5 more days!!!!

YAY!!! 5 more days until Christmas day :D!! I have been so busy the past few weeks I just don't know where the time went. It is all because of my Dad's 50'th birthday party which we had last weekend. THat party took up a lot of time and I was so far behind in my wrapping and baking, and, of course, knitting. So last Sunday I spent 3 hours just wrapping presents and then yesterday I made this delicious chocolate candycane cookies with white chocolate drizzle, and today I made my gingerbread men which are cooling/icing setting on my parents bed with the door closed away from any animals who may try to steal a bite. Work is going well I am officially 2 weeks into the new job and so far so good. I've been working 3-4 hour shifts only but tomorrow I have my first 6 hour shift and it is the kids last day of school and the center is throwing a Christmas party for them at lunch which should be a lot of fun :D. NExt week I work 7-11 on christmas eve, and then thursday and friday 10-6. Yay yarn money!
I am FINALLY finished my christmas knitting. Tuesday night Jenna came over for a knit-together and I was able to whip up the final dishcloth for my aunt and uncle.

She also surprised me with a gift of yarn. That Jenna is much too generous. It is this beautiful blue sock yarn which I just can't wait to starting knitting with :D:
This past week before I finished the dishcloths I cast on a Calorimetry. I'm working it with Vanna's choice yarn in a lovely Purple shade. I'm thinking it might be a little big but thats okay, i'll just remember to cut down on the stitches next time. Plus you can never have to much fabric keeping your head warm here! I'm a little more than halfway done but I took this picture the other day shortly after I started.
Remember those Patons Kroy Socks I cast on WAY back in October. Well... i've barely touched them since then. Just a row here and row there. My goal is to hopefully have the first one done by New Years since I am now done my christmas knitting and should be done the calorimetry very soon. Here's a pic showing exactly how little I have done since the last picture. Well that is about all the knitting news I Have. I'm hoping to pick up some nice new dpn's to knit some nice socks out of my lovely gift from Jenna. Perhaps, monkey socks?? Who knows. Anyways I best be off... Merry Christmas and Happy KNitting!

Happy December :D

It's December :D yay!!! My favourite month of the year... eventhough it is an exam month. Speaking of exams... I'm done :D! I have one more paper to hand in and my BA is complete! I also just got a new job at a daycare in my neighbourhood. I started yesterday and had my second shift this morning... so far so good, it'll be so much better once I get to know all the names. This also marks the beginning of the B.Ed application process. I had an info meeting at the U of M last night where I got all the application and referee materials. U of M apps are due Feb 1 and U of W apps are due Mar 1.

December means baking month so I may have to put aside some cherished knitting time to make a lot of yummy baked goods.... on the agenda: shortbread cookies, mint thins, gingerbread men, candycane cookies, and a nanaimo cheesecake for boxing day dessert (we're celebrating christmas on boxing day with my mom's side of the family). mmmm can not wait to get started, there are also some other recipes I may attempt this week or early next... just for fun.

In knitting news I have completed my moms mittens and they are wrapped up already. I have a pic of the finished bolero... which I adore. I'm so glad I didn't wait until after christmas to start this:

I decided to make some Swirly Girl mitts(same as my moms) for the secret santa thing we do with my dads side of the family. I'm knitting them with Bernat Natural Wool Blend, which is a really nice yarn. I'm done one and about 30% done the second so hopefully by the end of the weekend they will be complete:

My grandpa's coasters are complete. I finished the first three so quickly and then I didn't touch the 4'th for two weeks. Finally the other night I cast on and made myself get the project done so I could cast on and begin the first dishcloth for my aunt and uncle. These projects are both knit with Bernat Handicrafter Cotton:

On the knitting agenda: a new pair of mittens for me and perhaps even casting on a new sweater...hmmmm. Or am I more in the mood for an afghan. Anyways once i'm done these two projects I am officially done my christmas knitting :D yay! WEll I best be off... Merry Knitting!

Almost done....

I'm almost done school and i'm almost done my christmas knitting!! Last night I finished my cousin's golf club covers. I knit him two and joined them with a crochet chain. Very BRIGHT ORANGE! I also finished my dad's slippers a little over a week ago. I got my brother to try them on just to make sure they will fit, and they did!

Last weekend I knit up a gaiter (neck warmer) for my brother for christmas. I could not find a pattern that I liked so I sat down, knit a swatch, and designed my own. It's really simple I just cast on the required amount of stitches and did K1 P1 ribbing for around 6-6 1/2 inches. Alternating colours every 2 rows. I used some leftover Bernat Softee Chunky from his present last year, so this will match his hat!

