I am still around!

Yes I am still here and this post is just a quickie.

I played house with my Robert a few weeks ago and started cooking!

Stuffed chicken breast with goat cheese and canadian bacon

Sauteed chicken with garlic and some kind on spice

Even wine and bread with oil! Haha Rob picked the recipes and while he was at work I got to cook for him like we actually lived together! It was big fun =)

In knitting news....Leyburn socks here I come!

Resolutions

Is it bad that it is only the second week in November (Egads!) and I am ready to have some New Year's resolutions? I am in need of goals. I like having something to work towards and keep me motivated in my day to day mediocre life.

Usually when I set goals for myself I am really into it for about a week or two and then my motivation fizzles. Well this year that is not going to happen! I have already started a list that I think is pretty doable.....at least I do at the moment. This is just a preliminary list, I won't finalize it until the last week in December so it is all set for January 1st ( which just happens to be one Robert Gerard's birthday =P)

#1 - I would like to become a fitness competitor. This one is something that is a tiny bit far fetched but not completely unreachable. My Robert has informed me that if I did everything I was supposed to do and followed his every instruction, I would be ready for competition in 4 months. Thinking about it right now that doesn't seem to hard. I mean how hard could it be right? I love to lift weights and working out means seeing him more so it is a win win situation. Except for the part where I am a highly picky eater and I loath cardio. I don't like chicken which is pretty much the main food that I will be required to eat. Salads are boring when eaten everyday and greek yogurt makes me gag (it tastes like sour cream...yuck). Not to mention I find cardio incredibly boring unless I am in a kickboxing class or something and those are not an every day thing. But that is what a resolution is for! To have goals and do things that were to hard for you before but now you are ready to take on anything! Yes....this will be my toughest resolution yet...and it coincides with the normal resolution of losing weight....two birds with one stone =)

# 2 - I would like to start a monthly sock club for myself just like what the Yarn Harlot did. What a simple and easy concept! Take 12 hanks of yarn and 12 patterns you think would go well with them, put them in separate plastic bags and once a month pick one of the bags and knit the socks. Lather, Rinse, Repeat! This is something that is completely doable I think. I knit at lunch most of the time so if I have a pattern in front of me its fine and that is about 45 minutes a day that I can definitely knit on them! Yeah...I think this is a keeper.

# 3 - To keep in touch with my friends better. This one is pretty self-explanatory. Sometimes I feel I let my life get in the way of talking to or seeing the people that mean alot to me. I mean I haven't seen my best friend since her wedding August because life keeps getting in the way! So in 2011 I am going to make a conscious effort to not let that happen anymore. I am going to be around more for my friends.

# 4 - I would like to write a book....not sure what about yet....might take a class.

# 5 - Do more things by myself and be independent. Stop worrying about what people are thinking when I am out by myself and simply do whatever  I want.

I have no doubt that there will be more to add to this list, but like I said this is preliminary. I love lists. They keep me sane. Having a plan is always a good thing =)

P.S I will have knitting and pictures for Wednesday!

Nasty Habit

I have  developed a nasty habit of reading at work. I didn't mean to but Robert got me an iPhone for my birthday and when I found out there was a Kindle app....I was intrigued. I got my Kindle 2 last Christmas and carry it everywhere. If I am not knitting....or spinning....or sewing...I am reading! And when you have all those hobbies, a boyfriend and a crazy long hour job you don't really have much time for the reading part so I keep it with me to read a few pages here and there.

Then came the iPhone Kindle app. Holy crap it is awesome! It doesn't use the data plan (unless you buy a book) and it syncs to the wireless on the actual kindle and saves all your books on the phone too! I LOVE it. And lately I have been propping my phone up beside my computer so I can read a little during work. NOT GOOD. I am distracting myself and not getting as much done as I usually do, but I am hooked. I have literally read two books in 3 days (I am a fast reader) because of it!

Somehow I am going to need to find a balance. Or just stop buying books I want to read....that might work too.

Frustration Leads to Spinning

I have not been in a knitting mood. Quarter end at my lovely accounting gig has finally ended and I am so exhausted that I haven't the energy to knit a single stitch. Socks, if you can believe it, do not appeal to me at the moment and neither does any of the other projects I am working on. I am in a knitting funk and I hate that. There is nothing worse then not wanting to do the things you love the most. This month has been draining to say the least and it is only half way done.....oh dear.

