Things of Yarn

Baby projects

2011-11-27T12:01:00.000-06:00

Last night I finished knitting my first cardigan. I finished it just in time for the baby shower this afternoon. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. I did mess up the sleeves. I hope that it fits the coming little boy.

Longtime to type

2011-10-22T12:15:00.000-05:00

It has been way too long since I've been on here sharing my creations. Here are a few items that I have made over the past few months.
I crocheted this hat out of some of my Dead Lady yarn to give to a friend. I put a pom pom on top of it and it ended up looking a whole lot like a pineapple. I hope that she likes it.

I ventured into making clothing a little bit. I made this shrug. It is knitted with, what the author calls, Ostrich Plume lace. I downloaded the pattern onto my computer and the link is not bringing anything up on my computer anymore. I made it for myself to wear to work and now my company is changing its dress code. So I ended up giving it away.

During this past summer I started making a lot of different bracelets to see if I could sell them. I made a few different styles and colors. None of them have sold yet. I'm going to try venturing into different items this winter, like ties and purses.

This is one of the "flowers" from a blanket that I am crocheting. It is made up of different circles that, to me, look like different flowers. The link to the pattern is here. It really isn't too hard to make so far. I just have knitters ADD.

This is the latest project that I have made and completed. They are baby booties. They are NOT a sign of this to come in my life. I just wanted to see if I could make them. Now that I did. I think that I'll have it out of my system for a while.

365

2011-01-04T11:41:00.000-06:00

Kara was being difficult with getting her picture taken
so I caught her off guard.

There has been a lot going on in my life recently. There was Christmas at my boyfriend's family, finishing up the Holiday season at work, an infestation at the house, and My boyfriend's installation at his different Masonic lodges (one is later this week).

I was given a book from my younger sister for a Christmas present. It is 365A Daily Creativity Journal, Make Something Everyday and Change Your Life!

I am excited to use this book everyday for the year.

I decided that I wanted to get back into being creative again. I am very happy with this gift. I am going to be posting pictures of what I've made once a week. That way I can, if I have time, write other entries. In the book they talk about picking a motif that you are comfortable seeing a lot of, or something that you collect. Since I collect yarn and needles/hooks. I can 't really use that. I decided to use something that is really dear to me. My Cat! Kara is going to be my muse for this year. Everything that I am going to make will be cat inspired in some way.

For the first day the book prompts the crafter to make something that will fit into the palm of your hand. I crocheted a green cat that is around three inches tall. I stuffed it with buttons since I don't have any stuffing where I live now.

early christmas for me!

2010-12-20T12:46:00.000-06:00

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?

2010-12-12T16:48:00.000-06:00

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!

2010-12-08T09:50:00.000-06:00

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?

2010-12-06T10:32:00.000-06:00

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

2010-11-28T12:35:00.000-06:00

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

2010-11-26T10:44:00.000-06:00

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!

2010-11-23T11:17:00.000-06:00

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

2010-11-19T09:21:00.000-06:00

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

2010-11-12T10:30:00.000-06:00

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

2010-11-10T08:33:00.000-06:00

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!

2010-06-20T21:58:00.000-05:00

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?

2010-06-18T09:44:00.000-05:00

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!

2010-06-10T13:31:00.000-05:00

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

2010-06-08T12:01:00.000-05:00

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

2010-06-06T09:26:00.000-05:00

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

2010-05-31T15:22:00.000-05:00

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

2010-05-19T09:22:00.000-05:00

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

2010-05-09T22:02:00.000-05:00

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??)

2010-05-05T21:36:00.001-05:00

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!

2010-04-22T19:07:00.001-05:00

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

2010-04-18T10:53:00.000-05:00

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?

2010-04-15T20:31:00.000-05:00

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

2010-04-09T08:38:00.000-05:00

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

2010-04-05T17:57:00.000-05:00

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.

Wishcasting Wednesday

2010-03-31T13:53:00.000-05:00

Today Jamie asks us

What do you wish to accomplish?

I believe I unknowingly answered this in my earlier post today. I wish to finish the afghan that I started earlier this week and that I have the patience and concentration to complete it. I wish to not have crafter ADD and start up something completely different before I finish it.

HECK

I wish to finish the projects that are still in limbo of being half completed. I have three or more (yikes) different projects to complete, before I am comfortable with starting something new. I believe that would be the greatest accomplishment that I can achieve in the short term.

A little warmth?

2010-03-31T11:56:00.000-05:00

I have given up on making myself a hat, for now. This is how far I got on my hat. I have also lost the pattern for it, so I'm not exactly sure how I am going to finish it off for a little little kids hat. On my facebook wall I have been "asked" to make a few hats for one of my friends. I did tell her that I have been having issues with my own hats. So I'm not exactly sure if I was given a job or what.

I am working on a new project and it is supposed to take only 48 hours. I am crocheting an afghan! I'm actually following a pattern that I bought for this one. I am hoping to use up as much of my stash of yarn on this project as I can. It would be really cool if this afghan does take 48 hours to complete. I've been working on it for about half a day now, ish.

I have a completely different project in the works that I will talk about in later posts. Lets just leave it with Vroom!

Here are some pictures of the present that I made for my little sister. Again I forgot where I got the pattern from, I did find it on Raverly but that is a giant database of knitting and crochet patterns. The seaweed part of the roll was I think that hardest part of creating this toy. I'm not even sure if she likes it. My future brother in law said that he was jealous that his handle covers didn't transform into anything.

So Many hats!

2010-03-21T20:50:00.000-05:00

For the past year (or so) I've been trying to make myself a hat that fits my head. All of them that I've made have turned out to be way too small. Here are a few pictures of the hats that I've made. I've been thinking about the different ways that I can give them away. The authors of the patterns won't let me sell them. So I'm pretty much stuck with them. I have someone in mind for the yellow hat. I'm thinking about adding a puff ball on the top of it. Sooner or latter I will have them gone to little kids that will (maybe) wear them.

I'm now on to hat number three. I really hope that this one fits my head. My next one is going to be white and also crocheted like the other two. So far my new hat looks really cool. It is a very different style from what I'm used to. Eventually I will get a hat the fits my noggen. The hat has been my arch enemy for the year. I'm hoping to defeat it by the time May rolls around.

Gifts!

2010-03-20T13:53:00.001-05:00

My co worker loved the dinosaur that I crocheted for her boy. I just wasn't thinking when I put eyeballs on it. I put the safety eyes on it that aren't really all that safe. I am very happy that she likes it.

My little sister on the other hand, I don't think, likes my sushi that I made for her. When she opened it up she didn't seem to enjoy the fact that I crocheted her something that useless. My older sister thought it was was really cool and her fiance said that he was jealous that all I made for him were handle covers for his work out machine.

I'm just happy that some people appreciate my work that I do.

Spring Time, Fun Time!

2010-03-20T13:53:00.000-05:00

Spring is Here! All this week it has been very nice and unseasonably warm out (expect for yesterday). Today it looks very nice out maybe a little chili. Either way, it looks beautiful outside! We were supposed to get some snow the other day, thank god we didn't! It would have been such a Debby Downer if we did. My friends in the Southern part of the state have winter all over again. I guess I moved North at the right time?

The past few days I've been working on defeating my arch enemy, the stocking hat. I know it is a silly thing to fear making, but all of them that I've made have not turned out how I like. This one I'm not all that sure if it going how I want it too. It might be too small for my head, like all of my new hats that I've made. It is turning into another little kids hat. If any of you readers know of a child that needs a hat for this coming winter that also likes the color yellow, I have a FREE HAT for them! I think I might put a puff ball on top of the hat once I am finished with it. The pattern that I am using is for Bella's hat from the movie Twilight. I haven't seen any of the movies and plan to keep it that way. But I love the different knit and crocheted items that the characters wear in the different movies.

In less then a week I am going to start my annual monthly trip down to see the boyfriend. I am very excited to see him again. It has been a little over a month since I saw him. and almost two months since I've been down to see his family and my friends down there. I'm excited it is also my first long trip with my new car, I hope that it makes it both ways without issues.

Attack of the Dinosaur!!

2010-03-11T11:22:00.000-06:00

My dinosaur has been coming along nicely for how little consistent time I have to work on it. I've realized that I enjoy making stuffed animals compared to actual useful items like mittens and scarves. I like that I can see the item forming in a few minutes compared to days of work to get just a portion of the project completed.

I just about have my sister's birthday present completed. I will have a picture of it up on here once the event has passed. Until then I will give you this for a picture.

