Saturday, May 30, 2009

hello new york


i made it! :) after many hours, the eagle has landed! hehe. i got a cab to my friend patrice's house (hi patrice!) we then went to lori's and i finally got to meet william and give him his toy! he is too cute. i'm so happy to be here. everyone is out, it's officially summer in the city, for sure. we walked around brooklyn and got some falafel and i fell back in love. it's good to be back. more to come later! after some much needed sleep!

<3

Friday, May 29, 2009

goodbye nebraska

today the bf and i did so much packing and moving. well, he did alot of moving, i did alot of supervising...but that's tiring too! ;) turns out i have way more stuff than i thought...10 boxes worth of stuff! and i'm leaving it all here. that kind of scares me. i'm only taking 2 suitcases with me...hopefully my stuff will be joining me in nyc along with my bf in august. it didn't help that it was a cool 88 today, yikes! i was sweatin' bullets.

with all the driving back and forth i pretty much finished one mitt in the car. if i ever have a free second, those needles are goin'! ;)

now that the majority of the work is done, i'm beat. my flight is at 5am an hour from here...so i think i'll probably end up staying up all night. i never do plan these things well...oops. :( i'm sad, tired and a little excited (i'm sure i'll be more excited tomorrow).


so goodbye from nebraska!!! next time you see me i'll be back in the big city. :)

<3

Thursday, May 28, 2009

xmas round-up


the xmas mitts machine is going strong! here is what i have so far...three and a half pairs finito. only three and a half more to go. oooooh yeeeeah. wednesday dropped by during the photoshoot with her tail of destruction. ;)

i also went mini-golfing in my new badass shirt. it's not knitting related, but it's so cool i couldn't NOT include it! hehe.


<3

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

i feel loved

tonight was my last knitting group here in nebraska. :( i will really miss all of those lovely ladies. i always looked forward to wednesdays, and i don't think i missed one! except for maybe around xmas when i was out of town...other than that i never missed it! it was a pretty hard adjustment moving here, and it was really made so much easier getting out of the house and getting together with them every week. sometimes i wonder how i get so lucky with the friends i meet. and that is what i love so much about knitting, it brought together such a unique group of friends. :) i will definitely be keeping in touch!

shawn made me a beautiful gift. it's a shawl/scarf/beauteous thing!

the pictures don't do the colors justice...and it is so silky soft. love! i know i'm going to have fun with how versatile it is.




i hate goodbyes. so to my knitting loves i say, i'll be back!!! :)

<3

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

my favorite color

i think i have finally found my favorite color! i've never really had one. well, unless of course black counts, i always want to say it's black but then i think that makes me seem cuckoo....black or grey. :) but i have finally realized my favorite color that is actually a color! and that would be this bright/acid/almost neon yellow. the exact name of this color is lemongrass. i loves it. i once read that yellow is the favorite color of depressed people. o_O weird. i'm not sure i believe that, how about it's the favorite color of people most in touch with their feelings?! ;)

and look who found me while i was taking yarn pictures....it's wednesday!!! that's what i've named her. :) for my love of wednesday addams, and we also met on a wednesday. i know, i'm so creative! hehe.


<3

sleep knitting

around midnight i decided it would be a good idea to pick up the 200 stitches i needed for the next block of my mom's blanket. by the time i was done, i was almost asleep. do you ever just think 'one more row!' for about an hour? haha, that was me. i was about to pass out, and i ended up laying down and knitting. yeah, that's when i knew it was bedtime. ;)
exhibit a:


goodnight!

<3

Monday, May 25, 2009

surprise, surprise kitten surprise!

today was a really bad day to start moving stuff out of the house. luckily, i wasn't doing the moving! hehe. my roomies moved the majority of their furniture out, and it was raining and hot and so humid. i broke a sweat just watching them. i went through more of my things to see what goes and what stays, as you can see, moving is a slow and steady process for me. ;) i like to spread out the fun as much as i can. or i'm just lazy!

in other news, my boyfriend has befriended two stray cats that have come to call our front yard, home. he has never had a cat, and always said he hated cats. and wouldn't ya know, he has totally fallen in love with these kittens. they're pretty cute so it'd be hard not to. however, the place he is moving into can't have cats so he's pretty heartbroken. here are the kitties trying to get inside and join our family.


they are so precious, i'm not really sure what we should do about them. bring them to a shelter? but if they don't get adopted do they put them down? :( here's the bf being all sad that he can't keep them. (p.s don't mind the clutter that is the garage!)


in happier knitting news, i managed to knit the day away even though it was steamin' hot! and you guessed it, more fingerless xmas mitts!!! :) even in xmas colors, i didn't plan that, i swear.


i'm about to catch up on some knitting podcasts and try to do a few more rows before i fall asleep. ;) oh, and if you live in the area and want some adorable, wonderful, totally lovable kitties let me know!

