early christmas for me!

This year I had an early Christmas. I think this is the one that I got the most things that I actually wanted to get. This past week my boyfriend and I went up to my parents' house. We dropped off our presents for everyone and collected ours.  I got a Fiesta butter dish in their peacock color. I feel so grown-up having an actual butter dish.

I also got a pair of hand knit mittens from my grandmother. They match the hat that I made for myself. I sent her the pattern asking if she would make them for  me. The pattern I found at one of the blogs that I used to follow. I can't find the link anymore, but the mittens are similar to those from the movie Twilight, that Bella wears in one of the scenes. I really like the knit/crochet wear that the actors wear in the movies, even though I haven't seen any of the movies.

I then got myself a few items that I've really wanted to buy for myself for a while. I got a set of vintage Pyrex nesting bowls.  I bought them from the antiques mall that my boyfriend has a booth at. The print on them is the Early American pattern. I'm happy that I got them at the mall, because on Etsy there is a set of three, were I have the full set of four. I wanted a set for a while. I got them while I was buying my boyfriend his Christmas present, to hide what I was getting for him.

I also bought for myself a Fiesta pie pan in their Shamrock color. Now I have my very own pie pan that I can experiment with different types of pies and what nots. Last week I made a spaghetti pie that was delicious. Now I can try different things.

On a sad note, my phone has died. It is now in two pieces. Last night it fell two yards to its death. I'm guessing it just couldn't stand life anymore being partially broken. I hope that where ever it is that its enjoying a better life.  I'm now phoneless for the next two weeks, unless Verizon will help me out.

snowed in?

This weekend there was a really bad snow storm that covered the whole state of Wisconsin. Up where my parents live, Northwestern Wisconsin, there are some major snow drifts that are almost six feet tall. While down where I live, Southeastern corner of the state there might be six inches.  This is a picture of my front yard. The plow went through this morning. There was a little bit of wind that blew some of the snow around. I went out to shovel the drive way and sidewalk to make snowing when the storm was finished easier. It was supposed to snow for 24 hours down here.  I am very happy that I had this weekend off from work. I'm sure that if I had worked I would have had to drive through the worst of it. From what I've read on Facebook everywhere else in the state is very yucky out and has much more snow then what we have.

I'm about half of the way finished on my scarf. I just have a little bit more I want to do on it. I would have to say it is one and a half arm lengths. I want it to be at the very least two and at the most my arm span in length. I think I have a few more days left until I need to have it done to wear at work.

I still have to finish one dish cloth then I'll be done with pretty much all of my presents for Christmas this year. I still have to think of what to get one person for Christmas. I have no idea really what to get him.

holiday scarf!

I've been working on a new scarf for me to wear to work this month as my holiday scarf. I'm using a fagott stitch for it. I'm using three different strands of yarn to make it thicker. I am hoping to make it about four feet long so that way I can wrap it around my neck like I do with my other scarves. So far I have a little over a foot of it completed. I hope that I get it done in time to wear to work. I still have a little bit of more holiday knitting to do then I should be done with all my projects for a while.

This cold that I have is now starting to kick my butt. I was feeling like I was almost over it yesterday afternoon. Then after dinner it fought back and I'm just wiped out. I slept for almost 12 hours last night. I'm having some what of issues staying awake. I took some pseudophedrine to help clean my nose out. I feel like I've gone through bags of cough drops so far this week. I'm on bag number three as of this morning. I hope that this is the beginning of the end of this cold. Retail work plus being sick  during the holiday season is not a good mix.

Tonight is the start of me working late. I'm going to have to be awake until midnight-ish (that is including my drive home from work) for the next two days. Is it bad that I hope that we aren't busy? I just want to have the week off to sleep and feel better, but I can't afford to call in. I don't get sick days until I've been with the company for five years. I have two more years to go pretty much.

This weekend my parents are going to have Christmas for my boyfriend and I. My older sister and her husband won't be able to make it. My younger sister and brother are finishing up there semesters and might be at home. That means that I have to do a little baking for my mother's present still this week. I'm excited to get out of this town and see my family. I wish I had a picture of my parents house that was a little more seasonal, but this will have to work.