I might have found my calling? I wish I had some friends that could crochet or knit that way we could get together and make stuffed animals to donate for kids that have nothing.

Dinosaures!

2010-03-07T21:53:00.001-06:00

I need to figure out how to make my days feel like one day not three. It already feels like it is going to be Wednesday tomorrow. Tomorrow is just Monday. I feel like I've been up for three days without rest. I really haven't done much other then work. I think it is because I don't do anything but work that my days are running together. Last week was a long week. I just hope that this week doesn't go on forever also.

Yesterday I asked my friend from work who had her baby last December if I could buy her boy an outfit, in hopes of getting over my itch of needing to buy kid/baby clothes. I got the cutest little dinosaur outfit. I hope that he can fit into it now. I think that I'll crochet a dinosaur to go along with it too. Otherwise it wouldn't be a complete gift. I have a ton of yarn to use up still. I'm thinking my ball of blue would work for it. It is my leftovers of my pound skein that I bought about nine years ago. Anyways pictures will come soon. I just need to find a pattern to follow for it. I'm very excited!

I think on Tuesday, I am going to give my green thumb a test run. One of my mother's plants is going to get broken up into two plants. I am going to take one of my spider plants out of it pot and plant it somewhere? Maybe start growing some cucumbers? Who knows where the dirt will take me. I think that it is the changing season that is making me want to go and garden. I kind of like it. I'm just worried that I will kill all of it.

Just around the corner

2010-03-05T11:58:00.000-06:00

Spring is in the air, I can feel it in my bones, literally. My right arm is hurting like none other along with my left. Either the seasons are changing or my body thinks it is much older then it actually is.

Maybe both.

But it is getting warmer outside. The snow is melting and grass is being exposed. I have a pot of cat grass growing in my window that my cat won't eat. I have plants that I want to grow.

I want to be able to walk around barefoot in the tall green grass of the yard. I have cucumbers that I want to grow in a garden. I have been craving fresh veggies all winter and have only gotten potatoes, and canned corn and beans. I want to try to grow my own. I am going to try to grow tomatoes, beans, pumpkin, onion, cucumbers, and peas. Maybe my mother will let me take over one of her flower gardens for the summer?

On the knitting and crocheting front, I have done much of nothing. I made a few bookmarks for the books that I am reading, nothing else. I'm still working on my boyfriend's tie, ugliest project ever. It is going to be four feet long once I finish it. I'll need to block it once it is finished also.

Since it is almost Easter, my mother has starting decorating with rabbits, chickens, and ducks all over the upstairs. I am going to contribute my crocheted bunny that I made this past fall/winter. I think that she fits in with the motif that my mother is going for.

Days off

2010-03-04T20:28:00.000-06:00

I heart days off. I was somewhat productive today too. I managed to clean my pigsty of a bedroom, do my brother's and mine's laundry, bake cookies, and vacuum the basement. Days off are even better now that it is starting to get nice outside. Soon I'll be able to hang my laundry outside to dry and have my windows open all day long.
Tomorrow is going to be an almost day off. I need to transplant my mom's ivy plant that I got her for Christmas into a larger pot, call the vet about getting Kara a hair cut this month, and wash my car? I also get to work from 515 to 915ish. I hope that work isn't too busy, that way I can get home at a decent time.
Next week for my day off I am going to make scotcharoos/special k bars. I remember really liking them a lot. The cookies that I made this week are Spice Cookies. They are one of my favorite cookies that I've had. Maybe I'll just have a baking day sometime next week.

CAT SWEATER!

2010-02-25T16:30:00.000-06:00

This is the cat sweater that I just finished for Kara. It is a little too short and a little too tight at the bottom of it. I will be making another one for her in a few weeks. I need to finish the rest of my projects before I can even start another sweater.

procrastination and love

2010-02-21T20:47:00.003-06:00

Lately I've found myself starting different knitting/crocheting projects and not finishing them. It has been an issue of mine for as long as I've been working yarn. But this time my procrastination has gotten really bad. I have either on the needle or hook: Glittens (from Christmas), Dishcloths, Handle covers, tank top, cat sweater, hand warmers and scarf, and I'm sure that there are others in my bin of yarn too. I think I need to take a week off from work to finish these beauties. I really need to work on finishing my two projects that I am getting paid to do.

I'm fallen in love again with family trees. I have a hard copy of mine that I had finished a few years ago. Now I am working on putting it online at Geni. In the process of doing so I found that I might have created a family that doesn't exist. I have realized that by putting this up here I can spend many days working on it, making sure that dates and names are correct.

Late night inspiration

2010-02-19T23:39:00.004-06:00

For some reason I always feel inspired to be crafty at the strangest times. It is twenty to midnight and I feel the urge to create something that is functional yet a piece of art. I think that when this happens I need to write it down in a craft notebook for when I need a little inspiration. I really wish I was awake enough to run with it, but if I were to start anything now I would fall asleep shortly after I began.

What do you do when you are inspired to do something?

knitter/crocheter for hire!

2010-02-15T19:55:00.004-06:00

I was randomly checking my facebook profile and found that I got my first paid commissioned job! My friend, the lovely Janalyn, asked me to knit her some handwarmers and a long scarf. With this project I get to have fun. I only have to make it Kelly Green and soft. She wants them to be trendy but timeless. For the scarf I am thinking about doing a lace of sorts, but with every pattern that I have done it hasn't turned out correctly. With the handwarmers I am thinking about changing a pattern that I found at Creativeyarn, but still using the moss stitch and changing the rest of it.

**Pictures will come once I get something actually finished.**

I have been commissioned to do different projects before, but this is the first for money. I have been asked to knit dishcloths, scarves, hats, glittnes, tubes/handle bar covers, and ties. I still have many different projects that I need to finish. I hope that I can get it

done fast enough so she can use her items still this year.

Now on a completely different note. I have a new old car. My Oldsmobile has bit the dust. There was some electrical issues

with it that my father didn't want to deal with. So, he purchased me a 2001 Pontiac Grand AM GT. It is definitely an upgrade from old lady car to hip young boy cruising car.

I got crab?

2010-02-10T13:06:00.006-06:00

The other day I found a pattern for a crocheted crab. In the description of it it said something about how it could be used as a cat toy. So I grabbed some red yarn and set to it. It was very easy to do since you just crochet a circle, fold it in half, seam it up and add legs. I added to it a little cat bell that I had sitting around the house. I gave it to my cat Kara. I don't think that she really cares much about it. I don't really remember where I got the pattern from. It was a really cute idea and I wish that I had thought of it first.

I am still in the process of making my yellow shirt. I think that I am making it too wide, maybe it'll shrink when it gets washed? Not much has really changed in that front.

I'm still working mucho hours at Younkers and at Micon. Today I have the daytime off from work, but I'm closing tonight at the theatre. I can't wait till I can say that I work at just one job or have a vacation.

Speaking of vacation, I really want to go to Spring Green, WI. It is the home of Frank Lloyd

Wright, The House on the Rock, and many other beautiful scenes.

Pretty much I just want to go out and see things. I want to spend time with my boyfriend and not have to worry about what I have to do when I get back to work. From what it sounds like there is a ton of things to do in Spring Green. On my birthday weekend they are having a local artist festival, that sounds really neat. The city itself is "The Birthday Town".

busy little bee

2010-02-05T11:07:00.003-06:00

I've been pretty busy these past few days and there is little to no sign of it easing up. I'm in the middle of "Work Marathon" February edition. Pretty much ever since I got home from my mini vacation last month I've been working at one of my jobs. I won't have a day off from work until next week Friday. I am also in the process of getting Valentines weekend off from both jobs. I really hope that I can find someone to work for me.

Last night I started crocheting a top for myself. There will be pictures up once there is something worth photographing. Until then here is the link to the pattern that I am using. I think you'll need to sign in to Lion Brand Yarn Company to view it. I'm making it yellow since I have so much yellow yarn. I hope to use it all (or most of it) up with this project.

HOBO is awesome

2010-02-03T11:59:00.002-06:00

My mini vacation was AWESOME! It ended up being two days longer then originally planned. While I was gone I had to buy my mother some flower pots. We went to HOBO in West Allis. It was a great place. I got five different beautiful flower pots for $12.00. The most expensive one was maybe five bucks.

Mini Vacation

2010-01-29T09:51:00.003-06:00

Boyfriend and I at New Glarus Brewery

Tonight when I am done with work I get to go see the boyfriend. I'm very excited to see him. It has been almost a month since I've seen him. I'm bringing him a bag of my mom's chocolate chip cookies recipe will be posted in an upcoming post. and a pair of pajama pants that he can wear at my parents when he spends the night. I just wish that I didn't need to drive over three hours to get to him house. I still feel like I am the one doing all the driving, hopefully that will change.

