Allergies

Greetings all!

I am close to being done my holiday gifts and am currently working on the third to last, when I did a daft thing ...

For those who don't know me, I have two .... peculiar ... allergies: one to metal, and the other to anti-bacterial soap. Weird I know, they run in my family, though I seem to be the only one who has BOTH. *sigh*

Normally, I think nothing of them, as I have had to live with these for many years and very rarely have a "flare-up" because I know what I can or can't use or wear.

So, as I am gearing up to head into the "home stretch" and really hitting my knitting grove, one night after dinner and dishes, I picked up my knitting and continued on like I had all day. After about an hour, I feel this "itch" start on the edge of my palm and on my pinky finger of my right hand. I initially think nothing of it, rub my hand and continue on. This happened a few more times before I set aside my knitting and carried on with my evening.

The next morning, I still feel the itch on my palm, but I continue with the morning routine. It is as I had picked up my knitting again to try and put another "dent" in the current WIP, that it starts to burn a bit. Under "normal" circumstances, I would have figured out what was wrong the night before when it started ... I blame stress.

See, my current WIP was being knit on a set of circular METAL needles, and the dish soap I use can double as an anti-bacterial hand soap ...

Yeah. Owe.

So I did what any self respecting knitter would do ....

I switched to wood needles.

P.S. I apologize for the colouring of my pictures, camera has decided it no longer wants to take "normal" photos, but will now change the colour to be either yellow or blue tinted.

One more down ... 4 to go

Woot Woot!!

I have finished another project ...

Though between you and me, it kinda kicked my butt. Don't mind the yellow tint to the picture, as for some reason after I had to change the batteries in my camera, all my photos have this tint ... I think it might be the batteries ... need to wait to replace them, they were the last ones. Anyway .. the yarn is Patons Canadiana, 100% acrylic, in Royal Blue. Soft, soft, soft to work with! Yeah, it REALLY is Royal Blue ... dang batteries!

The next project waiting for its chance to hop on my knitting needles is a simple ribbed hat in black; can't remember who made the yarn right now, but it is also acrylic. I am making most of my gifts out of acrylic for two reasons: 1. It is easy care for, for the people who will be receiving the gift; and 2. I am a poor recent graduate ... can't afford the "real" yarn ... yet.

My life has been pretty uneventful since my last post, but here is a (yellow-tinted) pic of what I was doing this past Saturday ...

Yep, watching YouTube Vids and knitting away. The person on my computer screen ... my favorite author/blogger, The Yarn Harlot!! Though because of the flash from my camera, you can't really see her. Here in this interview she was talking about her "latest" project, which was a gansy sweater for her hubby.

Maybe one day I will try to knit a sweater for myself, or someone else ... but I have a feeling that could be a fair ways off .. at least until next year. :)

Until we meet again.

One down ... five more to go!

Greetings all!

I have managed to finish another X-mas gift, see:

And I have only 5 more to go!! I know what 4 of them will be, bit the last one is eluding me ... for now. I like how this turned out, it is more of a Hunter Green than the Dark Green that was labeled on the band.

I was also busy yesterday baking these:

Apple Pie Fries!! They are SOOO addictive!! I don't think that there is even half of the plate left! Here is the link to the recipe if you want to try your hand at them. I have just a small note to add ... when using the cookie sheet, it you aren't using a silicone mat, try buttering and flouring the pan to stop the "fries" from sticking to the pan.

Until we meet again!

Thursday Morning, again!

"Oh what a beautiful Morning! Oh what a beautiful day!"

This is what I woke up to this morning

 

Isn't that a pretty sunrise? This is the best of 3 pics I took, as it was rather difficult to not get my neighbours window in the shot too.

 

But I digress. I managed to finish another gift for Christmas!

 

 



It is about 5 feet long and 3 inches wide. The yarn is acrylic and a gorgeous blue raspberry ... though I think the ball band said it was Deep Teal, it has hints of raspberry that run through it. LOVE how it turned out!

I have also already started on my next gift

Had to get some paper to make the yarn stand out against the dark table. And yes, that is a Christmas cup, helps to get me in the spirit of why I'm knitting this piece, even though our Canadian Thanksgiving is just around the corner, with Halloween coming up really fast behind that! Yarn is acrylic again, in a Bulky Dark Green. Kinda scratchy while knitting up, but I have faith that once it gets its bath at the end, it will soften right up! Think it will make a very nice hat in the end.

