Wildlife Wednesday

Hello,

Here are few pictures I took the last few days of the wildlife and the nature around my home.

Brand-new baby fawn.

There are twins, if you look closely you can see the second one there too.  This one momma deer has twins pretty much every year.

Sunset after a thunderstorm.

The colour of the sky was a beautiful dusty pinky-purple.

This is Bingley the cat we found yesterday.  We're not sure if he is lost or if someone was trying to get rid of him.  He is so adorable and lovable!!  We're trying to find him a good home.

I hope you are having a beautiful Wednesday!
xoxo

Dahlia Socks

Hello,

I know today is Tuesday and I should be posting a one-a-day progress report, but I haven't worked on my hexagon blanket at all this past week.  I should be back on track next Tuesday though.  So instead, today I thought I'd share the other pair of socks I finished on Sunday.

These are the Dahlia socks I took with me on vacation.  As I mentioned before, the yarn was a birthday gift from my friend Jessica, and I thoroughly enjoyed every second of knitting this pair.  The yarn is great and the colours are lovely!  I really am getting quite a hand-knit sock stash now aren't I?  I can't think of anything better though, cause hand-knit socks are up at the top of my list of the great comforts in life!

xoxo

Patchwork Socks

Hello,

I finished my Patchwork Socks last night!!  They were such a great knit and I think they were extra fun because I took part in the knit-along on the Itty-Bitty Group.  It was great to get encouragement and share progress reports with all the other knitters.  I found it particularly neat to see that once some of us had gathered together our yarn scraps it was clear what was our favourite colours were.

Here is the pile of yarn I started with.  As you can see I like pink quite a lot....

And here they are finished and on my feet:

These pretty much flew off my needles.  I wonder if it was because I was always wanting to see what colours would come next.  I'm really happy with how they turned out and I'm so glad I didn't rip them back when I wanted to.  I thought the colours weren't working well together, but now I can see that they actually look good.  This was a great pattern for using up some of my sock yarn scraps, which I seem to have quite a few of....  Next I'd like to try some hexipuffs for a Bee Keeper's Quilt, so you may see some on the blog here in the near future.

Our power has gone off quite a few times since I started writing this post due to some thunderstorms we've had go through the area this evening, so I should post this before it goes out again.  I hope that you are having better weather in your area tonight.

Be back soon,
xoxo

Vacation Knits

Hello,

Well, I'm finally home! The plane Mom and I were flying on from Atlanta to Detroit on Tuesday got delayed so we ended up missing our flight to Sault Michigan. We only missed it by a few minutes too, and since it was the last flight out that night, we had to stay in Detroit and then fly out the next day around noon. My cousin and Auntie M were on a different flight than we were, so they made it home as planned, which was good. Mom and I looked at the whole thing as an adventure so it really wasn't that that big of a deal. We ended up getting home Wednesday evening, and I just relaxed yesterday. Today I have to go to the city for a doctors appointment for the vertigo. I'm praying this will fix it and I will be well again very soon.

Anyways, today I wanted to show you a few of the things I knitted while on vacation.

I knit this little gnome for Matt as a birthday present and I got Mom to embroider the flowers on his shirt to make him a tropical gnome.

I knit this tiny frog for a friend, isn't he cute? The pattern for these two was gifted to me by my friend Julie (Tanknit) for my birthday. It's the Tiny Things Collection 3 from Mochimochiland. I want to knit the little stack of pancakes next! I really enjoy making miniatures, they're fast and the end result is always so cute. Thank you Julie for these!!

This is the sock I started on the way to Myrtle Beach using the Cascade Heritage that Jessica sent me. I took this picture our last night there and I ended up finishing it on the car ride home from the airport. I haven't started the second one yet though. I've been working on my Patchwork socks since I came home and I have one finished and I'm almost to the heel flap on the second one. They're just zipping right along! As soon as I get the second one done I'm going to cast on for the second one of this pair. I've really been enjoying working with the Cascade Heritage yarn, its so soft and the colours are gorgeous!

