My past month in a nutshell

Well, it has been about a month and a half since I have been able to create a new post! I have been up to my eyeballs in homework, migraines, and packing. I have had piles of books sitting everywhere for my writing class (I am typing a 20 page paper on Anne Boleyn and Queen Elizabeth I). Luckily I am in the last two weeks of this term, which I will finally achieve my associates degree. The real challenge will be if I can make it through math class. It has been nearly 8 years since I had a math class and it shows. Oh well...the pain is almost over. It has only been in the last week that I have been up to knit again. I even notice the difference since I picked back up my needles, feeling a bit calmer than I was a few weeks ago. And just to add to the fun we will be moving soon. I didn't realize the size of my knitting stash until I started packing it up. It's one thing to look at....another thing to have to move it. The countdown to Western Culinary school has begun. And now that I have decided to do what I always wanted to do....become a pastry chef or baker.....I am very happy about all of it! Since I was little I always had the thought in the back of my mind that I wanted to own my own little bakery someday. Well, that might just happen the way things are going! So as I look at things I have to say....as long as I pass my math class...life is good. Very good.

The Fate of the Log Cabin

So I am knitting away on New Year's Day when I suddenly see a small string hanging off the log cabin blanket I am working on. So naturally I get my scissors and go to cut it, only to find that in addition to the string I have cut a stitch. Now there are many different ways to react to something like this..... one may say "Oh well, I can fix it" then add a piece of yarn to the area and restitch the few missed stitches only to get back to working on the blanket. The more dramatic person may see the hole, say a few choice phrases "&^%&^, you &&^*.....I didn't want to finish you anyway" and rip the blanket apart, never to be started again. Then there are those like myself that see what happened and beg Buddha (or whoever you may look to at that moment) that you won't do or say anything bad for a month if you just keep the yarn from completely unraveling. All of this happening while my husband sits next to me telling me he has to go to sleep. My reaction "I am having a knitting emergency at the moment, just hold your horses". Then I take a deep breath, and I think I held it while I carefully restitched the few stitches. I don't quite remember which might tell you something. The funny thing as I look back on the few minutes in which the life of this blanket was in limbo is that the little things we see as emergencies or problems sometimes teach us the most. I learned that night how to restitch a blanket with a needle and yarn, and granted I look at it and know the exact place where I screwed up but no one else will ever see it. And what if they do? What if that one person decides to pick the blanket that I will eventually spend so much time on apart and find that one little spot that I screwed up on? Well I can tell them one of two things.....the first being "Kiss off, I would like to see you make something like this!" or the latter "I meant to do it!".

How Many More Days Till Christmas???

Right now I am on a roll.....atleast I think so. Working my fingers to the bone, I am quickly trying to wrap up all of those projects that have been sitting around since August waiting for Christmas to roll around and become gifts. Of course I put them off till the last second, but it does feel good to finally be getting projects done rather than just starting more and more projects each day. One of the many projects being the very cute stuffed elephant you see above that is for my niece. A wonderful project that I found on Ravelry, made with Lion Brand Thick and Chunky. It's almost sad to end a project, after spending so much time and effort in creating a beautiful object only to have it done. I think that is why I feel better giving most of what I make away. I know they are going to good homes, yes it sounds like each project has a life of it's own in my mind, where people can enjoy them so I can feel better about moving on to other projects in hopes to make more people happy. That's the one thing about knitting, it's not something that could ever be done to make someone sad or upset. Granted I do have my moments when I miss a stitch, or realize I just made two sleeves of a sweater that aren't even close to matching, but it's a learning experience and it's knowing that I know how to fix these things that help get you through the irritation. So as I keep working away, the days keeping ending, getting closer and closer to Christmas and the day I get to see many enjoy the things I have enjoyed making.

A Stash With A Mind Of It's Own

First let me put this picture in perspective. This is a very tiny portion of my stash that has slowly formed a mind of it's own. I have started to find yarn in my piles that I forgot I purchased some time ago. That's got to tell you something. Why not plan atleast 5 projects ahead of time? Well, when you already have 10 projects going that gets you in trouble very quickly. So at what point do you stop and tell yourself to not walk into a yarn shop, or at the very least don't look at a knitting website that you can purchase from for atleast a month? I probably am not the one to ask at the moment but I say if you have the room.....stash it for a rainy day. There could be worse things in the world to have an addiction for. The way I see it is you have the addiction for the beautiful yarns and projects then to sit and knit is the therapy. With all of that it's still cheaper than paying for a therapist, and you can do it in your pj's at two o'clock in the morning if you want to.

When Life Throws a Curve Ball...

Ever since I graduated from high school and moved on to college I never seemed to find the right fit for what I wanted to do "when I grew up". Even up to a month ago the plan was to keep on pushing through college until I got my teaching degree....which would be a very long time from now. Then life took a sudden turn. When I was young I always thought it would be so cool to have a bakery. To make beautiful cakes, or create pastries that make people's mouth water the second they walk through the door. Being that the economy is what it is at the moment, the bakery gig isn't quite as profitable as I would like so I looked for something close to it when something kinda fell in my lap. Suddenly I was going through applications and was being interviewed and now I will be a student at Western Culinary Institute Le Cordon Bleu school in beautiful Portland starting in July. Let me tell you right now.....I am so excited that I could jump out of my skin. I will be getting another associates in culinary arts to become a chef. Now it's not the pastry artist that I have dreamed of....but so much more. Now to think that I will be moving away, especially since I have lived in the same area all of my life!! I might not know what to do with myself. So the countdown begins....

