Motivation? Doesn't seem to be working....

Do you ever try to motivate yourself and it just doesn't seem to work out? I keep busy. Try to get done the things that need to get done and for the most part my to do lists have a lot of check marks. But some things, at some times, just seem not quite important enough to me to get checked off. And that is the tale of where I am at on all of my knitting. Stalled out. I have some really neat projects that had been coming along quite nicely but for some reason they have just sat in my project drawer waiting for motivation to get the job done. In my defense (because of course most people do like to defend actions or in this case inactions) one of my darling little kitties chewed through the cord on one of my circular knitting needles. But of course that is just one excuse for one project. I've got nothing else for the rest of them! So, Happy Knitting to those of you who have the motivation and Good Luck to those that don't! :)

It seems it has been a while since a post was made here and yet there really isn't a great deal to report. I finished my tank top I had been working on since about August but may end up ripping back a bit to make the bust a little bit longer. Other than that it really turned out rather lovely. Will post a picture of it someday. Possibly. :)

Also since my last posting, I went on a yarn shop hop with several other ladies. It was rather fun and a few new shops had been added to the list since last year. I didn't buy nearly the amount of yarn that others did but I did come home with some very nice accessories. My favorite of which would be a locally made yarn bowl! I had been wanting one for a while but had to wait for product availability and a little extra spending money!

Have been working a bit on Christmas presents but today I have cast on to make some interesting little cowl made from a combination of yarns I just got on the shop hop and some yarn I have had for at least a couple of years! It is looking pretty nifty so far.

It's a sunny and windy day in my part of the world. Sure am loving the view from my big front window!

Happy Knitting!

It's light sweater weather today. I love sweater weather! Seems like the perfect day to curl up with a little lap blanket, have a warm drink by my side, some knitting project in my hands while listening to some music on the radio! Perhaps this evening as right now there is work to do!

Today I slept in a little bit more than I had intended to! Quite alright though. I do have things that need to be accomplished around the house but if your body says sleep, well sometimes it's just a good idea to cave in! I actually had breakfast this morning. I thought of a friend of mine who thinks breakfast is something I rarely do and will get after me for it. But I think she would be pleased today with my choices. Breakfast was had in the front room at a table placed in front of the large window with the curtains open while a window off to the side was letting in a gentle breeze and the sounds of chirping birds. Soon the sound of a calm rain came along and that, along with a nice warm drink, made my heart smile beyond it's own capacity! There is a song that I have known since I was a small child. Heaven Came Down and Glory Filled my Soul. Couldn't help but think of that while I sat in complete contentment :)

Well, I am still working on the tank top. Figured out how do to some decreases in the lace part of the pattern. That was something the original pattern had not included. But it is done now and looks relatively decent. So that part is a win! Still have to finish the lace part though and then will move on to the bust area and straps. As the pattern also did not include straps I will get to choose how that will be done. There are many ideas out there on ravelry but there is also an idea floating around in my mind that I might try out. Anxious to see how it all will turn out!

Well, guess I should move on to the next thing on my list!
 Happy Knitting!!

Am currently on Holiday and checked out a yarn shop a couple

of towns over from where I am spending the majority of time. 

Yarn I picked up from there. Super excited about it and can't wait to 

make something!

Am still working on the same project I had been working on a
few weeks back. It's gonna be a tank top. I have gotten much further
on this one than what the photo is showing but didn't want to put it on
salvage yarn again just yet to try it on again and take another picture. I am so
eager for this one to be done. Wanna wear it NOW!!! Loving the pattern!

Hoping everyone is having as beautiful a week as I am! Happy Knitting!!

Working on a project on a flight home from California! 

I finished up a shrug about a week ago and have already worn it a couple of times. It's nice for this hot weather we are having. I can just throw it on over whichever tank top I happen to be wearing when entering a place where one might want to look slightly more formal than the tank top! Hoping to make a light slouchy hat with the same yarn.
Well, off to the next project! Happy Knitting!

I am working on finishing up my first article of clothing. It's a quick little shrug. All I have to do is weave in a few ends, wash and block it. My mom has already put in a request for one! Hopefully will be able to get started on hers this week. Here are some photos of a couple of finished projects.