Last weekend I also began making coasters for my grandpa. I'm using bernat handicrafter cotton in a nice blue colour which matches the colours in his condo. I found the pattern through ravelry and I think it's called a Mod-Coaster, found on the DYI network website.

I've got two done and I think I have enough yarn to make 2 more, for a set of 4! With any luck i'll be done these by the end of next week.

My mom's present I had not touched in close to 2 weeks but yesterday, since I worked hard all week, I gave myself the afternoon off from school work and got quite a bit done on the second mitt. A couple more hours of work and my mom's present will be done. So this means all i have left is a couple dishcloths for my aunt and uncle and then maybe a pair of mittens for the secret santa gift exchange we do on my dad's side of the family (finally they decided to remove all the adults from the kid gift exchange, last year I was the oldest cousin present.. felt very odd). I'm thinking about getting some of that Bernat Cashmere yarn to knit them up, I also noticed a some mittens on ravelry using that yarn and they were trés cute.

Anyways I best be off, we're having turkey (i know it's not thanksgiving or christmas but it's kind of a family tradition to have turkey in between the two at least once) for dinner tonight with the family and i'm making this pumpkin spice cake with a cream cheese frosting which I must go prepare shortly. Take care and Happy Knitting.

Christmas is Coming :D

Oh I am such a christmas fanatic! Anyone who really knows me knows that I wait each and every year for Nov. 1 so I can start blaring my Christmas music! Now I have to wait until the end of november or very beginning of december to put the tree up and it's almost killing me. We had our first snowfall here in the peg on Halloween, if you can call that a snowfall... it melted as soon as it hit the ground. Yesterdays snowfall was a little more successful, but I am waiting for that beautiful fluffy snow that really screams CHRISTMAS! Yes I may be nuts for wanting the snow, and yes I'm sure that once January comes I will be praying for it to melt, but I think that it is just physically impossible to have Christmas without snow, despite what others say.

I have been semi-productive in the knitting department. I have completed 1 mitt for my moms christmas present:

also I have completed 1 slipper for my dad:

I invested in some insane orange yarn for my cousins present (they just don't make small skeins of this colour, trust me I looked!), and I whipped him up a golf club cover in the lovely orange. I think i'm going to make him another one so he'll have a pair:

This past weekend, since I couldn't work on Christmas presents I thought I would try out my lovely christmas cotton yarn and knit up a nice dishcloth. I am actually forbidding anyone from using it as a dishcloth because it is much too pretty. It can be used as a hotpad, and thats it!

I made my other cousin a nice drink cozy, but failed to take a pic of it. IT is exactly like my brothers except blue with a brown C on the front.

As for my ribbed lace bolero, well I have been slowly working on it but as you can see it has kind of been christmas present central here the past few weeks. The sock I have not touched since the last entry, maybe a couple for rows. I doubt i will get much more done on that until I am done school and nearing the end of the christmas presents.

Anyways I have some school work to do, so I best be off. Happy Holidays!

Busy Busy Busy

Woo Hoo 2 posts in October!! I have been so busy with school that usually I just grab a few seconds on the internet to check out facebook, ravelry and some other sites every day. Plus that is usually on my brothers computer upstairs. Speaking of ravelry... I am addicted. Since I got my invite in early October I just can't leave that site alone.

Well knitting wise I have been making progress... slow progress, but progress nonetheless. I have started a few new projects. One being the ribbed lace bolero, which i found on ravelry <3

I also have a pair of socks on the needles. I'm using just the basic sock pattern from Patons. Knit with Patons Kroy Socks in Winter Eclipse. I had some issues at first with it and had a minor knitting emergency when I had to rip back half of it. I tried to just tink it back but I had gone a little to far and just gave it and ripped out, but now it is looking good. I'm just about done the instep of the first sock:I had completed one christmas present; a nice gaiter for my brother for christmas but it turned out too small for his head so I may give it to my cousin or keep it and donate it to charity or something. So now i had to set out and find a new present for my dad and brother. I'm making my dad a pair of slippers out of Bernat Softee Chunky and a pattern that I found in my grandma's patterns. I may make my brother the same thing or custom design him a hat... we'll see how the slippers go.
I also have cast on my mom's present. A nice pair of mittens. THey are knit on two straight needles and I found the pattern in the November issue of Creative Knitting, which I am really liking. May consider a subsciption to this magazine. I am a little further on than the picture I am about to post as I took that pic yesterday morning to post on ravelry and finished the thumb gusset yesterday afternoon. I'm knitting these mitts with Patons classic merino wool:

I've added a big skein of bright orange yarn to my collection to knit my cousin some golf club covers for christmas. I had no intention of buying that much but it was all I could find. I also found some Christmas handicrafter cotton... so I must make some christmas dishcloths or hotpads :D. Well that is about it. I kind feel like a slurpee, eventhough it's freezing, that's what make me a true Winterpegger. Happy Knitting everyone, and Happy Halloween :D

I know... disgraceful :(

The lack of posts... I know I know... pathetic. But I have GOOD reason. It's a little thing I like to call School. I have been sooo busy with school and papers (I Have 9 papers due this term AHHHHH) in fact I wrote one this afternoon (so if there are any stupid mistakes... humour me and ignore them :D)

Knitting has slowed down... not to a complete halt but not at the same pace as the summer. No major projects, although I do have my eye on this bolero which I might throw onto needles before Christmas... we'll just see how Christmas presents start moving.

Speaking of Christmas presents... I'm done 3 :D. Mitts for my Aunt and scarves for my 2 girl cousins. I had one scarf done over the summer but it was to small for me but perfect for a 6 year old so I just whipped up her sister a matching one. The purple is Lionbrand Homespun and the burgundy is Bernat Harmony.

I also finished my summer wave socks this past weekend... Thank goodness I thought I was never going to finish them, and it's not because they were complicated it's because I kept being distracted by other projects. I knit it up with Bernat Satin Sport. Not the greatest yarn for socks, at least not this particular pattern b/c the yarn needs to be able to move easy for the leg.

At the moment I don't have any projects going and let me tell you I feel really weird. I finished the scarves last night after dinner and the rest of the night I felt so weird like I should be knitting something. I might throw some more socks on needles tonight with my Kroy Sock Yarn which I've had nearly a month but b/c of those summer wave socks I couldn't do anything with it. I might also start another christmas presents tonight.

Anyhoo, I best be off Happy KNitting!

A Knitting Milestone

Well summer has come to an end as I started school on Tuesday. I think all my classes are going to be okay, hopefully I can pull off at least B's in all of them *crosses fingers* but that will require me to limit my knitting a little bit, but not too much :). I fully intend on beginning Christmas presents very soon, I have a few ideas lined up and the yarn sitting in my bin for a few of the presents. I also have some yarn I have no idea what to do with, but thats okay, one day it'll hit me. T'is the beginning of a yarn stash, and while mine is quite pathetic at the moment once I have an income I'm sure it will grow a lot. I spent my last week of holidays babysitting my cousin and his puppy and my aunt gave me a little money in return, she wanted to buy me a gift but my cousin siad that I wanted yarn and actually was trying to get my aunt to buy some but instead they settled on a little money to put towards yarn which i'm sure will turn around into Christmas gifts.

Anyways, since I had my cousin all last week I didn't have much knitting time during the day so my scarf and blue summer wave socks have not progressed much, but are slowly getting there. I did, however, spend most of my time on my sweater.

Sweater Update: Well after 3 months, hours of work, days of procrastination where I didn't even touch the thing, I have FINISHED my VERY FIRST SWEATER!!!!! On Saturday September 1'st I sewed up the last seam and put the sweater on! IT was a very exciting moment and one I'm sure my grandma would be very proud of, perhaps even shocked! Using mattress stitches to sew it up took a little getting used to and there are some parts where it is much neater than others but overall I am very pleased. It is not 10 sizes too big nor is it too small it is a wearable sweater and I did it my very first attempt. I'm actually kind of eager to start another one but I know I really much concentrate on christmas presents right now since it will be here before we know it, but in the meantime I can enjoy my very first sweater:

This past weekend, after I completed the sweater , I did do a bit of work on my scarf and socks but I also whipped up my brothers birthday present. In "not your mama's knitting" they have a pattern for a beer cozy, and instantly I knew it was perfect for my brother's 19'th birthday. So i tried the pattern twice, once with the right yarn and needles(dpn)... too small... larger needles (dpn)...too small. So I scrapped that and decided to do without the dpn and instead modify the pattern and knit it up on straight needles. I think part of the problem was I was trying to knit his name into it and it made the fabric very tight and near impossible to get over a drink can/bottle. So this weekend I sat down surrounded by books and my sketch of what it should look like and I whipped up a nice little beer cozy with my brother's first initial on it (my first project with intarsia!). But I've got to keep this quiet until the 30'th which i'm hoping i'll be able to do, i kind of blabbed his christmas present I was knitting last year.. oops:
Anyhoo, I really don't have much more to write about... I bought some yarn on the weekend which made me happy and I'm tempted to go and buy more, perhaps this weekend. Well i'm going to jet and probably go read a chapter for my personality psych class or something. Happy Knitting!