Is Christmas Really Only 8 Days Away.....

Wow! I can't believe how close the holiday is and I still have so much knitting to accomplish. I wasn't originally planning to knit for Christmas since I am still relatively new to knitting. However, with our current money situation it was kind of the best option. Unfortunately, life happened and my grandfather passed and I was sick for about 3 weeks which put a huge damper in my knitting. What have I accomplished? Well let's see: One purse (well sorta it still needs to be seamed and have handles), Hat for my step-dad, one sock for mom, half a scarf for Jeannie....

What still needs to be accomplished: Other sock for mom, other half of Jeannie's scarf, 2 more purses, 3 elephants, golf sweets for my step-dad, dish clothes for my sister (need to find patterns still), non-knitting but I need to make some more soap to go with her dish clothes.

So stressed lately struggling to make ends meet and still be able to enjoy ourselves. Can't wait for knit night tonight. I really need a break from the apartment and life!!

'Sole' Food Swap Q & A

I just can't seem to stay away from the swap bug! No matter how hard times have been and how tight money seems to be I always seem to find space in the budget and life for just one more swap. Here is the Q & A for the 'sole' food swap:

1.What weight of sock yarn do you generally prefer (fingering, sport, or DK?) I have knit socks in just about any weight yarn it doesn’t really matter to me.

2. What is your favorite type of yarn to knit with? For socks I have found that I really like Sensations Bamboo & Ewe (40% Wool, 30% Nylon, 15% Rayon). It is warm enough when I need it to be but cool enough for Florida weather.

3.Are there any brands of sock yarn that you have wanted to work with but have not had the chance? Ummm…Sockenwolle 100% superwash

4. What colors do you like? Pink, Green, Purple (anything really bright is always good) I also really like anything that is self-striping!

5.What colors do you not like? Boring colors (black, brown, beige, etc…)

6.What type of recipes do you usually cook with? I LOVE one pot/pan meals. Easy to clean up!

7.What type of recipes do you usually bake with? Nothing particular. I am a huge fan of cake baking so I tend to bake a lot of cakes. I like trying new decorating techniques.

8. What is your favorite food? Just about anything. I love food and enjoy trying new food.

9.Are you a tea or coffee drinker? Both

10. What type of sweets do you like? Whoppers

11. Does your kitchen have a theme? Penguins

12. Do you have any allergies (to food, fibers, pets, etc) or diet restrictions? Nope!

13. Is there anything else you would like your pal to know? I am an infomercial junkie. I love to watch all the food infomercials (slap chop, magic bullet, perfect brownie pan, & Xpress Redi, Set, Go)

Tough End To The Year

So I apparently did not blog all of November. Unfortunately, November was a really rough month for me. The first week of the month my grandfather had a massive stroke and and spent 4 days in Medical ICU before he finally passed. It was a long tough 4 days. Being told that we had to wait 24 hours initially to see if the drugs they gave would work. Finding out day 2 that they did not work and he would not recover and he had also had a second stroke that took his vision. It then became a sad waiting game. Waiting for him to pass. That was the hardest part was knowing it was coming and not knowing when and wanting to be there for him. There was a lot of phones calls "you have to get here now it will only be a few hours" and then it would be another day. Really tough seeing my family so hurt especially my mom and my sister we have been so close our whole life it is really tough to see them cry. Due to the always wanting to be there I missed 4 days of work which really kicked us in the butt since Walt is not working.

So there was maybe an okay week after he passed and then I got this awful cold that I can't seem to shake. I have had no energy to knit nor do I want to as I am afraid to pass my germs through a knitted scarf or pair of socks. With money being so tight I was planning to knit for christmas with stuff out of my stash but time is running out and I feel like I have tons to do but I can not shake this cold. It has been such a stressful month and I know there is more to come. Still trying to manage to pay the bills with just my paycheck. Hoping I will still be able to at least cook for Christmas. If nothing else I would just like to have some family over to eat. This will be my first Christmas without my grandfather and he will be missed.

What's Happening?

It has been pretty uneventful lately. Celebrated my 24th Birthday last week. It was great!! I got some beautiful Birthday card from some fellow employees but the best came from my boyfriend. The card was sweet on its own but then he wrote some really kind things in there. It really was the best thing he could have given me for my birthday. He recently quit his job so money has been pretty tight for a few especially since sending a swap package to Finland that cost 45.00. I am currently participating in 2 swaps. One that only has one package left to send out the other one is a Robin and you just participate in the ones you want to participate in. The Round Robin group is amazing. The people are so friendly and chatty I felt like I just fit right in. I totally belong there. Waiting on my second package to arrive from my Recession Swap it should be here in the next 4 days. I am so excited. Hoping I can keep up with everything financially since Walt is not working. I am just going to have to budget really well. I know he feels bad about not working but I am glad that he got out of there. Still trying to work on some Christmas knitting. Got some socks going for my mom and a scarf that I thought was for me but I may give away.