It is going to be a nice break from live in the North woods.

Here's a run down.

2010-01-28T15:56:00.004-06:00

Today has been a much better day for me and my "craziness." I have not been mopy and feeling sorry for myself. I still do think that I need to get out of cold weather and into some nicer parts of the country.

This evening I am going to make some cookies to bring down to Noah. Awww what a good girlfriend. I feel that he deserves them since he has to put up with so much from me. I am going to see him for the first time this month tomorrow. I am very excited to get out of the Chippewa Valley.

I might even go see Legion tonight. I've wanted to see this movie since I saw the preview for it in Men Who Stare at Goats. From what I've seen in theatre checks at Micon, it is a pretty good movie with a few scary parts.

Done

2010-01-27T16:43:00.003-06:00

I've been sad and moopy all day and feeling sorry for myself, just to warn anyone who might ready this.

I'm done.

I'm tired of being an emotional mess.

stupid moon and making me go crazy

I need to stop feeling sorry for myself and go do something.

I need a vacation from Wisconsin.

Patterns I love

2010-01-25T10:38:00.006-06:00

Ever since I became a member of Ravelry I have been obsessed with looking at the new free patterns. There are also a few that I have found using Stumble upon Here is a collection of different free patterns that I am in love with.

Rosa's Sleeveless Cardi

I really want to start making sweaters for myself. I just need to get the "balls" to start and not be afraid of making a mistake.

Hoochie Cozies

I have recently became a fan of making non-traditional items out of yarn. I am tired of making scarves and dishcloths and I want to start creating new items that people haven't thought of making out of yarn.

Incognito cowl

I think these are great. I have just recently learned to use double pointed needles, I'm sure that I work them incorrectly. Now I need to learn how to carry yarn. Once that happens awesomeness will be created.

Tubey Slipper Socks

Now that I can use double pointed needles I now have the tools to create these. I think that these are very neat and something that I would never be able to find in the store.

Hello Dear friend

2010-01-18T11:05:00.005-06:00

If you love something set it free if it comes back its yours if not it never was - Richard Bach according to WikiAnswers

That is how I feel about my bass playing. I haven't even touched it since I graduated in May. Today I felt something that I have not felt in a long time. Like I was missing a friend. Someone that has been in my life for almost half of my life (almost 12 years). The last year of college really did a number on my love for music making. I felt like the orchestra professor had a low image of what the orchestra could do and the whole orchestra went up to just that level.

I am very happy that I finally came back to bass playing for my own enjoyment. Not because I am forced to play, but because I missed it. A few excuses that I have been giving myself as to why I wasn't playing was my arm and I didn't want it to be in pain and I didn't have a stool to sit on.

I hope that I can keep up with my bass playing for the rest of my life. But things change and goals in life take over different parts of life.

On to the knitting/crocheting part of my life...

I haven't done much of any of that. I am slowly getting my other hand/arm warmer completed. I don't even know if I'll wear them. If they both turn out to be nice I can always sell them at Esty.com and maybe start making more items to sell. That is one of my goals in life.

Be able to support myself by knitting and crocheting (or at least be able to quit one of my jobs)

Anywho, make to music making and crocheting.

~happy knitting!

No phone, I just want to be alone today

2010-01-16T09:37:00.004-06:00

Does it make me a bad person to not call someone, because I know there will be long periods of silence?

I don't mind the long silences if I was up and doing something, but they mostly happen when I am woken up by a phone call, so there is nothing else to do.

Anyways, on to a project that I have wanted to make for the longest time. I want to crochet a hat (big deal) it will have two eyes on the top and along the bottom of the hat there will be teeth. That way it will look like that hat (evil monster) is eating the head of the wearer. Now that I think about it a Zombie monster hat would be much cooler then a regular monster. I hope that I can make it with the different techniques that I have learned over the past few months. Otherwise It will just have to wait until I can do it.

~Happy knitting!

hand warmers (again)

2010-01-15T11:21:00.003-06:00

I have an over abundance of yellow yarn in my Dead Lady collection of yarn. I am a little in love with the Broom stick stitch. So I took the two and started crocheting and came up with a hand warmer/arm warmer.

I created it by chaining 40 with a size 10 long crochet hook (?). Then I single crocheted two rows. Once that was done I broom stick stitched across in groupings of 4. I then repeated it until it was long enough to wrap around my arm. I then took my tapestry needle and sewed up the seam leaving a hole for my thumb.

I think I like them. I'm not too sure about it yet, but hey I just finished one of them. I have all day to fall in love with them.

I'm back!

2010-01-14T19:24:00.010-06:00

I've been gone for a while, but fear not I haven't forgotten you. I have just been busy with different projects. First of all I got my hair cut. I got over ten inches taken off on Tuesday. I went to Spring Street Studio Salon in Chippewa Falls. This is the first time that I got that much taken off. I just mailed off my hair to Beautiful Lengths. It is an organization that is located in Wisconsin. I sent my hair there since it is more local then Locks of Love(Florida).

I have also been busy crocheting and knitting scarves/neck warmers. I have two

of them done for my new neck. I have my nice multi colored one that I crocheted with four different yarns. I did a broom stick stitch from a free pattern that I found on Ravelry. (The link goes to the page outside of Ravelry) I slightly modified it to only have three clusters compared to the 40 that it calls for.

The neck warmer that I just finished knitting needs to have the buttons

attached to it still. I also found the pattern on Ravelry. It is my Fear of Commitment Cowl.

I also made a few changes to it. I made it a little shorter then the pattern calls for. I

just need to get a nice big button to wear it.

I went wedding dress shopping for my older sister with my mother,

sisters and the maid of honor. I think my older sister found the dress, but she wasn't going to make a decision and buy until the end of the month. We did however found a possible bridesmaids dress. That I got to model! She is thinking something like this only a dark green/deep fern.

I also have been on a slipper making kick.

I made two pairs now.

The one previously crocheted and these.

It is the same pattern that I used before, only with two yarns for the body of the slipper compared to the one yarn in the first pair. I also made them smaller then what the pattern calls for. Sorry for the crudy picture, taking pictures of feet with iphoto is pretty hard.

I still need to finish my brother's glittens. I'm not quite feeling the crochet hook. They are at the same point that they were at around Christmas. I'm thinking next week will be the week of glittens.

Busy...

2010-01-07T15:59:00.005-06:00

... As a Bee

Anyways that's what I like to think. I have been crocheting up a storm in my basement. I completed a pair of slippers.

I found the pattern at Ravelry in their free patterns.

I wasn't able to find a button that I wanted to use for the strap. I ended up buying two beads to use. I also added another strap going in from the inside heel to help them stay on longer. These slippers were very easy and fast to crochet. I just need to find some thicker yarn for the next pair. These ones I can feel every stitch with the soles of my feet.

Today I am starting to make lefse. I've never made it before. So far it is very easy to make. There will be a post dedicated to my baking of it soon.

making progress... again

2010-01-05T00:18:00.003-06:00

I have finished my bunny. I used sugar and cream 100% cotton yarn for the body and simply soft for the nose. I used a free pattern that can be found at Rheatheylia.com. It was fairly easy to follow, if you know how to crochet and increase stitches and decrease stitches you can make this bunny. I realized while making him that I can use different parts of the pattern for my hat that I want to make for myself, a monster eating my head. It is going to be a great hat. Until I get time to sit down and do it it is just going to hang out in my mind as something potentially awesome.

Now I have to finish the glittens for my brother. I am guessing that by the end of the week those will be done too. I only have about eight hours of work left for the week, so free time will not be in high demand.

What was Left Undone

2010-01-03T21:59:00.007-06:00

So far my new year is bringing me time to finish up the projects that I started and almost finished last year.

I have FINALLY completed the Chicken Toaster Cozy. I've been talking about it for so long and here are some pictures of the finished results. I am very excited about giving this to my boyfriend. It was what he wanted for Christmas this past year. I felt really bad about not having his finished and having my sisters' boyfriends' presents finished before I start his. Especially since he

made me an opal necklace.

This week I am going to finish my

brother's glittens that way he'll have his Christmas present also, only a few weeks late. I'm using the same pattern as before only with three colors. I think that I'll be out of the red by the start of the second glitten, hopefully I have some more in my dead lady yarn collection.

