Preoccupied

Hello!

My goodness, it feels like an age since I last wrote!  I think it was Thursday to be exact.  But I do have to say that I had a pretty good excuse for neglecting the blog.  I started something last Friday night and it has been demanding all of my time.  It happens to be one of those projects that you just can't tear yourself away from, it demands all your attention morning, noon, and night.  I'm not complaining though.  It's one of those cheery, bright, fun sorts of things, and right now I could use all three in my life.  

Here's a peek at my progress over the last few days:

Sunday Morning

Sunday Late Afternoon

Monday Morning

Tuesday Morning 

As you can see I've been spending a good portion of my days with this blanket and it's coming along swimmingly.  The pattern is from Lucy of Attic24 and is called Granny Patchwork Blanket.  She created it as a way to use up her stash of Stylecraft yarn, and since I had my own little stash of it left over from my Granny Stripes Blanket, I thought it would be just the thing.  And I couldn't have been more right.  It feels great to have the joy back in working a project.  I didn't fully realize how much I missed it until I started to work on something that gave me such a thrill as this does.  It really is such a pleasure to work on.  Speaking of that, I'm going to go hook up some more squares before my afternoon run.  I hope you have a lovely day, and I will be back again when I can pull myself away from this lovely long enough to write!

xoxo

In-Progress

Hello,

Today I thought I'd talk a little bit about what's currently on my hooks.  Above is my first try at Broomstick Lace.  This is one of the techniques that I wanted to learn this year as part of my New Years Resolutions.  I'm starting out with a baby blanket, and so far it's going well.  I really like the lacy-ness of it, and it's nice and drapey.
There is a little bit of a back story to this project: When my sister was born, someone made her a gorgeous yellow Broomstick Lace baby blanket, and I remember when we were little we'd play house and she would wrap her baby doll up in it all the time. I thought it was the most beautiful blanket ever and always wanted to wrap my dolly up in it, but my sister wasn't too keen on that!  So right then and there I knew I wanted to make my own someday.  When I first learned to knit I was so excited and asked Mom if I could make one of these blankets, but she told me it was crochet.  Then when I finally learned how to crochet I went and asked her again about the blanket and she told me it was a totally different kind of crochet done with a broomstick handle and I had to learn how to regular crochet first.  That was a couple of years ago, so when I was making up my resolutions list for this year I figured I finally had the basics of crochet down and could try tackling this technique!  I did want to do it in yellow so it would be like the original one, but I thought I'd try to do some stashbusting at the same time and all I had was this blue yarn.  If I like how it turns out I'm going to make a yellow one and keep it for when I have my own babies to wrap up in it.  Maybe I'll save this blue one for my sister!

The other thing that I have on the go right now is this cute little baby sweater.  I came across this pattern yesterday and thought it was just the thing I was looking for.  I'm using some Loops & Threads Snuggly Wuggly Baby Sport from my stash.  The main colour is this cobalt blue and I'm doing a contrast edge in fresh green.
Well, that's what's on my hooks for today, what's on yours?

xoxo

Wordless Wednesday

Snow in our yard - it is over waist deep in a lot of places.

xoxo

Bunny RAK

Hello,

I got the sweetest RAK from my friend Julie (JoolieKnits) the other day and I wanted to share the cuteness with you all.  She sent me a Valentine gift that included the most adorable bunny along with some yummy Dove chocolate hearts and cherry M&Ms (my Mom snagged those since she didn't get any Valentine's Day candy this year).  This little bunny girl is now displayed on my TV stand and has become part of my Easter decor.  I took down my Valentine's Day things on Saturday and put up my Easter decorations at the same time.  I thought I might as well start now since Easter is early this year.  I still need a wreath for my door, and maybe a couple of other little things, but it looks pretty good in here so far.

I hope you all are having a lovely Family Day/President's Day and that you have had a great weekend.  I'm looking forward to spending some time reading and crocheting today.  I started re-reading the Anne of Green Gables series last night.  I haven't read through the whole set since I was a teenager so I'm really looking forward to it.

xoxo

Hippo Day

Hello,

Today is Hippo Day and in acknowledgement I thought this week's cloth should be a hippo.  I used another one of Elaine Fitzpatrick's patterns, and as usual, it's a cutie. I've had a soft spot for hippos since I was a kid, so when I seen this pattern I knew it would be just the thing.

I remembered that I forgot to post about last week's cloth.  I decided to just do a plain one using my favourite go-to pattern, since it was such a hectic week.  Knitting the garter stitch with simple increases is so soothing and easy to remember; just what I needed. 