I didn't get much knit on my Whippoorwill, but I think I'll get back to it soon. It was just a little too much for me to concentrate on when I wasn't feeling well. I think it's going to be beautiful though and I was enjoying knitting it when I could.

Well, that's all for today!
xoxo

Beach Pictures

Hello,

Well, it's been a lovely vacation and I had a great birthday yesterday, thank you everyone for the birthday wishes!! We are scheduled to fly out tomorrow, So tonight I thought I'd share some pictures.

25 years old already....who would've thought?

Beach days:

p.s. The man with his arms in the air was just a random person who kept getting in my pictures each day so I thought he deserved a spot on the blog.

xoxo

Plane Knitting

Hello,

Well, we are here in Myrtle Beach! Yesterday was a long, long day of flying. Mom and I had an extra flight that Matt and Auntie M didn't, so that made for a total of three flights to get here. I got Mom to take some pictures along the way of me knitting:

1. Starting my Whippoorwill Shawl on our first flight. This would be around 6:30am.
2. Close up of the shawl. I'm quite happy with the colour - Knit Picks Stroll Tonal in Golden Glow, it's a lovely rich, saturated yellow.
3. Knitting a plain vanilla sock in the Atlanta airport using the Cascade Heritage Hand Painted sock yarn in Daliha that my lovely friend Jessica sent me for my birthday.

The weather here today is cloudy and a bit on the cool side so everyone has went to the aquarium for the afternoon. I opted to stay back at the condo since I experienced a bad case of vertigo after landing here yesterday. I thought it best to just take the day to rest and relax. That's what vacations are for anyways, right? I'll leave you with some pictures I took this morning:

1. The view from the condo balcony.
2. One of the beautiful pools.
3. My cousin Matt checking out the ocean temperature.
4. The ocean.

xoxo

One-a-Day Tuesday (a little late)

Hello,

I'm a little late with my one-a-day post this week, sorry about that!  I was busy, busy, busy and didn't get around to posting yesterday like I planned.  I had a hard time doing one each day this past week, so I would double, or triple up when I needed to in order to get the right amount done.  Here's my progress so far:

I'm taking this next week off from the one-a-day because I'm going on a little vacation!  Me, my Mom, my cousin Matt and his Mom (Auntie M) are going to Myrtle Beach on Friday.  It's mine and Matt's birthday trip (May 20th and 22nd, respectively), and also my parent's anniversary (May 20th as well, I was born on their 9th anniversary.), so since Dad can't go on vacation right now Mom is coming along with us to celebrate.  Matt picked Myrtle Beach as the destination.  I've never been there before so I'm excited to see what it's like.  I've been busy planning my knitting projects to take along and I must admit that I got them all in order before I even thought about packing my suitcase.  I think I've settled on Whippoorwill by Carina Spencer, Flamingo Mittens by SpillyJane and a pair of Patchwork Socks by Susan B. Anderson that I'm working on for the KAL in the Itty-Bitty Knits Group.  Sounds like a good lineup to me.  I even sewed up some new project bags based on a few I've seen around online yesterday to tote them along in style.

Well it is getting late and I still have some packing to do, but I wanted to add that when I last blogged I asked for ideas on what to take as a project to work on at my Grandma's birthday party, and I ended up going with Rae Lynne's suggestion of a shawl.  I started the Munch Shawl by Ann Weaver.  I'm still on the body section but I'm putting it aside till I come back because it's done out of worsted weight wool and I thought that was a little too hot for warm weather knitting.

Have a great night everyone and I hope to be back soon,
xoxo  

Yep, Socks Again

Happy Friday!

Well, it looks like I've got socks on my brain again today.  I finished the By the Sea socks yesterday and (surprise, surprise) immediately cast on for another pair.

These ones are for my Dad for Father's Day.  I'm using Knit Picks Felici in Firefighter.  I took this photo last night, now I am working on the foot.  It's coming along really nice.  

