Project update- 21 more knitting days- Optimistic!

well, not a whole lot to say. I have half my sister's scarf done but think I may have to order more yarn to complete it... silly me. When I bought the yarn I didnt have the scarf pattern or any real plan.
I have almost one sock completed. Hoping to finish sock # 1 tomorrow and start the second one if my wrists can withstand the abuse.
Going to see if I can buy some chuncky yarn for the cowl, on Friday, and see what other treats I can find at the Lucy Neatby open house on Saturday...

There we have it! Slow but sure. Might not complete everything but there are back up plans and multiple gifts for some of the people on the knitting list.

Crossing my fingers that I will get alteast half finished... :D Still optimistic!! It's only December 3rd, right! 21 more knitting days!! That's 3 full weeks!

One month to Chrismtas Eve!

I still have to make...before Christmas eve...

- cozy cowl for Pat's mom(if I don't have time I will just give her the one I've already made) Need to get some chunky Misti Aplaca.
-need to finish the checkerboard tote bag for Mom and Paul(not much left to do)
-a pair of cozy red socks with Rowan pure wool for Paul
-finish the houndstooth scarf for my sister Stef(1/5 of the way done now)
-a pair of mitts for my two younger sisters...(2 days per pair!)
-a winter hat for Pat's dad(probably take 2 days)
-finish the rug for my Step dad Tim(I need lots of time for this...especially since its too big to take to work with me!)
-maybe a pair of fingerless mitts for Pat's brother's fiance
-and something for my best friend Natasha(maybe a teapot cozy...or reverse bloom face clothes with chenille crystal palace)...I may buy her something that I have in mind though. Not sure!

I've got my work cut out for me seeing how there is just one month left! However, maybe I will just get right to it and have it all done in no time! Ha! We'll just have to see now won't we! ;)

Christmas....less than 2 months away!Yikes!!

k, so I am starting to feel the Christmas crunch with all the knitting I was 'planning' on doing. My knitter friends warned me.... This is my first full year as a knitter, and last Christmas I had basically just finished my first project...garter stitch scarf. I was planning on making pretty much everyone something for Christmas this year. I am not sure I have completely changed my mind... well... I think I will stick with homemade gifts, but maybe not all knit. I have already decided that my sister is getting the shawl for her b-day in March instead of for Christmas. I do have to finish a few things I had on the go...2 gifts for Christmas. And I want to make a nice cozy pair of socks for my mom's Husband as I have been promising him a pair for Christmas since July. I also have a cowl to make for my bf's mom and a hat to make for his dad. I think I may knit my sister a scarf to go with the hat and mitts I made her this year for her b-day. I have some left over yarn(on purpose) just for that.

I also have to make a pair of mitts for the woman at work I have been knitting for...and I want to knit some afghan squares for afghans for afghans. I also have some baby knits to do by January. A few friends are having babies around the same time! So, yeah, I feel I have alot to knit... at least I don't procrastinate with my knitting like I used to for school projects! :)

Tree of Life!

Okay, so, I used to always look through the Mary Maxim booklets my mom used to get when I was a kid...I loved looking at the cross stitch patterns and dream of someday actually being good/brave enough to do them. I always loved the 'Tree of Life' afghan(that was also featured in the Mary Maxim books) but always thought it looked crazy hard...and at that time I didn't know how to knit. I love the meaning of the tree of life...Life is cyclical...ashes to ashes.... etc. I also think the blanket is beautiful. So, I think I will make it my challenge to start the Nicky Epstein 'Tree of Life" afghan in January providing I get the yarn by then... I can buy the yarn from Mary Maxim...I need 11 balls and I think the site said it would be $3.49(its an acrylic blend, but best for washing and keeping shape) a ball providing I buy more than 8... So, it seems it won't be as expensive as I thought at first.

I think I will do it in either a taupe or a light green...I want to keep it light so that you can see all the pattern and detail. I am really excited about starting this since I have always been in love with it... I may end up cursing it by the end... but I am sure I will love the finished product!

umm...hmmm

Hmm... I just got asked by a co-worker to make her a hat-mitt-scarf set...she gave me no idea as to what she wants...I have been probing with questions to get an idea... She's kind of sporty so I think I have some ideas. I am tossing lots of things around in my head. There are just soo many options of things to do. Anyway, I got some yarn, now I have to see what I can come up with!

I asked my sis again! what she wants me to knit her for Christmas since I can't make up my mind on one things and I can't possible make her(or afford) everything that I am thinking of. She is so vague..."like make one of those things.... to wear.... over my shoulders.... not a shawl though.... not a blanket.... um... a hoood thing.... " There is no definition here!! She keeps saying she will come over and she can see pics of options... Its already October...it hasn't happened yet and I've got knitting to do!

I've decided to make a nice pair of socks for my mom for Christmas since she was saying the other day when she was looking through my knit mags(she has ones from the 80's) that there are alot of nice socks out now and she would love to make some fancy socks...she has arthritis in her thumbs and is still working on the same sock she started last winter.... I got the pattern for the parting ways socks and it looks nice and simple but still fancy....i got a nice solid dark purple to make them... I also have committed to another pair of socks...probably worsted weight in a mens size 10 for my mom's husband...he wants cozy slipper socks! I'm gonna be a sock making machine....I sure hope there is enough time!

