Weekend Jam Making

Hello There!!

As you can see by the title, my Mom and I did a little jam making over the weekend.  We made plum jam and blueberry jam since we had some pretty baskets of the fruits just hanging around the kitchen and we thought it was the best way to put them to good use.  I thought I'd share a few pictures of the process with you all.

Little red plums.  Isn't the colour of these magnificent?? 

Plump wild blueberries.

Mom filling up a jar of the plum jam.  (Please excuse the messy kitchen in the background.) 

Cooling.

A jar of yummy blueberry jam to enjoy during the cold winter months.

It was all a lot of fun and now we're planning on making some different kinds of jams and chili sauces later this week.

Have a great day everyone!!

Much Love, xx

Thursday Bullets

Hello There,

Today I'm going to do some random bullet points for you.

• I ran out of yarn for the Forest Friends Blanket.
• Don't worry though, I'm going to buy more tomorrow.
• In the meantime, I cast on a pair of socks for my Dad's birthday present.  (way to get a head start! yay!)
• But the yarn was flashing something awful so I ripped it out.  (boo for flashing!)
• Good news though, I'm going to buy him some new yarn tomorrow.
• Tomorrow is hard to wait for sometimes.
• Now I'm not sure what to work on....
• I took out the Granny Stripes and did a few rows this morning - the colours make me happy.
• I really need to knit a collar on the Baby Surprise Jacket so it will be finished, but first I need to sew up the seams, which I'm avoiding.
• Oh wait, did I forget to mention that I knitted a BSJ? 
• I think there may be a few more things I've forgotten to mention, but I can't remember them all right now.
• Maybe I need more coffee....
• I also think I need to mop my floors, but I don't want to do that now. 
• I really need to find something to work on to keep me busy before I have to resort to cleaning for entertainment. 
• I think I should go take a look in my nicely organized box of WIPs.......yes, I did do some yarn organizing this week and I have to say I feel much better now that I know where things are!! 
• I'm going to do some more, but first I need to get some Rubbermaid containers.
• Which I will be doing tomorrow.
• Did I mention how hard it can be to wait for tomorrow sometimes? 
• I hope you are all having a wonderful day!
• It's very windy here, but the sun is shining so I'm not complaining.
• I think I need to go work on something now as I can't stop looking at the floors....

Much Love, xx

P.S. I forgot to mention that my room is finally clean!!  Well....almost.

My Tuesday Morning

Hello There,

I found a little time to sneak in some happy hooking this morning before I had to get back to the cleaning.  It was a lovely way to enjoy my coffee and relax a little.  Isn't it wonderful when we can sneak in that extra bit of "me" time into our days?  It seems to make the project and that time a little more special.  I wish you all a wonderful day!!

Much Love, xx 

Phoebe Mouse

Hello!!

Today's post is going to be a short one since I'm in the middle of cleaning out my room (it's sort of an early fall cleaning) and I don't have much time to write.  Now as far as I can tell, these two projects are the last of the ones that I finished up a while ago but had not shared here on the blog.  I took the pictures this morning while the lighting was just right. 

First up is Phoebe Mouse.  I'm sure you have all heard of the wonderful children's book by Johanna Johnson called "Phoebe's Sweater."  I seen the book at my LYS a couple of months ago and just had to buy it, it is such a cute story!!  After reading it I had to make the Phoebe Mouse doll and her adorable sweater!!


Phoebe in her pink dress.



Phoebe wearing her sweater.

I have to confess that I made her for myself.  I've always been a stuffed animal fan and I thought it would be fun to have her as my own little mouse to sit on my bed. 

I also have another pair of socks to share.  These ones I started while in Finland but then put them aside and never got them finished until a few weeks ago.  I bought the yarn in a Helsinki department store because it reminded me of something that my Finnish Grandma would have bought and knit for me.  The colours were exactly what she would have picked out.  In a small way, I felt a connection with her while I knit these.  When she lived in Finland, she would often go into Helsinki to do her shopping and I imagine her going to that same department store and buying this yarn.  I guess what I'm trying to say is that these socks are very special to me :) 

Well that's all for today!!  I hope you all have a wonderful Monday!  I'm headed back to my cleaning.

Much Love, xx

Blessings From TL

Happy Saturday!!