While we're still on the topic of socks, I wanted to mention the neat ones that Susan B. Anderson is knitting over on her blog, you have to pop over and check them out!  She posted both yesterday and today about them.  I can hardly wait till she releases a pattern or recipe and I heard word of maybe a knit-along.  After knitting all these socks, I have a lot of scraps hanging about and these look like a fun way to use some of them up.  I've also been considering doing The Bee Keeper's Quilt, it looks so beautiful.  You'll probably see one or the other, or both here on the blog in the not to distant future.   

In other news, I'm in the middle of baking a birthday cake for my Grandma right now.  We are having her Birthday party tomorrow afternoon.  I'm excited to get together with family and celebrate, my Mom's side of the family is funny, loud and great to be around.  We're quite the scene when we all get together.  I'm trying to decide what knitting project to take along with me, but I'm a bit stumped.  Dad's socks are the only plain vanilla pair I've got going at the moment, and I don't want someone to ask me who they are for because they're supposed to be a surprise for him.  All my other projects are ones that need some concentration so they are out.  Hmmm....I'll have to give it a little more thought.  

Well, I should go check on the cake.  Have a great start to the weekend everyone.  And if I don't post again  before, Happy Mother's Day to you all!!

  xoxo

One-a-Day Tuesday

Hello,

Well, I've decided to stick with tradition and post my One-a-Day progress on Tuesdays like so many others before me have.  It seems to work for them so I think it will work for me too.  This is how far I am on my blanket right now before I add any new hexies.  Due to being busy cleaning I haven't done Monday's or Tuesday's yet, but I'm going to do them both up tonight.

I thought I'd explain a little bit about the blanket if you are a newer reader or if you don't remember me working on it before.  I got most of the yarn while in California for a cousin's wedding and then a couple other skeins were gifted to me in two swap packages.  I started it almost right way, which was last spring, but after a while it was clear something wasn't quite right.  My gauge was way, way off.  I put it away because I had done so much already I didn't want to think about having to take it all apart.  I picked it back up again this spring and decided to turn it into a pillow cover instead of ripping back  

I then started a new blanket using a bigger hook and I'm much happier.  It's drapy and soft unlike the stiff and tight pillow cover.  I'm not sure how big I'm going to make the blanket yet, but I think I'll just decide as I go along.  My plan is to do a hexagon a day, or more if I feel like it.  Sometimes I find I get into a groove while working on them and don't want to stop.  They're quite fun to hook, I think it's all the colours.

Now I better wrap up this post and get to making those hexies while it's still Tuesday.

xoxo

Nature Notes

Hello,

I seen the first little goslings today and had to share them with you all.  They are so precious!  

Also, you can see the leaves are starting to pop out now that we've had some warmer weather and a bit of rain.  It's so nice to look out my window and see things getting greener.  Looks like spring is on it's way to being in full bloom!

xoxo

May Socks: The Beginning

Hello,

I hope you are all having a great weekend.  The weather here is beautiful today.  I hope to get a chance to spend some time outdoors and maybe do a little knitting in the sun.  As I mentioned yesterday, I've started May's socks, that's them above.  I'm using some Knit Picks Stroll Hand-Painted in Tiger that I purchased quite a while ago.  Its a quirky colour that reminds me of Tigger from Winnie the Pooh.  The pattern is Layburn and it's a fun one.  I'm sure that the "quilted" detail would show up much better with a solid or kettle-dyed yarn, but I still like how these are turning out.  I haven't memorized the patterning yet, so I've been working on them when I have more focused time.  They're coming along pretty good though.

I finished what I'm calling "the Narnia socks" that I knitted up with the Lorna's Laces Jessica sent me in the RAK that I shared a few posts back.  I'm so happy with them!  The yarn was a treat to knit with and the colours are gorgeous.  Thank you again Jessica!!

Now that I finished these I cast on for another pair of socks.  I like to always have one plain vanilla sock on the go at all times so that I can knit on it while in the car, watching a movie, reading, chatting, etc.

