love 'n such

A stolen afternoon from work and no guilt here! Oh, it's standing at the door but I sure ain't letting it in for a cup of tea!

I have more on my plate in my personal life than my work life but isn't that always the way for everyone? So, while I have a wee lull in my work world... time to catch up in my real world. Lots of knitting projects to do and... ack... already trying to plan out the Christmas knit list. 

STOP!!! Don't get ahead of yourself girl... relax and finish the summer knits. 

There's a wedding to attend in three weeks and only 1/3 of the project completed... travel over The Pond in five weeks and haven't even started the two gifts let alone finish the lace pullover I want to take for myself. Do I plan too big? Knit too slow? I know I'm a polygamous knitter but being bored with one knit atta time is NOT an option. 

To take the whole summer off would be a delight. Not just for traveling or knitting up a storm but to do more things in my fair city. I love Edmonton and all that it offers... the festivals, the markets, the food trucks, the parks... I could go on and on. Suffice it to say I want to be able to give back in some form to the city that has given much to me. I know, a wee bit sappy but it's true. Oh to combine giving back with knitty goodness... oh, the mind is scheming, I mean planning already... Yarn Art anyone?

I'll leaving the over-active mind whirling away in the background but in the mean time, back to the gifts and knitting in the warmth of the sun with my cup of tea!

Labour of Love...

Remember the dreaded scarf project that when on and on, forever and ever? Well, The Boy has his treasure. His grin says it all and I just can't stop grinning and happy clapping. Yup, we're both nerds and we love it.

While I never really complained about knitting this lil' treasure... it was a long, boring, tedious, never ending, what have I gotten myself into knit... but I never really complained!

Like life... there are things we do that at times we wonder why we even bothered. We're living in an age of instant gratification... all those devices that make every connection immediate. Why bother doing anything that takes longer than a minute to produce?

While I do love that texting thing... there is something to be said for the Slow Movement ideals... the end product makes every moment of the journey worth its while. Now I must remember to remind myself of this on all my big and small heart-made treasures.

And I still can't help but giggle and happy clap whenever I look at The Boy's grin... Just don't ask me to knit another...

start the day right...

So I got me a broken molar... this makes for a very cranky and a very short attention spanned knitter.  I started up a wee shawlette but after 2 days of evening knitting it's not done yet. Then started up a cotton bath-mat from Jane Austen's Sewing Book for a change of pace and after one day of evening knitting it's not done yet. This sore jaw is really cramping my style. As I reached for my luke warm coffee knowing that a stronger bevie on Sunday morning would be all wrong, I knew what I had to do. Knit up a coffee cosy and not just any coffee cosy... a Guinness Coffee Cosy...  for mornings when you really want something more than coffee. In the mean time, I'll grab me some pain killers and get back to that bath-mat.

Guinness Coffee Cosy
White and Brown Worsted Weight
Size 4 or 5mm Double Points (Depends on the size of your mug)
2 stitch markers
KEY
K- Knit
P- Purl
K2T- knit 2 together
PM- place marker

In White, cast on 54 st. Join in round.
Round 1- K1, P1 to end of round
Round 2- P1, K1 to end of round.
Round 3 - 6 Continue with moss stitch
Change to brown
Round 7- Knit
Round 8- Place marker, K2T, K 25, PM, K2T, K 25
Round 9-12, Knit
Round 13- K2T, k to marker, K2T, knit to end of round
Round 14-17, Knit
Round 18- Repeat R13
Round 19-21, Knit
Round 22- Repeat R13
Round 23-25- Knit
Round 26- Repeat R13
Round 27- K1, P1 to end of Round. Repeat K1, P1 ribbing for total of 5 rounds.
BO loosely. Fits comfortably over a large travel mug.
Sláinte!

Perseverance...