Knit this little slouchy hat up the other day. It was rather
quick and easy. Found the pattern on Ravelry.

I just love this little guy. He is a baby bottle cozy, though in the picture he is cozying a can of Dr. Pepper. He too was found on Ravelry. 

It's official! Yarn Graffiti has now come to my little town! How fun. Got a few pictures of the different little ones. These little pieces were put on light poles down the main street. Whoever does this yarn graffiti stuff must have a lot of fun in life!

I keep knitting away on one project in particular. The end of the first half is in sight and this makes me pretty happy. Hopefully the second half will go a bit faster. I have been working on this for several months it seems and it's not even a complicated pattern!

A little something I put together.

I have been trying to prioritize my time recently. This has meant cutting back on some of my volunteer work. One thing that was not cut back on is working with flowers at the local hospital. The gift shop at the hospital does their own flower arrangements. I am the first one to see the flowers when they are delivered to the hospital from the floral warehouse and then get to cut them, put them in water and get them into a cooler. And from time to time I do an arrangement or two. It's really quite enjoyable and just another creative outlet.

Well, my husband and I are now settling in for the evening. Have a movie playing. Seems like a good time to take out the current project!

Happy knitting!

I went rather basic this weekend and so was able to start and finish two projects. There is a certain sense of accomplishment in starting and finishing projects even when they are quite small. One was a very simple dishcloth using cotton yarn from the local yarn shop while the other was a small triangle scarf using a terrific chunky colorful yarn that my dad picked up for me while on a trip to Newfoundland. The pattern for the scarf, while quick and easy, was one that ends up looking really fun and fashionable. I will have to make another one soon with some nifty yarns that I picked up while in Canada recently.

While contemplating early this morning about walking to the local yarn shop when it opens, I heard from my bedroom a storm coming in. Perhaps walking to the shop is out for the morning hours and as I don't really have any desire to drive anywhere it seems that I will have to settle with doing something productive at home. Perhaps a walk will be done in the afternoon since the forecast seems to clear up quite a bit by then.

Well, until next time!

 Happy Knitting!

I have been working pretty much exclusively on a small blanket in Canada. I arrived in Toronto and then drove, with my parents, into Quebec. Quebec is really a very nice Province in my opinion. Pretty much nothing is in English. We went to the marvelous walled city, Old Quebec, and wandered around the old cobblestone streets. It seems as though we were there for almost two hours before heading on our way. As I am quite determined to get this blanket finished up during this trip (perhaps this will be the deadline I will meet) I got my project out to start working on it only to find a mistake about eight or so rows back. Realizing I had failed to bring along with me a crochet hook, a tool that would be most useful at this point, we set off in search of one. Well, this presented other fun and active complications! We pulled into a little town called Montmagny and stopped off first at a Canadian tire store (for all my non Canadian friends this is NOT actually a place that is a big tire store. Somewhat similar to a wal mart) to see if anyone there could point us in the direction of a store that would have such an item. The employees were kind enough to locate someone that actually spoke English and we were then told about a fabric store in town that might have something. Upon entering the fabric store we found that it was very much a fabric store! No hook in sight. The lady that was running the shop also did not speak English nor did the several customers that were shopping there. We tried charades, a variety of different word options and finally a picture that then led us to a store a quarter mile down the road to a yarn shop! A wonderful sight to behold! The owner there also did not speak English but we were able to get the hook and had a very pleasant time looking and communicating. After getting back on the road the hook came out and fixed up the mistake quickly and with a great deal a of ease! A fun and wonderful day. I am hoping to get to a yarn shop that i have been greatly interested in for some time tomorrow. Until next time...

Happy Knitting!