I was assigned a new swap partner yesterday for the Treasure Swap! I got another American partner! This swap is great! Everyone seems soo creative and giving... I love what this swap is about. My partner and I have already started conversation... she has 4 cats too! crazy!

My step dad came into town tonight(he lives about 2 hours away) and took my sister and I, and our boyfriends out for dinner tonight...visits are always short but sweet. He is allergic to cats and both my sis and I have cats. We had a nice visit though. Time to go knit for a bit before bed! working on my Cecile hat with baby alpaca...love this yarn!!

Anyway, I am tired but I just thought it was time to write something.... It's been quite a while.

Birthday Spoiling

Okay so I mentioned that I am spoiled. Here is what I got for my birthday:
From my boyfriend:
-A jumbo box of honey nut cheerios, lol I love them.
-A sewing box, complete with everything I could imagine I would need inside it.
-knitter Almanac (book), has some really neat vintage style patterns including some mitts that I love and can't wait to make.
-Knitting Little Luxuries, Louisa harding.(book)
- 2 skeins of Lorna's wool/silk blend in Blackberry, and a skein of O'wool organic in a really nice green colour(which he also got me a fingerless mitt pattern to go with),
- a gorgeous topaz/diamond necklace which I am wearing right now and put it on as soon as I saw it!

From my boyfriend's parents:
-A handheld Singer sewer, very cool and will come in handy! (especially with the sock dolls)
-Little box of scarves, pattern cards for lots of scarves.
-A really cute tea pot/cut and saucer set with kitties on it.
-Twinings ginger lemon tea to go with the tea pot.

whew, yeah, I really am so spoiled!! :D And I love it!!

Ahhh, finally a breath of cooler air. Still humid, mind you, but definetly cooler. So, Its my bday. I'm 25! I finally feel like an adult. I am no longer early 20's...dead smack in MID 20's. It feels a bit weird really. Can't wait to see what my boyfriend got me for gifts. He always spoils me rotten. He usually goes way overboard with gifts, but I guess I can't really complain! :) I got off work early today. They gave me first dibs on getting off early since its my bday. I thought that was quite nice of them. :)

An odd customer service edicate tip: when you call for customer service, don't interrupt the rep's introduction(it is part of our quality to introduce the company and ourselves, and you are just going to ask our name again anyway!) its a bit annoying. And, its also kind of annoying to get calls from people who 'need/want out help" but then put us on hold. Calls are timed and also count toward our overall quality scores which in the end lead to raises, or non-raises, hopefully raises. There are alot of things that annoy me about working in a call centre. For now, its good pay and an okay job, but wow, some people!! I'll tell you more about it as I come across things that are worth sharing.

My treasure swap partner and I have been messaging back and forth. Its quite fun to get in touch with a somewhat random person(complete stranger) and learn about them and who they are. It seems we have some things in common. Of course we are knitters so we have that in common. But there are several other things as well that are similar.

k, well, I'll fill you in on the gifties later and let you know how the day went.

Daily Rant

So, this is probably going to end up being a rant about my daily life. I hope I don't come off as a pesimistic person, I definetly am not. I just need a venting medium. I thought this wasn't such a bad option.

The weather here this summer has been a bit crazy. We have had repeated thunder storms. I can't remember a time when we had more thunder storms this close together. Also, it's so humid. It will rain, the sun will come out for an hour, evaporate all the rain so it's muggy and then it rains again. Quite disgusting and makes me feel like doing absolutely nothing. It's actually pouring outside right now. Rain comes in the windows but its too warm to close the windows. So, I leave them open.

We've been leaving the patio door open so the kitties can go chill on the balcony since its soo hot in the apartment. You can tell when it starts to rain 'cause the cats all come inside pretty quickly.

Hmm, I had lots on my mind while I was eating supper, but seem to have lost most of what I wanted to say. Oh, I just joined a swap!! Its a treasure swap! This will be my first swap ever and I am quite excited about it. It's going to be like Christmas when I get the parcel.

My vacation is coming up in a few weeks. I am not really planing on doing anything spectacular. Maybe, more than likely, finish some knitting projects. And probably star half a dozen more. I keep seeing things I want to make. I always finish my projects eventually though. I have only been knitting for 9 months so I don't know how long that will remain true. :)

My 25th Birthday is tomorrow. I have asked for knitting stuff so I am pretty excited for that as well. I can't remember the last time I was so excited for my birthday. I am going to be celebrating with friends and family on Saturday though. It will be a good time if everything goes as planned.

I've been trying to find a good site online to order some personallized garment labels to put on knitted gifts, tags with a special message and washing instruction. I haven't decided on one specific company yet, to do the job. I just need the tags by Christmas!

Hmm, well this looks like enough mish mash for now. Maybe my brain will be clearer tomorrow!