"C Wants a Party" Swap Package

Hello All!

I'm back home again now and I'm trying to adjust to the cooler weather here and get back into my daily routine.  I had such a lovely time on vacation - it was great to be able to spend time with some of my family that I don't get to see very often and I had lots of fun soaking up the sun and warm weather!!  It was wonderful to get away for a bit, but it's also nice to be back!

I had a lovely surprise waiting for me when I arrived home.  My Itty-Bitty "C Wants a Party" swap package was here!!  I made myself wait until Sunday morning to open it so that I could get good pictures, but it was so worth the wait!!!!  My swap partner was the amazing Becca (borkles) and she totally spoiled me :D  This is a list of what she sent to me:
A cupcake hat and pincushion that are knit out of the softest yarn and are so beautiful!  I'm saving the hat for my own baby one day.  The pincushion has pins already in it to look like sprinkles and is going to sit right beside my sewing machine.
Cupcake-shaped soap from Pink Dotted Owl that smell delicious and is now in my bathroom.
Some Bay Rum soap by Sandy’s Handmade Soaps & Things that also smells so good and is going to be put in the shower since I think it would be the most delightful smell to wake up to.
Two soak washes in Aquae and Flora plus 4 tags to attach to my knitted gifts that tells how to care for the items - which is so cool because I’ve been wanting to try Soak for a long time and the tags are beyond cute!
Some adorable cupcake stitch markers that I'm going to have to put to use really soon :)
The book “60 Quick Baby Knits” that I’ve been wanting ever since it came out!  There are SO MANY great patterns in it that I don't even know where to start.......although the Fisherman's Pullover just might be the first one, it is so adorable.
A skein of Sunshine Yarns Luxury Sock yarn in a gorgeous green colour called Matcha.  I was originally planning on making socks with it, but I might knit the Lettuce Slide Scarf instead since the colour would be perfect and the cashmere in the yarn would feel fantastic around my neck!!
And a skein of Dream in Color Smooshy Sock yarn in a beautiful pink colour called Petal Shower.  This colour reminds me so much of cupcake frosting!!  I may have to wind it up and start a pair of socks right away!

Here are some pictures:

The whole package.

Close-up of the cupcake stitch markers.



The Soak washes and label tags.



The cupcake shaped soap (aren't they adorable?!?!) and the bay rum soap.

Thank you SO VERY MUCH Becca!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  You did such an amazing job of filling this package with things are are so "me"!!  It was one of the best things to return to, and I'm so blessed and just thrilled with it all!!

Much Love xx

P.S. You can check out some more pictures of the package on my project page.

Short Postcard from Florida

Hello Everyone,

I just wanted to pop in quickly and let you all know that I did bring my laptop with me but I've not had very reliable Internet access so I haven't been able to blog like I had planned.  I probably won't be able to blog again until I'm back home, which will be Saturday, but my flight is late so Monday is probably my best shot.  In the meantime, I'm doing my best to enjoy my vacation time and soak up the sunshine and warm weather!!  I miss you all and am looking forward to getting back to my regular blogging.

I have a couple of pictures I thought I'd leave you with.  I took these today.

 Have a great rest of the week everyone, and I will be back soon!

Much love xx

Surprise Vacation

Hello!!

I just wanted to pop in and update you all on a little of what's been going on around here lately.  First off, I am still working on the "socks challenge," I'm about half-way done the foot of the first sock for next week's pair.  I've been working on it off and on for the last couple of days.  Now I've had a few people ask me how long it takes me to knit a pair of socks - well I've never timed myself, but it all depends on how much time and attention I can dedicate to them.  If I don't have much else going on and have lots of knitting time during the day, then I can usually finish a pair in a couple of days.  However,  I usually like to give myself a week or more to work on them, that way I don't feel rushed.  Oh and by the way, that's when I'm knitting just a plain vanilla sock, not a fancy patterned one - those tend take longer depending on the amount of patterning.  My advice would be to just keep knitting and before you know it, you'll have them done :)  A freshly finished pair of socks is quite the exciting thing I tell you.

