Knitting Year in Review

I wouldn't say that I was very productive in my knitting this year... altho I sort of say that every year and then when I go to write this post, I find that I have been reasonably productive.

 

I made eleven hats.  Of those eleven hats, nine of them were for gifts.  That's I think a record number of gift knitting for me... Sam got two hats, my sister got five, my dad got one and my other friend got one.

 

I made four pairs of mittens.  Of those four pairs of mittens they're MINE ALL MINE!

 

I made eleven shawls/scarfs.  Of those eleven, ten were for me and one was for my friend at work who went through cancer treatment.

 

I made a pair of slippers, an iphone cover, Henri and SadNorman for me.  One hot water bottle cover for me and one for my friend and one large baby blanket for another friend.

 

That's the extent of my knitting... I guess 33 items isn't really anything to sneeze at... but let's look at the lessons I learned.

 

1.  Sometimes the anticipation of finishing something is better than actually finishing it.  Take my Girasole... I finally 'finished' it... (by finished, I mean, decided to stop knitting on it and cast the sucker off).  I was so excited.  The thing is beautiful, don't get me wrong... but it's a weird size and a round blanket is a difficult thing to actually use.  So it's in a giant zipper bag in my knitting locker.

 

2.  If you're going to knit something, you should read the entire pattern first and check on the stitch count etc... before you decide to 'make it bigger using bigger yarn'. 

 

3.  Steeking lace is never a good idea... especially if you don't actually know how to steek!

 

4.  Turns out that when you get more comfortable with knitting, your guage changes.  I used to knit mitts on 4.5mm.  Now I have to use 4mm because the bigger needle makes them look like they're made of mesh.

 

5.  It's okay to knit things for yourself the EXACT way you like them.  Turns out that I don't particularly care for thumbs in my fingerless mitts.  Thumbs are difficult to get perfectly snug and I find the mitt less useful than when it doesn't have thumbs.  Since I'm knitting mittens for me and I don't like thumbs, that means I can make thumbless mittens till I'm blue in the face... and I have...

 

6.  Giving knitting away to deserving and admiring recipients is fun!  Hats are easy.  Hats are fast.  People like hats.  I like to make hats and yet I only have one head.  It's difficult to find people that I feel comfortable knitting for... It's a weird thing...

 

7.  Taking commissions isn't something I'm very good at.  I mean, I do it, but the second something is expected of me, I immediately lose the interest to knit anything at all...

 

8.  Just because you start knitting someone's birthday present eleven months early, doesn't mean that you'll finish on time... ever!

 

 

Medicine

I'm having a hard time making heads or tails of my feelings right now... What I never have a hard time talking about is knitting....

 

1.  I made another pair of mittens.  If by mittens, I'm referring to custom fit, thumbless, fingerless tubes... I'm not interested in thumbs... I like the feeling of just having an extra long wool sleeve on... In fact, I'm sprouting a plan to make extra long wool sleeves...

 

2.  I made a definitive sweater plan... I know, I know... hard to believe since I've made two definitive sweater plans already and no sweater to show for it... But this one, this one is going to be a keeper!

 

 

3.  I'm working my way through all the wool that I wound for my trip. So far I've done two projects that were intended for the car and cast on a third.  I feel a bit stupid still for not doing it on the trip, but since it's all rolled into balls now, I'm determined to not have to wind it back up into a skein... After I do my replacement mittens, I'm going to cast on the Spud and Chloe for a hat and then I'll have finished all the stuff I wound for the trip

 

4.  I'm going to cast off/finish all my WIPs (except the teal/gray sweater... that one is on going). I don't want languishing projects hanging around...

 

5. I need to do a major cleanse/reorg of my stash.  I have a bunch of yarn that isn't in the stash in Rav, so when I go looking for ideas, it's not listed... I would like to do this in the daylight so I can properly photograph everything so probably Saturday morning.  Related to this is a need to wind a bunch of balls back into skeins... And I need to figure out how I'm going to get rid of yarn I don't want... Postage isnt' the best way because it costs a lot from Canada to anywhere... and giving it away isnt' really an option because there's some nice stuff... I will have to ruminate on that a bit...

