Woot

Just for the record, the teddy bear is not my next project, though I would love to make him eventually. Isn't he cute?

The yarn is Knit Picks Swish Superwash in Deep Ocean. The book is Debbie Bliss Simply Baby, or per the invoice, "Debblie" Bliss... Either way.

Finally Done

Pattern: Brooke's Column of Leaves Scarf

Yarn: Bernat Softee Baby (leftover yarn - less than one skein)

Color: Baby Denim

Needles: US 7
Length: Super freaking long (ish)

The only thing I am waiting on is some better light so that I can really showcase the pattern, at which point I should really take a better photo of my other scarf too.

Here's the before blocking photo, just for reference:

Progress

Well, my first attempt at blocking (great reference here, by the way) is officially underway. We'll see how it goes. Hopefully it will turn out as well as tonight's baking. I just made a simple banana bread, but it came out perfectly delish.

I'm still aching for my KP order to come in, particularly since y'all know how funny I am about only focusing on one project at a time, and I have a very limited time frame in which to finish my next surprise (as much of a surprise as it can be, anyway). Of course I'm going crazy in the meantime. I really hope in comes in tomorrow. Then again I'm one set of knitting needles short...

Such problems, I know.

I hope you enjoyed a nice weekend! Goodnight!

P.S. I'm aiming to post photos tomorrow...

Brrr

There will be no time for posting at home this weekend - at least until Sunday when I will hopefully have some new FO photos to share… So on yet another lunch break I share one thought. Ten degrees below zero. I remember when I was growing up, and it was twenty five degrees below zero, and school had to be delayed and sometimes even cancelled because the buses wouldn't start. It was always such a treat to be able to stay home. Ah, home, where I have a nice big comfy bed with a thick, warm comforter and a pantry full of cocoa and tea. Oh, and a scarf that awaits blocking. (Wish me luck, by the way. Any tips before I start? I still haven't found the time to do it… ) My KP order should come in soon too; I'm hoping today. Of course I also received a stack of books about six inches high at work today, all in preparation for yet another insurance course. Ugh. This will be the third of four, so at least the end is almost in sight! Have a great Friday! And stay warm.

It's over.

I woke up in a sorry state of depression today. I knew last night's game would likely be rough, but I still had my hopes. It's funny how a game can mean so much to a person. When I heard coworkers talking about the details this morning it was so agonizing. I knew there were so many really terrible things to get upset over and that football should not have been one of them, but it still hurt. Somehow.

The only good thing I can say about the game is that when I started to get super nervous I felt like I couldn't watch (even though I still did), so I took out my scarf and cranked out the fastest 2ish hours of knitting ever. It didn't matter how many times I looked up to catch a play. My fingers were racing at lightning speed. By the end of the game I was ready to finish up the end and start blocking. Now I just have to settle down and do it. Oh yeah, and remember that special trip out for blocking pins? Yeah, I forgot to get them.

I did find the fair isle sweater pattern I was craving in Simply Baby by Debbie Bliss on Saturday and splurged on the book purchase through Knit Picks yesterday before the game. I won't have the time or materials to start it any time soon, but I do have another idea from the book in mind for my next project. Exactly what it is will have to remain a secret for now…

Go Patriots!

Hopefully I didn't just jinx myself.

Really quickly while on commercial, here are the photos of Tommy and his painting, as promised. He is very proud of it. Even though he needed help he really had a lot of fun. We'll be hanging it in his room as soon as we finish up the edges.

Here, too, is a glance at the (pre-blocking) scarf progress. I still haven't done much since Monday or Tuesday, but I have used the time to research my next project, and I made my online purchase today, so now I should have a bit more time. Details tomorrow.

Once again, Go Patriots!

Weekend Projects & Some Saturday Sky

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My blog may soon take on a new look. I'm tired of this very pale and boring design. Of course, I have to find the time to change it. Time suddenly seems much harder to come by than usual. I'm considering a name change too, and I would like to change the address to match, so keep checking in for re-direction. I'll post it ahead of time so you can update your links.