Since knitting has been put on the back burner I have been trying to spin a little bit. I haven't touched my spinning wheels since the end of spring due to the heat but the weather has been quite chilly here in New England making it perfect. I cleaned and oiled my beautiful Ashford Traveller spinning wheel this weekend.

I love this wheel. I bought it on craigs list earlier this year and have been in love ever since. I didn't spin as much as I wanted to...maybe an ounce...

That is Spunky Eclectic BFL in colorway Riverwalk. It spins like a dream and the colors are very pretty =) I am hoping for a heavy fingering weight for socks =)

Other then that, nothing too eventful besides work work work. I have yet to go apple picking and I don't have a halloween costume. Ugh....very frustrating all around and this is supposed to be my FAVORITE month!

The Blog Hub Swap: Day 6 & 7

Well this will sadly be my last post about the Blog Hub Swap. I am sad to see it go =( but here are the final items I received from agcertain.

Stitch markers! Aren't they adorable??

Beads! Isn't this a cute little fishy! I loved everything I got! Thanks so much agcertain!!

The Blog Hub Swap: Day 4 & 5....plus sewing....

I missed yesterday because it was just too busy at work and when I got home I had to babysit then sewed a little so I didn't really go near the computer. So that means  I will post 2 items today!

First....lets starts with deliciousness

Organic dark mint chocolate from agcertain's hippy neighborhood! (her words not mine haha). It was yummy and gone within five minutes of being recieved....it will be missed!

And then we have.....

Sudoku! She read my blog about how I am trying to be independent and try stuff on my own and not rely on other people....so she got me this so I have something to do when I am alone in a coffee shop or something! This was so thoughtful! And though I truly suck at Sudoku I play it all the time! Haha, I love it....thanks agcertain!

I also have some exciting news about my sewing adventures. I have successfully completed 4 drawstring bags (not without a few little errors, but I am still learning!), a pin cushion and QUILTING BLOCKS!!! Well the quilting blocks prolly won't be in an actual quilt because they are very rough around the edges and not exactly even on all sides =/ but they are my first and I have every intention of practicing hardcore! Here are some pictures of the work I am so proud of =)

I would like to thank my mom for all her support in this endeavor and YouTube.....I could not have done it without you =P

Well back to work. Yes I am at work on a SATURDAY because being an accoutant SUCKS! But money does not...the way of the world.

The Blog Hub Swap: Day 3

Have I ever mentioned on this blog that I love socks? Hand knit socks are my all time favorite and so on and so forth haha. Well agcertain gave me this....

Folk Socks!! It has a bunch of cool patterns and a history on hand knit socks! How cool is that? I love it and a can't wait to try out one of the patterns =) I am adding it to my Rav library as we speak =P



The Blog Hub Swap: Day 2

The next package I opened from agcertain was also squishy. I tore through the paper and found this...

A cute little hand knit wash cloth! And inside...

Fancy soap with shea butter! I can't wait to use it, it smells nice too =)

More tomorrow!

The Blog Hub Swap: Day 1

I signed up for a swap on Ravelry last month where you are assigned a secret partner then you go out and put together 7 things so that they will have seven days to blog about them. What a cute idea! I loved particpating and last night I go my package from agcertain! I was so excited I admittedly opened every cutely wrapped package =)

But not before I took a picture of the lot! Haha, I am bad because I didn't even open the card first. I went right for the squishiest package there and I swear bright light came out and I heard singing in the background....

Isn't it GORGEOUS!!!!! OMG I was thrilled when I opened this! It is from a local dyer in her town and it is beautiful. The note talks about an unfortunate incident with her puppy chewing the first skein ( no yarn was harmed in the puppy chewing) so last minute she changed the colorway she gave me. I couldn't be happier with this one! I can't wait to start and new pair! Thanks Agcertain!!! Day 2 tomorrow =)

Fall is Upon Us

The weather has been getting deliciously chilly (except for yesterday which was 85 degrees) and it makes knitting all that more enjoyable. Now is the time of year you can actually wear the socks you knit all summer instead of just sitting back and admiring them from afar. As of right now I have 4 pairs of handmade socks all to myself! 2 pairs are from my knitting guru and I made the other 2. I love all my socks dearly, but I do get the inkling sometimes that 4 pairs jsut isn't enough. I need to make more! I need to have more! I need to wear more!

During the hot summer months I dont have this feeling quite as often. Oh don't get me wrong, I am just as obsessed with knitting socks as any other time of the year, but during the fall and winter I WANT socks for myself more. I have already planned for 3 pairs that I am going to knit for myself, the Snowflake socks, the Leyburn socks and the beachy colored socks that I have already started so I am all set for a while. I am not at my regular computer today so no pictures but I wrote about them in an earlier post.