It's near the end of January 2012... where has the year gone already? With all the Christmas marathon knitting that occurred in December, January seemed a bit un-frenetic! That doesn't mean there wasn't anything happening. January became the perfect month to finish a very long project... long in that it was started in Feb '11 and long that this project was the infamous Doctor Who Scarf finishing at 14 feet. 


Now why, do you ask, would one want to be knitting the Doctor Who Scarf? I mean, it's nothing fancy- no cables or lace work, ordinary colours, from the old Doctor series. Why indeed? It was a labour of love for an adopted nephew who has since become enamored with The Doctor. Perseverance indeed!! 


Perseverance is required for a lot of things... relationship building, fighting illness, weight loss, renovations... anything worth having takes time to achieve. Anything worth achieving takes time. We must persevere through the bad for only then can we truly appreciate the good. Investing in ourselves and others is the kindest and truest of all achievements. I just need to remember this when I fuss about my weight...

monsters are done!

Six days before Christmas and my knitty gifts are done. That's right... SIX days before Christmas!!! The last of the monsters for the three great-nephew monsters was finished today! Now I have to give them away and not get all uptight when the first arm is riped off!!!

Wouldn't it be nice if we could give away our own personal monsters as fast? You know... those ones that have been residing in the closet in the head raising its ugly form every now and then? Those monsters that stop you from starting anything new or moving past a hurt. We can hold on so tight to them that in the struggle something breaks off and we hurt all over again.

That just may be the true gift of the season... giving away the monsters of hurt, self-doubt, anger, fear... and move towards freedom. Freedom for the heart and soul to be filled with joy... like my heart will be when my much loved g-nephews give their heart-made toys their first hug! Now that's a happy Christmas!

squirrel moments...

Christmas is less than two weeks away and I'm still working on those silly monster stuffies for my wee monsters! I keep going off track with last minute ideas... homemade Nutz n' Bolts... soap... last minute gifts... parties... SQUIRREL! Heck, I thought I did good by getting some gifts done over the summer but apparently there's alway more to do.

There's alway more to knit, more ideas, more parties... SQUIRREL. Good news is... one monster just needs feet, other monster needs all four limbs and third monster... well, still deciding how to do that one... but I will make it despite the soap and the nutz 'n' bolts and the last minute parties. One big squirrel moment, a last minute idea to make Poppa and earflap toque with alpaca yarn from a A to Z Alpaca, a southern Alberta farm... love buying local... because he was getting a brand new spiffy wheelchair that will have a lot more zip! His ears are gonna need the extra warmth as he zips about in the dead of winter plus he'll look pretty darn snappy to boot... SQUIRREL!

There really is nothing wrong with squirrel moments for sometimes those create the best ideas! Poppa's toque and eucalyptus/frankincense infused soap (more manly than lavender) for example. Now, to try and use squirrel moments for more creative results at work. May be a little harder sell but I'm quite sure it can make that day job a lot more rewarding. Maybe I just need to bring some Nutz n' Bolts and create those squirrel moments...
LOOK, SNACKS!!!

the ever popular Advent countdown...

I don't remember getting Advent calendars when I was a kid but they are popular lil' items these days, aren't they? Well, it's December 1st and oddly enuff I want one! Well, maybe not one filled with chocolates but one that maybe gives me a wee toy. Better yet, one that give me knitty treasures and maybe another that gives me extra time.

Thankfully, I only have four knitty gifts to complete before Christmas... three monsters for my monster nephews and a little something for the Pops. Heck, I even got this super soft cowl done for one of my buds so I don't need the extra time to knit gifts. I need the extra time to knit up wee treasures... mini socks and mittens that could easily be strung together for garland or... wait for it... made into an Advent Calendar!

I blame my HeartSister... too many great patterns she's designed (check out the Ryan Eejits group on Ravelry) that I don't have enuff hands or time to get them done before Christmas. Maybe if I start the projects now I might have them ready for Christmas 2012. I think I need to get a chocolate calendar just to get me through this month... you know... for inspiration.