Last night while watching You've Got Mail with my Mom I finished the Groovy Socks.  I really enjoyed knitting up this pair.  The colours are cheerful and the yarn is super soft.  It's like knitting with a cloud. I bet they will feel like little clouds on my feet too.

Well, it's been a long week and I can honestly say I'm so glad to see the weekend.  I've got a nice, slow one planned with knitting, crocheting, reading and tea.  I hope you have a wonderful one planned as well.

xoxo

♥ Happy Valentine's Day ♥

xoxo

Off and On My Needles

Off my needles:

My Watermelon Socks

On my needles:

Groovy Socks

xoxo

P.S. Sorry for the rather short post.  We had to put our beloved Lab Cassie down today, and I'm just not up to much right now.

Watermelon Socks

Hello,

A couple of days ago while I was catching up on some blogs, (since I haven't had the chance to read them much since before Christmas), I came across a post about socks on Susan's blog.  Now I am always an admirer of Susan's socks, but this time one pair in particular stood out to me: her Watermelon Socks.  I went and looked up the yarn details right away but soon remembered that I am currently attempting not to buy much yarn till I work through more of my stash.  And at that sad moment, while I was lamenting the fact that I would not be able to have my own pair of watermelon socks, I remembered a few years ago Knit Picks did a watermelon inspired colourway in Felici Sport called Picnic, and I just happened to still have three balls in my stash!  I went and dug 2 of them out of the bin and immediately cast on for my own slightly different, but still watermelon-ish pair of socks.

I'm enjoying each and every stitch; they are making me so happy!  The colours flow into each other perfectly and the tones remind me of spring/early summer.  I don't have very many pairs of sport-weight socks, so these will be a welcomed addition to my sock drawer.  The slightly thicker yarn and bigger needles makes them knit up so fast.  I'm now planning a couple more pairs using some of the other sport-weight sock yarn that I found in my stash.  Clearly I need to go stash diving more often.

I hope you are having a great weekend!

xoxo

P.S. I do have to say that Susan's Rainbow and Cloud socks also caught my eye...they're stunning!  But I'm trying my best to resist buying that yarn though... I better go check if I have any rainbow-ish yarn in the stash first.

Calming Ripples

Hello,

It's another snowy day here today.  I took the above photo this morning to try and show just how much it was snowing, but it didn't really capture it very well.

This one shows it a little better.  Not sure if you can tell, but they are nice big fat flakes.  Right now it's slowed down some and is falling more gently but the flakes are still big.  I'm hoping it clears up soon because Mom and I have to go to the city in a few hours.

We had quite the hectic day here yesterday, which involved me having to call the ambulance for my Mom who was experiencing extreme dizziness early in the morning.  I had to put all the animals (remember there are 4 of them) in separate rooms, feed them, try to get myself dressed and makeup on, talk to the dispatcher and attempt to make sense as well as remember where I lived (which I didn't do the best on...we won't even mention how I forgot my own phone number...), call our neighbour to come and look after our lab who was sick the day before, flag the ambulance people to the right door, help my Mom get dressed, convince her that she needed to go to the hospital even though she was reluctant to go, make the decision that she was going no questions about it, find my own coat, boots and purse as well as Mom's, go in the ambulance with her, and stay with her while she was assessed - and all this before I had even had breakfast let alone coffee.  Thankfully our neighbour got her daughter to stay with our dog and she came out to the hospital bringing coffee and welcomed company, and even drove us back home again.  The good news is that Mom is okay, praise the Lord.  She has to have some extra tests done today at the hospital in the city, but they are thinking it was an inner ear thing.  We're just praying for a quick and complete healing of it and she will be back to her normal self again here soon.
So needless to say, by the time evening rolled around, I knew I needed something soothing to work on to help calm my nerves.  I had picked up a bunch of Martha Stewart 100% Merino yarn a while ago when it was on sale at Michael's for $2.99 a ball with the thought of making a ripple blanket.  And last evening I remembered Lucy of Attic24 saying how soothing it was to work on her ripple blanket so I thought it would be the perfect thing for me.  I started around 8:00 pm and got so immersed in the soothing ripples that I didn't end up putting it down until quite late.  I picked it back up again this morning and I'm almost done the 4th colour which is a nice Poppy red.  I can see many calming and enjoyable hours and days ahead where I will be rippling away.  I think this was just the thing I needed to help me get over my "not-wanting-to-make-anything" phase, because I also started pair of socks.  I should have a photo of them to show you tomorrow.  Until then, I will be rippling away...