 

6.  That's all I can give you... What I know is that when all of life seems to be conspiring against me... I always have the soft cushiness of knitting to fall back on... and there's never too many mittens in a girl's life... I'll just keep making mittens until I feel better!  Seems like a good plan to me!

The Trip!

 

I'm sure you've gathered by now that our trip to San Fransicso was amazing... It was the best trip I've ever been on (by far!) and I was lucky enough to share it with one of my best friends.

 

We left in the late morning of Dec 23rd.  Originally we had wanted to leave much earlier but the kitty cat sort of got in the way.  I messed up reading the check in times and found out the day before that check in isn't until 1pm at the earliest... I called and asked them if there was any way he could go earlier and there was, but he would be in the far back corner no where near the natural light.  I called Sam and asked him what he wanted to do and he was fantastic and said he wouldn't be comfortable having the kitty be tucked away in the back for the whole trip so we decided to just check him in the next day and leave when we could.  I was so thankful to him!  Mr. Fluffypants did so well at the cat hotel.  He usually yowls and howls and carries on like he's being killed but this time he was quiet and content.  They said he did so well that they made him into 'reception cat' and he was allowed to hang out for long periods of time because he was so relaxed!  A huge departure from how he used to be.  Probably because he's not being harrassed on a daily basis anymore!

 

Anyway, we left in beautiful clear blue skies and sunshine and headed out of town.  There wasn't much to see or do for the first day of driving... we stopped at Trader Joe's for snacks and water and then drove to Portland on the I5.  In Portland we crossed over through McMinnville and hit Lincoln City and then cruised in to Newport OR at around 8ish.  Sam really wanted us to wake up in Newport and since I had no knowledge of even where we were on a map, I was happy to agree along.  We had home made egg salad sandwiches for dinner in the hotel and then promptly fell asleep.

 

Waking up in Newport was a FANTASTIC idea and we got to see Nye Beach before the sun even rose.  It was gorgeous and absolutely took my breath away... the roar was unbelievable!

 

 

We decided to really go for it on the 24th and make our way from Newport to Santa Rosa.  That's 531 miles and Google Map says it's supposed to take 11 hours.  I think it ended up taking us 13 or so... we stopped a LOT on the Oregon coast... we found some beautiful trails that led right to cliffs over looking the water, gorgeous sand dunes, pristine beaches and HUGE waves!  We also had a Christmas Miracle when we got pulled over for speeding and all we got was a warning and a wish of Merry Christmas.  I also got to experience the refreshing ocean water when I got smacked by a big wave on the breakwater in Bandon Oregon.  Apparently it wasn't a near death experience but it was somewhat terrifying and I was also soaking wet!  It was sort of my fault since I wasn't paying attention because I dropped something important into a hole in the rocks and was trying to figure out how to get it without risking my life...

 

We think our GPS might have gotten a head injury somewhere along the way because trying to get to the hotel in Santa Rosa was an excersise in futility.  We named her Meryl... there was a lot of yelling at Meryl... she also saved our butts on a few occassions.

 

We have no real pictures of Santa Rosa because we got there at midnightish and left first thing in the morning to head out to Sonoma.  Sonoma was gorgeous!  There wasn't a soul around and so we got to take amazing pictures.  We toodled around and then we noticed a man walking his dog carrying a Starbucks cup.  Off in search of Starbucks brought us to the only ONLY place open on Christmas Day.  We stood in line with a hundred of our closest friends for Egg Nog Mistos (I think I got Sam hooked) and made some calls on wifi to family and friends.  Then it was off to San Fransisco!  I got to see the Golden Gate bridge for the first time and Alcatraz off in the distance.

 

Since it was too early to check in to our hotel, we decided to go to Fisherman's wharf to see if it was open.  Open indeed!  Every tourist in SF was there.  We wandered around, I bought us salt water taffy and then we had Spicy Seafood Chowder in breadbowls and sat at a table outside (it was SO NICE OUT!)