Way back on Monday I mentioned that my cousin TL gave me something totally awesome, remember?  Well here it is!  She put together the best gift ever chock-a-block full of YARN!!  It's all so amazing, especially this:

It's Wollmeise!!  I can honestly say that I never thought I would own any of this!  I've heard to much about it and have seen how fast it sells out and just thought I'd never have any of my own.  So I'm incredibly excited about this, and look!  It's in my favourite colour PINK!  And the name is Tutu, what could be better for a former ballet girl?  It's just so pretty and wonderful that I just want to stare at it :) 

There is even more loveliness!!  This is a skein of Dye Pot Happy Hooves in the colour Copper Plum, it's a blend of 80% cotton and 20% wool and is a bit darker and redder than the colour is showing.  It's a gorgeous colour for fall and I'm torn between making a pair of socks, a shawl or a cowl.  Any suggestions are welcome!!

Next is a ball of Opal Cotton!  I have seen this in the yarn stores before but have never bought any for myself so I'm super excited to knit a pair of socks out of it.  The colour is just so fun and very summery :)

This is Crystal Palace Maizy and it is a wool-free yarn, made from 82% Corn Fiber and 18% Elastic Nylon.  The colour is called Miami Nice and it's so pretty!!  I'm so excited to try it out because I've never knit with corn fiber before.  The yarn is super soft and will make awesome socks!!  As you can probably tell, TL and I share a mutual enjoyment of sock knitting.  Really, I don't think there could be a more perfect and versatile project :)

She didn't stop at yarn though, she added some stitch markers too, which is great because I can never seem to have too many!  These ones are a pretty dark red and they sparkle so nicely.  They're like jewellery for your knitting!

Then there are these super cute ones that have sewing machines on them (how awesome is that?!) and gorgeous glass ones with flowers on them.  The pictures don't do them justice because my macro setting was not working properly when I was taking them.  But just trust me, they are so beautiful!

Wow, wow, WOW!  I have been so blessed!!  Thank you so much TL for being so kind and generous, you are so awesome!!  Words cannot even express how thankful and happy I am :) 

Have a fantastic weekend everyone and take some time to do something you enjoy.  I'm going to indulge in some sock knitting!!

Much Love, xx

Shalom

Hello!

Today's finished project I'm showcasing is my very first attempt at an adult cardigan.  I really liked the Shalom Cardigan pattern on Ravelry and it looked like an easy one to knit so I figured it would be a good place to start.  I decided to make it on a whim so I didn't buy and special yarn for it, but instead I went stash diving and found two big balls of Vanna's Choice.  I think it turned out pretty good for a first knit.  Now that I've made one cardigan it makes me want to make more for myself!  Who knows what you will see here in the future :)

Much Love, xx   

An Owl, a Hamster and Some Tiny Men

Hello,

I hope you are all having a lovely week and getting the chance to enjoy these late summer days!!  Today's installment will be showcasing some toys.  First up is Owl Baby.  I had been gifted this pattern by the wonderful Deb (lovetocraft on Ravelry) back in May, and I'm embarrassed to say that it took me so long to finish because it's not a hard pattern at all!  I actually got it done in a couple of days but  put off doing the eyes.....again, do you see a trend here??  I finally ended up getting my Mom to do them :)  She always does such an awesome job with things like this, and as you can see, they turned out pretty cute!  The pattern is by Susan B. Anderson and you can download it here from Ravelry.

Next we have two little Human Beans.  I was feeling bogged down with my projects at the time because they were all things that were taking me a while to finish, so I just need to have some instant gratification knits.  These fit the bill perfectly, as did this little one:

It's a teeny tiny hamster!  I was never allowed to have a pet hamster as a kid so this was my way of filling that void from my childhood.  (Don't worry, my parents really weren't that mean, I'm actually allergic to them).  He's cute though eh?  Plus, there's no cleaning a cage, or feeding him and he doesn't take up much room at all.

I do have one more toy that I've recently finished, but I don't have a picture of her yet, so I will share her a little later. 

Much Love, xx

Summer Spirals

Hello!

These are my Summer Spirals socks from the June knit-along over at the Summer of Socks Group.  I started them on the first day of summer, but didn't get them finished until the very end of July.  It wasn't because they were hard, but they just got put aside.  The pattern is actually very fun and easy!!  Next time I would use a solid colour yarn though because the patterning is lost on these, but it was the only cotton-blend yarn I could find at the time so that's why I used it.  I actually like the yarn, which is Plymouth Yarn Sockotta, it's great for summertime knitting. 

