Posts Tagged ‘knitting’
We are currently saving to be married, how exciting!
My fiancé are planning on eloping next January, and we’ve been saving for it! And it’s going well! We know the sort of rings we want, the exact specifications, and will have them made for us when it’s closer to the date, and we’re still trying to decide what to do on our honeymoon. We just want a short vacation away, perhaps a few days or a week, and we want to do some fun stuff, though we really don’t mind.
A while back we got a good one of those cash ISA savings accounts, but we’ve also been pretty darn diligent with our spending over the last few months so we’ve done pretty much all the work, but bank just makes it a tiny bit more. Nationwide Savings and Investments are also supposed to be alright, but we’ve never had any dealings with them.
Whichever institution you save with, it’s best to be in the know about savings news, though that’s pretty much good advice about most things. :D
I’m really excited to finally be seeing progress here, to be helping to bring about something that we’ve wanted for a long time!
I want to knit something for this, too. A pretty little shrug would be nice, though I’ve got no idea about a specific one. Whenever I find a shrug pattern, there’s always something I don’t like about it. I really want to make one, they seem so simple, but I have to find the right one, and I’m so damn picky! I suppose it makes sense to be that way when you’ve got limited yarn and don’t want to spend a whole heap on yarn for any old pattern. Oh! This one is quite pretty! Leaf-patterned Convertible Shawl, how pretty!
Oh, and for your amusement, check out Tacky Weddings when you get the chance. Hilarious and awful!
Tags: eloping, knitting, savings
I really want to try some more complex knitting forms, now I want to try intarsia!
Intarsia or colourwork is a form of knitting where you knit with multiple colours at a time. Kind of like fair-isle, however the patterns aren’t so specific. With intarsia, you could have something like a Totoro portrait, or a knitted version of a stained glass window or a Jacquard cushion! Anything that involves multiple colours, basically, that isn’t a traditional fair-isle pattern.
It’s a very interesting form of knitting, one that often produces some amazingly beautiful results! So I’m really looking forward to trying it. So far I’m just looking at patterns that might work as a starter project. I don’t want to make anything too big, nor anything knit in the round, preferably, but I will knit in the round if the project I find is too good to pass up!
At this stage there are a couple of patterns that stand out, though I’m really not sure where to start. I like the Endpaper mitts, but they’d require being knit in the round, and it’s with very fine needles, and as a person who likes to see results fairly quickly, I think that is off putting. This Jacquard cushion looks like a fairly simple knit, but I’d prefer a different motif. Then there’s the Kauni Damask Understated Bag which is amazing, but looks too large and complex for a starter project. Same with the Thistle Vest, it’s lovely, but too large a starter project.
I could try an argyle project, this Headband could be the perfect starter project! I think my cats would kill me if I were to try and put this little Kitty Cat Argyle Sweater on them. I wouldn’t mind trying this Harry Potter House Bag pattern, either. Gryffindor for me, Ravenclaw for my fiancé. Though I’d make his with the blue and silver, not blue and bronze. I know, I know, it was only blue and silver in the movies, but it was like that for a reason, you know? Blue and bronze tends to look muddy, unless you go for a very bright blue!
Tags: colourwork, intarsia, knitting
Yarn, that is! It’s a lot of fun, but a challenge too!
So I’ve recently gotten a drop spindle and two bundles of roving, but the lady who I bought these items off of on Etsy also sent me an extra spindle and small bundle of Dorset wool roving and a sample of mulberry silk to try my hand at, so I’ve got what I need to start spinning, and I’m hugely excited. The two bundles of roving I bought both have an assortment of fibres in them, and are very high quality, so the small bundle of Dorset wool roving is just perfect to get the hang of the whole process with before I use one of the expensive bundles, and I’m excited to try the silk out too!
Before I started spinning I spent a lot of time watching YouTube videos on how to spin, and it was extremely helpful, though it would be nicer to see some videos where the camera work is closer to the yarn so you can see how it looks. I was worried I was overspinning my yarn, but it turns out it was fine. So far I’m only a very small way through the Dorset wool, which makes me realise just how far the large bundles of roving will go!
I actually know little about what I do after I’ve spun the yarn, but it’s amazing to learn a new crafting skill and I’m really excited to think what I’ll do with the yarn I make! I’m looking forward to the little projects as much as the larger ones. I’ll use the wool I’ve been spinning to make something, even if it’s a tiny little purse! The silk, though, that I want to make a tiny pretty something, like a necklace or bracelet!
