Toying with my queue

I have just been browsing around Ravelry lately. I have seen a lot of toys that I think are cute. Too bad I didn't figure out that I like them a little earlier so that I could make some for Christmas!


Snowman ornament. I definitely want to make some of these for next year, along with some plain round ones.




One of my friends likes little monster creatures. I think I will still knit her some and send them to her.



I am getting a Nintendo DS for Christmas (I am a video game nerd... ;P) so I am going to knit one of these for myself!

Ah, the season of queuing continues...

Elf Elf Baby

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Christmas Treats

We've been baking and wrapping and eating and watching movies all afternoon. Ahh Sundays! ^_^

Like DJ's apron? :P

Catching up with life

Oi! Finals are finally over! Now I can get back to life, and this blog!

My birthday was last Thursday, the fourth. I had two tests during the day, but DJ took me out for ice cream later that night. He's such a sweetie! ^_^ Then I had choir practice on Friday and afterwards had my fancy dinner with DJ's fam. We went to a really yummy Italian restaurant. My choir concert was Saturday. It was a lot of fun. We dressed up in Renaissance costumes. This is the only photo I have as of right now.



On Sunday I had my family party. I was babysitting the boys, so they got to come. We went sledding earlier that day and had a blast!



Earlier in the week last week I got a package from my Snack Swap Partner. Boy, did I feel spoiled! ^_^ She sent it in a yogurt box, which I thought was funny and went along with the swap well!





Now that I have time to knit (and breathe) again I have been working on DJ's mom's socks. I still have the second sock from that pair, the second sock from DJ's pair, and two scarves (one already started) to finish before Christmas day. I have more time to finish DJ's sister's socks because she and her husband are spending the holiday with his family in New York.

Whew! I think that's about all I have to catch you up on for now! I feel relieved!

P.S. I am watching Elf again... ^_^

Books, yarn, and sewing FOs

I very much needed to relax over Thanksgiving break. I was so happy to have time to do things for myself! DJ, my sister, and I went shopping on Black Friday and got some fantastic deals! I was able to find everything I set out to! Even though I went shopping, I still plan to give out some hand made Christmas gifts this year, and actually I have gotten quite a few completed.

My birthday is coming up this Thursday, so I thought I would treat myself to a couple of books I have been wanting.



I have also been wanting to make myself a couple of berets, so DJ bought me some yarn to do that (the reddish) and I bought myself the cream colored yarn.



And finally a few Christams gifts! These are for my three cousins. They are obsessed with the movie Cars. They are also (hopefully) getting a new playroom at their house, so I thought I would make some pillows to go in it. DJ's momma helped me. The front is the Cars fabric while the back is just plain black. Then she got the idea to make little zippered pouches with the leftovers. She's so creative! ^_^ There is one last square of fabric left that I thought we could frame and hang on the playroom wall.





P.S. I noticed that I spelled reddish like raddish, but I think it's funny so I will just leave it. ^_^

See How He Is?

Since DJ is a little snooper, he now knows about his socks! I am a little miffed because they were supposed to be his big surprise! :( Oh, well.

Last night I watched Elf while knitting away and drinking some hot chocolate. Then today I watched it again while knitting. I just LOVE that movie! For some reason I never tire of it! I can even watch it twice in a row, which I have done, and not be tired of it! It's my favorite. ^_^

I hope to finish the first Thuja sock by tomorrow. Then I need to get moving on finishing the mates for all of these lonely socks!

Lovely

Driving was fun today! Not. Lol! I feel partially grumbly about the snow, but also partially happy. As soon as it starts to snow, I begin to feel like a hermit and all I want to do is sit at home curled up under a blanket and watch movies and knit or read. It's just so much more cozy than braving the winter storms!

I started and finished another twisted drop stitch scarf today. I love this one because it looks so frothy and pink! ^_^



I started a project for DJ today. I think he will like them! I have a few other ideas for him as well, but I am not certain as to exactly what patterns I will be using.