Another thing I want to do is start spinning again! I haven't touched either one of my spinning wheel since June when it started getting too hot. My house isn't that cool in the summer so if I try to spin the wool tends to felt in my hands...yuck! But my mission for the next week will be to dust off and oil my spinning wheels so they will be in perfect working order. I can't wait! I LOVE this time of year! =)

Birthday Weekend with Robert

I took a 4 day weekend this week to relax and have a good time with my boyfriend. He booked us a room at the Element Hotel in Lexington (it is a green hotel....there are special spots in the parking lot for hybrid cars and toilets with seperate flushing buttons for number 1 and 2 haha!) I forgot to take pics of the room though which is a shame because it was really nice.

We went out to a fancy dinner at Bistro 44 in Bedford and I even wore a dress which is unheard of!

I am not anti showing my face on the blog...I just didn't like how my hair came out after a bad hair cut =/ but I do love my purple shoes!

On Saturday we went to the Wretham outlets and I bought a few shirts. We were supposed to go out with friends on Saturday night but instead Robert made me an anti-pasto complete with gorgonzola cheese, an apple pear, pepperoni, crackers and of course wine. We lounged and got buzzed in front of the TV.

That is his dog Titan's bum in the background haha. We watched football Sunday and Monday was a day for knitting.

Though I am making progress I am extremely unhappy with this project. I made one of the straps too short some how and I messed up a cable pattern (mentioned in an earlier post) so I am very discouraged. I am WAY too far along to frog it....I wouldn't have the stomach to anyways. The motivation to finish isn't there but I know that I have to. If I fail at yet another KAL my Guru will disown me. Oh well...who knows....I might like the way it looks when I am wearing it. Thats a big maybe folks.

Lazy Evening

Knitting endless yucky acrylic squares at Robert's house...

In my beloved sheep slippers...

Awake and asheep! Haha! Have a great Tuesday!

Lots of Stuff

I have been extremely busy lately leaving absolutely no time to post! My birthday being last week played a big part in that. But since I was doing so much I have alot to post about! This is going to be a long one folks.

Labor day weekend was great fun. The boy and I hung around, watched movies and decided to go into Boston with a few of friends to walk around Fanuiel Hall and the Commons. This is one of my all time favorite things to go because I like to people watch. Boston is full of interesting characters.

That is my Robert walking through the Commons. It was a beautiful day to go for a stroll =) We ended up in the original Cheers bar just across the street. I had a yummy strawberry daiquiri.

Delicious! So that was labor day weekend, it was lovely. I also finished a pair of socks for my co-worker!

Then last week was my birthday. My mom made me my favorite pasta dish and I got some great presents! Which included my all time favorite brand of yarn (thus far)

Oh yeah! Socks that Rock, colorway Dilly Dilly, medium weight! I love their yarn, it knits up beautifully and has the prettiest colors! My friend Lisa got it for me =) I also got a great card.....

I don't know about you but I think every knitter would enjoy a Wii knitting game. Just saying.

I addition to these wonderful gifts I also got a cutting mat for my sewing (it's purple!), some new sneakers for the gym, a crazy huge umbrella in case me and six other people get caught in the rain, an iPhone (from the boy!), a yarn scale, Stroll handpainted yarn in Pony Ride and Felici self-striping yarn in Chimney from Knitpicks, a $50 gift card to Joann's Fabric to feed my new fabric addiction, and tickets to go see Wicked at the Boston Opera House!

What a fantastic show, I would recommend it to anyone. I will never see the Wizard of Oz in the same light again.

Other then all this I have a few sewing projects going, but they are for swaps so I won't be able to show pictures until the swaps have ended. Busy busy life, but I will enjoy it it while I can =)

Weekend Report - Wedding Bliss

This weekend my dear best friend Lindsay got married to the man of her dreams in a cute little white chapel on a beautiful summer day.

There were pinwheels...

Flowers....

Cake complete with caricatures of the bride and groom.....

and of course, a beautiful bride!

 Congratulations Linny! And just when I thought it was all over.....

My best friend Lisa got engaged on the night of Lindsay's wedding! Haha what are the odds? Time to get ready for another one! Congratulations Lisa Marie!