This pattern here, a leaf edging, I’ll make up with the silk. I can’t wait to work with it, it looks so smooth!
Tags: knitting, spinning
I’ll elaborate here, but sometimes I wonder why people do this so often.
Okay so here’s the back-story to this little vent of mine. A friend of mine, wife and mother of two, very respected, helps out with her children’s schools a lot, very friendly and nice, is being sued. When she told me this I immediately asked why!? She said that during all the cold weather, her car had slipped a little on the ice coming out of the car park near her children’s school, which meant that she bumped the car of another parent, whilst they were sitting in it. My friend had just started her car, and wouldn’t even have been going 5km per hour, and the other car was stationary, as the woman hadn’t started it yet, waiting for my friend to exit the car park first.
My friend got out and spoke to the other driver, apologising, and swapped car insurance information in spite of there not being any damage, even to the paint on the bumper bars. A fortnight later she received a letter in the post, telling her that the driver of the other car was suing her for physical trauma caused by the car accident, saying that she’d not been able to work for a week, and was possibly going to need more time off.
My friend was stunned, appalled, and is intending to fight it in court. We think she’s got a good case, because she took photos of where the damage would have been had there been any, for the insurance people, so that’s good. I mean, if there’s no external damage to the cars, how can this lady say that she’s got internal damage!? When my friend rang the car insurance people she was asked to get a quote from one of their authorised people, but when she told them there was no damage to either of the cars, they told her there was no need for any further action.
We pretty much think that this piece of work lady has been on one of those rediculous sites with ‘personal injury calculators’ and just made some symptoms up, faked it with her doctor, then trotted on into some not-so-good firm with personal injury claims lawyers and is seeing what she can get. Seriously, the legal profession must be as frustrated with these people as much as my friend and I are.
Okay now I have vented over that, I’ll speak of better things… knitting! Today’s pattern is Ice Queen! Hehehe, yeah, I’m totally poking fun, but this is a very beautiful pattern anyway.
Tags: knitting, law suit
I love wearing nice jewellery, and my fiancé especially likes bangles on me, so they’re a new favourite for me.
I’ve always been a bit of a jewellery nut. I didn’t get an allowance or pocket money but when I would go and stay with my aunt each holidays, she’d often have some sort of odd-job for me to complete to gain some spending money. She lived in the capital, and things always seemed more interesting around her place than home, so I’d set to whatever job she’d have for me and get my meagre spending money, which to me was huge!
I remember one year she’d let the grass grow in her yard till it was taller than I was! Then she paid someone to whipper-snipper it down, and she paid me to collect all the long grass stalks and pile them against the fence. Her yard was HUGE and she paid me only a couple of pounds for this, but I was happy to do it and when it was done, she’d take me to one of those little cheap stores that has a little of everything, and I’d buy up a heap of cheap pewter jewellery.
I cringe now and some of the things I’d wear as a child – a giant fairy pendant, for example – but my appreciate for jewellery isn’t diminished. So, in my opinion, there’s a few kinds of very good bangles. The sets of fine gold bangles where you wear around ten or more are very pretty, as well as wider metal bangles that have a nice motif or cut-out work is good too. I love wooden bangles, as well, as they are often so very beautiful, and solid stone bangles are very nice as well. I don’t like plastic ones at all, and wire-wrapping holds no appeal either.
The knitting pattern for this post is an absolute no-brainer with this Swatch Bangle pattern. I’ve not tried this myself, but I hope to at some point. :D
Tags: jewellery, knitting
That blog should come with a warning!
So yes, I was looking at Epicute after breakfast today, and then I just had to have a biscuit afterwards. The blog made me very hungry, in spite of my nice breakfast! It’s funny how just looking at these interestingly crafted foods can make me hungry! It is really amazing to see the level of finesse some of those foods exhibit, and I think the bento boxes look awesome! Nice to see some that are healthy in there, too!
For all those out there who look at I Can Has Cheezburger but not all the rest of the sites, I strongly recommend you check out a few of them from their newly added page of links. I personally prefer the ‘win’ blogs and the ‘cute’ blogs. Checking a blog like Daily Squee can make your day just that extra bit happier, which is quite lovely.
So what’s been happening in your world? Mine’s been quite nice and relaxing for the last week, which has been wonderful. I’ve been loving all this cold weather, though my fiancé is missing the more moderate temperatures of Spring and Autumn, which is understandable given the cold, but I really love it!