I also have my bunny that is missing an ear and tail. I was so close to finishing him before the year was out. I have to find the pattern and hook for him again. Maybe I'll donate him to a good home once I have him completed. I'm sure that there is a little kid out there some where that wouldn't mind having a handmade stuffed bunny.

It looks like I have my hands full for a while. I should be busy for the rest of the week with these two projects of mine. Then to start up my mother's projects for me.

~happy knitting!

Goals for the New Year

2010-01-02T08:27:00.004-06:00

With the new year everyone feels the need to start over and make changes in their life. Even though I feel that New Years Reservations are silly I think I'll do a little reservation making for the new year. Instead of them being reservations they will be more what I hope to get out of 2010.

I hope to get a better shape for my body. It has been a few years since I even been in a gym. It has been about two years since I went for a walk to better myself. My sister's wedding is coming up in ten months so my little sister and I will be doing a wedding power workout this coming summer for both of us to get in shape.

I hope to start making my own yarn. I've seen a few YouTube videos on how to do it. I don't think that it'll be too hard to do, from what I've seen.

I hope to get back into reading more books. I am just about finished with The Devil's Queen and I just got Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters. I also have a book about McArthur going for my read at work book. I have so many more books at home that I want to read also.

I hope to be able to keep up with my bills. I have about $670 in bills every month with $300 in car insurance every three months. So pretty much I need to make $1000 a month to stay ahead of my bills. Even during the holiday season I only made around $800 a month. I'm not sure how I'll be able to pull off 1000. I'm going to need to have a third job now.

That is it for my goals for the new year. I hope that I revisit this post to see where I am with my goals.

~Here's to the New Year!

Wishcast Wednesday

2009-12-30T10:52:00.003-06:00

Today Jamie asks us

What do you wish for 2010?

For 2010 I wish for the ability to move out of my parents house and live with my boyfriend. For that to happen there are a few things that need to be done by him and myself. He needs to finish remodeling his kitchen and make his bathroom funcational. I need to have some funds together in my bank account and a big kid job would be nice too.

chicken 3.0

2009-12-20T18:15:00.006-06:00

I have the body of my chicken completed. I went through two different versions of it to get to what I stuck with. Chicken 3.0 is knitted in a tan yarn and kind of looks like a loaf of bread. I think it would have been funnier for it to stay as a loaf of bread, since it is a toaster cozy. Now I just need to get the tail to look like a chicken's and put a head on it some how. I am happy that I did change it up to what I have now. I might actually get my last two projects completed in time!

I was hoping that having my sister home would be fun and we would do stuff together. I guess that was wrong. I really wanted to get some candy made along with some baklava, but so far that has yet to materialize. We were going to do it together, and today was going to be the only day that I could do most of it, since I had the day off. Oh well boyfriends are much more important then spending time with family.

I got a few of my presents wrapped this afternoon. I just have three/five more to go. I have to find a few more boxes around the house that I can use.

enough typing and not enough knitting and crocheting.

2009-12-16T10:52:00.002-06:00

I hate being sick when I have work to do. Not just work work but I have crocheting to do, and a lot of baking that needs to be started. I feel pretty darn awesome. Yesterday I started a sore throat then a fever, ending with sore knees. This morning my throat is still sore and I have a headache that feels like my head is in a vice, pretty much the worst hangover ever. So far I pretty much lost 11 hours of work. I hope that I can make it through work tonight at six. I think I'm going to work even if I'm not feeling better. I need the money so that way I can pay my bills.

My little sister comes home tomorrow. I am very excited to have her around. She is going to help me make caramels and other holiday treats.

Crack-a-lacken

2009-12-11T20:04:00.005-06:00

I need to get cracking on my last two presents.

I have almost completed one of the glittens. I just have the mitten flap left to do with it. Then on to the second one. I kind of like making them, but they take a while to make and they never turn out the same. This pair is for my brother so they need to be larger then what I would need, but some places I'm confused about how they got so large. I also some how added stitches or didn't use some when putting the fingers on it. So the little finger is a little goofy compared to the others. I have to remember with the flap to no crochet it to tight, otherwise it will be difficult to get it over the wearer's fingers while they are being worn. I hope that I have enough red to get the other glitten complete. I'm almost out of it. Or that I have some more somewhere in my stash of yarn.

With the chicken toaster cozy all that I have done with it is I measured my parents toaster. I need to figure out what color I want it to be. My boyfriend isn't being helpful with that. Its for his kitchen on his toaster. I don't think it'll take me too long to make an open cube with a chicken head on it.

While I am in the process of making these two presents, I am also making some leg warmers for myself. I am tired of wearing jeans or dress pants and still having cold legs in the winter. I am using the leftover wool from my little sister's boyfriend's scarf. I think that the gold will be a nice little surprise of color to have under my pants. I am doing an eyelet pattern that I used to make the hand warmers for my boyfriend's little sister. I figure a little bit of girlyness would be alright to have with my winter apparel. I just hope that winter will still be around when I finish making them. If not there is always next year.

I have also been "commissioned" by my mother to make dish cloths for her co-workers. She bought me the yarn for them about a month ago. I think she got me enough yarn for eight of them. I told her when she got me the yarn that it won't be until the new year when I'll be able to start/finish them. My older sister also wants to "commission" me to knit her a pair of mittens. I told her that I won't get to making that until I learn how to knit with double pointed needles. I'm sure it isn't to hard to do, but I would rather learn from someone who knows how to do it, then teach myself the wrong way. I put commission in quotes because I am sure they won't pay me to these services. Since I am related to them I guess it can be free?

Wishcasting Wednesday

2009-12-09T14:16:00.004-06:00

In this week's Wishcasting Wednesday, Jamie asks us What is your spirit wishing for.

My spirit is wishing for travel and not just my usual travel to and from work or to go see my boyfriend. But long distance travel in time and body. It is wishing to see places new and old, to get out of the familiar and into the unfamiliar. I feel as though my spirit has become stuck in a rut and needs to break free from the daily grind of working everyday. My spirit wants to get up and go.

crochet, shop, cat?

2009-12-06T21:57:00.005-06:00

I've finally started my brother's glittens. They are going to be the same pattern as my previous ones that I have made only they are going to be red, white and black. I needed to use a larger hook then what I used for the first pair since I added another strain.

Today I spent the day with my older sister. We went shopping at the mall and spent too much money, but had fun doing it. I got a sweater that I have been eyeing up for the last few years, along with a cardigan. We also went to a book store and I convinced my sister to buy me a book. I got The Devil's Queen. It is a novel about Catherine de Medic. So far it is pretty good. I only got one chapter completed.

While we were out I needed to stop at Petco to get a new collar for Kara. I wanted one with a lot of jingle to it. I bought two bells

to go on it. This weekend Petco was having an adoption event. My sister and I saw some insanely cute kittens. There was a little boy that was the last of it's litter. I have wanted to get a kitten for such a long time. I think that the little boy would have been a great addition to my little family (Kara and I). I wasn't able to get him, because I am living at my parents and I will be living with Noah next year. I would need the okay from both of them to get him.

the end is near!

2009-12-04T15:37:00.005-06:00

I just finished my maroon and gold scarf. It feels so nice a warm I don't want to give it away. I hope that it's intended owner likes it. Otherwise he can let my sister take it or give it to his sister or mother. I am very excited that I only have three projects left to make along with much baking. I might even have time to get a few more dishcloths finished to give away with my smaller gifts.

Here is a little rundown of have I have made so far for gifts.

Hand warmers for boyfriend's little sister

Necklace for my older sister

dish cloths for mother

Hello Kitty look alike for boyfriend's other sister

Monster for boyfriend's sister's boyfriend

yellow scarf for boyfriend's father

Red and White scarf for boyfriend's mother.

The race is on

2009-12-03T12:52:00.004-06:00

I am almost finished. It'll be a race to the finish line but I am sure it will be worth it. I have my two scarfs left to finish, a pair of glittens, and a chicken toaster cozy. Today I am putting the finishing touches on my hand warmer. I just have to put the buttons on the other hand then it is complete. I think that tomorrow evening I am going to knockout my scarves and get one finished and the other one 1/3 for the way complete. Once I get all of my knitting and crocheting finished for my presents I need to start baking. I have two different orders for baklava. One of them is going to be nut-less and low sugar, the other will be the "traditional" with all the unhealthy-ness that it is. I am also going to experiment with different flavors of fudge, I'm thinking cherry, mulberry, and mint. I would like to get around to making caramels but that takes a lot of time, and I will need to have a slave, I mean helper, to wrap them in plastic wrap. With all of this on my to do list I am running out of free time with both jobs increasing my hours.