Week wrap up?

This week, it seems like a Saturday already, has been very long and tiring. Everyone in the house is sick to some extent. I just hope that I can get better and stay healthy for the rest of the winter. I have almost run out of kleenex, I'm on my survival stash.

Last night my boyfriend and I along with a little help cleaned the main floor of our house. Here are a few pictures of what it looks like.
This is the dinning area of the kitchen. It is usually covered with papers. But now is looks like "normal" people actually eat here.
This is more of our kitchen area. With very few dirty dishes and such.

If you saw what our front room looked like a year ago and then saw it now you wouldn't believe it was the same room. There is clean carpet on the floor and actual places for people to sit that aren't covered with papers, boxes and how knows what else.
We even cleaned the living room so that the floor is clean and there isn't any garbage laying around. I just wasn't able to get a nice picture of the room this morning.

This house is actually turning into someplace I want to be and have people over to see. Now if only we can maintain it and improve on it.

I was looking at one of the blogs that I follow and saw all the hats that she had made in a week or so and I fell in love with one the the patterns that she used. I really want to try making it. It looks like it would be something that is challenging enough for me to stay busy with but not too hard that I would give up on it.

cleaning and baking

It has taken a few months, but now the house that I am living in is starting to look and feel like an actual home. The kitchen is functional and organized to make sense. The front room is actually a place that I would like to greet company in. The living room is starting to look less like a pigsty and more like a normal room everyday. The office is no longer a crazy man's room full of papers that go their to die. The bathrooms are no longer libraries of old newspapers and my bedroom is slowly becoming a normal looking bedroom. Soon the whole house will be awesome and nice looking.

In the next few days I am going to be teaching my boyfriend and whoever else is in the house that wants to learn how to make potica and baklava. I am excited to make it again. I need to acquire a nut chopper first. I am slowly getting all of the ingredients for my recipes that I need.

Day after Thanksgiving

I gave my friends their gifts last night. They were both very happy with their nice warm winter apparel. Especially since they went out to me to get them.I just hope that they get good use out of them. I was worried that the hat was going to be too large and the scarf too small. But they looked like they fit.

Today I get to work a nice closing shift for Black Friday. One of these years I wouldn't mind going out and seeing the craziness for myself. I'm going to be 1pm to 1015pm. It'll be nice, most of the costumers will be gone for the day. I'll just have one hour, maybe, of Door Busters left, then it'll be regular sale prices. Pretty much my shift is the recovery shift to get it ready for tomorrow's sale. That I think I'm opening for?

Any who, time to keep getting ready for work.

presents!

The scarf is now completed. It is about five feet long. When it is halved it is the right length for me to wear. I really like how it turned out. I wish that I was keeping it to add to my collection of scarves. This scarf is going to be going to Eau Claire also. I just need to box it up and wrap it.

Today I am going to be wrapping a bunch of my Christmas presents. That way I can keep ahead of the curve. I have a few birthday presents that I need to wrap to give this week also.

One of my roommates is turning 18 on Thanksgiving. Since I really don't know him all that well I'm getting him a bag of candy. My boyfriend is also having his birthday this coming weekend. I'm just getting him some candy and underwear. I'm done giving fun things for presents. I'm going to be giving practical items from here on out for people in their 20's on up.

Some Projects

I just finished knitting a hat for one of my friends from Eau Claire. She wanted it in house colors from Harry Potter. She gave me a piece of blue embroidery floss to match the blue with and then said really any grey/silver would work. The blue is Lions brand Denim and the grey is also from Lions brand Sliver Heather. It actually didn't take me too long to knit it up. I just couldn't find my sewing needle to finish it off.

I'm also working on crocheting a scarf for her sister in yellow and blue. With the scarf I'm doing stripes of two lines blue and two yellow in a single stitch. I hope to have it done soon so that way I can mail it up to them before it gets too cold. I'm not all that sure that it'll be in time, since they have snow up there. I think I have about two feet done and I want it to be twice the length. I'm also going to add fringe to it with a mix of the colors.