It’s also given me a lot of time to get some much needed knitting done! I’ve finished the knitting for my fiancé’s fingerless gloves and scarf in the Dapper Heringbone stitch, and they look great – he’s most looking forward to the gloves. I just have to block them all and then sew up the gloves as I knit those flat. It’s pretty exciting. Now I’m about to start work on the Leafy neckwarmer and the cowl of my own design! OOooo! For a knitting pattern today I’m going to have to go with a cute food, so how about
knit onigiri – Japanese rice ball. I’ve never tried an onigiri, but I reckon it’d be nice. :D
Tags: cute food, Epicute, knitting, Lolcats
Okay so that title sucked, but I couldn’t think of a way to say that I was looking at houses, but not with an intention to buy, if that makes sense.
First up, it’s amazing the amount of incorrect keys you hit when you’re sneezing whilst typing. Hilarious. Back to the topic at hand, now. Sooo, prices look to be… umm, pretty bad, actually. Property prices are falling still, which is surprising, but then again, with the internet, perhaps my information is old. I’m not sure, because I keep hearing a lot of news about repossession or about people having problems with repossession possibilities and threats.
There’s information out there for people to avoid or stop repossession, but it seems that often it’s too little too late. I don’t know, it makes me more disinclined than ever to actually buy a house. Sometimes it seems like renting for a while, a long while, is a good idea. Mortgage deals are getting rather out of hand again, in my opinion, I mean, 90%? Seriously? Way to not learn the lesson at hand, people.
Yeah, my fiancé and I will be renting for some time to come, and I’m more than happy with that, really. It gives us the freedom to move if we want to without all the stress of either selling or renting out to other people. I’d rather be less stressed than that. It really seems like people are kidding themselves that we’re as through the financial crisis as they want to believe. We’re still in the midst of it, sure maybe not rock bottom, but we’re still pretty close, and acting like we’re not, handing out 90% mortgages, is just perpetuating the problem.
Knitting pattern time! I’m still chilly – see pattern choice for previous pattern – so I’m going to link this dress pattern. It doesn’t really have a name – one of DROPS design’s patterns – but it’s a warm looking dress. All you’d need is a nice pair of tights and you’d be set. That and months to knit the pattern! :D
Tags: houses, knitting, prices
There are so very many of those small loans places in my town, and I see they’re doing pretty well for themselves, but I just think of those people digging themselves into debt, and it’s not good, in my opinion.
I mean, I only care because people have been doing it tough for a while now, and all these loan places promise people the instant gratification of getting what they’ve needed for a while, right now, but then in the end, they pay through the nose for it!
I think people need to be really smart with how they’re spending at the moment. I mean, I know the nation needs us to spend, to get the economy back on it’s feet more stably, so that’s understandable, but these loans are just pouring people’s money into the pockets of some already heavily lined pocket owning people! I like to take note of how the economy is doing before making big buys, so I like good, easy to understand, finance sites. This is money is pretty good, and easy for anyone to understand, but I also like to look at this site for news, and pay attention to the stuff on personal loans!
If you’re considering any loans and such, go with a regular bank. It seems that people who don’t, and go to those nasty little loans places, go in part because they know they won’t be turned down but them, but would be by a bank. If that’s the case, don’t do it! There’s a reason the bank won’t loan money to you! You’re not in a great position to pay them back! Debt is serious, and it’s what crippled the world’s economy, so I’m super careful to avoid it. If you are, though, it’s good to get advice on debt from others who are in the know, they may be able to help.
Now off the wretched topic and onto something else! Knitting patterns, yay, woot! I think the opposite of debt crappiness is comfort, so here is the Regal Comfort Shawl, rather pretty I think!
Tags: debt, knitting, Money
Why do you craft that which you craft? Interesting question I reckon.
Hmm, I think I’m inspired by necessity, in many cases, as with a little side project I’ve decided to make for myself. You see, a little background to the project… Whenever I’m in town, I take my mobile phone so my fiancé, who’s at home, can call me and we can discuss stuff like what I’ll pick up from the supermarket, how long till I’ll be home, how much we love and miss one another, how frustrating that lady who was yelling at her children on the bus was, you know, that sort of thing. Often he’ll call me so we can discuss something, but my phone will be in my backpack, and with all the noise of the shops and people around me, I’ll not hear it. It can be really annoying for him, and occasionally worrying if I’m way later than I intended to be.
So, I thought to myself, I’ll fix this situation, and started carrying my phone in my hand all the time. Yes, that’s a little tricky, though. So, next flash of inspiration! I’ll knit a lanyard! Yep! I’ve got some lovely nylon braid, fairly strong stuff, so I’ll make an icord lanyard out of that! So that’s one way that I get inspired.