 

After we paid the GDP of a small country to get our car out of hock, we took Meryl and ourselves to the hotel.  We were upgraded because we originally asked for two queen beds and they had us down for a King. Even tho we got 'married' at a gas station in Washington, we still wanted our two queen beds.  So they sent us up to the 13th floor of a 17 floor building into a brand newly renovated room.  It was pretty swanky and the service reflected the actual retail price of the hotel, not the sheckles we paid for it.

 

We layed around the hotel for a few hours before deciding we should go out into the streets and find something to eat.  We found a lot of places online that seemed good but they were either closed or too far away to walk to... we didn't want to drive while we were in SF.

 

After around an hour and a bit, we realized that there was nothing open so we went back and ordered burgers from room service and read our ipads until it was time for bed.  We're real party animals!

 

We got up at the crack of dawn on Boxing Day and headed out for a two mile walk to get to the pier for our trip to Alcatraz.  It was beautiful out and again, not a soul around so it was a nice walk and we got there in plenty of time.

 

It was VERY cold on the boat and I was wishing that I had more clothes on, but we used the weather from the day before and figured that neither of us wanted to pack a coat around if it got up to 17 degrees like the weather forecast called for.  Big Mistake... Big... HUGE! (what movie is that from?  I know... do you?)

 

Alcatraz was amazing and it was very eyeopening to see how prison used to be... I'd never have wanted to be there, that's for sure!  I didn't listen to the audio tour because there were too many people in there who started their tour at the exact same time, so it was really difficult to see anything through the crowds... Sam and I took ourselves on our own tour and it must have been somewhat comprehensive because we spent three hours on the island.  I'm only sad that I didn't get to hear the inmates recollections of some of the crazy events that went on there... I'll look for it online...

 

After Alcatraz we went for some lunch and then hopped on a two hour bus tour to go see the city.  The plan was to get off on the SF side of the bridge, walk across and then get back on the bus on the other side and ride back... best laid plans and all!

After our six hour, freezing cold 'tour', we went back to the hotel for a rest and then out for dinner at the Cheesecake Factory.  I'm so glad that Sam indulged me because it was just as I expected and I only get to go every year or so!  We were almost scared away by the two hour wait, but in the end, we planned it well and it wasn't too painful!

 

I was sad to check out of our SF hotel... it was so nice!  But we were on our way again and went over to the Castro to go to Imaginknit (I highly do NOT recommend that place!) and then we drove over the bridge (which I never need to see again!) and off to Petaluma.  What a cute little town!  We picked up some yarn, some lunch and some chocolates and caramels for our ride back and then headed for Crescent City.  Because it was dark when we saw it going down, we decided to sleep there and see it in the daylight.  Again, best laid plans. It was so windy and rainy that night that Sam couldn't sleep and in the morning it was gray and overcast and pouring!  We drove out of town and braved 65m/hr winds all the way back to Newport.

 

It was still stormy and disgusting out so we headed for a seafood restaurant to have dinner and drinks.  Nothing like super fresh seafood!  It was amazing and made me want to eat oysters every day!

 

From Newport we headed up the coast to Cannon Beach, Astoria, Seaside and before all of that, Tillamook!  I was carsick on the hour ride to Tillamook but that was well solved with a scoop of peanut butter icecream and half a gravol!  After we loaded up on cheese products we headed to Seattle (getting caught in Seattle rush hour when you both have to pee is NOT fun!) and checked into our very swanky hotel! (thanks Hotwire!).  We walked a few blocks to a local pub/restaurant and had a very yummy dinner and then before we both knew it, we were asleep.

 

Before checkout at noon, we wandered down to the Pike Place Market for a peak and some breakfast.  I had a crumpet with butter and honey and two oyster shooters from Pike Place Fish Market.  Both items were divine and made me laugh at the ridiculousness of my chosen breakfast.  Sam had Starbucks gingerbread cake.  Probably a bit more normal!

 

We arrived home after shopping and dawdling at around 6:30pm and it was shower and bed for me!