Bi-Weekly Blog Questions & Strange Eat Habits?

So this weeks Bi-Weekly Blog Question was:
The weather outside where I live is starting to get cool, and autumn is truly here!!!
So, this week I am wondering ….
“What is your favorite cool weather recipe?”

Since I live in Florida cool weather doesn't really exist outside of my apartment. I mean occasionally it will get down to the 50s but that is about as cool as it gets here. Even though it does not tend to get cold often when it does I always have go to dishes. The first being Chili and grilled cheese sandwiches. Unfortunately, chili is the one thing I can never seem to make right so thank goodness for Walt and his yummy chili and I can handle the grilled cheese. Chili is also a sign that Christmas is right around the corner which mean yah!! I get to make Christmas dinner. Last year was the first year that we had people other than my family over, we also had Walt's family which opened up some new dish prospects. His SIL is a vegetarian so I had to take that into consideration with some of the dishes. I love to cook for Christmas. It is my favorite thing to do on Christmas aside from watching my neices open gifts because the still get such a kick out of it and watching the horror on my sister's face for purchasing certain gifts. Last year there were so many nerves associated with Christmas dinner. First being, cooking for people that I have never cooked for. Are they going to like my food? Do they like mushrooms? etc... Second being, how on earth are we going to shove 13 people into our tiny apartment we barely fit. However, everything turned out great. People raved about my food & everyone fit nicely. I love that I can go all out for Christmas and make as much food as my heart desires and be completely content in eating the leftovers for a week. On to other things:

So everyone seems to think I have strange eating habits. Not really what I eat but how I eat it. I just like my food a certain way. Good examples: Pizza Rolls, I like to squeeze all of the cheese and goodies out of the pastry shell and eat the shell first and then go back and eat the insides. The shell is my favorite part so I eat it first. Subway, I have to completely dismantle my sub. I take everything off (except lettuce, cheese, tomato) and place each thing in its own pile. Then I eat the sandwhich and then I eat each little group of food. It's like I can only eat one section of food at a time or group of food. If it is steak, potatoes, & peas. I eat the peas, then the potatoes, & then the steak. I don't think it is that strange just the way I like to eat things.

So there you have it the contents of my swap package. It contained an adorable little sock notes book with different sections to put valuable information like favorite sock yarns, shoe..rather sock sizes, blogs, etc.... It also contained a little thing of soak which I have been dying to try but haven't yet so now I will have to. Some Alfajor Havanna chocolate which I had to look up because I had never heard of it. It is 2 cookies with caramel in the middle covered in chocolate. It was so difficult to not eat it before I got a chance to post. Some beautiful stitch markers. The cutest buttons ever!!! They had adorable little penguins on them. Last but definately not least a gorgeous skein of Malabrigo Yarn in Brillante. I can't wait to use it. Thank you so much!!!

Awesome!!!

Just got my first swap package today I am so excited. I actually left work for about an hour to go to the post office to pick up the package. Now I am trying really hard not to eat the yummy chocolate before I get the chance to get home and take some photos. My spolier is the BEST!! Not sure what to say other than YYYYEEEEAAAAHHHHH!!!! I will put up another post tonight with some pictures but had to share the news with everyone!

Girls Night Out

Went out on Friday for "Girls Night Out". It was my good friend's Birthday. It was really great to go out with her as we have not spent much time together in the past 5 years or so. So it was the 2 of us, her best friend, and about 4 other girls. Some people were great and some people not so much. Anyhow, we started at Chili's for dinner and a drink. Had the onion petal things they are soooooooo YUMMY!! Gave Jess her gifts and hoped she enjoyed them. Which she did. :) Then we went to a small Karaoke Bar. That was a blast. We sung everything from "Girls just wanna have fun" to "No Scrubs". Got the chance to bond with 2 new girls as well. One not so new (Britney) and one definately new (Kathy). I love Britney. She is so funny and honest it totally cracks me up. She convinced this one guy not to drive home by telling him she was an off duty cop and he needed to sober up before he left. LOL!! Kathy was just the sweetest person I have ever met in my life she really touched my heart. I am so proud of her for putting her feelings out there and being brave. So with the exception of a few rocky moments overall I would say it was a total success. Can wait to go out with some of the girls again for my B-Day.

