Baby projects

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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

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

snowed in?

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

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

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

holiday scarf!

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

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

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

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

Week wrap up?

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

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

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

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

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