I also have been knitting some dish cloths for Christmas again. But this time my sister is getting them. She has been complaining that she doesn't have any and that I never make her any. So that is what she is getting along with some bar towels. So far I have two completed and I'm going to give her as many as I can until I have to give her the gift.

New Addiction

FIESTA WARE!

  

This is my first piece, a tangerine spoon rest.

This is my newest addiction in my life. I can't seem to get enough of it. I have become one of the crazy Fiesta People. I have decided what I am going to do on my vacation that I get this year. I am going to go to their factory in Newell, West Virginia.  I am going to go on a factory tour and then go to their twice a year factory sale. It shall be the best crazy lady vacation that I go on. 

I got into the stuff from a costumer that I had a few weeks back. She asked me all these different questions about the stuff. Where in the United States was it made and then general stock questions. She bought around $500 dollars worth of the stuff. Then had me order more from another store. Once that happened I was hooked. I had a dream I was in a very small, closet sized room full of the stuff. I researched the company, Homer Laughlin China Company. Now that I'm not in school my research is pretty much check out Wikipedia and see what they have to say about it.  

So, after my one costumer I felt that I had to buy something and the house needed a spoon rest. I even added some to my Christmas list for this year. I hope that I get my butter dish and utensil crock. If I don't get a butter dish, I have one that I pre-ordered from my work. 

Too Long

It has been far too long since I have last posted. Lets see what all has happened in my live since last time.

I've moved, out of my parents' house, in with my boyfriend. I'm back in the Southern part of Wisconsin. It was nice living at home, but I felt that I really needed to grow up and get out there.
With moving out I got a new job in the company. I'm now the assistant area sales manager for the mens' and kids' departments at a store in the area. I've only completed one week of my training. I think that I'll be all trained in by the end of the holiday season.
My sister's wedding has come and pasted. It was a beautiful day. We had weather in the upper 70's lower 80's. That is pretty much uncalled of in Wisconsin in October.

On the knitting side of life I have been slacking off way too much. But I did complete two hats! Here is the one that I made for myself. I am supposed to have one more completed for one of my excoworkers from back home. I'm not sure if I will be getting to it for a while. I have another one that is pretty much completed. It was made for one of my friends from back home. She wanted house colors from Harry Potter. I just have to sew it a little and then it will be shipped away. I have dishcloths to knit for Christmas. One of my sisters keeps complaining that I haven't made her any. So, that is what she is getting along with some bar towels. She better like them. Otherwise I don't know. I am also crocheting a scarf that is blue and yellow. One of my friends from back home really likes the color yellow. I hope that she likes the scarf that I'm making for her.

PLANTS!

It has been a while since I talked about my plants and their progress. They have gotten quite large over the past few days. I am really thankful for the rain that we got these past two weeks and the sun that we now have. With this lovely combination my plants have really taken off.  These are my most recent pictures of my plants and they don't do nearly enough justice. My plants are now pretty large. I'm guessing soon my squash will be big enough to start training to grow on the trellis. 

I have been having issues with one very unwelcome visitor. I have a rabbit that is eating everything! Most of my cucumbers have the tops bitten off. My broccoli is slowly being murdered by this pest. I just want it to go away and die. All off the tiny leaves on my asparagus are ripped off from the plant. This little guy is very nasty.

My daisy field that I have transplanted from my current garden to over by the house, has taken off like a rocket. They are almost all now blooming. Because of how tall they all are most of them now have fallen over. I think its funny. 

It really would have been nice to get some current photographs of my plants. Because now I have added a few of my pepper plants in with the vegetables.  I'm hoping that now that they are in the ground they will grow nicely also. I still have two different pots going with more pepper plants in them. According to my boyfriend if I keep some in their pots and bring them in when it starts to get cold out, I could keep them alive for years. That might be interesting to try.  

What's on the needle?

I have a lot of unfinished projects that are just hanging out on their needles/hook. Here are just a few of my unfinished projects that I have going.

This is a bath mat that I am knitting out of mop yarn. I recent acquired a few cones of it. I'm not sure about how nice it will be to step out of the shower onto this beast. This is my first project that I am carrying different colors along the project.