Another is when I see a garment that I really like, on the catwalk for instance, and I’ll ponder a heck of a lot about how to make it. Like years ago I saw a lovely skirt on a catwalk, it looked like a lovely wool, much like a beige picnic blanket, that was asymmetrically hemmed, and bias cut. Beautiful! I tried to make it with a woollen blanket, lined it, FAIL! But I was inspired, and I’m still inspired to one day make a skirt like that. So that’s another of my inspirations… I think for me it is often a case of styles that have always appealed, and taking up the chance to make them. I love capelettes, always have, so when I got the chance, I was inspired and I’ve made four now, with fabric to make two more. So what inspires you in your craft?
Okay now for a pattern, ridiculously simple, yet here it is, an icord lanyard pattern. :D
Tags: inspiration, knitting, Sewing
Where do you stand?
My fiancé and I got to talking about those ‘naked scanner’ things they’ve been trialling in Manchester Airport and whether we thought they were appropriate or not, so I got to looking it up afterwards.
My initial reaction was like that of many fellow Brits, disgust at a government gone mad with how far it can invade a person’s privacy and that sort of thing, though my fiancé was a little different in his reaction. He said that he would prefer being able to just be scanned rather than have to be searched if the occasion should arise, and I can agree that I too would feel the same way. I think that the regular metal detectors should be used in airports, but that if the need should arise for a specific person to be searched more thoroughly, then they should be asked if they would prefer to have the full body scan, rather than the physical search, I don’t think that these ‘naked scanners’ should replace the regular ones, but a ‘next-step’ if something is iffy about a traveller.
Whilst I was looking up that issue to find the BBC article, I also found a few other things along the same lines that are interesting. Britain has more CCTV cameras per person than any other country in the world! No other country has them in the same kinds of numbers per capita that we do! It also seems to do very little for us! Though I’d guess that criminals would be caught more often, even if they’re not deterred by the cameras. That just makes them seem stupid… here’s hoping they all win Darwin Awards. :D
New technology with GPS vehicle tracking is also being implemented, but this is mostly for businesses, I think. I don’t actually have a problem with this, I think it’s a good idea for family vehicles, too. How nice would it be if, say, someone was missing? You could look this up and find out where the car was, maybe they ran off the road and just knocked themselves unconscious? Or if your car was stolen?
RFID tracking, however, seems completely untenable to me. Well, wrong for companies to be able to put into products to see who is buying them, that’s just whack and a serious invasion of privacy for no good reason. See, that’s the defining point as to whether I’ll personally say something is okay or not. The reason behind it. With the ‘naked scanners’, CCTV cameras, and GPS vehicle tracking, there are all security reasons for implementation; they can help to keep us safe. The RFID tracking, however, is purely for commercial purposes, and therefore not appropriate. If this technology was being used to keep tabs on potentially dangerous items, guns and chemicals, now that’s a brilliant idea if I do say so myself!
Okay, now for a knitting pattern. In keeping with the reason behind this post, I think I have to link a knitted toy aeroplane. :D
Tags: airports, full body scanners, knitting, security
I’ve decided that this year is going to be a year where my handcrafting ability actually progresses!
I’ve been knitting for about five or six years now, since the Winter of 2004, I believe. The last time I saw my mother, she came to visit my fiancé and I because I asked her to teach me to knit. In that time I’ve made a fair few things, but I’ve rarely challenged myself. I’ve done a little cabling, but nothing really complex, nor have I really attempted lace. Two things I’m going to rectify this year! Dammit!
I’ve got a whole bunch of cowls lined up, that I’ve been wanting to do, and I’ll do those very soon. One is a cable sort, with a mildly complicated leafy pattern at the ends. Beautiful! Then I’m creating one from an oak-leaf cable chart, that’s very impressive! I’m also making a lovely quilt-stitch cowl, which is exciting, and that will leave one ball of dark purple alpaca/wool blend that I’m considering either a lace pattern or a complex cable pattern… not sure which, yet.
I also really want to get that lace shawl made, and I want to make a shrug, too. I want to make a few more complicated items, large ones, preferable, like a full sweater or cardigan or dress! My mother in law bought me some knitting magazines for Christmas – SQUEE!!! – and there is an adorable little Summer dress in one of them, which I want to make!
Tempest is a shrug pattern from Berroco that I’ve always wanted to make. It looks so lovely and drapey, much like Panobo which is another I’ve always wanted to make. So here are both! Perhaps I will make one or both of them this year? :D
Tags: crafting, knitting, resolution
I didn’t blog throughout the Christmas period, so here’s my Holiday blog post, albeit a little belated.