Woah... What?

So I was going to blog all about how I cast on for Hey, Teach (which I did) and how I am going to work on it tonight while I watch some television, which I still plan to, despite the fact it was pointed out on And She Knits, Too! that there are 39 days until Christmas. That also means, though, that I have four weeks until vacation starts! ^_^ It kind of seems like a while, but that's about five weeks... How many projects can I get done? Haha. I am not panicking or anything, just hoping that I can get all my planned projects in!

Off to knit!! ^_^

A Scarf a Day

Keeps the chills away!



Here is the scarf I knit for my Aunt. You can't really see the pattern in this photo, but it is another twisted drop stitch. I love this pattern for gift scarves because it knits up in just a few hours! Here it is modeled by my younger sister. Speaking of her, she is still knitting away on her hat. She brought it over today with a few dropped stitches that she needed help with, but other than that she's doing well!

Tonight we are going glow bowling with a group of friends. I am excited! ^_^ I will definitely post some pictures tomorrow.

Puttin' on the Knits

DJ and I went out to dinner and then shopping tonight. Our favorite place to eat is Chipotle! Yummy!

I am trying to build a new wardrobe, so I have been hitting the sales whenever I see them for the past few months and gradually have been adding pieces. I love shopping, but sometimes I can get so frustrated when I can't find what I want in my size. Arg. I was just browsing through the formal dress section of a store when I overheard a conversation that made me sad. It was between a girl and her mom.

Mom: Oh, that one is pretty. I think you should try it on!
Girl: Mom, I could never even try that on, let alone wear it. I am just too big.

That just made me sad. It was a lovely dress and would have looked great on her. When I got out of the store I told DJ that I hate our society. When a girl feels like she can't even try something on because society has told her she is too big, too small, too whatever its just too much.

I have struggled with my own self consciousness issues, but I finally think I am getting over it. I don't mind (too much) shopping for clothes now when I can't find my size. I used to absolutely dread it because I would usually end up crying in the dressing room. Now instead of feeling like I need to loose weight because society tells me I have to, I can feel confident just being who I am and tell whoever thinks I am not good enough to stick it. I will excercise because I want to be healthy, not because I want to be a size 2. Not that being a size 2 is bad, if that is how you are meant to be. I can tell you, though, that I am not so I refuse to attempt it.

On a lighter note, I saw SO many great knits in the stores! It made me want to get started on the ones in my queue even more badly!! ^_^ I especially want to knit a beret! A big slouchy one. Those are the ones I think looked best on me when I was trying them on.

Getting Ready for the Holidays!

I went to Pat Catan's craft store today just to pick up a couple of balls of yarn for a quickie scarf for my aunt for Christmas.



While walking down the aisle with the dishcloth yarn, I saw some tapestry needles and remembered that I lost another one... So I grabbed some of those. (About the dishcloth yarn... I am kind of obsessed. I love to make dishcloths for my grandmother because they make her happy, and there are so MANY pretty colors... I didn't buy any tonight, though.)

I did, however, wander through the seasonal aisle and saw some cute ideas for a crafty project to do with the boys. The little ornaments are for the boys to paint and give to their Mommy for Christmas. The big one is for me to decorate for a different aunt who just adores snowmen.



When I finally neared the checkout I spotted a basket with stamps for only 50 cents. I dug through and found this one. I thought it would be cute to use for my Christmas cards this year.



My goal this year is to give everyone a hand made gift. Not necessarily knit, but hand made. I have a ton of ideas for everyone, which is why I began during the summer!

P.S. I have dilligently begun the second Monkey sock. Haha! ^_^

Etc.

Every so often we have these things called etc. performances at school. I went to one for the first time tonight and I had a blast. This particular performance was a performance art piece where you make art while you are performing. We had a group called Red Hand come to school and perform.