Perfect Place To Knit...

So I recently discovered for me what is the perfect place to knit. It is my new bean bag. I love it. I is completely and udderly comfortable while at the same time completely mobile. Got all my stuff ready to ship off to my spoilee now I just have to find the time to make it to the Post Office. Hoping she likes it very much. *fingers crossed* The new season of One Tree Hill started last night. So excited, I thought it was a great episode. I was a little concerned knowing that 2 of the main characters would no longer be there but then it made me laugh out loud and I remembered why I loved it so much. Back to knitting. Now that my package is ready to be shipped I can start focusing on the other projects I have to finish. A) My second sock. B) Cabin Pillow C) Horseshoe Towel, which I still have to frog again & then start over. The Fiber-In will be here Friday I am soooooo excited I can't wait. Not actually going until Saturday but still I can't wait. Friday I will be going out with the girls. It is Jessica's B-day. Excited about going out but I am sure I will miss Walt.

If I Won The Lottery

So with the swap comes questions and answers to post to your blog. Our first question is what we would do if we won the lottery.

First, I would buy my sister a house. She is a single parent with 3 children and works really hard for everything they have. I value her patience and think she is a wonderful parent. I would like to help her out lots.

Second, I would then set up a college fund for my 3 nieces. I don't ever plan to have children so worrying about mine is not a problem. :)

Third, I would buy a house for my boyfriend and I.

Fourth, I would buy a penguin!!!

Fifth, I would help my boyfriend to start his art co-op.

Sixth, I would send some money my mom's way.

Seventh, I would like to set up a small business for Julie & I to sell all our crafty stuff in because god knows we have enough! :)

Eighth, New cars.

Nineth, I want to travel the world and just go to a bunch of different food festivals and cook-offs. I should probably invest in a trainer in that case.

Tenth, become a teacher. The pay isn't great but who cares I just won the lottery! It is something I am super passionate about.

Eleventh, Go to a Florida/Georgia game. Been a dream of mine for ever. Let me clarify I am NOT a Florida fan. Yes, I live in Florida but I have been a Georiga fan as far back as I can remember.

Twelveth, Buy some more crafty stuff. Yarn, needles, plastic canvas, soap, etc....

I guess that is all I can think of I am sure more will come. Oh yeah like Betty (it's a bike) I would love to buy Betty.

So Hard

I am finding it so hard to blog right now. I just started my secret swap so everything I am currently doing is geared towards that and I can't blog about what I am planning or working on because it would give away my identity. I used to think finding cute patterns for myself was hard enough but now trying to find something that I would enjoy knitting plus something my swapper would like has become quite challenging. Had a pretty rough weekend. Went out and did some Geocaching unfortunately we decided to do this around 1pm and it was super hot. I got sunburned because that's what I do and then ended up getting really sick from all the heat. So much for enjoying my 3-day weekend. We have also been trying to eat healthy which has had it's ups and downs. I love my special K crackers but how many times do I have to watch the same pizza hut commercial before caving in and getting pizza? Well the answer is about 50. So I guess that is it for now just wanted to check in with the world.

So Anxious...

So the sign ups for the swap are finally closed and now it is just a waiting game to find out who we will be sending our packages to. Actually, went and looked at some yarn today but I did not buy any because I wanted to wait and find out who my partner was and what colors the do & do not like. I am so super excited for this. I can't wait to make a package for my partner with all the cute trimmings. Also, got a second skein of yarn so that I may finish my socks. I cast on the second one last night hopefully it will not take to long. I still have to try and get the cabin pillow finished soon. It has been stressing me out lately so I have not touched it much. Things seem to be going rather well lately I am kind of waiting for the crap to hit the fan. :)

I Can't Believe It!!

I finally finished my first sock. Yes, there is still a second sock to go but I predict it will be much easier now that I know what I am doing. Once I got started on my toe decreases last night I just could not put it down I was determined to have it finished by bedtime which came around midnight when I finally finished my sock. I am soooooooooo excited to wear it but I can't just walk around with one sock on so I need to cast on the second one soon. Probably on Sunday since I need to pick up another skein of yarn for the second sock. Honestly though I can't even believe I did it. I have frogged it more times than I can remember. Had to stop until I could sit with Julie to figure out what the hell I was supposed to be doing, but YEAH! it's done!! Will post some pictures soon. Now I will have the rest of the week to work on the cabin pillow and I may at some point frog the horseshoe towel and start over once again, since I can't seem to keep track of my pattern repeats.

Finally....

