New Year! New Beginning!

Ahhhhh I love the new year! I do a post like this every December, about how I love the fresh start it brings!

I have my usual resolutions which include losing weight and saving money. I usually do pretty good the first couple months! This summer we saved enough to go on an awesome vacation to Fort Lauderdale and my beloved boyfriend said he thought I was in the best shape I have ever been in since I met him (11 years ago mind you) so I can't say the year has been a total loss! I always seem to faulter when fall and winter come around, probably because of the holidays and the bleary weather makes me lazy. So hopefully this year will be different and I will stick with it! We are FINALLY moving in together in the next few months so that will help my motivation since I will have the space and time to do what I want, though saving will be a challenge with a rent payment but I am not complaining haha.

I also want to get more into fashion and make-up, maybe start a youtube channel to keep me accountable on my workouts and maybe even do some beauty related things....show off some crafts? The possibilities are endless! Of course I will need a camera and learn how to edit videos so this all won't happen right away!

I just love new beginnings! This is going to be a great year =)

Finishing

Boy has is it been a busy summer! Between work, the boy and my friends wedding there hasn't been alot of time for blogging but I am hoping that ends soon! Since my last post I have finished a pair of socks, started two more knitting projects, began reading a great book, and went on vacation! I am actually feeling productive haha. And the best part of the summer.....Mr. Bobert finally agreed to getting an apartment with me! (not that he didn't want to live with me, he wanted to buy which would take a few years and I just wanted to rent which we could do tomorrow....I finally won!) I am so excited I can't stand it! He has a week left in his class and once he finds a new job we can officially start our life together after all these years =). Hopefully I will be able to share the process here.

Anyways, we got back from our vacation in Fort Lauderdale last week. It was AMAZING!! Ocean front view from our hotel balcony, gorgeous weather, relaxing by the pool and going to yummy dinners every night, what more could you ask for?

I got to dress up for our fancy nights


And Mr. Bobert got to drive a mustang convertible!


It truly was the best vacation ever! He even brought be to a yarn shop because he know how much I love them =P I got lots of great goodies while I was there including Malabrigo sock yarn, something I have always wanted to buy but never have. On vacation you can buy whatever you want!


And this is when I got the knitting bug again. It usually hits me at the beginning of the year and at the end of the summer when it starts getting chilly again. This time however is happened in 100 degree heat! I even finished my Herminone socks while we were there! I was so excited to finally have them off the needles, that mean't I could start other things!

So of course I went right for my new yarn. I didn't want to use the Malabrigo for socks ( as pretty as they would be) I wanted something I could wear for everyone to see! I chose the scarf pattern Nympheas by: Mimi Hill. The colors are perfect for it and it is knitting up very nicely.

I also wanted to start a new sweater. I have tried a few times to complete one and something always go wrong making me abandon the project but not this time! I chose a very easy fool proof pattern to do. Ellie by: Nikki Van De Car which is a simple top down sweater. I am using KnitPicks DK weight City Tweed in the color Tabby for the yarn. My friend bought be 10 balls of it for a past failed attempt at a sweater and I really wanted to use it up!


This is actually an old picture. I have already seperated the sleeve stitches and am working on the body now. It is going soooooo quick I love it =)

Other than all that I am reading a few books by Rachel Herron. Love stories with knitting in them.....could it get any better? I am also trying to work on a quilt for my friend's wedding....have to get on that since it is in 3 weeks haha. Not to mention my Patchwork Chevron Quilt that I want to have when I get my apartment!Busy busy busy....but I can't wait to finish everything.

Down to the Wire

I joined a quilting bee on Flickr months ago and today was the last day we had to send out our quilt blocks. Needless to say not only did I procrastinate but I chose a block that actually had a lot of cutting so they took what seemed like forever to finish, but I did it! I was so sorry to see them go because I loved all the colors! They are colors that I would not think to sew with myself and I think that is why I enjoyed this so much.


















I am bummed I can't participate in the next round. Too many obligations for the rest of the summer, but I am definately going to do the one after that! This has been great!

BFL Riverwalk - Plyed

310 yards of yummy, squishy BFL! Socks.....Hat....my first lacey scarf perhaps? Hmmmmmm

Happy Medium

I am trying to find a happy medium with my crafts. I find that I tend to do only one craft for about a month, then get bored and get interested in another craft etc. It is a vicious cycle and I never get anything completed this way. So each day I might do something different. The Yarn Harlot for example dedicated Tuesdays for spinning. I can do that! Maybe knitting can be for when I spend the night at Rob's house so I can do it while we watch TV. Yes, I think this is the only way to go. I know that some days I won't be able to do any crafts but oh well!

My list of crafts/hobbies are:

Knitting
Sewing
Spinning
Cross Stitch

That isn't too bad! If I dedicate at least one night a week to all of them I would be soooooo productive! Perhaps I will make a little calender =). I am not going to lie...I might sew more then that and maybe cross stitching will be every other week....but as long as I don't completely abandon any of them I am good =)

This weekend was for spinning.