 

The trip was amazing and was rounded out by an amazing dinner the next night (New Years Eve) at Sam and Luis' house.  Sam made us the national Venezualan dish and we layed on the couch and watched Mary Poppins.  I was in bed by 11:15.  I hadn't seen midnight all year and I saw no reason to start!

 

(all pictures copyright to Sam Mcleod)

Good thing!

Good thing I don't put much stock in New Years.  I mean, yes, it's the start of a new calendar year and yes, I like the fresh start, but this year, it's been difficult because we sort of ran into New Years on our way home from vacation... 
In the past, I have made April resolutions (and stuck to them) and August resolutions (and stuck to them) and other daily resolutions (and stuck to them).  So I'm not too concerned about having done nothing towards the planning for this year yet... it's only the 3rd.

The things I AM going to plan for in the next month will be my yearly goals list (which involves everything from 8 glasses of water per day to owning a multi million dollar home... a girl has to dream big you know!)
I am going to make some plans for my knitting career and try and knit from my existing stash as much as possible.  I have such a bunch of gorgeous yarns that need to be made into gorgeous pieces.  Right now I'm obsessed with thumbless mittens... I'm okay with that!

 I am going to make some plans for my dietary and exercise needs.  I have some very talented and athletic friends that are going to help me and I'm determined to feel better.  My sister says that the extra weight I've put on in the last couple years is my pain on the outside... and I think that's true.  But I don't want to be in pain anymore.  As of this trip and the revelations I made, I know it's not going to go away soon (the pain that is).  But every step towards being pain free and content again is a step away from the past.  Even now, eight months after my relationship ended, bothersome and painful things are making their way from the depths of my soul. As Sam said, in order to cope, I pushed and packed these things down into a place where I didn't have to deal with them... it's a certified coping mechanism.  What I didn't know at the time and know now, is that those things never stay there forever.  They eventually come back up from the darkness and insist on being faced.  Makes me wish for myself and my loved ones that things of great importance, whether difficult or not, are dealt with head on.  Because now I'm in a place where I don't know what else is down there and what will trigger it to come blasting up from my soul.  I know now, after my trip, that I don't have to deal with them alone. There's at least one person, (and I know, many more), that will hold my hand and my heart while I move ever onward away from pain and towards health.  Both mentally and physically!

I am going to figure out what I want from my career and what I want in the next few years.  I made some pretty huge commitments already and one of those is a driving force in getting things straightened out, lined up and gathered together.


I will try and post some pictures of my trip tomorrow.  We had the most amazing time. Most. Amazing.  MOST!

Home

I'm home.

My voice was left somewhere close to the border of California and Oregon.

I had THE BEST time I've ever had on a trip.  EVER!

I'm kind of sad that it's over.

I'm going to bed.

See you tomorrow.

Boxing Day Guest Post

My sister posted this for me on my other blog, so I've copied and pasted it here for your reading enjoyment...

Hi! It’s Shannon posting for Darcy. I’ve had a couple bottles glasses of wine and a lot of turkey so do take your chances in reading!

Darcy and Sam are currently in a fancy-pants hotel in San Francisco….well….they aren’t actually IN the hotel right now, they are on their way to The Cheesecake Factory for a late dinner. (I am on the sofa in my pajamas drinking red wine and eating chocolate….in case you were wondering)

They’ve had gorgeous weather and lots of laughs and frivolity while the rest of us
have been dealing with relatives, leftovers and heartburn. 

Today they went on a 2 hour bus tour that extended itself to a freezing cold and unwelcome 6 hours due to a smash up on the Golden Gate Bridge….probably less fun for the participants of the pile-up than for Darcy & Sam but they were unimpressed and frozen nonetheless.

Tomorrow they are heading for some district in San Fran that I didn’t bother trying to remember the name of but it sounded similar to some famous Cuban dictator. Anyway, apparently there is yarn there and Sam was going to buy underwear. Like I said, I’ve had some wine, so that could be a bit inaccurate as far as usable information goes. 

Before Darcy revokes my password and rights to post here, I’ll leave you with some pictures from their trip.