These ones are for a gift.  The yarn is Knit Picks Felici and the colour is High Tide.  If you're a blue fan, then I highly recommend this colour, it is stunning.  There's something incredibly mesmerizing about watching the stripes knit up, I think it makes the socks go faster somehow.

Wow, I didn't know this post was going to be just all about socks, but I'm sure you can guess what my favourite thing to knit is now can't you?  Since yesterday I've done some thinking and I'm going to wait and do more research on steeking before I do any cutting.  The project is quite large and I don't want to screw it up for lack of knowledge.  In the meantime I've been busy working on the socks.  I haven't started the Hexagon one-a-day thing yet, I was thinking I'd start either tomorrow or Monday.  I know most people do their progress posts on Tuesdays but I'm thinking about doing mine on Mondays or Thursdays, I'm not sure which one yet.

Well, that's it for today.  Have a lovely weekend,

xoxo  

Randomness on a Friday

Hello,

Just some random bullet points:

• Today is my Grandma's birthday.  She is the one who originally inspired me to knit and is my biggest knitting hero.
• It's a truly lovely day outside, I'm sure the buds on the trees will be popping out soon enough.
• Even though I've finished a ton of WIPs I still feel somehow like I'm drowning in my projects....
• I've decided to start working on my Hexagon Blanket more often by applying the one-a-day method.
• I'll be sure to post updates here on how it's going once a week like Stefanie does - she's the one who inspired me to do this in the first place.  I've so enjoyed reading her posts about her blankets in-progress.
• I really want to learn to do hand-stitching this summer as well as make a quilt.
• I need to find a place to keep my sewing machine set up so I'm more likely to sit down and sew.
• I started the May socks.  They're another toe-up pattern.....more about them tomorrow.
• My dear cousin has started a homesteading blog, do check her out!  She's a great writer and I know this is going to make for a fun, interesting and enjoyable read.
• I've started running again to get my strength back up and get in shape for summer.  So far it's going well. My goal is to eventually go for runs outside, but due to the many wildlife (bears, big, big wolves and possible cougars), as well as not wanting to look stupid in front of the neighbours, I'm currently sticking to the treadmill.
• I have a big knitting project that needs to be steeked, but I'm not quite sure how to go about it yet.  I'm pretty much just winging it.  That coupled with the fact that my yarn has only 25% wool in it is making me a little hesitant of actually sitting down and cutting....  I heard it's best to steek wool since it sorta felts together to help keep it from unraveling, so I'm not sure what to do yet since 25% isn't really all that much.  Any advice?
• I've been putting off sorting and organizing my yarn and supplies for too long....
• My room also is in need of a good clean out.
• This is a sure sign of springtime- spring seems to make me want to clear out and de-clutter.
• I started this post earlier today and now it's nearly bedtime.  I really should actually be in bed now.  I'm nearing the end of a good book and would like to finish it before going to sleep, so off I go.
• Have a great night!

xoxo

A Couple of Things

Hello,

Sorry for the long delay since I last posted.  I've been a bit under the weather this past week.  I'm starting to feel more like myself again today and I should be right as rain soon.  I've got a few different projects on the go right now, and I also finished up a few things.  Here are my Mom's Mother's Day socks:

This is one of the new Knit Picks Felici Sport colours called Macaroon.  Mom picked it out herself so I think she'll like them.  They remind me very much of the French Macaroon cookies.

I also completed a project I've been working on for quite awhile.  It was hard to photograph properly, but here it is:

The pattern is called September and I used Loops and Threads Snuggly Wuggly Baby Sport.  I bought the yarn and pattern book two summer's ago when I was in Traverse City, Michigan shopping at Michael's for supplies we needed for my sister's wedding.  I really like all the different colours and how they are paired up, it's cheerful and fun.  Next time I do a blanket like this though I think I'll use the join-as-you-go method because sewing all these together with whipstitch was not really fun....  However, I am happy with the final outcome, so for this blanket I'm glad I did it that way.

Well, that's about it for today.  I will try to be back again soon.

xoxo