Gearing up for Christmas

Yes. It is not even September yet, but I feel the overwhelming urge to start my Christmas knitting. I am not doing much. I only have about 4 projects planned this year and one of them is already halfway done (though it will take the longest). I plan on knitting a cowl for my friend Lisa, a pair of socks for the boy, a little pair for my niece Bianca and finally I plan to finish a blanket I started for my mother 3 years ago (as suprise).

The blanket will be the most challenging. When the Knitting Guru first got me back into knitting my senior year in college, she showed me how to make a simple face cloth to practice doing increases and decreases. Well I got it in my head that these were so easy and quick that I should make a bunch of them, sew them together and make a patch work blanket!

Well here is the blanket 3 years later....

It is actually very pretty, tightly knit and extremely warm....but it takes forever!! I need 49 squares and as of yesterday I only had 26 ( I have three done that aren't sewn on yet.) Did I also mention that it is also knit in yucky acrylic yarn??? I can't stand the stuff! I didn't mind it back then because I was kinda new at it and it was super cheap for a starving broke college student. But I suppose I will need to suffer through it. It is for my mommy after all =)

Weekend Report

I am back from my weekend away and it was fantastic and relaxing. We sat on the beach (until it got cold), we went to the outlets in Freeport, ME, we ate lots of "bad for you" food and partied our hearts out! It was lovely to be in such a beautiful place.

It was so serene, just what I needed after many weeks of hectic work. The boy didn't come but I was there with my girlfriends which is just as good ( if not better =P).

Ok I didn't find these on the beach. Christina's mother had them and gave them to me lol. I haven't found one myself in a few years...but I might try to go up in the fall, might have better luck!

Since we were up there around the time of my birthday, I got presents from my knitting guru! Who is a very talented knitter and contrary to what she will tell you I did NOT beg for these....ok maybe a little.

The lighting this weekend was just perfect for pictures! Her mothers house has a million windows and all the furniture is light so that sun shown in beautifully! Aren't they gorgeous! I love them and I will wear them forever!

Not only did she knit me socks, she got me the sock blockers that I wanted! Whoo hoo!!! I am so lucky to have a such a great friend who takes hints so well =P

I also got some knitting in myself. Since I didn't drive I got to knit on the way up there and back, it was also pretty crappy out on Sunday so I sat on the deck and took the opportunity. Behold my sister's FINISHED socks! These took me over a year to finally complete!

The colors in this yarn is awesome and fits her personality. I was sad to see them go....but now I can start more! Woot!

Thoughts on the Stash

I am heading to Old Orchard Beach, ME this weekend and for the ride (1.5 hrs each way) I will be bringing my Aran Necklace Camisole and a few pairs of socks that I have in the works that I want to get done. When I am finished with them I have a few more pairs planned and ironically they are all for me haha. I figure if they are all intended for me I will be less stressed to complete them in a timely manner. Two of them are patterned socks and one is just plain vanilla. The patterns I am planning on are The Snowflake Socks and the Leyburn Socks.  I mentioned the snowflake socks in my last post so I will be using the yarn pictured there. For the Leyburn Socks I haven't decided on a yarn. I will have to do some digging in the stash for those. The plain vanilla socks will be in the Schoppel-Wolle yarn I bought on Ravelry, links to pics are in my post here. That yarn is made to be in vanilla....if that makes sense haha.

I have to admit that I often wish I was the kind of person that only works on one project at a time, has only enough yarn for that project and doesn't venture out to buy more until is complete. I feel it would make my life alot simpler to do something like that. I have a large stash of both yarn and roving and a million projects I want to do but life always gets in the way. Living at home certainly does not help so I like to think once I can afford to get my own place I will have more opportunities to do everything I plan to. Like knit through my entire stash of sock yarn so that when I am all done I can only buy one more hank and can't buy anymore til I finish the socks I intended for it. Not to mention I will have a hell of alot of yummy handknit socks!

I look at all the projects I have started but don't have time to finish and I get sad. Why would I do this to them? Don't they deserve just as much love as every other project I have? Why am I spending all my time with that plum purple camisole when there is a beautiful pair of pink fair isle socks that would like to be finished. What makes the orange and red socks better then the Patons Kroy sock I started?

Will I ever be able to stop buying sock yarn and get to a point where I am knittng one pair at a time? Lets not get to crazy. But it would be something if I could!

Progress, Trying Again and Thoughts on Being Alone

I promised pictures of what I have been up to and I have finally been able to take some! Well I took one of my Aran Necklace Camisole....the front is knitting up beautifully!

This pattern is so pretty! And the yarn is super soft. Me and The Guru are hoping to have this done before the end of the summer so we can show it off. I do wish the color photographed better, but purple is weird like that.