Today we painted (expect pictures tomorrow), and we're about to make a trip out for some blocking pins, amongst other things. I'm still looking for that perfect baby sweater pattern. If anyone knows of an online pattern (will purchase if the price is reasonable) for a baby sweater with a fair isle yoke please let me know. I would design it myself but 1) I'm not quite ready for that yet and 2) I just don't have the time. If I don't find the right pattern before the end of the weekend I will settle for something else.

...I thought for sure my scarf would be blocking by now, but instead I have barely knit a few rows over the past few days. I might just have to start my next project without finishing the last one, as I am crunched for time, but I just don't know if I can do that. I like to finish one before starting another. We'll see.

To my family: Pictures from last weekend are coming soon, I promise!

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On lunch... sort of

Ok, so it's Wednesday and I'm writing on my lunch break. I will (hopefully) post this later tonight. In keeping up with one of my New Years resolutions I didn't even turn on the computer last night. *Gasp* Yes, I normally don't make it a day without checking my E-mail and all my other little Internet things - unless I'm away for the weekend or just that busy. Last night I knew I should upload some pictures from last weekend, and I had lots of things I wanted to do, but there was a quiet evening at home just calling my name, and I enjoyed it. So. Tonight I still plan to turn on the computer but will try to limit my time on it. And since I already ate, what better time for blogging?

Anyhue.

I have had my thoughts on a post since first thing this morning when I was on my way to work and found myself looking up at all the forests full of sparkling icy trees. I really wanted to share it with you all, but as luck would have it, I didn't have my camera (or much time). If only you could have seen it. (Ok, some of you probably did.) All I could think was that it seemed as if God had sprinkled thousands of diamonds upon each tree, each one glistening in the beauty of the morning's sunlight. It was absolutely amazing. Glass. Lace. Sparkle. Diamonds. Amazing. Oh, and yes. It was cold. But BEAUTIFUL. Wow.

So after I had this moment I came to work and checked a few things online, and I looked back at the photos in my previous post. I know they weren't very good anyway, but they looked especially bad after what I had seen earlier today. I'm hoping this icy dream will last yet another day, complete with a beautiful sunny morning, so that I can capture it. Who knows; maybe I'll take that one photo to enlarge and frame! And Stephanie, I imagine we weren't the only two who wanted to post icy photos the other day and label our posts "Ice." I say go for it. In fact, maybe you can capture what it was I so desperately wanted to, but couldn't!

On the knitting front, the column of leaves scarf is almost done and ready for blocking. I still need another night or two to finish it up, but considering that there were a few days when I didn't work on it at all, it is going quite quickly. If you're interested in trying it out, I highly recommend you do. As much as I enjoy knitting there are some things I tend to get tired of with any project. This one seemed to have a pretty good balance of simple repeats and interesting lace without any tricky hateful parts like picking up the stitches on socks (if that's the part I didn't like - to be honest I don’t remember, but I know there was at least one part of sock knitting on which I wasn't terribly keen). It's a simple pattern, and I just love the finished look. Yum.

On that note, I might get a few rows in before the end of my break. (Yes, I occasionally knit at work. A week or two ago one of my coworkers sent me an E-mail asking if I was really knitting that scarf from scratch. As opposed to… ???)

Ice

On Knitting

Four days have passed since my last post, and somehow that seems like a while. In the meantime I have been experimenting with one ball of super cheap yet oh-so-soft baby yarn I picked up a month or two ago. Originally I had selected it for socks, but after attempting these I had to ask myself what on earth I was thinking, using sport weight yarn for that pattern (not to mention for socks at all), so not long after that post I took it all apart and left it alone for a week or two, at which point I attempted some baby slippers, and I'm honestly not sure if it was me or the pattern because I was very careful to follow it, but they didn't work out either. Finally after putting it away for yet another couple of weeks in favor of my cabled scarf (which happened quite by accident, I might add), I opted to pick up a crochet hook for the first time in many months and use my one skein to get a baby afghan started. After about four or five inches into it I decided the afghan, too, was not meant to be. Now on attempt number four, I think I have found its calling. Inspiration here. Pattern here. So far I'm about three and a half pattern repeats into it, and I'm pleased. I think this one is a keeper, but I'll keep you posted. I have never blocked anything before *gasp!*, so this will be something new for me. Pictures soon.