Wow, eh? Wow! A new decade! My fiancé and I have been having fun making jokes about not having done things this decade. Like, I’ve not had a glass of juice this decade! Or, just after midnight yesterday, I’ve not had a shower this decade! :D Silly, but fun!
So, how was your Christmas? Ours was very good! My fiancé’s mother decided to give us lots of surprising gifts, including a sound system and huge juicer for my fiancé, and a sewing machine and overlocker for myself! I was so shocked… it was awesome! I’ve been using the new machines, and they sew like a dream! Much easier to use than my old sewing machine, and much, much more that I can do with them! I’ve got more than forward straight-stitch! :D
I’ve been sewing that faux fur cape, again. Got it to the point where all I have to do is sew together the lining and outer together at the bottom, which is, unfortunately, a really irritating thing. Because the whole bottom of the cape is bias cut, it’s really hard to get a smooth line together, and this leads me to be very irritable with it so it’s sat for three days with nothing happening, even though I’d done nearly all the sewing the day before that and was SO CLOSE to fishing! Bah! Anyway, after that I’ve just got to iron down the seams and then sew on the clasp. So pretty close to being finished! It’s very, very weighty, perfect for a really cold day. I feel like a gigantic diva in it! I just need one of those stupid little turbans! :D
I’ve also been knitting away and have nearly finished my fiancé’s scarf. I’ve only used three of the four balls I bought for this, otherwise it’d end up a three meter long scarf and that’s just silly. So with the last ball of yarn I’m thinking of making some fingerless gloves to go with it, a ribbed cuff with the herringbone stitch over the hands, I think.
Anyway, now for a pattern and then I’ll pack this post up! Hmmm, I think the Helvellyn hood is very cute!
Tags: Christmas, Holidays, knitting, Sewing
You see it all the time, whenever anything financial comes on TV everything’s all sombre and dour… what the heck is with that?
I’m not one to stick my head in the sand, I know that the economy in the UK, hell, the world economy is still pretty much broken, but what I don’t get is why so many different groups think they can turn a profit from this by trying to make people feel worse about what’s already happened… I mean, have you noticed the amount of ads on TV for financial protection, or insurance ads! There’s heaps of ads for mortgage life insurance cover as well as critical illness insurance ads as well.
I agree that going through some financial planning at this point might be a good idea, and obviously keeping up your health and home insurance, but
look at home insurance reviews before signing up with one of those companies that are selling their insurance by scaring you into feeling guilty for not having their insurance because you’ll probably die in an accident and leave your struggling family with no means to survive. At least, those are the ads I’m getting in my town!
I’m serious about that, before signing up to anything financial related, visit the money supermarket to check how that company does in comparison with all the rest. It’s hugely important to not sign up to anything that’s just going to bite you in the bottom two months later!
I know that we Brits need to climb out of a rather deep financial hole still, but getting all doominous gloom about it won’t make it any easier!
Okay lets get off that depressing topic and move onto something less depressing… knitting! The pattern I’m linking would make anyone feel better should they have a pair of these totally awesome and cute Elf Shoes! Aren’t they adorable!
Tags: finance, knitting
We’ve got a rather high download limit, however this month we’ve actually nearly overshot it still!
We’ve got about the best internet connection you can have short of fibre optic cabling, which is just awesome. It makes you not consider just how much you’re downloading, because usually it’s so damn fast. We do go through a UK ISP, however we don’t use BT or one of the bigger companies. I think that’s why we pay less, because our company is smaller and therefore has to use a cheaper price as a draw card.
We don’t have a business broadband and ADSL lease lines, though it’s pretty much the same in terms of download, just slower upload. We also use a VoIP service so our phone works through our modem, which I’ve always liked, but you do have to be aware that in case of power outage it won’t work. A lot of businesses are setting up their telephones online these days, but even with the higher demand it’s still much cheaper than regular phone lines. I have to say, though, I want a fancier phone, ours is still bugging me with it’s ultra quiet ring volume. One of these digital dect cordless phones would be just right, I think.
Anyway, back to what I’d wanted to talk about in the first place! We’ve recently been buying movies online and downloading them, iTunes and another site offer this for good prices, and it’s always so tempting because you can set it up and a few hours later you’ve got a bunch of movies! Without having to go anywhere! I also like that you can get HD films like this. We have a download limit of 50 gig per month, and we’ve got about 1 gig left for the rest of the month! That’s ten days! Oh noes… @_@ Hehehe
Okay now for a knitting pattern. This is just a cute little Christmas Tree Ornament that would be a good stash buster, which is always handy!