Finally got something accomplished in our tiny apartment. Seriously, it has been way to many months since we have gone to the laundry mat. I went yesterday and did about 7 loads of laundry. :( The process sucked but looking in the closet full of clean clothes was so refreshing. We also purchased a new book shelf which was much needed and it looks beautiful in our living room. Now if we could only figure out where to put the bed. :) Got a new knitting book this weekend "Knitted Socks" by Anna Tillman. Just had to have it as there are penguin pop-out socks that I can't wait to make. Also has some really cute socks that I think I might try to make for my neices. They just started public school today. They were home schooled in the past and I am so nervous for them. I have no idea how I ever adjusted to school. I hate change. I just like to get in my little routine and continue on that comfortable path. So excited about my swap group can't wait to start brainstorming the perfect packages.

My First Swap

Just joined my first swap group and hoping it all goes well. So here is my Q & A!

Do you knit or crochet, or both? How long have you been at the craft?
I knit. I just started about the middle of July so not very advanced but I love it.

Do you spin?
No, maybe one day

What yarns/fibers are your favorites?
Not really picky about my yarn at the moment although I am fond of Bamboo.

What yarns/fibers do you not like?
I don't really care for ones that have bumps and lumps and fur mainly because it is impossible for me to knit with them.

What yarns/fibers would you like to try but haven’t?
I am sure there are lots but I am not as familiar with yarn types as everyone else.

What are your favorite colors? Colors that you don’t like?
I LOOOOVVVEEEE Bright colors. The only color I can think of that I don't like is orange and anything that is blue & orange.

What are your favorite types of projects to knit/crochet?
I love wash cloths. They were great projects in the beginning and pretty practical as well.

What are you currently working on?
Currently working on my first sock :), Horseshoe Towel, & a cabin pillow

What is your favorite FO? (Please post a picture if you have one.)
I made this really cute rubber ducky wash cloth for a friend of mine but gave it away before I took a photo.

Are there any techniques that you want to learn?
Too many to list.

Do you have a yarn winder and/or swift?
No

How do you store your needles/hooks?
They are either in my new bag that I got or in a shoe box (they make the best storage compartments)

Do you collect anything?
Anything to do with penguins and I guess that is about it.

Do you like sweets?
Yes, I love dark chocolate & chocolate covered raisins!

What are your favorite scents?
I love Amber & Gardenia

Are you having a birthday during this swap?
Yes, October 22

Do you have any online wish lists? (Amazon, Loopy Ewe, etc.) Please include a link for your pal.
The only thing I have seen that I am in love with are these yarn bowls http://www.knitwitch.com/pottery.htm

What is your living situation (Are you married? Do you have kids, pets, or both?)
I currently live with my BF. I have one Bunny named Smokey. No children!

Are you allergic to anything?
No

Is there anything else that you would like your pal to know?
I love coffee and tend to spend a lot of time at the coffee shop!

Accomplishments

So I have finally accomplished a few things. A) I started and finished a PC clutch purse in only 3 days. B) I put a button on my felt project C) I took some pictures. What a great day, I went to Michaels and got some more yarn for my stash which I will soon take some pictures of. I am now on the heel flap of my sock. For the second time actually :) Had a hard time with that but with the help of Julie I am now on my way. Also, got some new needles including some knit lite needles I am so prepared for hurricane season so when the power goes out I will still be able to see to knit. I also got a bag to hold all of my stuff. :) Now I will put up some pictures.

Slacker

Been so exicted about knitting that I haven't really taken the time to do much else aside from eat, sleep, & go to work! Unfortunately, I have not made time for my blog either. So I was supposed to upload photos like a week ago and never did. Gave away all three of my projects without taking pictures, oops! So unfortunately no pictures to upload. However, I did start my first sock. Started out pretty rough had to frog like 100 times but now that I have about 3 inches of the cuff done it is going pretty well. I am using Sensations yarn in a beautiful purple color. I also used to do a lot of plastic canvas stuff and had ordered some really cool clutch forms shortly before I began learning to knit and haven't completed any of them. So, what I am planning to do is. A) Take a picture of my sock progress & my stash. B) Finish my sock C) Complete one clutch purse D) Sew a button on my first felted project. Hopefully, somewhere in between all of this I will find time for my blog, sleep, cleaning my apartment, my sweet bunny, and eating. :) Things will go so much better when I learn how to knit without looking and speed up a bit. I think I might invest in a Library card too. That seems like a good idea. I could check out all sorts of knitting books. Yippie!!