The past 48 hours I worked 26.5 hours. It is nice to be busy and get paid for it, but I really enjoy sleeping and spending time with my family and loved ones. The only time that I see my family that I don't live with is when they go to my different jobs. Or if I request off from work and go see them.

Wishcasting Wednesday

2009-12-02T04:50:00.003-06:00

Today Jamie asks us,

"What is your Winter Wish?"

I would have to say that, my winter wish is for family time. For impromptu family reunions, playing board games and watching movies. I wish for baking with my mother and sisters, watching documentaries that don't really make sense with my father, for general chatting with my little brother. I wish for time with my boyfriend that is a spur of the moment and not planned for three weeks in advance. I wish for knitting with my grandmother and getting her insight on different patterns and learning new stitches with her. I wish for tasty home cooked meals that are one of a kind.

fall is done?

2009-11-30T20:56:00.003-06:00

What a weekend, three dollar toasters at Target will make people do strange things. On Friday I got the joy of working at 330am and my boyfriend got the experience of shopping at 4am. He went out to get Target's one dollar towels but got toasters, crockpots, sandwich makers, and coffee makers all for three dollars each. It was a fun morning. A lot of very pleasant costumers. No one was too cranky with their deals. I even got a costumer to open a credit card! Friday evening I got to watch my boyfriend and his bowling team bowl, duh. Then the two of us went out for a little bit.

On Saturday we celebrated his birthday by sleeping in way too late, wrapping Christmas presents at his parents and sushi for dinner. YUM! We then went out for a few drinks at out favorite bar in Whitewater, The Brass Rail.

Sunday we slept in again way too late and had a late lunch/early dinner at his parents and had birthday cheesecake. YUM! When we got back to the boyfriend's house we watched movies and had snacks.

Today we hung up Christmas lights on the front of his house and cleaned off the front porch. It was nice spending time together taking care of his house. I've been telling him for the past few months that I would be more then willing to help him out with it. Now I finally got to do something.

Any who, time to get back to reality and start knitting and laundry.

Happy knitting.

Wishcasting Wednesday

2009-11-25T12:03:00.003-06:00

Today Jamie asks us "What steps do you wish to take?"

With this question I need to ask myself, "Where do I start?" There are so many different steps that I wish to take to better myself. There are the steps that I wish to take to become an independent adult, the steps to become a better knitter and crocheter, and the steps that I wish to take to get back into school.

I wish to decide on what steps to take first and make a plan and order as to what to do.

New Hand Warmers

2009-11-25T11:40:00.003-06:00

I found a new pattern that I am going to try out for one of my Christmas presents. I am doing a few changes to it. I made one of the patterns and found it to be a little tight. I am making a pair of hand warmers by Marta at Creativeyarn. I really like her patterns and her style. It would be nice if there were some alternative patterns for people who aren't her size.

This is the first pair that I made. It turned out pretty well, but I don't like not tight they turned out and how short they are. With the new pair that I am making they are going to be looser and longer on both ends. I hope with the ones that I am working on now will work better.

Pattern collection #1

2009-11-20T11:24:00.006-06:00

I think that I am going to start collecting on my blog all the different items that I want to create, from patterns that I have found online. I will be posting a picture of the item from the pattern along with a link to the original site/pattern.

http://www.crochetandknitting.com/mitglov2.htm

These are the fingerless gloves I have made earlier this year, but I have another pair to make for Christmas.

http://www.freewebs.com/spillyjane/Piggy%20Mittens.pdf

I think that these Piggy Mittens are adorable. Since it is

a pdf I don't know how to take the picture out of it. So you'll just have to trust me on how cute they are.

http://creativeyarn.blogspot.com/2007/10/free-snowflake-sweater-pattern.html

This one I want to make for myself. I don't know if I'll have time to make this one until after the New Year. The author of this blog also has many other beautiful free patterns that she shares with the reader and even more beautiful pieces at her Esty shop.

I hope to do a few more postings like this as I go on in my journey of pattern finding.

~Happy knitting

TGIF

2009-11-20T02:00:00.003-06:00

Yay its Friday!

Things that I am looking forward to for the weekend...

1) Seeing my boyfriend. I am very excited to see him. It has been about two weeks since we've been together.

2) Not working, I will have time for some knitting and crocheting. Hopefully get those two scarves done. Once I get all of my presents finished for Christmas then I can start working on finishing my bunny that I have almost finished, and I want to start making some clothing for myself.

3) Getting out of town. I'm meeting up with the boyfriend in Tomah.

another boy scarf

2009-11-19T14:50:00.004-06:00

Making boy scarves that don't look stupid or too girly is hard to do. I have the two that I have been writing about and another one that I pulled apart and restarted just today. This one is for my little sister's boyfriend for Christmas. It is starting to look a little like a tube sock. It is maroon with black with gold and black stripes. They are the his school colors at Minnesota. I hope that he likes it, but if he doesn't I would love to have it, or it can be donated to someone that would love to have some warm wool around their neck. This scarf is going to work out much faster then the wide one that I was working on with these yarns.

Now some fun personal news.

Last Saturday I broke my glasses. It was right after I finished my shift at Younkers. I had to fill out a form for my hours. I was getting warm and pulled my scarf off over my head and bent my glasses almost in half. I took them off to bend them back and snapped them in half. Just yesterday I got my eyes checked and ordered a new pair. I am very excited for these new ones. They are very chic, dark blue (almost black). The earpieces/ sides are rather thick. The nose piece is thicker then my last frames (thats good since that is where I broke my last pair). I now need to wait until the 25th for them to come to me. Soon I can throw away contacts that I have been wearing for five months or longer.

I am very excited for a new look.

making progress

2009-11-17T09:23:00.006-06:00

I feel like I am finally making some progress on my present making. Yesterday I completed one of the many scarves that I have been working on. This one is going to my boyfriend's father. I did a faggot stitch with size 15 knitting needles with yellow and white yarn. It is a shorter scarf then what I would like to make, but it was requested to make it short. I really like this stitch. It is a nice open and elegant stitch. It was fun learning this new stitch also.

Tomorrow I need to get close to finishing my grey and red scarf. I asked my sister around how wide I should make it, so now I know. Also, I got the okay on the length of it. That's good because otherwise I would need to pull it all apart and start over again if it was too long.

I finished making dishcloths until the rest of my projects are completed. I have seven of them done. I just need to weave in the ends and then I can say that I am finished with them. I think that will be the very last thing that I'll do before I wrap them up for Christmas. My mother gave me a new pattern that she wants for dishcloths. It is pretty much what I do now but there is a center square that has a different type of stitch in it that I don't know how to do yet. I told her that it'll be a while until I get to learning how to do it.

Today is going to be a fun day filled with work at both Younkers and at Micon. I really hope that I can get out of Micon at a decent time. I know I am their closing usher but sometimes it is nice to get to bed before midnight.

oh no!

2009-11-15T19:42:00.002-06:00

"My glasses, I can't see without my glasses!"

Yesterday when I was finished with work I had to stop by costumer service to complete a form. I was pretty warm since I had my coat and scarf on and the building was warm. I took my scarf off over my head and bent my glasses up. I then took them off and tried to bend them down and ended up snapping them in half like a twig.

I now have to wear my contacts in order to see and drive legally.

The next few weeks are going to be awesome.

Dishcloths

2009-11-13T10:34:00.004-06:00

I have finally made some headway on my dishcloths. Well actually I found one that I made a few years back that I never finished off and I've completed two new ones. If I don't do much else but knit then they work themselves pretty fast, otherwise it can seem like they are taking forever to complete.

To start them you cast on 3 stitches, that way you'll have 4 stitches on the needle. Then you knit 2 and yarn over one then knit across. You continue this until it is the width that if desired and is an even number.

With the ones that I am making now are 44 stitches across.

Once you are at the width that you want, you knit one then knit two stitches together yarn over one and knit two together then knit across. This is then continued until you get back down to 4 stitches. Once you get to 4 you cast off and weave in the ends and pull on on the dish cloth to stretch it out a bit and to tighten the stitches.

no sleep for you!

2009-11-12T14:38:00.003-06:00

I am happy that I have my two jobs that both work around each other pretty well. Too bad they don't work around each other and my sleep schedule well.

Last night, when I had finished work at the movie theater, I got home and went right to bed. So I thought. I had kicked Kara, my cat, out of the room that way I wouldn't have her bothering me while I was trying to sleep. She had other plans. Kara wanted, no Needed to sleep with me and wouldn't stop crying until I opened the door to let her in. I finally got to sleep around 12:30 am only to get up and start getting ready for work at 5 am.