Cheers!

Haven't knit a stitch still. Having a blast. Here is a pic to tide you over

Not one

Not one stitch knit. Didn't even take the knitting out of the back seat. Huh!

Having fun tho!

Enough? (Duplicate post)

I have just spent a week worrying about what items to bring to work on in the car and in the hotel for our trip… I think I finally have it figured out
Yarn and sweater in progress
Fingerless mitts that I cast on last night
Round silk scarf that is cast on
Yarn to make replacement pair of mittens cause I lost one
Yarn to make another pair of mittens and maybe a hat (in two colors)
Yarn to make yet another pair of mittens or maybe just a hat
33 pairs of circular knitting needles of varying lengths and sizes (not including the three pairs in the knitting in progress
11 crochet hooks of varying sizes
Around a dozen sets of dpn needles in varying sizes
Sewing kit with eight darning/sewing needles, two dozen stitch markers and other paraphanalia

I’m worried…. is that enough?  Well, I guess if it isn’t, I can always pick up more yarn in San Fran.

Ruined

 Okay, so it's no secret on here that I go see an accupuncturist named Dr. Ed.  I've declared him at the top of my list of people that helped to save me this summer.  He knows my innermost thoughts, fears, anxiety and hopes for the future.  He's more than a practitioner at this point, he's my friend.  I'm excited to tell him news and events that go on in my life and I know that if I'm having a bad day or in need of some soul help/cleansing, he's the guy to go to.  His office is one of the few 'safe places' that I had this year and I protect it vigourously. 

 

I've told Dr. Ed that I only refer him to people I know that I would feel comfortable with them knowing that I go there.  I've referred him to a couple of people and held back his contact info to many.  He understands this and equally protects my privacy and safe place.  I believe we all need a safe place...

 

So today, as I was referring him to someone I did feel comfortable with knowing, I heard footsteps running up behind me and one of the new-ish girls here ask me if I said 'Dr. Ed'.  It was at that moment that my stomach started to turn inside out and I wanted to hit the rewind button a million times.  Yes, I said.  Dr. Ed.  Well, then she wanted to discuss him, asked what he and I talk about, how long I'd been going etc... It's my biggest nightmare.  I don't want random people I know in my safe place.  I don't want her to mention to him that she knows me (which she certainly doesn't know a thing about me) and for them to even for a nanosecond discuss that they both know me.  I don't want Dr. Ed to say what a wonderful person he thinks I am (which I know he would because he loves me, as he's told me many times).

 

I sent him an email the second I got back (running) to my desk.  Please remember you are my safe place.  Please deny knowing me.  Please don't speak, whisper or breathe a word about me to someone else.  Please please PLEASE don't show even a crack in the armour of my safe place that someone else can climb into.

 

This situation is absolutely terrifying me for reasons unknown and potentially irrationally.  My mind is split between never going there again and knowing that I'd never give up that relationship.  There's a tearing feeling in my heart that I've ruined something pure and special and that it will never be the way it was ever again.  I've never protected something so ferociously as I protect my Dr. Ed space and now I don't know what to do.

 

What do I do?

 

Sad :(

Girlfriend

Happy Birthday To Me!

Yesterday was my best birthday ever!  Well, maybe not ever, I don't remember many of my little kid birthdays but in the last few years, by far the best day!
It started on Saturday, which was the day before my birthday.  My friend and I went down to the Button store (shocking, I know!) and played with the bin of buttons for a while and then went over to the discount fabric store next door and planned out some fabric for her to make a couple of skirts. 
We hit up the grocery store for some last minute baking ingredients and then we were off to home where we ate the world's supply of macaroni and cheese (bought from a gourmet cheese shop and consisting of emmental, guyere and something else... so delish!).  Our baking didn't exactly turn out... It's supposed to be a log and it looks like this:

Needless to say, we are not serving this at the work party this afternoon!

After our baking misadventure, we watched Elf on tv and then I went home.

On Sunday morning I was up with the birds at 6:20am.  I may have woken up my sister by sending text message at that hour!