Much love to you all,
xoxo

Wordless Wednesday

xoxo

My Monday

Hello,

Today I thought I'd share some little snippets from my day yesterday.  As you can see, it was a gorgeous sunny winter's day.  It's been lovely to see the sun lately after quite a few dreary and snowy days.  Not that I mind the snow of course, it's so nice to actually have a "real" winter.

I've been working on more dishcloths.  I started this one during an afternoon lull.  The colours are nice and cheery and remind me of summertime.

I've been in a Valentine mood these last few days, so I had to knit these two.  The one on the left, the real verigated one, is my favourite.  I only had one ball, but I could knit quite a few cloths in this colour!  I may have to pick up a couple more next time I'm at Michael's.

Pride and Prejudice is what's currently on my nightstand.  Although it's actually on my floor as you can see since I don't have a nightstand.  It's something I hope to get in the near future.  I think it would be nice to have a place to put my book as well as a lamp for reading at night.  Right now I have white twinkle lights strung up on my back wall for extra lighting at night, but a lamp would really help with my bedtime reading.

 Mr. Bingley had himself a very cozy nap on my Granny Stripes in the afternoon.  This is his favourite blanket.  He has to give it a good kneading each time he sees it.

And finally!  Something other than a dishcloth has been in the works.  Hopefully I'll have some finished photos to share tomorrow.

I hope that you all had a lovely Monday and that your Tuesday is getting off on the right foot!  Have a lovely day,
xoxo

Cloths

Hello,

A lot of washcloth/dishcloth making went on here last week.  Ever since I finished up my WIPs I seem to have lost both the want to and the enjoyment of knitting and crocheting.  Like what is up with that?  For once in my life I do not have any nagging or pressing projects and I could cast on anything my little heart desired, and lo and behold, my little heart doesn't desire anything!  How can that even be?  I thought it would come back by now, but so far...nothing.  Hence the washcloths/dishcloths.  I had some free time last week where I would usually work on a project, but since I didn't have anything already on the go, and I couldn't think of anything to start, I just knit cloths.  One good thing that came out of it was that I got some Valentine's Day gifts done, as you can see above and below.

As well as a nice assortment of simple dishcloths to use both at home and for future gifts.

So even though I felt like I didn't accomplish anything last week, in all reality, I actually didn't do too bad.

Have a great Monday!!
xoxo

Hedgehog Day

Hello,

Happy Groundhog and Hedgehog Day!!  In honour of this special day, I knit a hedgehog dishcloth for my Dishcloth Challenge.  Usually I try to bake a little something cute for such an occasion, but since those in this house are currently watching their weight, I decided a cloth was a better idea.
This cutie was designed by my friend Ber.  She is so talented, and the pattern is extremely well written and cute to boot!  And it whips up super fast.  I did mine this morning and it hardly took any time at all.
Apparently Phil and Wiarton Willie did not see their shadows today, so that means an early spring!  Yippy!!  I couldn't think of anything better, especially with Easter being in March this year.  I do so enjoy a real "springy" Easter!

Have a wonderful weekend,
xoxo

Temperature Scarf

Happy February!!

I got an email newsletter the other day from Bernat and it mentioned the newest KAL/CAL they were having on their blog.  It's called the Temperature Scarf, and it's a conceptual pattern.  What you do is knit two rows a day in a specific colour yarn to record the temperature.  It will have a border of white at each end and also have a few rows of white in between each month to separate them.  At the end of the year you'll have a scarf that's all different colours and that is a visual representation of the temperatures over the year where you live.  Or you can do it as a "my temperatures" type of thing and use the temperature from wherever you are each day, say for example if you were travelling.  I still haven't decided just yet if I will do mine as a representation of "my hometown" or "my temperatures."  What do you think?  You can read the full details and probably a better description over on the Bernat blog here.
When I seen this, I knew it was something I had to do.  I've always been interested in weather and one of my childhood dreams was to be a weatherperson.  So really, what could be more fun than checking out the temperature each day and recording it in my knitting?
I decided to use Vicki Howell's Sheep(ish) yarn and I picked a colour palette that appealed to me.  Now that I look at them all together, I realize that I actually have colours that are "Raili colours"!  Those are totally them.  All that's missing is a little yellow.
I won't be posting everyday about it, but I think I'll share my progress from time to time on here.  I'm really so excited about this, I think it's going to be fun!!
If this is something that interests you, why not join in?  There is a KAL/CAL going on in the Bernat forums and there is a Ravelry Group by Kristen Cooper (aka Honey Nutbrown) who are all working together if you're interested.  I'm not knitting along with a group or anything, just on my own, but I still think the whole process will be very fun and interesting.

Have a lovely day,
xoxo