The group has knit-alongs for each month during the summer, but I haven't had the time to participate in any of the other ones yet, but the patterns they've chosen are really quite cute.  If you're into sock knitting, I'd check them out for sure! 

Well, have a great day everyone!

Much Love, xx

Sheldon

Hello!!

Here's the first one of the projects that I made a while back.  This is Sheldon the turtle from the Winter 2006 Issue of Knitty.  I wanted to knit this adorable guy for well over a year after hearing about him on a Knit Picks Podcast and I finally cast on for him in July.  He didn't take long at all, but I had to put him aside when we left for our trip.  All that was left to do was sew the ends of the applied I-cord together and attach his legs, but those were the things I was looking forward to the least.  Once we got back, I had a big finishing weekend and got him all done in literally like an hour - so in reality, I put off doing those things that took hardly any time at all.....yes, this does seem to be a trend with me.....  Anyhoo, now that he is done I just adore him and don't think I can part with him :)  He has taken up residence on my shelf at the moment.  Here are a few more pictures:

This is what he looks like with no shell.

You can check out all the yarn info and such on my Ravelry page if you're interested.  His shell is removable and there are patterns to make "themed" shells for him so you can dress him up.  Ones like this, or this, or even this!  Cute eh?  The applied I-cord was not my favourite thing to do, but since this was my first time doing one, that might have been why.  That being said, it sorta doesn't make me want to make any extra shells for him, but who knows, I may have to do at least one more, this cowboy shell is too cute!   

Much Love, xx

Notes from My Weekend

Hello!!

I've got a progress picture of the Forest Friends Blanket for you today!!  I'm SO HAPPY with how the colours are working up!!!!  There's still a ways to go yet, but it's getting there :)

Last Friday I started a pair of afterthought heel socks using the pattern from The Knit Girllls.  I've always wanted to try this type of sock construction and to be honest, I'm a little tired of doing heel flaps at the moment :)  I'm really hoping these turn out!!  I'm still on the leg portion, but I can't wait to put in the waste yarn for the heel!  If all goes well, maybe I will get to that point tonight.  I worked on the blanket for most of the weekend, so these have been sitting on the sidelines, but my fingers are itching to knit some socks now!  (thanks to my cousin TL!!)  The yarn I'm using is Dream in Color Smooshy in the Petal Shower colourway that was gifted to me by Becca in the Cupcake Swap back in May.  This is my first time knitting with Smooshy, and I am really enjoying it! 

I do have a finished project to share today!!  How exciting!!  Since I was coming to stay at my sister's house for a few days I thought I'd make a little hostess gift for her, and I just got a ball of the new Dishie yarn from Knit Picks so I thought some dishcloths were in order.  The pattern I used is "Crochet Dishcloths by Lily" and they are super fast and fun to work up.  I did get a chance to use them while here, and I really like how the yarn is holding up!  I think I'm going to be ordering more of this in the future.

On another note, I have to apologize for slacking in the blogging over the last while, but to make it up to you I thought I would have a sort of catch-up week where I will share some of the projects that I have missed posting about.  I was on a bit of a finishing bend a bit ago and got quite a lot done that I haven't shared yet so I thought this would be a good way to do that. 

Anyways, I hope you are all have a fantastic Monday!!  I'm just about ready to go out for a bit and have a visit with my cousin TL who is down here for a few days!!  Just wait till I show you what she gave me last night!!!!!!   

Much Love, xx

Forest Friends Baby Blanket :: The Beginning

Thank you so much everyone for your help in choosing the blanket colours in the last post!!!! As you can see from the above photo, I went with using the colours from the registry as the inspiration. I started it today, and I'm really happy with how it is going so far. I'm using Bernat Satin yarn since its nice and soft and should wash and wear well. I had originally wanted to use Caron Simply Soft, but I couldn't find the right colours. The yarn is crocheting up really nicely though, so it's all good. This really is a fun little hooky project!! The ripples just seem to flow off my hook and I get such a thrill out of the colour changes that it makes it just seem to fly right along.