In other news, it is my birthday tomorrow!! (well, really it's today since it's now after midnight, but since I haven't gone to bed yet, I don't consider it to already be tomorrow)  Yay!  I feel very blessed that the Lord has given me another year to celebrate :D  Each year is such a wonderful gift, and I'm working on learning how to enjoy my life more and more each day with His help!  My amazing parents are sending me to Florida for my birthday present!!!!!!  How fun is that?!?!  My Aunt and Uncle took their two grandsons on vacation down there and me and my cousin Matt are flying down to visit for a week.  He flies out tomorrow and I fly out on Saturday.  This will be my first time flying alone, so there will be a lot of trusting in the Lord to see me though it all!  I'm very excited though!  And would definately appreicate your prayers :) 

I'm taking my Netbook with me, so I can share some of my trip with you all.  Now there is the process of choosing which projects to take along for the week.  I'm thinking definately some socks....but what else?? 

Well, that will give me something to think about for tonight!  I hope you all had a lovely day today and a great start to the long weekend tomorrow!  I will probably not post again until Monday, so see you all then!

Much love xx

May's Week #3 Socks

Hello!

Just a quick post today (boy, all you will think I do is knit socks!) but I wanted to share this picture of the socks I finished this morning.  They will be for week #3 of my sock challenge!!  I'm actually ahead of the game for once, how exciting! 

I hope you are all having a lovely week :)

Much love xx

P.S. You can find all the details here on my project page if you're interested.

May's Week 1 Socks

HaPpY Weekend!!

Guess what!  I finally finished the Jazz Socks!!  I was up this morning at 3:00am and after unsuccessfully trying to get back to sleep for a while, I decided to get up and go downstairs to knit.  I thought I might as well be productive if I'm not sleeping.  So during that time I finished the toe of the second sock and now I have a completed pair!!

Wheeeeeeeee!!!  I'm so excited to wear them!!  Aren't they pretty??  I got the yarn from Elly in the "Let's Start at the Beginning" Itty-Bitty Swap.  You can check out all the particulars on my Ravelry project page.  Thank you SO MUCH Elly!!  I'm just thrilled with them!

I hope you are having a great Saturday and get to sneak in some knitting/crocheting here and there.  I plan on finishing the second sock of the next pair that I'm working on and maybe even start another!

Much Love xx  

May's Week 2 Socks

Hello Everyone,

I finished the pair of socks for week 2 of my May Sock Challenge!!  I actually finished them a few days ago, but just hadn't got around to posting about them, but here they are now:

I used the basic Plain Vanilla Socks Pattern again - this seems to be my pattern of choice lately!  It's so simple and yet watching the colours change keeps them interesting to knit.  I can work on them while chatting with friends, watching a movie and riding in the car, so they fit perfectly into the "take-with-me" project category which seems to work best in my life right now.   If you'd like more information on the yarn and such, you can check out my project page.  

Well, that's all for today.  I'm doing some house-cleaning today with my Mom, so I should get back to it!  Have a lovely Friday everyone!!

Much Love xx

A New Challenge

Hello!

How are you today?  I hope that you all had a lovely weekend and a fantastic Mother's Day for all you Mommies!! 

I wanted to start this week by sharing with you all the new challenge I've made for myself.  I had been doing a lot of thinking over the last few weeks since I have been quite disappointed with how much I've not been accomplishing lately.  I remember when I was living with my sister last summer how I would get tons of stuff done every day.  I tried to think what it was that I did differently that helped me be so productive, and what I came up with was that I had a schedule for every day.  I also was participating in the 30 Day Sewing Challenge and had challenged myself to knit for 30 minutes every day as well.  All those things added together equaled a very productive me.  So I came to the conclusion that I need a bit more structure in my life right now.  Lately I've been just letting things happen as they will, but I think I would benefit much more from having a schedule and some challenges in my daily rutine.  Here's what I've come up with:

1. Knit/Crochet for 30 minutes each day.
2. Sew for 30 minutes each day - once I get my sewing supplies set in order I will begin this, but for the time being, this is just a future goal.
3. Knit a pair of socks each week for the Month of May. 

This last goal is sort of out of necessity.  I have 3 pairs of socks that I need to make for some upcoming gifts, so I thought by putting them as part of my goals, it would help me to get them done in time.  Since we are already into week 2 of May, I've decided that I will finish up the pair of Jazz socks and they will count for the first week's socks.  I've already got a good start on this week's pair!!  I wish I could share a picture with you of their progress, but it's a cloudy/rainy day here today and the lighting is just not working for picture taking.  I've got one sock done and just turned the heel of the second one.  Hopefully the weather will clear up soon and I'll snap a few pictures.

So what do you think of my goals??  I want this summer to be a productive one for me so I hope that these will help me with that.  It's always nice to have something to be working towards in my opinion.  Do you have any goals or challenges set for yourself this summer??  I'd love to hear about them if you do!! 