Oregon State Socks!!! Civil War Weekend!!!

So....if you are a Oregon Duck fan....move on to a different page. This is not the page for you. My husband came to me last week and asked for a pair of socks since his feet were freezing (our house can get so cold so layers are a necessity). Being that this was the first time he had ever really asked for me to knit him anything I was shocked. So I found a pattern by Knitting Pure and Simple "Men's Heavy Weight Boot Sock # 998" then changed the pattern slightly to have stripes at the top and orange heels and toes. Finally I decided to put a big orange "O" on each of the socks. Now I must be completely honest. I hate the "O" part and have threatened my husband's life if he even thinks of leaving the house in these things. They are doing their job by keeping his little toes warm but I do have to giggle when I see them on him. Oh well.....with each thing you knit you learn new things then move on (learning when to never do certain things ever again). Now that I look at the picture it kind of looks like his feet have mouths that are open, waiting to be fed. Civil War this weekend!!! Go Beavs!!!

I Love Getting Mail!

I am a eBay junkie. There....I finally admitted it. I search randomly throughout eBay looking for crazy things, that all in all I really don't need but kinda want. Well today, the coolest things I have ever bought on eBay arrived from England. Knitting patterns of Gromit and Shaun the Sheep from the Wallace and Gromit series. Ever since I saw the movie "Wallace and Gromit and the Curse of the Were-Rabbit" and saw Gromit knitting in the car while waiting for Wallace I have been hooked. I can't wait to get started on these!! I might even have to keep them for myself! Now if I could just find a pattern for Wallace.....

Looped Preemie Hat

The Looped Preemie Hat Pattern

This cute little preemie hat is adjustable for various sizes all by rolling up the brim. The yarn stripes as you work your way up to the top little loop to finish it off.
Perfect for a charity!

Materials:
Needles- Qty 4 Size 5 (3.75mm) Dbl pointed
Yarn-1 ball of Bernat Baby Jacquards (shown in Berries & Cream), or any other DK size yarn
Notions- 1 yarn needle

Pattern:
1. CO 48 sts
2. Divide between 3 needles
3. Rib 1x1 (K1, P1) for 1 inch
4. Knit 1 row, increasing 2 sts (1 stitch after 23rd and 47th stitches) (50 sts)
5. Knit 10 rounds
6. Round 12- *(K8, K2tog), *repeat 5 times (45 sts)
7. Knit 4 rounds
8. Round 17- *(K7, K2tog), *repeat 5 times (40 sts)
9. Knit 3 rounds
10. Round 21- *(K4, K2tog), *repeat 6 times, K2, K2tog (33sts)
11. Knit 2 rounds
12. Round 24- *(K3, K2tog), *repeat 6 times, K3 (28sts)
13. Knit 1 round
14. Round 26- K1*(K1, K2tog), *repeat 9 times (19sts)
15. Knit 1 round
16. Round 28- K1*(K2tog), *repeat 9 times (10 sts)
17. Round 29- *(K2tog), *repeat 5 times (5 sts)
18. Round 30- K2tog, K1, K2tog (3sts)
19. Put all stitches on one needle
20. Knit 1 1/2in I-cord, pulling yarn through stitches when completed
21. Sew I-cord end to top of hat to create loop

The Christmas Presents and My Aching Fingers

I could do it. I could be proactive and have all of my knitting projects that have been classified as "Christmas Gifts" done by let's say....June. I could wrap them up and put them away until the 25th of December, in the mean time enjoying each day baking cookies and working on the other projects that have been classified as "Just for the heck of it". But I, as many people, have decided to wait till the last minute, in which I must juggle history essays, work, sociology tests, and computer assignments all while squeezing in the occasional stitch. As I look at the project that I have torn apart three times, just to make sure I get it right since it is a present, I think "Maybe it would be a good birthday present next year...or maybe Christmas 2009!". Pathetic is another word that comes to mind in this moment of weakness but that's a whole other problem. So why is it that we wait, and wait, and wait? Do we enjoy the pressure of being up at 5am on Christmas day, stitching together those last few pieces of an afghan? Or is it just life and the ability to get up to our necks in "stuff"? We are the only ones to blame in this situation (even though most of us are in denial about it). So in this moment of pure irritation in realizing that if I don't stay up till the crack of dawn to knit this project it may never get done....I look to those who have the right idea.

Just sit back, relax, even take a nap with a buddy, and know that everything will eventually work itself out.....whether you like it or not.

The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread

Searching through one of my many knitting magazines, I found a small article about the newest way to block your projects. The Knitter's Block is a bag that carries multiple puzzle-like blocks that you lay out in the size of your project. The felt like blocks keep the project in place but there are also a small container of push pins if you ever have that project that just doesn't cooperate. Contained in the bag is also a soft piece of fabric, made of 100% Egyptian cotton can be used to either assist in drying the project or a barrier when you want to block by iron drying. There are two different sizes of Knitter's Block bags (the picture is of the smaller version), one small and one large. I recently used the Knitter's Block on one of my recent sweater projects and it was amazing the difference. I am so used to improvising when it comes to blocking. It was down to the point that I was using a large framed photo on top of the project to flatten it. Sounds weird? Well, you do what you have to....plus it worked! Anyway, the Knitter's Block is absolutely amazing and I would suggest it to any knitter. You can find the Knitter's Block at http://cocoknits.com/block/knittersblock.html