancy to go, but in all honesty, I hardly think she would actually wear it.  She never wears fingerless mitts and I'm not knitting her a sweater (which she admitted she wouldn't wear anyway), so now I have no idea.  I have spent days searching for the perfect thing on Ravelry, and still, I've got nothing.  Do you ever have someone difficult to craft for?  What do you do when you're stuck like this?  She honestly is one of my most favourite people to make things for, because she truly appreciates and understands all the work that goes into each gift, so I really do want to make her something.  Plus, I promised I wouldn't buy her anything this year.  We made a decision in our family to not spend much for Christmas (and she included her birthday gift in this), and I have to hold up my end of the deal.  So what's a crafter to do?  Any suggestions?

xoxo

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

The Past Two Months

Hello,

The last two months were tough ones when it came to my Self-Imposed Sock Club.  I started the September pair in September, I even brought them to England and back - but I didn't work on them even once during that time, which is probably why they didn't get completed until almost the end of October.  This of course put a mad rush on the October socks, which forced me to change plans and do a Plain Vanilla instead of the pattern that came in the bag.  I'm actually very happy with them and I think they still turned out lovely despite this.  Plus, I wanted to be able to enjoy knitting them since they are for a Christmas gift and I believe in happily knitting gift projects so that the happiness is embedded into them, so I thought this was the best call.  I've now decided to do the same for both the November and December pairs since they are for Christmas gifts as well.  I know it's not sticking to the original plan, but I think sometimes you have to deviate in order to get things done.  This time of year is just way to full to add complicated patterns to it.


Project: September Socks
Started: September 1, 2012
Finished: October 23, 2012
Pattern: Simple Skyp Socks by Adrienne Ku
Yarn: Knit Picks Stroll Hand-Painted in Make Believe - 1 skein
Needles: 2.75 mm DPNs 
Mods: I did a short-row heel and I stopped the patterning on the foot and replaced it with k6, p2 ribbing.


Project: October Gift Socks - made for someone's Christmas gift
Started: October 23, 2012
Finished: October 26, 2012
Pattern: Plain Vanilla Socks with a short-row heel
Yarn: Scarlet Fleece Grassy Wool in Guitar Hero (This was gifted to me by Mary Rose in the Itty-Bitty Secret Santa Swap a couple of years ago.)
Needles: 2.75 mm DPNs
Mods: None.

I will leave you with a picture of the November socks in progress:


These ones are for my Dad's Christmas present.  The colour is called Building Blocks, supposedly based on Lego pieces, but for some reason they remind me more of Sesame Street, what do you think?  They're a little "out there" in colour for my Dad, but since I'm trying to use up my stash and limit my yarn buying till I make a nice dent in it, these are what he gets.  They can be his happy socks.  I think everyone should have a pair of happy socks, don't you?

xoxo

Monday, October 29, 2012

And She's Back

Hello,

I'm finally working my way back to posting regularly.  Things just haven't really been the same since I got back from England, and I'm not exactly sure why.  In some ways, I think I changed along the way...  It's hard to explain, so I won't even try.  I'm still trying to decide if it's a good thing or a bad thing, but at the moment I'm leaning towards it being a good thing.

During my little break from blogging I managed to actually get a few projects finished!  I knit my Dad a pair of socks for his birthday, finished the September socks (in the middle of October), knit the October socks, and finished my Quaker Ridge Shawlette (it just needs to be blocked).  I even got a bit of a head start on my Christmas gifts by making two cowls and most of a small granny square lap blanket.  I still have quite a list, as I think I mentioned before, I'm trying to make most of them this year, but a small dent has been made.  To tell the truth, I'm actually really enjoying making them this year.  Some years it seems like a mad-dash to get them finished and instead of enjoying the process, half the time I don't even remember what I made!  This year I'm trying to do things differently.  I've cut out a lot of other obligations that I don't particularly enjoy and that add stress, and I'm planning on doing things I like to do and slowing down so I can actually enjoy the holiday not just rush through and be glad when it's over.

I'll try to have some pictures up of all these things soon, I have been slacking in the photography area lately.  Until then, I hope that all of you are enjoying this Monday and that those of you affected by hurricane Sandy are keeping safe and dry.

xoxo

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

A Pause

Hello,

I'm sorry for the long delay in writing!  Things have been busy here in my little part of the world.  Due to this, I've decided to take a few more days off before getting back into my regular schedule of posting.  I hope to be back in fine form on Monday, till then, have a wonderful rest of the week and weekend!!

xoxo,
Raili

Friday, October 12, 2012

Autumn

Hello,

Mom and I took a drive the day after we came home from our trip to take some pictures of all the beautiful fall leaves.























































































I think this is the most gorgeous and colourful Autumn we have had in years! God's creation sure is in all it's splendor this season.

xoxo