At ten my two friends came over and we headed out to Coquitlam for a birthday breakfast with my mom, grandparents, sister, her man and the three of us.  It was very enjoyable. 

And then the birthday adventure began.  Sam and Kathleen and I decided to go to Horseshoe Bay for icecream.



We came home and had Red Robin for dinner and looked at pictures... the kitty wasn't used to us having company and not having his couch snuggle time so he made do and fell asleep on the counter... on the Red Robin take out bag.

We were in bed by 930... best. day. ever!

:)

Today I am 33 years old

 

Random bits

1.  Chocolates make me sick.  I can't eat filled chocolates... this makes me sad because even tho I shouldn't eat them, I do like them... until my stomach blows up like a balloon and I get a strong inclination to take my pants off at work... which is frowned upon at most places... especially in health care!

 

2. I'm addicted to stovetop potpourri... There's nothing I like more than a fresh pot of sliced lemons, oranges and clove stabbed apples with a sprig or two of rosemary and some cinnamon sticks.  Through the process of experimentation (read: overwhelming laziness) I've determined that if you top it up with water every day and cook it every day, it will last on your stove for up to two weeks.  And it smells super fantastic that whole time!

 

3.  My tattoo is 3/4 healed and I love it more and more every day.  It may be a placebo but it's brought me a sense of calm... I've mostly been accused of 'painting it on' and it 'not being real' but those people are what I like to call 'shut up!'.  Why would I fake a tattoo??

 

4.  My stomach is currently the size of a pumpkin and I"ve taken one leg of my pants off... so far no one's noticed!

 

5.  I'm all done my Christmas shopping!  That's right... ALL. DONE!  Now, before you start to firebomb my house, let me just say that I only had two people to shop for this year.  My sister and my dad.  And my sister's birthday... which incidentally is the same day as mine!  Weird right? ;)  I bought my sister all very cool things and was so excited for her to have them all that I've suggested we do our birthday AND Christmas exchange sometime before I leave for holidays... Hopefully that works out!

 

6.  I found something really cool that I'm really excited about but I can't say anything about it because it's one of the presents in #5!

 

7.  Saturday I'm going to hang out with a friend of mine and we're going to go to Richmond (remind me to pick up my suitcase!), Dressew, Button Button and then we're going back home to bake cookies and other junkfood style treats for our baking day on Monday.

 

8.  Sunday is my birthday.  I've never been less excited about my birthday as I am this year.  I'm most excited to give my sister her presents!  There's no party this year and no cake or balloons.  I'm okay with that.  There's also not a single Christmas ornament in my house, not a bough of evergreen or a red velvet ribbon.  Not a candle, a cookie or a wrapped Christmas package.  I'm actually quite astounded that it's Christmas in a week and a bit...

 

9.  Some how, even tho I've managed to keep my house really clean (okay... clean... really is a bit of an exaggeration) during this time of not feeling too well, the bathroom has evaded my touch... I have no choice but to clean it tonight... and the rest of the house... vacuum, scrub, clean... because tomorrow I'm going to see my beloved Dr. Ed and then I'm making THESE!  Chocolate chip cookie bars with a layer of caramel peanut butter inside!  I'm going to give the majority of them away... I have two people in particular that I'm making these for... and because they seem fun and I don't have anything else to do on Friday night.

 

10.  I think in the last few years I've actually become a pretty decent cook and baker.  I used to be TERRIBLE... as in celery salt in the cinammon buns, light garlic bread on fire terrible.  I'm not so bad now and people actually request things I make and/or the recipe for things I've made... it boggles my mind!

 

11.  I lost a mitten from my olive green arm warmers that I made.  I don't know how it happened and I'm pretty sad about it :(  I have yarn to make another pair, but I wanted two pairs, not one pair and a sad mitten.