<3

Saturday, May 23, 2009

it's go time!

i finally started packing! getting all my stuff in boxes and organizing everything has made me realize how much junk i have. i feel like i move quite a bit, at least 4 times in the past 4 years...so if i come across stuff/clothes that i haven't used or worn in the last couple moves, it's time to get rid of it. the majority of my belongings are books and yarn, and it's so hard to get rid of either of those! but i have about two big boxes of each, and i don't think that's asking too much. :)

here is another picture of my room pre-packing and cleaning, yikes!!!


and i found this bag of yarn tag thingies, i kept them to remember washing instructions and contents...but i'm not sure if i should really keep them all. and it's kind of interesting to see all the yarn i've used!

here's the room post-cleaning. pretty good if i do say so myself! there is still alot to be done, but i think that's good for one night.


i can't believe i am going to be back in nyc in exactly one week. i'm so, so sad to be leaving. mainly because my boyfriend will be staying here for at least the next couple months. not to be a total sap, but i'm just so sad to be apart. ooooooh man. i'm sure it will be really hard initially, but will be fine. :)

ok, all that packing has made me so sleeeeepy. nightnight!

<3

last day of work!!!

wahoo! yesterday was my last day of work! i shouldn't be all that excited, i'm technically unemployed now (yikes!) i do have yoga, but that's only part-time. i really enjoyed the ladies i worked with, but the job was just pretty boring, and 7 months was long enough. :p

i got a start on my xmas mitts (even knit a little at my desk, shhh). i fear this may turn into a blog about all these mitts i'm knitting, i'll try not to let that happen! but i do want to show my progress. :) here are annmarie's, the color is so much prettier in person than on the knitpicks website. there are so many colors intertwined, lovely!


so pretty!


the best thing about these mitts is they take a couple days to make, i could probably finish them all a couple months before xmas...but i'm not taking any chances!

after work i celebrated with a margarita! i tried to find one the size of my head, but this one had to do. ;)


<3

Thursday, May 21, 2009

7 months 7 mitts


i got some quality knitting done today at lunch. it was so nice out! the second panel for the graduation blanket is finito! just between us, i knit pretty much the whole thing at my desk. i've been training someone to take my spot, and she pretty much has everything down and there is nothing for me to do! tomorrow is actually my last day, and i can't believe it! i only have to wake up at 7am one. more. time. oh my goodness, i can't wait to sleep in! but i do have to get all my packing done next week, or else.

i also got my yarn from knit picks for my xmas mitts! i tried really hard to match colors to personalities. the mitts are going to be for all the ladies on my mom's side of the family...my aunts cordy, cindy, lisa and annmarie, as well as my cousins emerie, samantha and rylee.


and as soon as i saw fern, i realized, duh, i've ordered it before! and i probably have some left in my stash. oooooooh goodness, we got a bright one over here. ;)

ok, time to knit!

<3

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

mucho gracias!




pattern: irish hiking scarf armwarmers

yarn: knit picks andean treasure in fog

needle: sz. 6

started: may 17, 2009

finished: may 18, 2009

lemme tell ya, these gloves are waaaaaaaaaaarm! i started to sweat during this little photoshoot. i'm really relishing in the suburban setting i'm in, i won't have it for long! next i'll have my project pictures in a crowded subway. ;) love this pattern, i'm sure i'll do it a third and fourth time! i think they will make quite a nice thank you gift. at least i hope so! :)

<3

Monday, May 18, 2009

brother love

i finished one panel of my brother's blanket last night while watching the season finale of survivor. wahooooo! and i also finished one of my friend's gloves. :) i was on a roll people! ok i must say, homespun is silky soft. i can't believe it's acrylic! most acrylic hurts my teeth! but not homespun, it's going to be such a snuggly blanket, i can tell.

