Recent FO's

First up is socks! I'm doing my own mystery KAL for this year since I didn't have the money to sign up for Cookie A's sock club. I picked 16 yarns and 16 patterns that were either free or that I already owned and matched them all up in a google doc. When I am ready to start a new pair I use an online number generator or ask someone to pick a random number for me.

This is the first pair I've finished, the pattern in Business Casual and the yarn is The Dandy Doctor from Nerd Girl Yarns. I LOVED knitting this pattern, it was quick and easy but interesting so I just zoomed through and finished them in 12 days!

Next up is a hat! I knit one about a year ago in the same yarn but purple and I LOVED that hat so much, but I lost it :( So here is my replacement. Pattern is Kami Hat and the yarn in Turtle Purl Yarns.

Finally is yet another shawl :) This one was a pain in the butt to knit but the finished product is SO worth it, it's lovely. Pattern is Spring Kerchief and the yarn is Malabrigo Lace.

Going to Montreal!

I'm leaving for a nice romantic getaway with J this weekend in Montreal! So I'm packing and trying to be efficient in my packing so I can bring back some YARN and hopefully a new pair of 'Vogs! I'm bringing a suitcase and an empty backpack. Here's my suitcase :P :

 

I had to use flash otherwise it looked like a black hole! Those socks are from sock dreams Heavy Metal socks and are my favourite knee highs evar! 

I can't wait to visit the Fluevog store, La Maison Tricotée and some good restaurants! I'll try to take some pictures while I'm there, I always forget.

2014 Goals!

I'm almost a month late posting this but better late than never right? I like to do this every year, instead of just a general resolution like "lose weight" I prefer to also set goals for myself each month. Smaller goals are easier and keep you on track better than one general resolution. I also like to set some knitting challenges each month, just for fun.

General Goals For the Year (plus January results):

Lose 40 lbs - I lost 5 so far for the month of January.
Do more yoga - Before my cold I was doing this once a week with J, have to get back to that. 
Work out 6 days a week - This isn't going well I have to get back on track!
Calorie Count every day - Not doing well with this either, however I'm eating MUCH better now.
Find a career I enjoy - still looking!
Knit 12 pairs of socks (I'm doing my own mystery sock club so every time I finish a pair I use a random number generator online to pick a new sock for me to do. I made up a google doc that links up my yarns with patterns and numbered them)- almost done my January pair, Business Casual.
Knit 4 sweaters - Started the Make a Wish Cardigan
Knit from stash, both yarn and pattern (buying yarn only at festivals or on a special trip and buying patterns only if it will help knit from stash)  - I haven't bought yarn or patterns yet this year.
See friends more often - This is going well! 

February goals:
Lose 5 pounds
Do yoga twice a week
Work out 6 times a week
Calorie count every weekday
Send out more CV's
Start February socks
Keep going on my Make a Wish cardigan
I'm going to Montreal so I will most likely be buying yarn but no patterns

February Knitting Challenges:
-Knit something red (Since yanno, v-day and stuff)
-Knit a pair of socks.
-Get 30 rows done on my Tardis blanket.

Acme Fibres order

I was looking for a place to order Hiya Hiya needles and accessories and came across a post on the Hiya Hiya forum on Ravelry about good places for Canadians to order from. I noticed the owner of Acme Fibres was active there and was friendly to people asking questions so I went to check over the site but some of the stuff I wanted wasn't in stock. I messaged the owner and she wrote back quickly to let me know she had an order coming in. I asked her to pm me when the order came in and she did so right away. I placed my order on the 20th it was shipped on the 22nd and I received my order on the 23rd! I love ordering from Canadian stores, shipping is so much faster!

The order came in very prettily packaged (the cats had much, supervised, fun with the ribbon).

Here is what I got: 

2.5us/3mm 5' Sharp needle tips, 60"/62" cable, 32"/34" and 40"42 Knit Saver cables.

Interchangeable Cable Connectors, and some free knitting safety pins!

I'm really anxious to try the Knit Saver cables, they have holes on the side of the metal connector to make it easier to pass a lifeline through your knitting. These will be useful when I start my wedding shawl.

I'm really happy with this order, I've found my go-to place for Hiya Hiya products!

January 2013 round-up

I managed to get quite a few things knitted up or finished over the month of January! Unfortunately I didn't really get any blogging done but hey the end of the month is better than nothing isn't it?