Photos

So I have totally been slacking about putting up photos. I have been so excited about knitting dish cloths lately that I haven't even thought about doing anything else. So I have finished my first two dish cloths and cast on a third one last night. These seem to be the best beginner projects ever for a few reasons. 1. They only take about 2 days to finish, could maybe be done in one if more time were available. 2. They have very practical simple stitches. So the first one I started with was just knit stitch, yarn over, and SSK (slip slip knit). The second one was just knit stitch, yarn over (which I learned with the first one) and K2Tog (knit 2 together) so for this one I only had to learn one additional technique. The third one that I just cast on is just knit stitch and purl stitch. Again, just one additional technique. 3. Odds are if you are a new knitter you probably don't have a huge stash yet. Well, the cotton sugar n cream is pretty cheap and I got 2 dish cloths out of my first ball.
I am trying to make a firm commitment to put up pictures by the end of this week. I will probably have to do it Friday as I have knit night tonight and then Saturday is Walt's B-Day. It is going to be a pretty busy rest of the week. I love busy! :)
So I am going to frog my first project and start over again with different yarn and a different pattern. I had started the garter stitch scarf but I really want to do something more catchy and fun.

Busy, Busy, Busy

Wow just started this thing and already beginning to procrastinate. :) Did not do any blogging over the weekend to busy shopping for new clothes with my mom. Went to some great thrift stores and had a blast. Had coffee at Starbucks with Paul and Julie Saturday night and she helped get started on my first wash/dish cloth, she also brought me some sugars n cream yarn and some needles. Thanks so much for that. I finished my dish cloth Sunday I will post some pictures hopefully tonight I need to go home and clean out some space. Decided that I am going to can my scarf that I started and start fresh. I have learned to do more than just knit and purl so I want to make it a little less boring and fix the errors that I made early on. Currently working on another dish cloth that is lacy and star/flower shaped. Went and got some more needles and sugars n cream on Sunday. Also got some sock yarn. It might be a while before I attempt a sock though. Had dinner Sunday night at Macoroni Grill. Yummy! Worked an 11 hour day yesterday so excited to get home and relax and get in some quality knitting time. Tip for new knitters: YOUTUBE! You can find just about everything on there. Oh yeah almost forgot I got 2 knitting books at the book store on Sunday as well. They were both on clearance. Got to love that!

I love dollar tree!

So I went to dollar tree to get some new batteries and some gift bags for Walt's birthday and I found some fun fur. I had no idea that dollar tree even sold this I am so excited. I mean seriously 1.00 for fun fur. I also found this really cool mint green furry/soft yarn. Not sure on the specifics because there was no lable and it was the last one they had but it is so nice. I will take a pic and post soon! Once again it was only a dollar so how can you go wrong?

What? & How?

So knitting trials I have come across in the past 5 days. Well, for starters is the overwhelming amount of information that seems to be out there about knitting. I mean being a person who works plastic canvas and knowing how difficult it is to find information about it I am feeling both excited and overwhelmed about the amount of information there is on knitting. However, I am finding that most of the information is geared toward more experienced knitters. Basically, what I have to do is read a paragraph, find out what the abbreviations stand for, and find out what the long form is. I am sure many people have had to go through this but I wish that there was more geared to beginners. The abbreviations are everywhere and sometimes they are not just stitch abbreviations there are abbreviations for project status. Those are difficult to find on the web so then you are left taking a guess as to what this means. Which is fine depending on the context and assuming it is not surrounded by six other abbreviations. I find this alot on ravelry. While I love the information and people and services offered by ravelry the forums are sometimes hard to understand.
So I am working on a garter stitch scarf. Basically, all you have to do is repeat the knit stitch over and over. Somehow I have managed to screw up multiple times. First, by adding additional stitches. Not really sure how I accomplished this but I did. Not only did I do it once but a few times so now I am counting my stitches everytime. Second, somehow I ended up with a hole. I must have dropped a stitch somewhere and I am not sure how to fix it. I am going to push on though. At this point it is about trying to get used to knitting and not being uncomfortable when I do it.

Getting My Feet Wet!

So this week is a week of new adventures. On Sunday I decided that I would take it upon myself and learn to knit. I have never knit anything before but I have watched people do it and they always seem to enjoy it. The closest I have ever come to knitting is working with plastic canvas which is not even close. I want to be able to make more practical things with my yarn and not just a million little Care Bears out of canvas. However, a million pairs of socks, totally practical. My second new adventure is this blog. I have never blogged before with the exception of the occasional rant on myspace and the maybe 5 one sentence posts on twitter. Not sure what I will really be writing about in here. Plan to post pictures of my work and progress in knitting and plastic canvas, maybe share some of my trails and tribulations as a new knitter (which are beginning to add up quite quickly), and I guess a little stuff about myself and my thoughts.