Right now I am staying at my sister's house for a few days! I came up here last night and will be here until Sunday. It's been nice to have access to high-speed Internet, and a quiet house today to just relax and work on the blanket. Tomorrow my Mom is bringing my puppy Emerson up to stay with us. We are all very excited for that! She is the sweetest little girl and so much fun. She loves her Uncle J and Auntie S and will be so excited to see them. I am very much looking forward to spending some quality time with my sister and her husband over the weekend. I'm sure there will be lots of knitting/crocheting and chatting going on! What could be better than that?

Have a good Thursday evening everyone!!

Much Love, xx

Blanket Colours Question

Hello!

Today dear blog readers, I have a question to ask.  I need some help here with a baby blanket that I'm planning on making.  First, I don't know the mommy-to-be very well, so I'm not sure about her colour preferences, and she is not 100% sure what the gender of her baby is - although they are leaning toward it being a girl.  So, this morning I was planning on making a colourful ripple blanket, very similar to the one that Lucy made: The Baby Ripple.  Then, this afternoon I went to check out her registry online and found that she is doing the nursery in a "Forest Friends" theme that looks like THIS.  Now, do you think I should try to find colours similar to this and make a blanket that will match in the nursery, or should I make the colourful one since it's different?  (Also, I have to note that if the colourful one turned out to be too girly, and the baby is a boy, I have a blue, brown, and tan baby blanket already made that I was going to give instead.)  Do you think that if I make one to match the nursery that it will just blend in with all the rest of the blankets she will already have that colour-coordinated?  Or do you think if I make the colourful ripple it will clash horribly with the rest of her decor and she will never use it?  I wanted to start looking for yarn tomorrow, but now I don't know what to do.  Any help/advice would be much appreciated!!

Much Love, xx 

S is for Socks

Hello!

I got the pictures to upload over the weekend!!  Yay!!  I wanted to first off say that I took a break on the sock I was working on in the last post - the one where I ended up in the "black hole of knitting" and went to bed that night.  I started fresh in the morning and it flew right along!!  It's now done and waiting for it's photo shoot.  Today is a lovely sunny day so I should be able to take a few pictures a little later. 

The socks in the above photo are ones that I knit for my Mom while in Norway.  I used DROPS Fabel in a colourway that Mom picked out.  They are plain vanilla and have a 5" leg. 

I started the pair of socks above before I left on my trip, but I had only gotten a bit of the leg portion done on the first sock.  I picked them back up again a couple weeks ago and finished them off during my "vacation".  These were the socks I was knitting at the beach in the photo the other day.  I used Knit Picks Felici in the colour Afternoon.  They are for me and are plain vanilla's with a nice long 8" leg.  Now that I look at them, I should have made them into knee socks, because I like the colour so much!!  I have some Felici in the Tiki colour so maybe that is what I will do with it.

Well, that's all for today.  I'm in the middle of baking bread and while waiting for it to rise, I think I will do a little crocheting.  I hope you are all having a wonderful Monday!!

Much Love, xx   

Knitting On and On

Hello Again,

Ok, so I tried uploading the photos today, and for some reason it just wouldn't work.  Which is very frustrating if you ask me.  I will try again tomorrow and see what happens.  Maybe my computer needs a little sleep and it will want to work properly for me in the morning.....I can hope anyways.

In the meantime, I have been knitting the second sock of a pair I started while in Finland and I seem to have hit the "black hole" of knitting - I'm knitting, knitting and knitting......and it isn't getting any longer!  I feel like I have been knitting on the foot portion all evening (which I have!) and it's not anywhere near the toes yet!   I think I find it even more annoying than usual because I really, really want to finish off this sock tonight so I can work on something different over the weekend.  I have grand plans (as per usual) and this sock is just cramping my style!  Does this ever happen to you, and what do you do to keep plugging along and not give up? 

Well, I'm going to knit a bit longer and then head to bed. 

Much Love, xx

Back Again!!

Hello!!

I am back from my wonderful little "vacation" I took here at home!  I had a lovely time just relaxing and enjoying myself.  I got some projects finished up and even took my knitting to the beach one day as you can see in the above photo :)  The break seems to have been just the thing I needed as now I feel re-energized and well-rested.  I'm ready to get back into the swing of things.  I will be back tomorrow to show you some of the projects I finished up!!  Have a great evening everyone!!

Much Love, xx