I am also getting ready to resurrect a project that The Guru and I were knitting last year. While she succeeded beautifully, I failed miserably =(. Not because I didn't understand the pattern or anything like that, but I knit them too small. They were the Snowflake Socks from the Interweave Knits Falls 2007 edition. I finished up the leg on the first sock and I was so proud of myself! But when I tried to put it over my foot the damn thing just wouldn't budge! I read testimonials after about people who had the same problem and I was heartbroken! I had tried so hard and spent so much of my precious and rare free time to do this and it didn't fit =( the colorwork was knit too tightly....i even tried to add some rows and a needle size but then I knit it too big! So I got discouraged, frogged the whole project and gave up.

I came across the yarn I used a few weeks ago and decided....ok I will give it one more go. This time I am simply upping the needle size and going with the pattern as it is. No extra anything. If that doesn't work then it wasn't meant to be. Here is the yarn I am using and I must say... the colors look incredible with this pattern.

I

 I am hoping....no praying this works out. I really love those socks and I would kill to have them for the winter to wear around the house =)

On a final note, in earlier posts I talked about how I was learning to be alone. I don't want to depend on other people when there is something I really want to do and no one will do it with me. If I want to go to a movie, I should not be afraid to do it alone like I have always been. I have some anxiety issues, and though they are not very severe they still make it hard for me be by myself.

I am getting better at it....shopping, reading, going to Panera alone. But I came across this video on MSN.com that I would like to share. Whenever I watch it I smile and say to myself...I can do that! She even knits in the video which I think just makes me love it more. Here it is.....enjoy and have a wonderful weekend!

No Time

It seems that lately I have been running out of time to do things lately. For example every morning I wake up with the intention of going out and taking pictures of my WIPs but always run out of time before I go to work. I also intend to do it when I get home but have been finding myself only stopping in for a few moments before going out again. By the time I get back it is dark out. I cannot win! Between my niece's first birthday preparations, the boyfriend and knitting dates (=P) I simply have not been able to take a single picture. I don't like to post without them because I LOVE blogs with pictures but I was itching to post about my goings on so I will suffer through it.

First, I have signed up for a swap on Ravelry! It is in the iblog a.k.a The Blog Hub group that I just joined. It sounds like so much fun and I might even get an international partner which would be super cool!  I like how you have to individually wrap at least seven things so that your partner can open and blog about it for everyday for a week. I don't think it is required to actually blog about it but I intend too =).

Next, I have made it to the body of my Aran Necklace Camisole! The hard part is over and now it is straight stockinette stitch. I am on the front and will need to pick up stitches for the back soon. My Knitting Guru is very proud of me! Also I am almost done with my sisters socks and as soon as I finish I can cast on another pair! The Guru put the rules in place, not me =(

Lastly, one of my favorite blogs to read is Eskimimi Knits. She makes the most beautiful projects, has a yarn store on Etsy, takes fantastic pictures (even has a tutorial that I have tried to use for my blog pics though not a nicely as hers) and her posts are interesting and informative. She is actually the moderator for The Blog Hub group that is hosting the swap. Anyways, she is knitting a pair of socks in yarn that I just fell in love with. You can see her pictures here. I love the beachy colors that the yarn has and I have tried to find something similar with no luck. So I was snooping around Ravelry the other day and found someone who was selling the same yarn in the same colorway! I was so siked! She is mailing it to me tomorrow but it won't be here for a while since it is coming from England. The yarn is Schoppel-Wolle and it looks lovely to work with. The socks I knit with that yarn will be for me =)

I think those are all the updates I have for today. I am gonna have pictures up as soon as I can =)

Knit-a-Long Update

Me and Christina had our knit-a-long on Wednesday and we made fantastic progress on our Aran Necklace Camisole! This pattern knits up really quick because of the short rows, the only thing that takes a while is of course all of the cables.

I am almost completely done with the necklace part, just need to do the second strap and then I can pick up my stitches for the rest of body which is pretty much just straight stockinette. I did make a mistake unfortunately but after consulting several people at work who DO NOT knit I have determined that is not noticable enough to bother frogging it out ( frogging all those cables would be a nightmare!) and cables are very forgiving anyways.

Can you see where the mistake is? It isn't a mistake that makes the piece look bad, so I am just going to leave it. I am hoping to meet my quota next time (which is Monday this week). I need to get 5 and 1/2 inches of the body done...hope I have enough time! Have a great weekend!