Work today was pretty awesome. 7 am punch in and start changing signs for the new sale, that will be changed tomorrow. Once that was finished we had to place all of our new merchandise that we got yesterday. For my whole shift I think I only checked out three costumers that didn't do a pre-sale for Younkers big sale this Saturday. I spent most of my shift running pre sell items from my departments to Costumer Services to get logged in then back to the Community room to be stored until Saturday. I think I had more fun doing that then actually helping my costumers, face-to-face.

anyways, it is time to take a nap.

Wishcasting Wednesday

2009-11-11T11:32:00.002-06:00

Today Jamie asks us "What do we Dare ourselves to do?"

I dare myself to get out of my parents house, get back into school, and live on my own without needing monetary help from my parents.

I am an adult now I should be able to find a job that can support myself and pay off my bills, without living to far into the poverty level. If the economy hadn't gone down the toilet then I would have a better change of finding a researching job, work in a museum, work at a performance venue. Instead, college graduates in the Sciences and Arts are reduced to working crummy minimum wage jobs at movie theaters and retail where they get more verbal abuse then any human deserves.

For me to get out of my parents basement I need to get back into school if The United States is going to be how it is now. Public History is not the path of employment. I need a better degree in something that my community finds as being useful.

For the past 23 years of my live I have needed my parents money to help me get by. While I was living "on my own" in college they paid for my rent. Whenever I needed something they were there paying for it. It has never been me paying for that I needed. I have been spoiled. With me being allowed to live at my parents and not pay for anything they are enabling me to keep to my old ways of not being able to manage my money, get a good paying job, and live on my own.

With this post I dare myself with the greatest punishment that I can think of if I cannot complete.

making a list

2009-11-10T11:50:00.003-06:00

I wasn't able to get as far on my scarves as I was hoping to yesterday. But this is what I have done so far with one of the scarves. This is the one for my older sister's boyfriend/fiancée. I really hope that he doesn't have an issue with wool or with stuff being wrapped around his neck. I have a friend that has a neck phobia and can't wear stuff around her neck. So hopefully he isn't like that.

This week my goals are to

finish this scarf
get half of the chicken toaster cozy done
figure out the address for where I have to send my loan check to

I know that it isn't much but I'll be pretty busy with work this week. Yesterday I was called in for a three hour shift and ended up staying for an eight hour one. Tonight and tomorrow I am working 12 hours at the movie theatre. Then Thursday I have a short shift at Younkers, only four hours. Friday and Saturday are going to be some nice long shifts of eight hours each.

Next week isn't going to be nearly as bad so far. I figure it'll be filled with much crocheting and knitting.

knit much?

2009-11-08T19:07:00.003-06:00

I am so happy that I am not working at Younkers for the next few days. Costumers are messy and just keep buying. It would be different if they would start putting things away when they are done trying them on. Thursday will be a sad day when I come back to work there.

Today I started on another scarf. This one is going to be crocheted with gray and red stripes running the length of the scarf. I have so far one row done and almost done with my second. I think I am going to have it be eight rows wide. I am using a nice wool that I found at my local craft store in Chippewa Falls.

Good thing tomorrow is my day off I get to work on my scarves that I've been working for presents. That way I can hopefully get caught up on everything that I've been working on. I am hoping on getting about half of my two scarves done. I hope that I can get all of these little projects done for Christmas.

No hand warmer for you!

2009-11-07T21:23:00.002-06:00

The hand warmer idea that I had for my boyfriend's little sister is a giant flop. Turns out she has beefy hands like mine so they wouldn't fit her. Now I am working on a hat for her to replace her bad Christmas present. The pattern that I am using is by The Crafty Beaver. They have a few different patterns on their blog. I haven't had much luck with hat patterns so I am hoping that this one will turn out well enough to give away.

hand warmers

2009-11-03T06:13:00.005-06:00

Last night I finished a pair of hand warmers for a Christmas present. I hope that they fit her hands. I sewn them together to fit my hands. So, hopefully her hands aren't as beefy as mine. I made this pair out of a nice purple wool. This is the second pair of hand warmers that I've made from the site. The author most defiantly has much smaller hands then I do. I was worried that the right hand would take longer then the left hand since I had to read the pattern backwards, but it only took a few hours to complete.

I am now back to working on knitting a scarf for my little sister's boyfriend for Christmas. I really hope that this scarf isn't going to hold me up on my present making. I still have dishcloths, a pair of glittens, two more scarves, a chicken toaster cozy, and something for my father. I am slowly making progress with them. I wish they were going faster. Pretty much I just need a day or two off to stay up and knit/crochet.

necklaces!

2009-10-28T11:14:00.003-05:00

Earlier this week I was looking at different patterns that I would like to create, and I came across a blog that has the most amazing crocheted necklaces and knit items. A bunch of her patterns are right on the blog.

After drooling over a bunch of her patterns I decided to start making

one of them. This is what I have completed so far. I just have the flower to do. It is a fairly easy pattern to follow. I think I am going to make another one of her other necklaces to give two of them to my older sister for her Christmas present.

I am very happy that there are people out there that are making patterns for pretty things that are elegant and crocheted!

do I like to sleep?

2009-10-27T17:34:00.004-05:00

I was told by my mother that the scarf that I was just starting isn't one that a man would wear. So, today is going to be spent looking at different patterns and yarns that I have to make a manly scarf.

Tonight I get the joy of working the midnight showing of the Michael Jackson movie, This is It. I am very excited for the movie, not so much having to have to stay up until 3am tomorrow. I am pretty happy that I will not be the only staff member working tonight for the showing. I will be the last person, not a manager, in the building seeing how I am the closing usher tonight. I am pretty darn lucky that I am not on the schedule to work tomorrow at Younkers. If I were to be on the schedule for tomorrow it would be a very interesting day of no sleep.

Project craziness

2009-10-25T11:26:00.006-05:00

One scarf done two to go. The one that I have finished is a combination of knit for a row and purl for a row. It was very easy to complete, only taking a little over a day to do. I actually ran out of yarn for the fringe. So, I need to go and buy some more of it. I need to learn how to block this piece since it is rolling in on itself. It is a thick tube scarf as of now. I am hoping to have it all completed by the end of the week and in hiding until I wrap it for Christmas in December.

I have started on the second scarf now too. It is also a knit but just a plane straight up knit. It is going to be for my older sister's fiance, Jason, for Christmas to wear with his leather jacket.

I haven't gotten very far with it yet, because I did start it around midnight last night. Tomorrow is my day off for the week so I'll be doing much more knitting to get this scarf completed by the end of the day.

I did complete my little monster on time. He is a totally orginl creation of mine, since I wasn't able to find a pattern for what I wanted. He is now going to live with my little kitty until

Christmas also. He is about five inches tall and has one beefy arm and is top heavy. But I think he is very cute and will be enjoyed at the household that he is intended for.

Soon I will need to start up my glitten making factory again. I have two pairs that I think that I am going to make for Christmas, another red and white pair and a purple and white pair. I hope that I can make them to fit the hands of the people that I want them to go to.

Once I get all of my Christmas presents completed I have a bunch of dishcloths to make for my mother to give out to her co-workers. I am very happy that I don't have school work on top of all these projects and work. I would be going crazy with everything that needs to get done.

Gifts

2009-10-23T11:26:00.006-05:00

I've been working on a one of a kind monster these past few days. This is what I have done so far. This is going to a Christmas present for my friend Zak. I am planning on giving the monster feet tonight. He is going to be in the seated position once I am finished with him. This little guy is going to be about the same height as this little kitty. These two are intended for the same house. I hope that both of the going to be new owners like what I have made for them. I'm sure that they will like them. I just hope that they don't expect big items from me, since I am making all of my presents.

I really need to get cracking on my other presents. All that I have finished is the kitty and a scarf. I still need to make three more scarves, a toaster cozy, a pair of glittens, four dish cloths (or more) and figure out what I am going to make for my boyfriend's little sister. ACK! I might need to enlist the aid of a friend to help me finish all of these.

I have about a third of a dish cloth done out of the four of them. I think the rest of them that I make are going to be my "standard" pattern and not as fancy as that I am doing now. The pattern that I have going right now is knit for 4 rows then knit 4, purl 4, into a checker board or sorts. Maybe I'll do two of these ones then back to my "standard" to get things moving again.

I think for the scarves I am going to knit them for a change of pace. Or maybe even a combo of knit and crochet. I don't know. It'll come to me once I get going with things.