I know this will probably seem weird, but it was about hair. Anyone in the audience could be in it. There was a professional hair stylist on stage and she cut some of our hair Just a trim, which I actually needed... Then we contributed it to a circle of the others' hair. There was a rack of costumes set up on the opposite side of the stage (all red, for the group). You then could go over and pick through the costumes and put on whatever you wanted. When you had your chosen piece you could walk into the spotlight and say something about hair. Whatever you wanted. For example, I put on a plaid shirt and told the audience that it reminded me of something my uncle would wear. Then I said, "He is bald except for this little piece of hair that he combs over the bald spot. You aren't fooling us... We know you're bald... It's okay."

This little seven year old went and got his hair cut. He then came over to the costume rack and proceeded to plop a Cat in the Hat esque hat on his little head and pulled on some big red ski boots. He kept clomping around the stage preteding the hat was stuck. His presence made it much easier to play, which is what performance art is about... Play. Seeing him clomping around made me realize that it didn't really matter what the audience thought about what I did, as long as I was having fun doing it. The kid then put on a silk robe and said, "I'm a jedi knight! Take that, Hans Solo!"

Then I decided to put on a punk-y looking jacket and tell about the time I dyed my hair purple. I said, "The summer before my freshman year in high school I dyed the ends of my hair purple because I thought I would look punk. I turned out just looking like a nerd with purple hair..."

All in all, it made for an interesting, fun night. I certainly have never done anything like that before, so I was a bit out of my comfort zone at first, but I soon was just fine!

On the knitting front... No Purl Monkey number one is done! Despite all my Christmas knitting plans, I really want to cast on for Hey, Teach! :\

Blue Skies...

Nothin' but blue skies...

General Ramblings

Today we went to Red Lobster for DJ's grandfather's and twin uncles' birthdays. It just made me think of life, I guess. I always thought it was taking forever to grow up, but now that I am going to be 19 (not that old, I know) and I am done with high school and in college it seems like the years have gone by really fast.

That makes me think of when I learned to knit. I joined a knitting club at school when I was in tenth grade (about three years ago... Wowzers!) and learned from the girl who had been my best friend since knidergarten. We were in every single class together until fifth grade. After that we rarely ever saw each other until high school so, naturally, we drifted apart. In joining the knitting club and her teaching me to knit we grew closer again.

I learned that my French teacher knit and crocheted. She also, like me, enjoys reading. (Which reminds me that I think I still have a book I borrowed from her...) I really enjoyed chatting with her after school and before flag practice or play/musical rehearsals. I even still go and chat with her when I pick my sister up from school. I think she does read this blog sometimes, so hello just in case you are! I promise I will check and see if I still have your book and I will return it if I do! ^_^

I know there are a lot of stories like mine, but I was wondering if any of you have one. Have you been brought closer to someone through knitting? Or maybe have you met new people? I know I have made a lot of friends on the internet, but as I don't really knit with a group or anything like that I don't really know a lot of knitters in real life. I do, however, love to meet new people and make new friends so I have been searching for a group of gals to knit with.



Here's to knitters drifting together on the sea of life!

It's over already?

The weekends go by so darn fast! I wish there was more weekend and less week sometimes! Haha! ^_^

The other day I got home pretty late and I was pretty worn out. I was ready to go right to sleep when I saw a package waiting for me! Well I opened that box right up and inside I found the yarn I purchased from the destash sale! I just LOVE it!



It's going to be very soft and warm, whatever I end up making out of it. Once I get my Christmas knitting done, or at least a good chunk of it, I will cast on for either Hey, Teach! or whatever I decide to make with my new Elann Peruvian Highland Chunky. Like I said, the February Lady sweater is high on my list.

Speaking of soft and warm, here is my sometimes bed buddy... Matthew! I woke him up from his nap right before this shot. Poor baby! ^_^

Epic Fail!

So I missed two days... :\ Oh, well. I will still try to post for the rest of the month... If that's okay with you guys. ^_^

I am currently trying to teach my sister to knit in the round.


She is doing well so far, I think!