Much Love xx 

C is for Cupcake

Hello There,

I know I mentioned before that I joined the latest Itty-Bitty Group swap over on Ravelry which is cupcake themed.  However, I haven't shared any pictures of the projects I knit for my swap partner yet, but since I mailed out her package this morning and the pictures don't really reveal who my partner is, I think it's safe to share a couple with you today. 

First off is the cupcake hat.  I used Borroco Palace and Vintage for it since I thought they were both super soft yarns fit for a baby.  I chose these colours because they look pretty enough to eat, just like a cupcake should look!! 

Next is the cupcake pincushion.  This was super fast and fun to make and turned out AdOrAbLe!!  I was thinking about how I'd like to make one for myself, and then remembered that my own swap partner will be sending me one!  lol (Dear my swap partner: if you're reading this, I'm very much looking forward to getting my own pin cushion, just to let you know!!).

After seeing another member of the swap post a picture of some cupcake stitch markers she made, I decided to give it a try and make a few for my swap partner too!  They're not as cute as hers, but I think they turned out ok.  I think I need a little more practice. 

I included a few other handmade items, but just in case my swap partner reads my blog, I don't want to share them just yet and spoil the fun!!  I'm so excited for her to recieve the package, hopefully it gets to it's destination very quickly!

I hope you are all having a lovely FriDaY!!!!!  The weekend is in sight, YaY!!

Lots of Love xx

P.S. Crocheters, have you seen the adorable hanger covers over on Spud Says!??  They're so cute, and best of all, they're a free pattern!  I think they'd make a great weekend project!

Hexie in the WoRkS

Hello!!

Thought I'd quickly pop in to share a picture of my Hexagon Blanket (or "Hexie" as I've lovingly begun to call it), in progress.  I took this shot this morning and am hoping to make some more hexagons tonight or tomorrow to add to it.  It's beginning to take shape quite nicely and I'm very happy with how the colours are working together.

I took this photo this morning as well of my project bag (made for my by the very talented Elly) because I thought it looked pretty.  The other project that is in there is what's keeping me from working on Hexie at the moment.  I haven't mentioned anything about it on the blog yet since I'm not sure how it's going to turn out.  I hope to have the knitting part of it finished tonight though, so there might be a post about it yet.   

Well, I'm off to make a cup of tea and get to that knitting.  Have a great evening everyone!!

The Hexagon Blanket - The Beginning

Good Morning!!

I've got the beginning of a NEW project to share with you all today!!  Above and below are pictures of the Thaki Cotton Classic that I'm using to make a Hexagon Blanket.  I got some from Elly and Susan in the Itty-Bitty swaps and I picked up the rest while in California - there will be a lot of lovely memories in this blanket!  I'm using the tutorial from Lucy of Attic24 to make up my little hexagons.  So far I've only got a few done, but I'm trying to take my time and work at them when I feel like it.  This is going to be a slower and less-stress project than most, since I'm not putting a ton of pressure on myself to finish it up right away.  I like the enjoyment of working on it slowly :) 

I don't have a progress picture yet since the weather has been more overcast the last few days, but when we do get some sun, I will take a few to share. 

Well, that's all for today.  I hope you have a fantastic day and remember to take the time to enjoy your crafting!!

Lots of Love xx

Sheer Beauty

HaPpY MoNdaY!!!!

I hope you all had a lovely weekend and are getting a great start on the week ahead.  I find a fresh new week so exciting.....anything can happen and all seems possible.  I always have lots and lots of plans of things I want to do and get done, and this is the time when it seems like I really could accomplish them all.....mid-week is when reality begins to set in, but we're talking about today right now....SO back to the topic at hand.  Do you all feel similarly about the beginning of the week?  Does it hold as many hopes for you as it does for me, or am I just a little "off" in this department?  Well, even if I am, that's quite alright with me!  I'm learning to be happy with my quirks, they're what makes me.....well, me.

Thought I'd give you all a little "flowery pretty-ness" to start your week off right.  I find flowers to be very inspiring!!  The photos were taken by my Mom over the Easter weekend.  These tulips are just so springish and LoVeLy!  They give me hope that the wild flowers will soon be blooming!!  We've had a lot of ran last week, and it has really started to green things up around here.  All we need now is some sunshine and warmth! 

Well, I'm off to have a meeting with my planner and a cup of coffee and do a little Monday-Morning-Plan-Making. 

Have a wonderful day!!