Today my prize arrived, all the way from New Zealand!
Wednesday, April 8, 2015
Winner!
Back in March, I found out I won one of the Jan/Feb KAL prize for the Susan Claudino Designs group (She does a random number generator, so everyone has a fair chance).
Today my prize arrived, all the way from New Zealand!
The yarn is so soft, I want to pet it all day!
Today my prize arrived, all the way from New Zealand!
Saturday, April 4, 2015
Happy World Rat Day!
Meet Tea and Biscuit!
These were a birthday present (about a week early!) from my lovely man-beast. They're a bit on the older side, between 6 and 8 months, but I love them all the same. We picked them up on April Fool's day, and they seem to cuddle in quite nicely.
They're a very cuddly pair, they love nothing more than lounging on the couch snuggled up together... and eating. I've only had them a couple of days, so they don't do much of anything else just yet, but we have a list of fun things to try and I'm looking forward to getting to know them better.
Some of you may know I have a cat, and wonder how they get along. Demon is an observer type cat, so he gave them each a sniff, then backed up a few feet to watch. He's been the same with our fish and mice, never bothering any of them. He seems to enjoy watching them from on the chair near their cage as he falls asleep, I think he likes the sounds they make.
Once they've learned some tricks, I'll see if I can post a video of them being adorable. Until then, I'm off for ratty snuggles and some knitting!
I hope everyone has ratastic day, and a happy Easter!
These were a birthday present (about a week early!) from my lovely man-beast. They're a bit on the older side, between 6 and 8 months, but I love them all the same. We picked them up on April Fool's day, and they seem to cuddle in quite nicely.
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| Biscuit on the left, Tea on the right |
Some of you may know I have a cat, and wonder how they get along. Demon is an observer type cat, so he gave them each a sniff, then backed up a few feet to watch. He's been the same with our fish and mice, never bothering any of them. He seems to enjoy watching them from on the chair near their cage as he falls asleep, I think he likes the sounds they make.
Once they've learned some tricks, I'll see if I can post a video of them being adorable. Until then, I'm off for ratty snuggles and some knitting!
I hope everyone has ratastic day, and a happy Easter!
Monday, March 30, 2015
So many FOs, Not enough time...
I've knit a fair bit of projects I have yet to put on this blog... All in all, it comes down to not having a proper camera and time to do great shots.
I currently have the following finished, ready for photos:
- S Chuck in fuschia (Charlotte)
- XS Chuck in Thistle
- Lady February Sweater
- Hat for lady February sweater (my own design)
- A multitude of monsters and stuffies
Thankfully, the weather is starting to look nice and with the camera I have available to me I can tweak colours in photo apps to get the final result looking at least somewhat close to the real colours.
It seems I've caught the sweater bug...
I've knit 2 chuck sweaters, a February lady sweater, I'm nearly done a pinwheel sweater (just the arms to go), and I've recently cast on Hitofude (again after having it frogged, however this time around I haven't been spending much time on it, so there isn't much to see), and as of last night I have Agatha on my needles... All since October.
I recently purchased Henriette (with Agatha), and plan to cast on for that once my Agatha sweater is finished.
You may have noticed a few of these (Chuck, Agatha, Henriette) are all by the same designer. Andi Satterlund over at Untangling Knots is an incredible and inspiring designer. Read a bit of her blog, and you'll see for yourself! I first purchased the Chuck pattern for the Selfish sweater knitalong and ended up knitting two in the time allotted, I was hooked! Not to mention, I still have plans on knitting a full length Chuck
in a cozy grey. I love how simple the instructions were to create such a gorgeous sweater, I started looking at some of her other designs. I have a long list of patterns in my queue, and a fair few are hers. After casting on Agatha last night, I noticed the same ease of getting into the pattern, and knit to the body row one easily and fairly quickly. If you want to test out her instructions, try out one of her free patterns, such as Miette - you won't be sorry!
I currently have the following finished, ready for photos:
- S Chuck in fuschia (Charlotte)
- XS Chuck in Thistle
- Lady February Sweater
- Hat for lady February sweater (my own design)
- A multitude of monsters and stuffies
Thankfully, the weather is starting to look nice and with the camera I have available to me I can tweak colours in photo apps to get the final result looking at least somewhat close to the real colours.
It seems I've caught the sweater bug...