I was asked to knit nine dishcloths for my sister's bridal shower that is about a month away. This is now the project that I need to concentrate on. I need to have three sets of three. I hope that I have enough matching yarn to make sets. Otherwise they are just going to be a bunch of random ones that will be called sets.

Before I was asked to make a bunch of dishcloths I had one already going that was going to be a bunch of scrap cotton yarn for myself. This beauty will have to wait until the end of July to be finished now.

I was making a pair of handwarmers for one of my co-workers as a graduation present. I have the first one complete (knitted that is) and I just started on the second one. Maybe she'll get them by the time it gets cold outside.

This is the body of Domo-kun. I just finished the body  and was about the get to the arms when I checked my email about the dishcloths. Domo is going to be another graduation present. He is going to be going to my boyfriend's sister. She graduated from college this past May. I think she would enjoy her own little Domo.





These are most of the projects that I have going as of now. I hope that I can get at least one of them done in a timely manner. If not tough.

Winter hat!

I finally made myself a hat that fits my head! It only took five different tries until I came across this one. It took me less then 24 hours to complete. I had to first unravel what I had done and re-start it. The pattern that I used was pretty easy to understand on my second time through it. It uses a lot of Front Double Post stitches and Back Double Post stitches. The author of the pattern calls it a Divine Hat. With how the clusters look it looks like a bunch of tiny clouds that are stuck together  to form a hat.  I'm just really happy to have myself a winter hat.

**Update**

These past few days have been kind of stressful ones for me. I am working on applying for a job in the Beaver Dam area. I am still without my car, it has been over two weeks now (I'm very angry about this). With these two quasi stressful events (not quite) in my life I am still trying to keep a level head and not lose my temper and keep knitting.

I think I have my resume completed. It has gone through some changes since the last time I did anything about it. I really hope that I get the job. It would be down by were my boyfriend lives. He asked me last week "When are you transferring?" I had to good response to the question other then "I don't know." It would be nice to get the job and move out of my parents' house. I Want To Be an Adult! I'm going to wait until after lunch to submit it.

Two weeks ago my car had an issue about losing coolant. I was five to ten miles away from home when the over heating light came on. That was the last time I saw my car. Last week we finally had them call saying what they think might be the problem. They really didn't look at the car until it had been sitting in their garage for a week. It has now been another week and we were told that one of the heads is fried and they want to smooth the cylinders, just because they got them out pretty much. That call was pretty much one week ago. I think that I could be this far, or farther along with a stick and a piece of gum.

Right now I am knitting a pair of handwarmers for one of my co-workers as a graduation present. There really isn't much to see so far. I have one that I finished knitting and I'm working on the other. I'm hoping that by the end of the week I'll have them both off the needles and buttons/notations picked out for them.

My Future, is looking warm

I've decided that once I get my sewing machine, I want to learn how to quilt. I don't think that I would make blankets right away. I really don't have the space for it. I think I would start with something smaller like place mats and baby blankets. I found this website that I think is pretty useful for my future endeavor. I know that it won't be easy to start quilting right away, that's why I'm going to start with smaller projects until I feel comfortable with them.

This past Friday my little brother graduated from High School. I am very proud of my baby brother. I went to his ceremony and was stuck sitting in a gym full of over 400 sweaty people and no air conditioning. I felt like I was wearing a John the Baptist jumpsuit of wool.  I should have sat in the auditorium where there was air and seats with backs. It was nice to be able to watch the full ceremony. The 300+ students walking in two single file lines that took about 20 minutes for them to all be in the gym for the ceremony to begin.

The Chippewa Valley Air Show is this weekend. Today is the last day of it. The planes fly right over my parents house, even for their practice. It is really cool to be able to see/hear them. This is a picture of the FA-18's/ Blue Angels. They are always a nice draw for the show. With the air show I am able to go out the the field behind my parents house and watch a good deal of the show, they live about five or so miles away from the airport. I wish I was able to see the show this year, but I am stuck working for the full weekend. I was able to watch a little of the practice time on Friday.

plant up date along with yarn

Well most of my beans have died off, thanks to the wind and 40 degree temps over night for their first week outside. That is alright that a bunch of them died, natural selection. A few of my squashes have died also, but the ones that lived are the hearty ones. With a few of them dyeing, I was able to have room for my cucumbers to be planted. There are a few that made their way up. I was told that onions like cold weather, so I planted some when it was still kind of chilly out. I guess old seeds don't like cold weather.  I planted some tomatoes, (cherry and regular) broccoli, cauliflower, and asparagus. I am very excited for all of my vegetables to finally be ready for harvesting.