 
I got this yummy falkland fiber last October for the Spunky Club. It is called Field of Screams and practically spins itself!

 
The first 2 oz of singles are done and I LOVE the colors! I am getting them pretty thin so I am hoping for sock yarn =)

 
I also finished the BFL that has been on my Traveller FOREVER!! That wheel is having alot of problems lately so it was very hard to sit down and finish this fiber but I did it! I am going to ply on my Kiwi (to save the aggravation) until my Traveller is up and running again. I am hoping to get that started tonight =)

 
I even pulled out my next spin! I bought this at a sheep festival a few weeks ago, the colors are amazing! It is merino and it is dreamy. I hope I have a better experience spinning this merino then the last time I tried it =/

So that was my crafty weekend and I am going to continue spinning tonight just so I can finish the BFL. I feel more productive already!

Potholder Swap Received!

I received the most amazing package in the mail the other day! I joined a potholder swap on Flickr this month where you have make and send two potholders to an assigned partner in the colors that they pick. You can do any pattern you like as long as there are 2 of them. Well I haven't finished mine yet ( but I have finally gotten the bobbin stitches to look decent on my sewing machine!) but I have received mine!!



OMG!! Look at how adorable they are!! They were made using Vintage Modern by: Moda and she even included the rest of the charm pack she used! I also got a sweet little keychain and some bias tape! This was a fantastic package and I can't wait to see what my partner thinks of mine =) All I need to do now is get my own place so I can use them in the kitchen! Haha

Yummy Handspun

Just a quick post. I finished the reddish blackish creamish Corriepaca I had on my Ashford Kiwi a few days ago!









275 yards of (I think) heavy DK/worsted weight yarn! Yay!!! 4oz down.....lots more to go! This along with everything else I am spinning is going to be socks some day!! =)

Weekend Spinning

My Robert was in New York this weekend to see the Bruins game so I was left available for some crafting! I was going to sew but my sewing machine has been mean and I want to have it looked at before I start on a potholder swap I entered on flickr so I went to my friends house to knit on Saturday instead. I knitted on my second Hermione sock while she spun on her Ashford Traditional spinning wheel. I LOVE that wheel....if I didn't already have 2 ( that have been neglected) I would get one haha. So I sat with her that afternoon and became overwhelmed with the need to spin. I haven't in a while (the Harry Potter swap spin doesn't count since it was pretty much done and all I needed to do was ply it) so on Sunday I set out to clean up the wheels!

The dust on them was incredible! It was gross, so I used Pledge to clean them a little better and oiled them.  When I was ready to spin I went through my stash of fiber and I couldn't believe how much I had!





 
Don't get me wrong, I probably have 4 or 5 times bigger yarn and fabric stashes but the fiber takes up ALOT of room so it seems alot bigger. I have decided that I need to do some stash busting. Since I signed up for the Spunky Eclectic monthly fiber club again, I need to spin some stuff before the first one comes at the end of the month. My goal is to spin as much of the first picture as I can! At LEAST 2 4oz bundles would make me happy. That way getting one in the mail wont BUILD the stash! Good logic right? Well unfortunately when I cleaned them off both wheels already had fiber on them (not part of my stash busting) so I need to finish those first.






The pretty blue BFL fiber is on my Ashford Traveller and the reddish black Corriapaca (corriedale and alpaca blend) is on my Ashford Kiwi. I have one bobbin of each completed and have started the second for both! I am hoping to have two new hanks of yarn before this weekend then start on the real stash busting! Yay! I love being motivated! =P

I Love Living in New England

Maine is so pretty....even when the weather is a little grey





 




 
It was a wonderful weekend! Happy Monday!

Sewing up a Storm!

I have been sewing up a storm lately! Since switching jobs I have had alot more free time which is fantastic. It is funny because I never thought I did until I got a job that didn't let me out until 6:30 and with a 40 min commute I was getting home after 7, eating then going to bed! Now I am home by 5:30, get more money and have alot more time for crafting! I love how things work out for the better!

My sewing has involved a pretty quilt block, my Patchwork Chevron Quilt and even a little sewing kit! I am hoping to get more quilt blocks into the mix since I am planning on joining the 3x6 quilting bee on Flickr! I have always wanted to join one of those and now I have the time to do it =) Here is the first block I tried.







These are my favorite colors at the moment. This block actually has alot of the scrap fabric from my first quilt which I love. I have seen this design alot on Flickr and love how it showcases alot of different fabrics. I tried to make a little mini quilt out of this with some free motion quilting but that ended terribly! My bottom stitches are looking awful and keep knotting no matter how much I change the tension or re-thread or clean the machine, but only when I try to free motion quilt! It is very frustrating. Might take my machine to my LQS and see if I am doing something wrong. It was fine when I practiced a few weeks ago. Oh well haha.

Then we have my Patchwork Chevron quilt!