Any who, time to get back to knitting!

MONSTER!

2009-10-20T20:24:00.005-05:00

I'm trying my luck in making my own pattern. I was even going to buy a pattern but I wasn't able to find what I was looking for. I am in the process of making a Frankenstein Monster. What I am doing for the head is five different squares (two all black, one green and two black and green) I hope that it turns out alright. I hope that he doesn't turn out too goofy. Good thing he is a monster and I don't think I can actually call him a Frankenstein Monster. There will be pictures to come as more of it gets done.

I've been getting sick again. This time it is more on an annoyance then anything else. My joints hurt, and my nose keeps running. I am very tired but not tired enough to justify a nap so late in the day. I ended up calling in to work tonight. I really hope that I can work for them tomorrow night. I guess it depends on how I feel tomorrow when I am done with my other job. I really hope that I get over this soon. I am tired of always being sick.

Update

2009-10-16T15:33:00.005-05:00

Yay birthday weekend! I am off from work and going to travel down to see the boyfriend and my other friends in the area. It's going to be a fun/nice little break from being on my feet all day and needing to make other people have good experiences while they yell at me. I'm excited. I'm going to be bringing my friend, Cody, down to Watertown to be picked up by his girlfriend, Juli, So I have to wait until he gets done with work and drives the two hours down here. Then we are going to drive the three/ three. five hours down together. Tomorrow I AM going to eat sushi for lunch then stop by my boyfriend's parents to hang out for a little while. Then for dinner Juli is making me a birthday dinner. After dinner I need to go on campus to watch my brother and a friend from work at their last marching band competition. Once that is done I am going out for a few drinks at the Brass Rail in Whitewater.

I have been busy with my crocheting again. This time it is something for myself. I am making a bunny. Right now I have the body, arms and one leg completed.

I am very excited that it is actually turning out how the picture on the pattern looks. I am using cotton Sugar and Creme yarn in an off white for the body the nose is a Simply Soft rose color. The eyes are a plastic doll eyes 18mm size. I hope to finish it once I get back from my birthday weekend.

Working for "The Man"

2009-10-14T14:32:00.003-05:00

I feel like I have become a slave to the man. Just yesterday I worked 14 hours! That means that 10 of them I wasn't at work and only 3 of them where before noon. I think I was only awake for 5 hours that I wasn't working yesterday. Today is a little better I was up at 4:30 to get to work by 6:30 and was done with work at 1:45. I'm now waiting to go back to work at 6 to be there until 12ish. Why did I let myself do this?

A Break?

2009-10-10T22:44:00.004-05:00

I've finished my teddy bear. This is him with one arm attached. Here he is all finished.

With finishing the bear I am taking a break from all the crocheting that I've done. I am now starting up knitting again. Only fitting since my site is knitting-bridget. Here's what I have have so far. This is my first project that I have purled in EVER. I just learned how to do it recently.

This project is a dish cloth that has a butterfly on it. In person it looks very goofy. But for being my first purled project it isn't too bad. I am planning on making a pile of dish cloths for my older sister and my mother for Christmas. I am really enjoying making people presents that are useable. and not something that will just sit around.

I need to make a list of what I am going to make and for who.

Lets see...

Allison and Mom = Dish cloths at least four total

Drew = Glittens

Leah = Hello Kitty

Lloyd = scarf

Donna = scarf to match glittens

Noah = Chicken toaster cozy

Courtney =

Lorelei =

Zak =

100th Posting!

2009-10-07T23:59:00.003-05:00

This is my hundredth posting. I was toying around with doing a give-away, but I'm not experienced enough with how they work on the givers end to do it, that is what I feel anyways. Also, I don't think that many people actually read this blog to make it worth my while. So, I think what I'll do is just say expect more to come in the future. Maybe I'll do a late celebration of it. Maybe I'll do a 150th posting celebration/ give-away thing.

Tomorrow I am driving out to Green Bay to pick up my little sister. While I am out there she is going to show me campus, that way I will think it is more then a swamp. Maybe even see some of her art work that she has done and is working on. I'll have to make sure to bring my camera to document this occasion. We are going to be meeting up with our aunt that lives there, and maybe even our uncle, for dinner. On our way back we are going to be stopping in Wausau where I am planning on selling one of my German Bows to a friend of mine.

What I've been working on

2009-10-06T13:31:00.003-05:00

Last night I almost completed my kitty for my older sister. I am using a pattern that I found at Crochet Pattern Central this pattern was written by Ana Paula published on her blog Ana Paula's Amigurumi Patterns.

This is before I sewn the head to the body. Shortly afterwards one of the eyes fell off.

This is with the head attached to the body and the arms also attached. My little sister said that it looks like a chicken.This is the front with newly attached ears.

This is a view of the back with a little bit of the tail. Front again. I still have the eyeball to attach and I need to reinforce the eye that is still attached so it too won't fall off.

Also Last night I started to make a teddy bear. I found the pattern on the same website but it is published by crochetme.com. So far I have the head completed.

Tonight I am planning on working on the body and hopefully I'll have it done by next week to take with me to give to my boyfriend's father. He's pretty big on pirates from what I've been told. I wanted to make him something but didn't know what to do so he is getting a pirate teddy bear for now.

I did start on making my first hat to donate, but it wasn't turning out right. I'll give it another shot later on.

What a weekend.

2009-10-04T22:07:00.005-05:00

This past weekend was perfect. Well nearly. On Thursday when I was done working I drove down to Tomah to spend the night and bring my boyfriend back up to my parents. It felt so great seeing him and holding him in my arms again. I didn't want to let him go.

On Friday we drove back up to Chippewa and made an apple pie with homemade crust. Hardest thing I've made. I am not going to make crust again. After dinner we went to my little brother's football game. It was cold and damp so we stayed through the first half. Then we went to

Heckles' for a little something to hold us over until our movie. We saw Zombieland. It was awesome. A pretty funny movie.

I had to work on Saturday. Good thing it was just until 12:30. My boyfriend got to spend the

morning with my mother and older sister. They went to the Farmer's Market for a few hours. That was were he got me some flowers. When I was done with work we then drove up to visit our friend Cody who lives in Port Wing.

Almost the farthest North someone can live in Wisconsin. It was a very beautiful drive up

there. Almost all of the trees have changed colors. We stopped in Hayward. I showed Noah the Giant Musky.

We were going to go into the museum that they have there but it was closed when we got there. We finally made it up to Lake Superior/Port Wing around 5pm. We made Cody have a fire in his fireplace, the second that he has had there.

Today we drove back to Chippewa first stopping in Hayward again at what I thought to be Coop's

but was actually Cooper's. I was all excited about getting pizza from Coop's. The two building are about a block and a half away from each other. And they look alike The only difference is the er. When we made it back to my parents it was time for dinner. When we were done eating and getting Noah's travel set for how he was going to get back home. I needed to take him back to Tomah to catch the train tomorrow morning.

It was a nice weekend with my boyfriend. I cannot wait until I go down to see him for my birthday in less then two weeks!

What I've been working on

2009-10-01T08:17:00.003-05:00

Getting back into school.

I have found that I don't want to be an unskilled worker in the retail business with a college degree. I have already applied to get back into UW-Whitewater for their accounting program. It would take me a year and a half to get a Bachelors of Science in Accounting. I am very excited about making myself more employable.

Making the world warmer.

I have started on making my first of my free hats for the needy. Everyone needs to be warm during the winter. I have the skill that can help people in getting warm. I am going to be using all of my yarn that I was given (Dead Lady Yarn) for this cause.

Moving out of my parents house.

I really do enjoy living at my parents. I see them a few hours a day since I am working a lot, so it is like I am living on my own. I am 23 years old, a college graduate, and moved back in. I need to get out and be an adult. With all the new bills that I get the pleasure of paying.

It isn't a large list of things that I am working on, but they are major.

Wishcasting Wednesday

2009-09-30T13:50:00.003-05:00

Today Jamie asks us What do we wish to share?

I wish to share my knitting and crocheting with the world. I think I have a gift of being able to make warm fuzzy scarves, hats, mittens and maybe a blanket or two. With the cold months fast approaching I keep thinking about those in need of warmth. I wish to share warmth to those in need. To use my gift of being able to make beautiful and warm winter pieces out of string that I have inherited over the years. I am sure that the ladies that I have gotten the yarn from would want nothing more then to know that all the money that they had spent on getting their yarn was being used to warm the homeless and those who cannot afford to buy from a store a simple hat or mittens to stay warm during the winter. I have a big old bag of yarn that is just sitting around my room, it needs to be put to good use.