I Finally finished my tie. I gave it to my boyfriend this past week. He loves it. I am happy that I finally finished it. It took way too long for something that simple.

I just learned how to cable. I am now working on a cable knit scarf. It is going to be a bunch of different colors. But right now it is just blue. I was surprised by how easy it is to cable. I think the title of the pattern that I am using is called simple cable scarf. I hope to power through it and have some nice fun colors in it.

plants, string, and stuff

I think my beans are dead. Last week when I planted them outside it got very windy and almost all of my beans snapped in half. So I have to start over again with them. Hopefully I can still have some sort of bean this summer. Pretty much from what I found. Mother's day was not a good day for planting. I should have waited for this week. It hasn't been windy and it is nice warm weather.

I for to plant my cucumbers. I just sowed some seeds. I hope that thy take root and grow nicely on the trellis. I'm going to replant my beans (that I just found out were bush beans, not pole beans) in a different location.

I am almost done with the tie. I just have a few more inches left of it to go. I am very excited. I has been way too long since I've completed a project for someone. I will make sure to put up a picture of the completed tie, when it happens. This is the last picture of it that I took about a month or so ago.

I started knitting dishcloths again. This it the most resent one that I finished. It is going to my boyfriend with the tie. It says "Your Mom" in the middle. I was so excited when I found it, that I dropped what I was doing and made it. I think it would be easier to read if I used a solid color yarn.

Once I get the tie completed I'm going to ship off the dishcloth and tie, along with a few other items to the boyfriend. I hope that he likes them. I'm sure that he'll appreciate all of them.

What a busy day

This evening was a pretty busy one at home. I planted all of my "children." I thought that I would be save getting them out tonight. Guess wrong. It is going to be pretty cold tonight like it has been for far this month. So once I was finished planting them I had to cover them with sheets. I just hope that it is enough to get them through the night. I had over 30 bean plants to put in. I also had nine squash plants and five tomato plants to put in. In a week or so, month tops, I need to get the tomato cages for them. For Mother's day my older sister and I got our mother one of those upside planters. So I am going to see what grows better the ones that are in the ground or the upside down one.

Soon my peppers will join the rest of the kids outside. I'm guessing there is just about one more month until I can put them out. They are still little guys.

**There will be pictures of my garden soon. If tomorrow is nice I will get a few shots of it then.

When I was done planting, I fixed one of my cardigans that got "ruined" in the wash. A few of the buttons came off the one time I washed it. It has taken me about five months to get around to fixing it. I decided that I needed to put fun buttons on it since it is just a plain grey sweater.

I was reading a blog that I stumbled upon the other day, that was about repurposing/altering children's clothing. I got inspired to do that to a bunch of my clothes. I have decided that for my birthday I want a sewing machine and some new tennis shoes, Reebok Easy Tones to be exact. I have a few months until then, five, so there is plenty of time for people to start getting funds together for these two gifts.. :)

New Life! (in my bedroom??)

My babies are growing fast, don't worry I'm talking about my vegetables. This past weekend they really took off and I missed it. A little more then a week ago I planted my beans and squash. When I left for the weekend they were just starting to poke out of the peat. When I got back on Monday I was greeted with this. They are now about a foot tall and still in my bedroom. It has been getting really chilly at night, so I'm worried about planting them out in my garden just yet. But I don't want them as roommates anymore. I'm hoping that this weekend I can move them outside.

Another little miracle of life is taking place in my bedroom, still no worries. My Peppers are starting up too. They have been in dirt much longer then the beans and squash, but they are much smaller in size, just a few inches if that. I am very excited for all the different colors that I am going to get from these little guys. I'm going to be getting red, green, purple, and white peppers. Yeah, I totally didn't know that there are white peppers. I hope that they are tasty. These guys get to stay in my room for two months I believe then they are going to be kicked out too.