All the blocks are finished! I am now in the process of sewing them all together which I am hoping to finish tonight. This is the biggest thing I have ever sewn with an approximate finished size of 78"x78". I have no idea how I am going to quilt something this big haha.

Last I started a Zakka Style sewing kit. I finished the cutting but only sewed together the pin cushion so far. It is soooooo cute! I love Little Apples by Aneela Hoey and was happy to use it here! =)



That's it for now, I am going to Maine this weekend with the Bobert so I am sooo glad the week is almost over!

Happy Friday and have a great weekend!

My First Mosaic!

My First Mosaic!, a photo by TangledinThreads on Flickr.

Just learned how to use the mosaic maker for Flickr! These are some of my favorites =) I am not sure why the names of the photos aren't coming up here but if you click on it it will take you to my flickr page and you can see where the photos came from =)

This Week

This week was rough. It was month end at work so it was very busy and crazy. To top it all off I got the 24 hour bug on the last day! Ugh it hits you like a ton of bricks that it for sure! What makes it worse is that even though I couldn't go to work ( there was no way I was driving 45 minutes to be nausaus and useless all day) but I had to work from home and make sure I answered every email if I was needed...not fun. I am not sure  if I mentioned this but I switched jobs at the end of December and even though I like working at this new place, I am not over the moon for it. So when the director of accounting called from my old job and offered me a higher position it was not hard to make the decision to go back. That being said the manager at my new job thinks I am going to be slacking til I leave hence the reason I had to work while I was home puking....sometimes I am not a fan of accounting. The only good thing that came from this was when I was feeling better that afternoon I actually got some sewing done on my quilt! WEEEE!!!



I am sooooo excited for this!! It is actually alot better then I imagined it would be =) I still have two more of these rows to go but I couldn't be happier with how it is progressing! This is the farthest I have gone on a quilt since my first one! I cannot wait for the top to be done and I have already ordered the binding! I am going to use a red candy stripe fabric, I think it will really pop with all the white =). I am having a little trouble deciding on a backing but I will figure it out.

Besides that I sewed a little this weekend too. I have had the same checkbook cover since I was 17 so it was time to whip up another one. They are sew easy to sew and I got so excited that I forgot to iron in the interfacing! =( it is a little too floppy for me so I am going to have to make another one. Oh well still pretty!




 


I also decided to change up my beauty routine. For the last few weeks I have become very interested in make-up. Don't ask me why, all of a sudden I wanted to buy it and wear it. I researched what kinds were good, I you tubed how to videos and started a nice little collection.







This is some of the stuff I have bought....a little crazy but I am liking it so far. I never wore make-up before unless it was for something special, maybe to work sometimes, but after going to the gym so much I really wanted to start looking and dressing a little nicer. I might have gone a little wild on the purchases ( I need to start controlling my impulse buying) but after learning a few tricks I have never felt prettier! I am really enjoying it =)






Even decided to try a new toothpaste to help whiten my teeth a little and a razor that is supposed to be ten times better then any woman's razors. Evidentally they use duller blades on the women's razors since we use them more often so we buy the refills more. I read that somewhere haha so wanted to switch it up a little.

That is prolly a little TMI for most people haha so I will stop it there. I have a few thrift store finds to share tomorrow!

Recieved! Harry Potter Swap Package!

I was so excited last week when this was waiting for me at home and all the way from the UK! I was sooo totally spoiled by my partner LadyLouLou

Patroness's drawn on the top of the box =)
















A pincushion, sweater for my iPhone, yummy sock yarn, tea cup, tea, pins and needle book, stitch markers, a cute owl, my very own time turner and Marauder's Map, and YUMMY GOODIES FROM THE UK!!! EEEE!!




OH NO!! I got the Grimm!!!! EEEK!!! I love everything, thanks soooooo much LadyLouLou!!

This Weekend

This weekend was very productive! I had my romantic night with the Bobert on Saturday for our Valentine's Day ( he bought be daisies, my favorite!), hung out with him all day Sunday (we went food shopping and watched Ancient Aliens in our PJs), and Monday, since it was a holiday, was devoted to cleaning and crafting! I find that I am much more productive in a clean and tidy enviornment and since I don't have that very often ( I NEVER have time or motivation to clean) Monday was awesome!

I actually started on Friday night when my fabric arrived. 4 charm packs of A Walk in the Woods by: Aneela Hoey! I seperated them all out and prepared for the patchwork for The Patchwork Chevron Quilt....

 



I got to sewing and soon had 7 blocks of patchwork completed! It is crazy how much you can get done when you don't have to cut anything! And they are beautiful!






By the end of the day Monday I had 11 completed! I was hoping for more then that but I will take it haha. The background fabric should be there when I get home tonight so I can start cutting out the blocks for the half square triangles. This is coming together super quick, I can't believe it! I am really going to have a human sized quilt, probably by the end of the month! Weeeeeee!!!!