My husband and I recently had quite the amusing shopping experience. His little sister is going to be having a baby which we are all just excited for. When he and I went to do some baby item shopping we quickly found that we were both completely out of our element! We went in, feeling quite certain of our capabilities, went to the registry area to print off the baby wish list and that is where things started to go downhill! There are so many baby items that all seem to be and do the same thing. It was quite confusing! Sure they had the price, the numbers, the section of the store all written down on these papers but it seemed to take forever to figure it out. Is it because we know nothing about children? I would love to be able to blame it completely on the store and their rather confusing system but chances are it truly was us! We found a few things though and ran for the door. Oh, of course we paid first! We made it out alive and had fun with it too.
I have been working on a couple of projects that had been put aside for awhile. There had been a personal deadline of the 8th of May for one of the projects but it looks like that deadline will not be made. I would post pictures of the progress already made but am keeping it under wraps until it is finished. However, this much information can be revealed, it is made from Plymouth baby bunny and is so soft and squishy!

I think those are pretty much the highlights right now! Not much but there you have it!

Happy Knitting!

My oh my! It has been a while since I last posted. So, I have been in California for the past few weeks. My Grandma was in rough shape and passed away a few days after I arrived.
Didn't have internet access pretty much the entire time out there and that along with many other things is why I have not posted.
Didn't get much knitting done but did go to a rather nifty yarn shop while out there. It seemed like I was seeing knitted items everywhere, which is always fun. Also went to a thrift store and got the entire series of Keeping Up Appearances for eight dollars. Love that show and love that price! :)
Hoping to actually get some things accomplished this week with knitting but will see how it goes!

Happy Knitting!

I see that it has been quite some time since I was on here last! Even with all the time gone by there is not much to report on the topic of knitting. We have been keeping busy over here. Things just seem to pile up on the plate. The weather has been rather nice which makes walking around town rather pleasant. I don't drive much anymore. One way we are trying to save money is by not using quite so much fuel. And what do you know? We now only fuel up less than once a week! All errands are pretty much done on foot. Groceries, library, post office etc.... It's a small town so that makes it pretty easy to do these things. Doing all this walking though makes it a bit difficult to get around to getting knitting done!
Wherever you are, I hope that you are able to get out and enjoy some of this spring weather (whenever spring hits you). Smell some flowers (they are popping up in my yard) and count some birds! And if you can, take your knitting with you! :)

Happy Knitting!

Spring is in the Air!

The weather has been so wonderful and
has been making me think of spring knitting.
I picked up this pattern from a book called Mason
Dixon Knitting Outside the Lines.

 I am currently working on two projects. One is a lace shawl pattern that is using malabrigo lace weight yarn on size ten needles and the other is a ribbed hat using rowan tapestry yarn on size six needles. The hat will be a gift while the shawl gets to stay with me :) So excited at the thought of getting to see both of them finished. The hat has a somewhat interesting looking ribbed pattern at the top. Not quite what I am used to seeing. It's difficult to explain so you will just have to wait till it is finished and I am able to post a  picture! Well, guess that's about it. Time to get going!
Happy Knitting!

The weather that this part of the world has been getting these past few days (sunny and warm) has not been helping to keep me motivated in the knitting department. It has though been keeping me moving about and getting other things done. It seems like a great deal more house work is being done and evening walks with the husband have resumed as well as more walking around town. Speaking of walking around town, it seems there is some mail that needs to be taken into the post office. Perhaps after lunch. I am ashamed to say that the baby bottle cozy has not been finished. But as I said, there is not a lot of motivation there right now. Perhaps after lunch and my walk to the post office the knitting needles will see the light of day again!

To all the knitters out there that are staying motivated I wish you...

Happy Knitting!

The baby bottle cozy project so far

The sun has really been peeking out of the clouds in my little part of the world the past couple of days. My husband and I went for a walk in the city on a trail that circles around a pleasant little pond. There was still snow on the ground but a number of people were taking advantage of this warm burst and were out walking their dogs. I love experiencing these weather changes and have come to the place where most seasons can be quite enjoyable (except for the extreme summers). 

Lately, thoughts of the next project are racing through my mind. At this point, it seems that perhaps spring/summer items are in order. Before that happens though I need to finish up a baby bottle cozy. I never knew such a thing existed but this cozy seemed far to cute to pass up and right in line, I believe, with the personality of the soon to be parents. 

Warm hands warm heart :)

The pattern was found on ravelry.