Tonight I bought a trellis for my kids to grow on. I just need to get it into the ground before the beans and squash. I think tomorrow will be the day for that. I also bought some tomato plants. I need to pick the best one for a gift that will be "hanging" out in my garden also. These guys will be in my room also for a few days.

My room has gone from bedroom sleeping with few plants to greenhouse with a bed in a weeks time! I really need to reclaim my space from my plants. It is nice to have all this green around me, but they can have their own room, outside!

This last half of the week is going to be a very busy one for me. I have my beans and squash that are moving out. I need to plant my onions. My trellis is going to be installed. I am very excited for all my fresh veggies. I hope that I don't kill them once they get outside.

Earth Day!

 

Taken from Directory of Liverpool 

Today is the 40th Earth Day. I went with my mother to Menards to get coco bean mulch for her gardens. For the past few weeks I've been planning on taking over one of her many gardens and planting vegetables. Today she gave me the okay to take over the big one in the backyard. While we were at Menards I bought my seeds and plant starter.  I am very excited to be able to start all of these little guys up. I have my peppers going in the plant starter right now, but they need to be in there for two months. I'll have to wait for tasty multi color peppers. 

Tomorrow when I am finished with work I am going to sow the rest of them. I have Chives, Squash, Beans, and Gourds my mother thinks that it would be cool to grow the gourds to make bird houses out of. I need to get some fence for the beans to grow on eventually, and maybe keep pests out.

I can't wait for fresh vegetables!

I started up again a little bit on my tie. I am at 20" out of 27" needed to be halfway completed. I really need to get cracking on it. I have a week to have it finished. I'm pretty sure I'll have it complete by Wednesday when I leave.

Today and Coming Soon

Today is my glorious day off from both jobs for the week. I am very excited that it is nice outside too. It is going to be a day of laundry maybe going to hang a bunch of it outside, a day of crocheting  I forgot that I have a birthday present to make, a day of sitting around doing a whole lot of nothing outside.

I can't wait for the end of the month. I'm going do to see the boyfriend again. I also have an Alumni Banquet for Delta Omicron. It was a ton of fun last year when it I was going alumni. Now that this year I AM alumni I hope it is even more fun! From What I saw on the Facebook party invite there are a few alumni that are either interested in going to the banquet or they are going. It is going to be AWESOME!

What's New?

I have put my blankey on the wayside for now. I need to finish my boyfriend's tie that he asked me to make for him in February. I'm guessing that I can have it done by the end of the month. It is the ugliest project that I've even been asked to make for anyone. Here is where I am taking the pattern from. I did find some different patterns with better looking ties on it but this is what he wanted. I have about two feet or so left to complete. I hope that he does wear it once I give it to him.

I have decided that I want to make pineapple coasters for one of my friends for their "housewarming/graduation" present. I need to find a pattern that I like and isn't too large. I'm thinking about making six of them in different colors. I have a bunch of cotton yarn to use. I just need to figure out how to adapt a pattern to coaster size.

Moving on up

I was offered a Full-time position at work the other day. I just needed to let the boyfriend know what was going on, since it kind of concerns him, since I am planning on moving in with him. With this news I might be moving a whole lot later then August. I am very happy that I have his support in my decision to take the position.

This week I haven't had anytime to work on my blanket. With the amount of work that I have done I would say that I have maybe 3 hours of work completed on it. I think since my last post I but in two or three stitches. I've been very busy with my jobs. I will have my next day off on Sunday. I am planning on getting half of my blanket completed then.

blankey

My afghan is going along nicely. I'm using much of my old "Dead Lady" yarn. I feel like it is going well. I just need to remember to not use yarn that doesn't feel soft. I went through one skein that was very itchy. So I've learned my lesson and I now using two yarns (blue and green) that are both fuzzy and fine (sock yarn?) What ever it is I am enjoying making a large project to get rid of all/most of my yarn collection. My boyfriend told me that it is so ugly that I don't have to worry about him taking it from me. I'm happy that it'll be all mine, maybe Kara's too.