Until we meet again.

Thursday Morning

Welcome Back!

This is how I spent part of my morning while waiting for a workshop to begin

That coffee is an extra large ... that is a sign of how "interesting" I expected the workshop to be ... I was happy to be proven wrong and I have come away from the workshop with some useful information.

But the best part is the knitting! You can't really tell from the picture, but that yarn is more like a teal with raspberry undertones. For an acrylic, it is soft, and such a gorgeous colour!! The scarf is going to be a gift for Christmas.

I also have a few other FO's:

 

 

This is also a Christmas gift. It is a cowl, in a chunky acrylic. Soft!

 

 

This is a beanie that I made for my sibling for the start of school ... and as you can tell from the picture, she is really impressed about me cajoling her into taking the photo. It is also made of ... surprise ... acrylic, and is soft, soft, soft after taking a walk through the washer and dryer.

 

Well, this has been me in a nutshell since my last post. Here's to me getting further along on the teal scarf by my next post. ;)

 

Until we meet again friends!



An Update

Greetings All!

I am just popping in here with a short update about what I have been up to since my last posting.

Some good news, I found ALL my yarn that I had packed from my move, even the MIA (but completed) first sock! I have even found the remaining ball of wool to make it's companion ... I just haven't gotten around to actually making it ... yet.

I have managed to finish ... let me think ... a hat, a scarf, and a few novelty boas. These will be X-mas gifts (I know, early!) for some friends whom I haven't had the opportunity to grace with some good "old-fashioned" knitting ... I'm not sure that they even know that I knit ... hmm ...

I think you may have noticed a lack of pretty photos of my finished projects ... that is because I haven't found my camera from amongst the boxes most of my stuff (junk) is still in. *sigh* That is the next thing on my "To Do List" to find ... the camera.

I'm off now to start digging for it. Wish me luck! I think I will need it.

Until we meet again!

Graduation!

Greetings all!

For those of you that know me, I have been going through a rough time in my family life for the past 3ish months ... my mom passed away. That is one reason of many that I haven't been here to give you updates on what I am up to in the world of knitting and crochet.

But I will share one momentous life occasion ... I GRADUATED FROM COLLEGE!! :) I am so happy and excited that I actually made it through! I almost didn't. There are many other factors which came into play throughout my college "career" that threatened to derail me ... but with a lot of talking, breathing, and of course knitting, I made it!

It's a bit blurry, but there I am, in my (hot) gown and holding some roses.

Until we meet again!

My first crochet!

Greetings everyone!!

I have some good news ... I have recently started to learn to crochet, and I have finished my first project!!

 

 

 

Isn't it pretty? It likes to twist slightly, but I figure with a bit of use, it will straighten itself out. ;)

 

AND ... I added tassells!

 



Another first for me! This has been so much fun! I have to give credit to my college classmates for teaching me this art! I think I will become as addicted to this as I am to knitting.

Until we meet again!

Current WIP ... well, one of them

Greetings all!

I thought that I would share my current work-in-progress.

Not too shabby for my first sock, huh? I have yet to turn the heel but that is coming in the next day or so ...

The yarn I am using is Lion Brand Yarn, Lion Wool, in a gorgeous Pumpkin colour. I do warn you though, I bought this wool almost a full year ago, and I have since learnt that this line is being phased out. It is a dram to knit up! The pattern is Easy Peasy Socks by Stacy Trock from Ravelry, a place you will find I get the majority of my patterns from. ;)

Until we meet again, my friends!

First Post!

Greetings everyone!

Welcome to my first foray into the world of blogging! I will do my best to update as often as I can, but I am in college right now and yeh .... homework.

But a little about myself first ... I have been knitting since December 2011, when I asked some of my classmates if they were willing to teach my how to knit. I was watching my classmate knit a hobo bag, and was completely enraptured by what she was doing and absolutely confounded that it was made "with two sticks and some string". I have since made a few things, and when I am able to to figure out how, I will have a link to the side to my account on Ravelry.

To finish off I will add a picture of one of my first scarves I made ...

Until we meet again!!