Off balance

Most northeasterners I know complain about snow, ice, and bitter cold almost all winter long. Of course there are always a few who constantly crave yet another snowfall, and while my sentiments tend to fall more often with the second group, I certainly don't like driving my little Civic in the snow, nor do I have much tolerance for cold. Ok, I don't really have any. But I love watching the silence that occurs during a big storm when all we can do is wait. There is something so comforting about sipping a hot cup of cocoa indoors on a cold winter day, and now that Tommy is four, I look forward to taking him sledding and throwing snowballs. Today, with temperatures around 70 degrees, I was all thrown off. I do recall one winter while I was in college, when Winterfest was scheduled for December, and we had some crazy warm weather that was somewhat comparable. Never, though, have I seen this in January. Tommy keeps thinking it's starting to warm up for spring and summer again, and we keep telling him no, that it is still early and will surely get much colder very soon. What do we know?

Here are a few shots of the most snow we've had yet this winter. These were taken through our living room window last Sunday. It was one of two or three occasions in which we received about a dusting.

I haven't forgotten those who have had more snow this year than they could handle, nor do I think this is big important stuff, but I admit I am with Tommy on this one, harboring just a bit of hope that we might have enough snow yet this year to build a snowman.

Saturday Sky

Finished in 2007

Completed yesterday. My apologies for the terrible quality of the third photo. I tried to take it on my way out this morning, and it didn't work out too well. As fuzzy as it appears in the photo, it does give the best impression of how the pattern looks from a bit further away. Though the pattern was very, very simple it still took me just over a week to finish, and I worked on it almost every day. I am pleased overall, though I think it looks far better on Tommy than it does on myself. He looks so sophisticated when he wears it. Either way, it sure did keep my neck super warm all day today. Mmmmm.

2007

I'm not usually big on New Years resolutions. I don't really know why. However, after much blogging this year, I have spent a good deal of time considering what could happen if only I changed a few little things. For example, I would like to spend less time at the computer and more time with my family. I would also like to try not to verbalize my self esteem issues to Brian so often and instead work toward becoming that person who is always smiling and spreads happiness and optimism wherever she goes - even at home. (Well, most of the time. I know no one is perfect. However I do know a couple of great role models on that front.) I would love to expand my knitting and sewing know-how. Most of these things, of course, are somewhat difficult to measure. Plus, going back to not typically being big on New Years resolutions, I generally like to implement goals and resolutions as I think of them throughout the year. Then again, it can't be a bad idea to take some time to contemplate the things that matter most. I will think of it as a time to organize a few of my ideas and goals. Here, then, are some of the more specific things I would like to accomplish in 2007 (some mostly for fun):

1-Actively seek out a church in the area. If I am unsuccessful with my first attempt, try at least one more - preferrably another again if that still fails. Absolutely do not give up.

2 - Publish something (or at least submit something to be published). It could be a pattern, a story, an article, or just about anything else. I'm not specifying because I don't know what time will allow, plus I like to think the best inspiration typically arrives unexpectedly.

3 - Read through the letters my gram has for me, and catch up on some details of the story (biography of sorts) she wants me to write.

4 - Play with the camera until I find that photo, and when I do, enlarge it, frame it, and hang it.

5 - Send at least three special little non-holiday, non-birthday, surprise packages to at least three people.

This list may change a bit before I head to bed tonight, but I think it's a decent start.

Once again, Happy New Years!

Happy New Year!