WIP Wensday and a little self improvement

Hello knitters.

I hope your week has started off right. This past weekend I decided to knit for my (not-so-little) guy. He adores hand knit socks so why not spoil him. Lately, I have been knitting self-stripe yarn and I love it! Therefore, N and I looked online and he picked out angry birds colorway by Turtlepurl yarns.

Instantly, when the yarn arrived, N wanted me to start his socks. How can you say no the most appreciative sock recipient ever?!? So over the weekend, I knit his first sock. I just made an normal adult sock and scaled the stitches back. I LOVE how the socked turned out. N is anxiously waiting for the second sock to be complete. I think I can manage that over our vacation. Yes, you heard right, this family is going on a vacation to FL. I cannot wait.

As written in the title of the post, I have been working on a bit of self improvement. Recent events have made me realize that I am..... well..... a bit of a push over. It is time for me to stick up and stand up. I am sick of being treated like dirt and well it is not a very good example for N to see. Over the past few months my goal was to find hobbies and make time for relaxation. I have done so by reading and knitting more. Spending time with N and my hubby instead of being overwhelmed with chores, work and life. This has made my life extremely happier but I still have one area that drags me down. It affects my work and personal life. I need to have confidence and not be afraid to speak my mind and stand up for our family when it is necessary. Oh man, I am getting nervous even typing it, but in the end, I know this change will help my family and I so very much.

FO Friday

Hello Knitters. I have a super quick post today. I have two more socks done and ready to be worn. The first set was a gift from my knitting buddy made from Quaere Self Stripping Sock Yarn in the Shower Curtain colorway. The second set is a STR yarn from Blue Moon Fibers in the Gnome colorway. I made this set a bit too big so they are now for my hubby.

Both socks have turned out better than I ever imagined. Here is to starting off the weekend right!

FO Friday

Hello knitters.

Just a quick post today. I finished two projects recently. The first is a Christmas gift for my mother-in-law. I made simple pullover mittens.

I love LOVE love how these turned out and I hope she does too. Finally, I finished my friends birthday socks. The colors are so fun and happy. She loves Harry Potter so these Horcrux Socks were perfect for her.

Thanks for stopping by. Have a great weekend.

WIP Wednesday

Hello Knitters! Happy hump day. I hope your week is going well.

I cast on a new project with yarn I got for my birthday. I am simply in love. I received a skein of Quaere Fibre yarn for my birthday from my knitting buddy. I forgot how much fun it is to knit stripes! They knit up so fast because I keep telling myself, "just one more stripe". I truly will be sad when I bind off this project because they are just soooooo much fun. 

I wanted to keep the stripes on the heel flap so I used the afterthought heel pattern. I had a business trip this past week in New Orleans. I was able to sneak off and check out a yarn store while there. The Quarter Stitch is a little shop on the french quarter.  The environment is very friendly and their yarn selection is full of variety. I suggest stopping by this amazing store whenever you visit New Orleans.

 

My friend watched our dog, Ballack while we were away and as a thank you I got her this yarn:

 

She is super excited to make a cute ear flap hat. For my knitting buddy and I, I bought us some Jitterbug sock yarn. Very excited to cast on and see how this yarn looks :)

Enjoy your week, we are 1/2 way to the weekend! Until next time, keep knitting and thanks for stopping by!

WIP Wednesday

Hello Knitters.

I am working on my friends birthday present...still. I am almost to the toe. Hopefully today, I can finish the project.

I just finished the first book in the All Souls Trilogy, The Discovery of Witches. It is a fun book that is a love story. It was a fast and easy read. The end however was different the rest of the book. I am excited to continue the trilogy. Last night, I started the second book, Shadow of the Night.

I also have a bit of reading to do for class. I decided to brush up on my skills for work and take a course that I took 7 years ago. It is very interesting (for people who like that sorta thing) but is extremely time consuming. 

 I cannot wait to see whats on everyone's needles. Happy WIP Wednesday, until next time, keep knitting.

WIP Wednesday, Minnesota State Fair, and StevenBe

Two blog posts in a week. Can you handle it?

This past weekend we visited P's Cousins and his parents meet us there as well. It has become a tradition for us to visit over Labor Day weekend and attend the Minnesota State Fair. We had a great time eating ridiculous food, riding rides and seeing the animals. We went Saturday and were apart of the all time highest attendance for the state fair, over 252,000 people!

We spent the night recovering and relaxing. Sunday, the boys went golfing and the 3 ladies plus N went to a yarn store. Usually, we go to the same yarn store when I visit M, however, this time I made her step out of the box and we visited StevenBe. It was so fun. I very modern yarn store with lots of stock. I loved the fact that people came to the yarn store just to relax and knit. It was a place for knitters to come, socialize, show off their WIPS and knit. 

I love these sweet ladies!!!

Because I have more yarn then I know what to do with, I treated myself to new knitting bags. (I only have a picture of one of them.)

 This weekend, I started some mittens for my mother-in-law intended for a Christmas gift. I was able figure out her hand size and have her try it on while I was making the right hand mitten. The pattern is pop over mittens (not the pop over mittens on ravelry!) which was designed by the store where I bought the yarn, Baskets of Yarn in La Crosse, WI. The pattern calls for Panguipulli by Knitting Fever. I believe the colorway is #28 but it could be #30... I lost the tag.

Thanks for stopping by. I joined Ginny today.

To the moon and back

Hello Knitters.

It has been a crazy summer filled with long car rides, soccer games and long days in the sun. The past week my son did not have daycare. We decided to spend the first half of the week with some friends and visit door county. We stayed at a resort and spent a lot of time enjoying the pool. The kids ventured on a boat ride, toured the maritime museum and rode their bikes all over. It was a great 4 doors relaxing with another family. 

While the boys were off doing their adventures, L and I walked around Sturgeon Bay. The knitter I am, I looked up the LYS within walking distance. We found a very cute place called Spin. The building was amazing, it used to be a bank nestled on the corner of the block.

Outside of many stores, was a statue of a sturgeon. Here, the sturgeon had a knitted cover. Too cute. Small towns have such charm and Sturgeon Bay was not lacking. I bought several skeins of yarn to make my friend a Christmas gift. As she reads my blog, I cannot post details or pictures until after she is fully surprised. But I have to say the project is super yummy. 

 

I have made a lot of progress on my friend L's birthday socks. Her birthday is this Saturday and I am hoping to have them done by then. Keep your fingers crossed; with any luck I will post a FO post this Friday!

The pattern is Horcrux, made with STR in the hobbit garden colorway. L loves Harry Potter and these socks depict Harry's scar. The socks so far are fun to make but have a very unusual cuff length, turning the heel but it is still looking very cute. 

Changing the subject; the summer has been filled with new habits and redefining myself. I have found myself "aging fast" and I wanted to slow everything down for a bit.  Recently, I have made efforts to read more. I found this to help my sleep habits. Reading right before bed, I fall asleep faster and stay asleep all night long. I just finished the Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Gailbrath (J. K. Rowling). It was a interesting read and I am excited to read the second novel, The Silkworm. I also dove into the All Soul's trilogy. It reminds me of the Twilight series. I know they are not the most deep novels but I find them very enjoyable. In addition,  I am going to tackle better eating habits and more of a "routine" for our family's daily life. Hopefully, I can incorporate these changes.

I will be back Wednesday to post about the past weekend and another WIP. Until then, keep knitting.