I've knit 2 chuck sweaters, a February lady sweater, I'm nearly done a pinwheel sweater (just the arms to go), and I've recently cast on Hitofude (again after having it frogged, however this time around I haven't been spending much time on it, so there isn't much to see), and as of last night I have Agatha on my needles... All since October.
I recently purchased Henriette (with Agatha), and plan to cast on for that once my Agatha sweater is finished.
You may have noticed a few of these (Chuck, Agatha, Henriette) are all by the same designer. Andi Satterlund over at Untangling Knots is an incredible and inspiring designer. Read a bit of her blog, and you'll see for yourself! I first purchased the Chuck pattern for the Selfish sweater knitalong and ended up knitting two in the time allotted, I was hooked! Not to mention, I still have plans on knitting a full length Chuck
in a cozy grey. I love how simple the instructions were to create such a gorgeous sweater, I started looking at some of her other designs. I have a long list of patterns in my queue, and a fair few are hers. After casting on Agatha last night, I noticed the same ease of getting into the pattern, and knit to the body row one easily and fairly quickly. If you want to test out her instructions, try out one of her free patterns, such as Miette - you won't be sorry!
Friday, March 20, 2015
Sock Madness 9
Some of you may or may not know about Sock Madness, a group on Ravelry that holds a sock speed knitting competition each year.
This year I signed up, hoping to expand my sock knowledge, and hoping my shoulder would get a nice strengthening workout in the process.
I didn't work on either of the practice socks, as I wanted to save my shoulder for the competition.
The first was The Stroop Stroop Socks.
The second warm up sock was Choose Your Own Adventure Socks. I like the way it shows off self striping yarn, and with options to 'choose your own adventure' there are a few variations!
Sadly, I made the cheerleading team only. My shoulder is not up to knitting on small needles, and after the two weeks from the start up of the round, I had all of one sock complete... but that was enough to qualify for all of the upcoming patterns!
The first sock was Alohomora, and here's what my first sock looks like:
I chose this yarn for the sparkles. You may not be able to see them very well in the photo, but the yarn screams magic to me, and I absolutely love them. Since the pattern was for the competition, there were a set amount of stitches and rows you needed to complete to qualify. That being said, they're a titch big on me, I could have gone down a needle size - if I could knit on needles that small currently.
Round 2 has just come out, and these gorgeous Cable Madness socks are the next sock competitors are knitting.
If competitors finish before the deadline then they have to option of knitting the bonus pattern, Duck-Foot Ivy. For those who qualified to be a cheerleader (like myself), or anyone who doesn't knit the round 2 sock before the end of the round, the pattern will be available at the end of the competition.
Once round 3 has started, I'll post what pattern has been released and my progress on other pairs.
This year I signed up, hoping to expand my sock knowledge, and hoping my shoulder would get a nice strengthening workout in the process.
I didn't work on either of the practice socks, as I wanted to save my shoulder for the competition.
The first was The Stroop Stroop Socks.
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| Photo by Ros Clarke |
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| Photo by: Midwest Yarn, LLC |
Sadly, I made the cheerleading team only. My shoulder is not up to knitting on small needles, and after the two weeks from the start up of the round, I had all of one sock complete... but that was enough to qualify for all of the upcoming patterns!
The first sock was Alohomora, and here's what my first sock looks like:
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I chose this yarn for the sparkles. You may not be able to see them very well in the photo, but the yarn screams magic to me, and I absolutely love them. Since the pattern was for the competition, there were a set amount of stitches and rows you needed to complete to qualify. That being said, they're a titch big on me, I could have gone down a needle size - if I could knit on needles that small currently.
Round 2 has just come out, and these gorgeous Cable Madness socks are the next sock competitors are knitting.
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| Photo by Karen Buhr |
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| Photo by: Hreow Beth |
Friday, February 13, 2015
Voodoo Dream Date Swap
My swap arrived today, and my partner received her swap yesterday, so now I can share!
This is what my lovely partner sent me!
My voodoo is adorable and perfectly me, anatomy is awesome! Check our this lil gal in all her glory:
She has the cutest little heart on her bum too, she's based on the monster high logo!
Also included were:
Tea, Candy, Roving, Cat toys, notecards and buttons!
My voodoo is adorable and perfectly me, anatomy is awesome! Check our this lil gal in all her glory:
She has the cutest little heart on her bum too, she's based on the monster high logo!
Tea, Candy, Roving, Cat toys, notecards and buttons!
And here's the little fellows I sent out:
Buttons, pompom maker, stitch markers and an Olaf voodoo, a regular voodoo, and a mini gnome!