i measured the panel against a blanket i thought was a good size, and i'll need about 5 more panels. the fact that they only take a couple days of (non-stop) knitting doesn't really mean anything though. i have a habit of setting projects down, never to be picked up again! ;)

i have never knit anything for this brother. i have knit a couple things for my youngest brother, all of which he has somehow demolished. don't ask. it was really hard to find a good picture of adam, i think my family has a habit of looking pretty crazy in pictures. ;) i found a nice one of him playing the guitar...

and us as wee ones...how hilarious is that? it cracks me up every time. check out those cheeks!

and his panel


<3

Sunday, May 17, 2009

bob's adventures



pattern: maddox the mischievous monster

yarn: malabrigo worsted weight in water green

needle: sz. 5

started: may 12, 2009

finished: may 17, 2009



turned out so cute and cuddly, love it. :)

<3

Saturday, May 16, 2009

wip round-up

in the last 24 hours i have cast-on for two new projects. yikes! hehe. my brother will be graduating from college next month, and i thought it would be a great idea to knit him a blanket. ya know, with it being almost summer and all ;) i really think he'll appreciate it, and hopefully it will be something he keeps for a long time. i hope he thinks of me whenever he uses it. i don't really get to see my family that much, them being in michigan and all. i see them about once a year, maybe twice. at first it was really, really hard being so far away, but i've gotten really used to it. i'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing. :)
anywho's i decided to make him the cable comfort throw. it calls for lion brand thick & quick, which i was going to use, but it seems there are never enough skeins of one color that i want. so i decided to use lion brand homespun instead. oh man, i'm beginning to think that might not have been such a hot idea. homespun is kind of a nightmare to knit with, the stitches are hard to see and it doesn't help that i picked a dark charcoal color. but it is sooooo soft, and i know i'll be happy i gave him something machine washable. the blanket is knit in panels and i'm about halfway done with the first of five panels.
i also cast-on for some fingerless gloves for a friend in nyc. my good friend, patrice, has been running around town doing all my dirty work. :) she has gone and met with my future roomies, checked out the place, it's been such a big help. i feel so much better knowing the place and the people have her approval. so i'm going to knit her a little gift!
i cut out the felt eyes and mouth for bob the blob, i just need to glue them on. i decided not to use safety eyes, even though i think they would look better. the eyes i found at joann's had a warning for kids and i just don't want to risk it.
here are my works in progress posing on the floor, there is also my mom's blanket (for xmas) and that sweater i was working on once upon a time. ;) the dark grey is the panel, the little grey thing at the bottom are the gloves and there's bob!


perhaps my knitting eyes are bigger than my stomach?

<3

Friday, May 15, 2009

survivor knitting

my boyfriend and i usually mosey on over to his parent's house on thursdays so we (i) can watch survivor. i love me some survivor! i've become a reality show nut. even though i know the show is about 95% made-up/scripted/bull....i still love it! so last night we headed over there and i worked on bob the blob. that's what i've named william's toy. i figure he can rename it if he'd like, after he can talk. :)

i'm pretty much finished with bob, i just have to sew on the arms, sew the belly button, eyes and teeth on. and stuff him! bob is so soft, he will make such a great little pillow for william when he has those spur of the moment baby naps. :) i even tested him out on my face! aaaah soooo soooooft.

here is maggie watching me take pictures with my knitting. she's so nosy. and i've also found that bob is popular among dogs. maggie tried to steal him twice.


here is bob pre-stuffing.


as you can maybe tell....i'm trying to blog more, my goal is at least every other day! i hope that doesn't mean my posts get boring though. maybe that will motivate me to keep my knitting life exciting! ;)

<3

Thursday, May 14, 2009

knitting love

last night at knitting group i got such a lovely surprise from my friend julie, she made me a going away present! how sweet! she made this cute little bag, which is the perfect size might i add. and a cowl from yarn i gave her :) hehe. now that i see this yarn all knit up, i must say, i have good taste!!! ;) it's perfect. a girl can never have enough cowls in my opinion. here are the lovely things...

i love the little speckles in the yarn

she makes her own tags! get outta here with that cuteness...


and i got going with my monster for william. shawn helped me out with this one. the legs were kind of tricky, and it was my first time doing magic loop (!) somehow i got the needles all backwards, insideout, upside down, who knows. but with shawn's help, i was on my way! nice. i think it's going to be so cute, i'm not sure what i'm going to do about the eyes. they suggest using 'safety eyes' but i think i might just stitch some on. we shall see!