FO's

1. Angelus I finally managed to finish this up! No pictures yet but I should be able to remedy that this weekend.
2. Raituli I love this hat pattern. I added in the hearts myself. It's really not in my colours so if ever someone I know really falls in love with it, it will be gifted.
  
3. Honey Cowl I dyed the yarn for this and it came out SO fantastic! I wasn't too sure about while knitting but it looks so great when worn! I still have to get some action pics for it.


4. Monkey Socks! I've signed up for the Cookie A sock club and I wanted to try out a Cookie A pattern before the first shipment so I chose the Monkeys. I LOVED knitting these, I knit them in 6 days!



5. Felicity I hate the pictures for this, it's SO much prettier on a real head! I knit this for my tattoo artist but I'll be knitting myself one very soon!



6. Antler hat I knit this for J, he really likes it and I find it suits him perfectly!




7. Brick Road I LOVE this cowl! So versatile, so many ways to wear it! I don't have any pictures yet since I finished at night and I haven't had any sunlight in which to take pics yet. So in the meantime you get to see the cute buttons I used.


Seven projects in one month, I'm pretty happy with myself :)

W.I.P.'s

1. Hitchiker This is my purse knitting, which is always a project with no urgent finish time. I always like to keep something simple in my purse to knit on the bus or whenever I have to wait around with nothing to do. I have about 10 "teeth" left to knit.


2. Alostratus This is finally back on the needles after getting lots of other projects out of the way. I can't wait to finish my first garment!

3. Dragonfly wings I signed up for the booknits Valentine's MKAL so I'm knitting one of her other shawls as practice. I'm loving the cashmere yarn for this!

4. Gradient This is my current knit night project, sooooo soft and cloudy!

February Plans

1. Cookie A sock club! The first shipment is coming! I plan to knit one sock a month, so February should result in one pair of socks :P I'm SO excited for this!

2. Boo Knits Valentine's MKAL I can't wait to get all frustrated with my first full lace shawl lol, plus beads!

3. Snowbird I'd really like to cast this sweater on in Feb, it's so beautiful and I'd like to maybe get a bit of use out of it before the warmer months come along! I'm sure I won't be done in one month but I can hope :P

4. Zuzu's Petals Love this pattern and I have yarn for it!

I'm also thinking of joining the Virago knit along but I would like to stay away from buying patterns for a while. I have so many that I have already purchased or were gifted to me I can't quite justify buying another pattern. However I do have the yarn all ready for it so we will see. If I don't buy the pattern I may cast on another Lisa Mutch pattern Nightlock which was gifted to me.

New year!

It has been nearly a year now since I have started knitting! I've progressed in leaps and bounds and my love of knitting has only grown! In the new year I would like to keep better track on here of all the things I am working on. I would also like to add other things like my fitness journey, recipe reviews, book reviews, other craftiness, basically what my life consists of :) I'd also like to take more pictures!

January is a clear off the needles and start anew month for me. I wish I could have done this in December but there was Giftmas knitting to be done :) First thing that needs to be done is my grandmothers shawl, she is turning 85 on Jan. 13 and we are celebrating it on the 5th so this weekend is dedicated to finishing this shawl.

Knits to finish in January:

Gran's shawl - I want you shawl
Geysir Stretch
Angelus - This one has been languishing for a while, the cable edging is taking me FOREVER to finish.
Alostratus - I'm really enjoying this knit!

I would also like to knit a vanilla sock with a sweet tomato heel in January to get myselfback in the sock knitting groove and ready for my first shipment of the COOKIE A SOCK CLUB in February! I am SO excited for this club! My goal is to knit at least one pair of socks from each shipment, of course ideally I would knit both, but realistically I will aim for one.

EatSleepKnit.com

I made my first order from them today and so far I am impressed! I love that free shipping with orders over 75$ applies to Canada also and not just the US. Most online shops located in the US tend to ignore their Northern cousins. What impressed me even more is that my order was marked as shipped 4 hours after it was placed, that is quick!

Here is what I ordered:
Yarn:
2 skeins of Madelinetosh Tosh Merino Light in Tern and Smokestack (2 of 5 skeins that I need to knit the All the Shades of Truth shawl

Also a bunch of random notions that I needed:
Tapestry needles, cable needles, stitch holder, emergency fix keychain, Interchangeable cables in 47" and 60", circular harmony wood needles in size 2/3mm, circular nickle-plated needles in size 3/3.25mm, Zephyr interchangeable tip in size 15

I'll take a picture of everything, and give a full review when I receive my package.