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Monday, February 2, 2015
Mysteries Unveiled and Started!
I previously wrote about the CBD January Mystery Mitts, having posted clues 1-3. The pattern is now available for half price, Tessellating Diamonds.
Here are clues 4-8, my finished mitt.
Clue 4:
Clue 5:
Clue 6 and 7:
Clue 8, Finished, inside and out:
There are a few more KALs going on that are still available for signups!
- The CBD Mystery Cowl is still available to join until the 4th (I think.)
- Phoenix Knits is holding a Mystery Toy KAL, the pattern is free until the kal is over.
- Untangling Knots is still holding the Selfish Sweater KAL for the next two weeks, though patterns are no longer on sale.
- Susan Claudino Designs is continuing the Jan/Feb kal with 7 projects gaining you double ballots for a prize.
- Reddit's February Kal has 2 teams, one for each pattern (Oddity and Eugenia's Mittens)
- The Project A Month Group has two patterns this month as well, Stardust Mittens and Valentine Sox.
Feel free to join and mention other kals on Ravelry I may have missed!
Here are clues 4-8, my finished mitt.
Clue 4:
Clue 5:
Clue 6 and 7:
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There are a few more KALs going on that are still available for signups!
- The CBD Mystery Cowl is still available to join until the 4th (I think.)
- Phoenix Knits is holding a Mystery Toy KAL, the pattern is free until the kal is over.
- Untangling Knots is still holding the Selfish Sweater KAL for the next two weeks, though patterns are no longer on sale.
- Susan Claudino Designs is continuing the Jan/Feb kal with 7 projects gaining you double ballots for a prize.
- Reddit's February Kal has 2 teams, one for each pattern (Oddity and Eugenia's Mittens)
- The Project A Month Group has two patterns this month as well, Stardust Mittens and Valentine Sox.
Feel free to join and mention other kals on Ravelry I may have missed!
Sunday, February 1, 2015
Voodoo and Cats...
I previously mentioned I was partaking in the voodoo dream date swap. I've knit and shopped and will be sending out soon, however after knitting the pattern and seeing all the cute little voodoos going about, I had to make one for myself!
Here she is:
This pattern is so fun to knit, and so cute when it's done, I'm going to have to knit quite a few more. I already have an idea for the yarn for one of them - a birthday gift! You may be expecting some pictures of the kittens from the title of this entry. Instead, I would like to forward you to the ever talented Valerie Johnson's (Wandering Cat Studio) blog. She's currently running a sale on her Ravelry store to help her friend bring some special little furballs to Canada (read the blog entry for details, or just great knitting and cat posts!), and until February 7th you can take 50% off your purchase with a coupon code found on her page. I wanted to help out with her incredibly generous gift, so I purchased a few patterns myself - I'm a sucker for a happy ending! Despite not being able to work on small needles for any length of time, I chose some of the sock patterns I've been wanting to buy since I messed up my shoulder. I figured it could be great incentive to slowly work towards getting back to those size 0 needles. I've been working on a sock on size 2 needles, but trying not to overdo it.
Morning Glory:
The other is an e-book, containing 3 patterns:
Garden Path, Garden Gate and Secret Garden.
There are plenty of adorable patterns to choose from, and the pattern code is redeemable more than once, so head over to Wandering Cat Studio and check it out!
Here she is:
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This pattern is so fun to knit, and so cute when it's done, I'm going to have to knit quite a few more. I already have an idea for the yarn for one of them - a birthday gift! You may be expecting some pictures of the kittens from the title of this entry. Instead, I would like to forward you to the ever talented Valerie Johnson's (Wandering Cat Studio) blog. She's currently running a sale on her Ravelry store to help her friend bring some special little furballs to Canada (read the blog entry for details, or just great knitting and cat posts!), and until February 7th you can take 50% off your purchase with a coupon code found on her page. I wanted to help out with her incredibly generous gift, so I purchased a few patterns myself - I'm a sucker for a happy ending! Despite not being able to work on small needles for any length of time, I chose some of the sock patterns I've been wanting to buy since I messed up my shoulder. I figured it could be great incentive to slowly work towards getting back to those size 0 needles. I've been working on a sock on size 2 needles, but trying not to overdo it.
Morning Glory:
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| Photo by Valerie Johnson |
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| Photo by Valerie Johnson |
The other is an e-book, containing 3 patterns:
Garden Path, Garden Gate and Secret Garden.
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