I haven't gotten any chance to work on my sock today because I babysat my cousins again. They definitely require all my attention so there could be no knitting happening while I am there! I am to babysit again tomorrow, so I think it will take a few more days to finish that sock. It's okay with me, though. So far I am pretty on schedule with my gift knitting. By saying that I probably have drawn myself into the knitting gods' attention. Now I will not finish at all. Haha!

I have two new yarny purchases to share, but I need some good light for photos. The colors are just too pretty to show in rainy day light. So stay tuned! ^_^

When Darkness Falls...

No, not the movie! ^_^ One thing I don't like about winter time is that it gets darker a lot faster... I meant to go outside this afternoon to take pictures and got distracted. The next thing I knew, it was already too dark! :( Oh, well. There isn't really much to see on my sock, anyways. I love the way the colors are coming out, though!

Now, maybe a lot of people wouldn't think a half an hour of sitting in one spot is bad (like people in Chicago or New York or any other highly populated area) but when my commute home from class is normally only 20 minutes long and I have to wait half an hour, I get a little peeved. They are reconstructing one of the main roadways near my house and it has led to many many traffic problems. I just can't wait for them to be FINISHED! Lol. In order to deal with the traffic I turned on some classical music and turned a heel! ^_^ I am now on to the foot! I just may reach my goal of finishing this sock before the week is over!

Off to enjoy my Starbucks Double Chocolaty Chip Frap and read some blogs!

Edited to add:
Oh, geeze! I almost forgot that I wanted to share some photos from last weekend! DJ and I took the boys on a hayride and then to the duck pond. They loved it!

February Lady?

Photo belongs to nvgreen on Ravelry!

I recently purchased some Elann Peruvian Highland Chunky from the Green Apples blog destash. I can't wait to get it! ^_^ I will show ya when it comes! I am hoping to knit the February Lady Sweater out of it. I have been eyeing everyone else's for a while now!

I am to the heel on the Monkey sock. I hope to maybe finish the first one by the end of the week.

Election Day!

It is my opinion that every single citizen of age in the United States has the duty to vote. I hope you did. I am also of the opinion that if you forfeit your right vote, you forfeit the right to complain when things aren't going the way you think they should! That's just about as political as I get. I don't enjoy debating with others about my political views, even though I do have an opinion. It's just not my style. I understand why some folks do enjoy it, and I will listen if someone wants to share their opinion with me, but I feel that I have my views and you have yours. Everyone has their own background and their own reasons as to why they choose to vote the way they do and as long as you vote, I say good for you!

Project Photos and Others

Here is a photo of the first Fluted Banister Sock. For some reason this took forever to knit. I think it was the purling in the round... I don't like it. Haha! I am happy with how it turned out, though.






The beginnings of the No Purl Monkeys for DJ's sister. I think I am going to do just three pattern repeats on the leg for these.










I just thought this tree was cute because of the little group of leaves clinging on just at the bottom. ^_^

Haunted Houses!

Last night DJ and I decided to check out a few haunted houses. I do not like them. Haha! I mean, I suppose they are fun, but I get scared. Alright... Its fun. If I didn't get scared I guess there would be no point.

I am going to attempt to participate in National Blog Posting Month, or NaBloPoMo for short. I think it will be a fun challenge to post every day. I always think of things to say, but never get around to blogging them. If I blog every day I will be more likely to remember what I wanted to say... Hopefully.

Anyways... Other than that I guess I have nothing else to say today... See how I am? I'm not ready for the week to begin! ^_^

ETA: Oh! Do any of you have or know anyone who has any Socks That Rock in the Dixie Chick colorway that they are willing to sell?? I have been lusting after it since last Christmas... And now that I have the money to buy it seems there is none to be found! :( Please let me know!

Happy Halloween!

We had a great party with friends tonight. Lots of fun! Here are some photos of the decorations and party! I know it's a lot... But I wanted to share as much as I could! ^_^




P.S. Can you tell who DJ and I were supposed to be??