right now it just looks like a little pair of pants. :)

<3

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

namaste, yay!

i just found out my first day back at my old yoga studio will be june 3!!! so, right when i get back to the city! i am so excited. the studio is laughing lotus and it is where i fell in love with yoga. just being there makes me so happy. i can't wait to get back. and free yoga!!! whatwhaaaaaaaaat. yoga is not cheap anywhere, especially in the city. i think classes run about $16 per class (!!!) or about $150 for a month (!!!!) yeah, that is so not in the budget. so i am so very lucky i get to go for free. and trust me, i will be taking full advantage.

yoga is the perfect balance to living in the city. if i didn't have it i'm sure i would be bouncing off the walls. laughing lotus is such a bright, energectic place. it's definitely not your grandma's yoga. ;) here is a peak inside, with the lovely dana teaching my fav. pose, triangle! yum.


i'm really hoping to start teaching once i get back as well. the idea of teaching kind of terrifies me, but i really, really want to do it. the few times i've done it, it starts off crazy scary...and then is just awesome :) so i'll have to get back in the groove. here is me at my yoga school graduation with two of my bestfriends . oh yes, good times were had.

<3

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

shhhhhh

things have been pretty quiet around here lately, at least on the knitting front. this past weekend i think i picked up my knitting maybe once! what the?! usually it's glued to my hands, not sure what my deal was. i'm sure it's the fact that the only thing i really have going (not hibernating at least) is that scarf. oh scarves, i own about 20 and if i had it my way i would have one on year round, but they are so boring! the most boring of the boring!!!

i just bought a toy pattern to knit up for a friend's son. i'm so excited to meet him! he was born after i moved, i got a chance to hang out with him while he was still in the womb so we're not total strangers. :) the pattern is a cute little monster thing, and i'm using some left-over malabrigo. it is going to be oh so soft, i can't wait!

and in other exciting knitting news, i recently found out the apartment i will be subletting is 2 min. away from the yarn tree in brooklyn! ooooh yeeeeah. this could mean trouble.

here's baby will, how can you not LOVE that face! :)


<3

Friday, May 8, 2009

old habits dye hard

my room is a total disaster! always has been, but i'm trying to change! seriously. it's kind of hard right now though because i'm trying to pack, get rid of stuff, organize, oh man. organization is key in nyc, being that a person only has about a corner of space to their name. i have to get back into the groove of living in a tiny space. here is what my room here looks like at the moment (i hope you are sitting!). this isn't really my ROOM room, this is just where i keep most of my things. :)


on the knitting front, i got a section of the sisterhood of the traveling scarf! i have to add my section, write my letter and send it on. i'm excited to get my scarf! i think this traveling scarf was a really cool idea, and even though we've had a few hiccups, it's been fun and i can't WAIT to read all the letters that come with my scarf. :)

it was such a nice day today, i didn't do much knitting though. i thought about knitting alot though, so that counts for something! my mom got the two cowls and the gloves i sent her in the mail, and she is still bugging me about the other pair of gloves she wants. what the!? ummm, can you say greedy?! and its like 100 degrees out. i swear, she is insane. aaaaaaanyways, i guess with mother's day around the corner i should zip it.....but seriously folks!

here's the scarf i'll be adding my section to...


<3

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

christmas knitting: take 1

nothing too exciting on the knitting front for me, i've been working on this scarf for a few days now. although i like how it is turning out (after 2 false starts) the pattern isn't that exciting. i'm thinking this scarf will be a gift for a dear friend this winter....which friend, i'm not sure. :)

i've been going through alot of my stuff lately, deciding what i want to take with me to ny and what i want to leave/get rid of. i have a habit of actually getting rid of too much. but really, what does a person really need?! my ipod and some sticks and string. if i have those i am all good, oh yeah, and my favorite stuffed animal. :)

i'm planning on bringing a car load of clothes and shoes to good will or salvation army this week. it feels so good to purge things. i love it! i'm resisting buying yarn everday....ok, every minute of everyday! i want to order some more comfy from knitpicks so badly, but i know i have to save my pennies. i want to be able to eat when i get to ny! or at least have a drink.

yay it's wednesday! you know what that means....oh yes....knitting group! love it. and here's my scarf at lunch!


<3