 

12.  I made a new cowl last night.  Originally I had bought the yarn for a present for my Sam, but then we decided that we weren't exchanging gifts and he didn't want a black anything anyway... The stripe bit of yarn was a skein of core spun handspun that I bought at a craft fair last year... I originally tried to make it into a hat, but it was a bit goofy.  It worked perfectly in the gauge of the black yarn (Berocco Peruvia Quick) and I love the look.  It's very long... past my waistband, but looks pretty cool in one big loop.  It's also (obviously) long enough to loop around twice my neck as a nice warmer.  Next time I'd make it a LOT shorter... and I'm not sure how my math went that horribly wrong because I wanted it to be a short thick cowl... it's a long skinny one...

Endeavor to Persevere

I am absolutely thrilled!

I went back and forth on the orientation of this... the artist said it should be facing away from me, but after some research, soul searching and wearing the design on my wrist on a piece of saran wrap, I decided that I had pictured it facing me and that's how I wanted it.

So glad I went with my gut!

endeavor to persevere

Watch this!

This is 6 minutes and 58 seconds of your life you'll be glad you spent in front of the computer.  And don't forget to Smile!

Impulsive!

I'm sitting here in a tattoo studio waiting for my consultation for my new tattoo. I've wanted another tattoo since my last one healed 15 years ago. I always knew I would feel it when it was time. I never wanted to just pick a design out of a book or choose a random place on my body that seemed like a good tattoo spot. So I waited. A long time. And as I knew would happen, I had the feeling.

I thought about waiting until the 'time was right'. I thought that doing something awesome like a tattoo should be done at the perfect time. Much like I thought I should wait to knit a sweater until I was the perfect size. As we have now discovered, there is no perfect size. And there is no perfect time.  Such a time does not exist in life.  The only thing that exists is the time that is now.

Tattoos can be used to celebrate milestones, grieve the loss of loved ones or inspire you as you move through life... among many MANY other reasons... the reason to get a tattoo is as unique as the person getting it. 

So!  Thursday at 5pm, I am getting a new tattoo.  I've thought about it, mulled it, asked for advice and input and now it's happening.  I'm so excited, I can't wait!

PhotoShoot!

I met my sister for a coffee this morning and had a stack of handknits to give her.  The lighting was... well, let's just say that it was daylight and one can't be too choosey in December in the Northern Hemisphere, so we did a photoshoot in Starbucks.

 

Winter in Peru Armwarmers (pattern to come)

Lovisa chart on a hat

 

I'm a Barbie Girl triangle shawl with ribbon tie

 

Bulky Kitten Hat

All Five of the hats that I've made my sister.  Cables, lace, colorwork, pleats and a kitten.

Where do you sit?

I was sitting at my desk this morning appreciating listening to music, sipping my coffee and pinning things on pinterest... So I thought I'd give a little tour of where I am when I'm doing this...

First an unfettered picture and then below it, captions.  Everything on my desk (which is small, so there's limited space) is important to me or has meaning in some way.  No room for nonsense clutter in this space!

The Best Thing

The best thing about knitting is that there are no rules!  Oh, sure, you could have told the whole blogosphere (and by that I mean the 13 people who read this occassionally!) that you're obsessed with colorwork mittens... You could have either said straight out or implied very recently that you're going to have a pair of lined, full colorwork mittens done by the time you get to Alcatraz...

And then you can decide that the most important thing for your own well being, mental health and warm body parts is to get out the skein of sale yarn you bought on a whim, remember how much you love it and crank out one half of a pair of arm warmers in about four hours!  Yup!  You wanna know why?  Because there are no rules in knitting!  You can do what you want... when you want to... for whomever you want!

I present you my 'I see Machu Picchu' warmers.

If you want the pattern, I would be happy to write it up, just let me know.
These are made of Berocco Cuzco (now you get the name?) in the Olive colorway on Size US 8 needles.  The first mitten took 43 of the 100 grams of yarn.
I will get better pictures when the other one is done and I've washed and blocked them both.

And now I'm going to bed because I have been forbidden to nap anymore (omg, I know!) and prescribed an allotted sleeping time of 10pm-6am.  Yes, even on weekends. 

 

From my inbox this morning

It doesn't matter if the path you start down and the path you end on are the same as long as you start down a path.