I have just finished up a pair of fingerless gloves. An extremely easy and basic pattern. So basic they were rather close to just being a set of arm warmers. That is how basic they were. These ones were made up on size 6 double pointed needles using some malabrigo worsted weight yarn that was left over from another project.

Off to another project! Happy Knitting!

I have just finished up with knitting, washing and drying another scarf.  It is one that was being knitted up with the kollage needles. It was getting so tiring using those needles that it seemed like it would be not to bad of an idea to just go ahead and finish it up right away instead of adding the several more rows that I had originally intended. Not to toot my own horn but it really looks quite nice as it is. After the washing it grew about a foot which seems about average. I have already started on the last of the scarves. It isn’t looking bad so far. Hoping it will go fast. These scarves are getting a bit old! 

Latest finished scarf

Happy Knitting

Alright. Instead of some little jibber jabber for people to read I would just put up some pictures of a finished project. So, here we have a scarf that was done using peace fleece yarn and a tunisian afghan stitch. The amusing thing of it is, well at least I found it amusing, I used a floral scented soap for the finishing wash and this is going to a man! Ha Ha!! I might pick up some non floral scented soap for the next one as it too is going to a man.  

This is what I feel to be the front of
the scarf. Close up for detail.

The back of the scarf.

An overall view.

 Ok, that's it! Happy Knitting!

One and a half scarves to go before I am able to move onto larger and more exciting projects. The scarf that is currently being knitted up is taking a bit longer to complete than originally planned. About a couple of months ago or so I bought 40 some inch kollage circular needles. At the time it seemed like it would be a good experience to try something new. They are square, which is enjoyable, but the cord is perhaps a bit to flexible making it difficult for me to keep the project moving along as I occasionally need to stop and move the stitches up toward the needle to be worked. Apparently this is a problem for others as well but there are also those who feel they are quite a wonderful addition to their needle stash. To each their own. The plan was to use these needles on the last scarf as well however at this rate the last scarf may become something along the lines of a little cowl. I already have in mind a lovely plan and am looking forward to starting it. And finishing it! And there you have it, my knitting experience so far this week. Hopefully will be posting some pictures of the most recent finished projects sometime soon. 

Until next time, Happy knitting!

In my last posting I mentioned that on my knitting “to do” list was another button hat that would be gifted to a friend. However, on ravelry.com there was a rather appealing little hat with a small brim on it. With the button hat idea tossed to the side, the brim hat was quickly knitted up and handed over to the new owner. That hat was so enjoyable that I decided to have another go at it only this time using a noro yarn in lovely shades of blue with splashes of green. All that is left to do with the hat is wash it up and wear it. So there you have it. Two things have been taken off my “to do” list. A hat for a friend and a hat for me! 

The hat made for my friend.

I am now in the process of getting a couple scarves quickly done up and checked off my list. It is possible that one of them will be felted. I think that I will only know for sure when the scarf if actually finished! 

Well, that’s it for now.

Happy Knitting!

The Holidays have come to and end. Well, at least this batch. Christmas means a great deal more to me now as a grown woman than it did as a child. Living a bit further from family means that I do not get to see them as often. Christmas is the one Holiday that more effort is put into trying to make it around to seeing everyone. It is so wonderful to be able to see my niece and nephew. And to see how they have grown.

Not much effort was put into knitting this past week or two. Yarn was purchased for projects that will, hopefully get started and finished sometime in the very near future. And of course there are yarns that had been purchased some time back for specific things and I am eager to get those done as well. 

There is also a dream list. This is the list of things I desperately want to try and feel that they could certainly be successful attempts. However, this list is going to sit on that back burner for a while longer. My real “to do” list has to be taken care of first.

On my list.....

Entrelace scarf and a hat in same color using noro

finishing up a scarf using a beautiful shade in peace fleece

start and finish a button hat for a dear friend using malabrigo

a couple of baby blankets

two scarves using ella rae

one scarf using cascade. 

Certainly there are those with far longer lists than mine but in all honesty for me it could take awhile! Now that things have calmed down though I am thinking that a few trips to the yarn shop are in order. A nice place to sit and concentrate on the tasks at hand.