I WILL make winter apparel to be given away to those who need it. I just need to find an origination that gives items away and doesn't charge people for them that I can send them to when I have a good supply completed.

If anyone has any suggestions that would be very helpful in this endeavor. I hope that this wishcasting will reach someone who feels the same and might even do the same or has done the same.

What I've learned

2009-09-29T21:25:00.003-05:00

Being out of school has taught me a few things.

1) Weekends/days off are a luxury.

These days are not to be taken for granted. In the real world your boss doesn't care that you aren't feeling well, or that you don't feel like working. They are there to run a business and if you aren't feeling up to working then you can be replaced.

2) Just because I don't have anything to do for the day doesn't mean I want to work.

See number 1. These are the days that I recharge and get done things that I wasn't able to do on days when I work.

Laundry
clean my room
finish my projects

3) Cooking for people is very rewarding.

I enjoy cooking for people to eat a meal with me. Living on my own was fun but I wasn't able to cook for anyone but myself.

4)People drive safely around school zones, no where else.

There could be gusts of wind knocking down traffic lights and the guy next to you will still drive 70+ while eating and talking on the phone. But make the same weather conditions and this guy will stop what he is doing and look for children.

5)Bills are not fun. Maybe Bill the man is fun but not paying them.

They come out from no where and don't really make that much sense.

It's almost finished

2009-09-26T21:41:00.005-05:00

My Milkweed project piece is almost

finally finished. I finished my two rows of "shells" and I've started to add buttons to it. I am planning on adding a few more then what I have just so that way it is more evenly covered with buttons then it is now. I think that the

buttons add some more originality to it, making the piece appear to be harder to make then it actually was. Pretty much I was and still am nervous that my piece won't be able to hold it's own against some of the other pieces that have already been sent in.

It was a lot of fun making this piece. I hope to come across more of these type of art projects that call for different knitters/crocheters/ fiber workers to contribute some of their work to the overall goal of the artist.

Cat story #2

2009-09-23T21:40:00.003-05:00

Today I shall post about my cat, Kara.

Kara was found in Young Auditorium during the early summer season of dance recitals. twice she was able to make it into the building, the first juts in the front lobby and the second time it was onto the stage. She is one smart cookie. My boss at the auditorium then took her home with him and then gave her to one of his friends. Kara then peed on two different couches and needed to find a new home.

The following year I told my boss that I wanted to get a kitten. He had then convinced me that I needed to get a cat and he knew just who to get it from too. He then called his friend and she was more then happy to give her to me. Since she had to replace two couches. I had became the new owner of Kara.

Kara has started living with my parents. The first summer that she stayed with them, they got her a hair cut. She now gets hair cuts at least once a year. She just got one today and it is going to start getting cold. So my mother and I got her two Halloween outfits. She is not to happy with me at this moment. Eventually she will forget what I have done and love me again.

I got that Yucky feeling...

2009-09-22T19:08:00.004-05:00

Today started out like any day when I have to be at work by 8:30am. It was me moving slow and eventually getting to work. The only difference between today and any other morning shift was that I woke up sick and ready to go back into bed. I made it through the day of work. With sticky hands from all of the hand sanitizer I used and a chapped nose. I am now in bed and it is 7:13 and I'm ready for bed. My joints in my body as all tired and my head feels disconnected.

Today while I was at work I sent my boyfriend a message saying that I felt like hell and was very tired. He then sent me some flowers. To Work! It was very nice of him and everyone who saw them were jealous of them. One of my co-workers said that I have the sweetest boyfriend ever.

It's Growing

2009-09-21T18:46:00.004-05:00

This is what my Milkweed project piece has turned into. It has grown a lot compared to the last time that I have posted on it. It is almost as long as I am tall (five nine/ten). Once I am done with the row that I am currently on I am going to attach different buttons that are different shades of white. There are some white, clear, light brown/off white. I think I am going to attach them in long loops of different lengths. That way I am add more depth to it.

I am worried that I will not get it done in time to be added to the milkweed pod. I have been

looking at the different completed projects on the artist's blog and there are some very impressive entries. I hope that mine is not too simple looking. There is one entry that was completed by a knitter in New York that does pieces for Broadway productions. And that piece is awesome looking. It is very intimidating reading the bios of all these great knitters and crocheters.

I just hope that my work will measure up to their works.

Cat story #1

2009-09-20T19:38:00.004-05:00

This was the cat that I wrangled last winter.

I was able to catch her with lunch meat and cat food. It was a fun time. I found her the first time when I opened the door and saw her run. I then got whatever I could grab quickly enough that a cat would like to eat, lunchmeat. I threw it out for her and she grabbed it and ran away to

eat her "kill". I then ran inside and got a scoop of Kara's cat food for the stray. Once I got her into the house with food she was very angry about being trapped. She then hid under the couch for a day and gained the name Kitty.

Things that I've found

2009-09-17T09:22:00.005-05:00

I have found out...

that by wishing that time would stretch, yesterday, that it did in fact do that. Too bad it was while I was at work trying to close my section of the store. I ended up getting out of there at 9:45 when the store closes at 9:00.

that one can find a pattern for just about everything, except a chicken toaster cozy. I really hope that by creating this it won't become the bane of my existence. How could something that cool not already be created somewhere in the world?

While I was looking for the chicken I came across a website that offers free patterns for just about everything that one would want to crochet. I am now working on a little owl that is titled The Cutes Little Owl.

I am using this owl as a practice piece for when I make a cat for my older sister. She made a remark the last time that she at at home that I make everything for my boyfriend and his family and nothing for my own. Something to that effect. I just need to go and buy some eyeballs and a hook for the piece for my sister then I think I'll be all set to get to work.

I have found that sleeping with the dogs really isn't as bad as I thought it would be. They don't lick me like Kara, my cat, does. They just don't let me have all the covers or all of the bed.

It is much harder to saw no to someone on the phone at work then at home. Especially if it is about working for someone. I got rid of my hours on Friday so that way I can actually get some stuff done around the house and tell my father something that I have waited all week to do. This week I have been at work when he is at home and awake. By picking up these hours I will now have 37 and some min. hours this week. Gross. Next week will be a little less with maybe 30 hours. Good thing this week is going by pretty fast.

Wishcasting Wednesday

2009-09-16T10:24:00.004-05:00

Today is another Wishcasting Wednesday, and Jamie asks us to think about

what we wish to stretch.

Often I have found myself thinking it would be great to have just another day to spend with that certain someone that I've been visiting. Or another few hours to spend just sitting around the house crafting or cooking before work.

I guess what I am saying is that I wish to be able to stretch time.

I would like to be able to make time with loved ones last longer and time doing unenjoyable things go faster. I have always enjoyed being able to leave the hustle and bustle of work and run off for mini weekend vacations, either actually leaving or taking mental breaks. If I were able to actually make this time last longer then it actually is would be pretty much the best thing that I could stretch.

Things of Yarn

Baby projects

Longtime to type

365

early christmas for me!

snowed in?

holiday scarf!

Week wrap up?

cleaning and baking

Day after Thanksgiving

presents!

Some Projects

New Addiction

Too Long

PLANTS!

What's on the needle?

Winter hat!

**Update**

My Future, is looking warm

plant up date along with yarn

plants, string, and stuff

What a busy day

New Life! (in my bedroom??)

Earth Day!

Today and Coming Soon

What's New?

Moving on up

blankey

Wishcasting Wednesday

What do you wish to accomplish?

A little warmth?

So Many hats!

Gifts!

Spring Time, Fun Time!

Attack of the Dinosaur!!

Dinosaures!

Just around the corner

Days off

CAT SWEATER!

procrastination and love

Late night inspiration

knitter/crocheter for hire!

I got crab?

busy little bee

HOBO is awesome

Mini Vacation

Here's a run down.

Done

Patterns I love

Hello Dear friend

No phone, I just want to be alone today

hand warmers (again)

I'm back!

Busy...

making progress... again

What was Left Undone

Goals for the New Year

Wishcast Wednesday

chicken 3.0

Crack-a-lacken

Wishcasting Wednesday

crochet, shop, cat?

the end is near!

The race is on

Wishcasting Wednesday

fall is done?

Wishcasting Wednesday

New Hand Warmers

Pattern collection #1

TGIF

another boy scarf

making progress

oh no!

Dishcloths

no sleep for you!

Wishcasting Wednesday

making a list

knit much?

No hand warmer for you!

hand warmers

Update