Tags: internet, knitting, movies
We’ve wanted to buy a home for a while, and with all the turmoil in the housing market it’s seemed like perhaps a good time to buy.
Because we’ve wanted to buy a home for… well… it seems most of this year! Because we’ve wanted to buy a home for most of this year, we’ve been keeping an eye on housing prices and what’s going to happen to property prices in 2010. Some are saying that house prices are going to drop further, but then you’ve got many news articles saying there going to get better. Though there does seem to be some… hedging of bets in the news articles, like many news agencies are saying prices are good, but they could be bad really easily.
At least there are many, many information sources available to property buyers and home buyers, but it’s always iffy with things like the economy. You can’t ever be sure about how it’s going to get along. I know that, along with the actual prices, it’s very important for prospective home buyers to pay attention to mortgage rates, because what’s the use of buying a house when you can’t afford to pay the mortgage off? It seems like the year ahead will be another with huge amounts of fluctuation, but property investors may have a good chance in the first few months to get some new property at a good price.
We want to buy a home, you know, and I don’t really care about value of the property diminishing after we’ve bought it… I pretty much feel like I just want a nice little home for my fiancé, myself, and our cats, that can always be there, not with an eye to sell at any point. Here’s hoping this is the year for it!
Okay now for a knitting pattern! It has to be house related, and I think this is just an adorable pattern! A Felted Doll’s House, though I like to think of it as a Faerie’s Home! :D
Tags: economy, housing market, housing prices, knitting
An event that I witnessed and shall relay here. It’s spooky!
Okay so this happened when I was eleven or twelve years old, in my first year of high-school anyway. I woke up on a very bright, clear, sunny morning before school. My bedroom door was open as per normal, and I could see through my doorway the door to the kitchen which was very close to it. From where my bed was, I had a clear vantage of this area.
When I looked up at the kitchen doorway, I saw a small girl standing there. She was blonde, dressed in an old fashioned full length white night gown, and dripping wet. She was across the entire room and a little further out from there, but I knew she was dripping wet. At this point I must have passed out, because I don’t remember anything until my mother woke me up, asking why I hadn’t gone to school.
I did end up going to school, because that night there was a school social on, and the son of a friend of my mother’s was coming to our house before the social and being picked up by his mother after it. When he came into the house, he sat on one of the kitchen chairs and then bounded back up again straight away.
He said that the the chair was wet, and it most certainly was! All the chairs in the kitchen had wet seats, and there was a little water on the kitchen table as well, though none of the windows were open, no one had been in the house all day, there were no pets in the house, and there was nothing on the table that could have spilled water. There was no obvious water anywhere else, just a little on the table cloth and a whole heap on all of the kitchen chairs.
That little girl has always stuck out in my mind… it’s sad to me that there was a ghost of a little girl. I hope she’s in a happy place now.
For a knitting pattern here I must reference two things. Ghosts, obviously, and Christmas! Marely’s Ghost! How awesome is this!? I’ve always thought A Christmas Tale is awesome, so it’s cool to find that little gem. :D
Tags: ghosts, knitting
No, I don’t mean that old ‘horror’ movie, I mean those of use who adore our kitties and kitties in general.
I think from being on Ravelry all the time I’m running into more and more of these cat loving people. There’s something about crafting and cats that seem to go together, in spite of the fact that they can actually make handcrafting of any type a lot more difficult than it would have been otherwise. There are so many groups on Ravelry dedicated to cats it’s just amazing.
It’s a fair bet that if you ask any body on there they either have a cat, or had a cat. I mean sure, there are a few who don’t care for them, but the vast majority do! Very much so!
I love that my cats have such individual personalities! My boy-cat is such a sweetie, whilst my girl-cat is a dignified lady. They are both unique, and completely their own selves, and that’s great to have around. I love that they give me the chance to figure out how to be a good pet owner without holding any mistakes against me.
Being a good pet-owner is much akin to learning how to be a good parent. There are many similar attributes about both roles, selflessness whilst still being firm and able to direct proper behaviour. The truth is, cats are just so much fun to have around. They make terrific lap-blankets, though you’ll have to ignore the fur they leave behind and the drool, in the case of my boy-cat. If you don’t mind that, oh and the clawing from my girl-cat ‘making biscuits’ as that kneading motion is often called, then you’re set!
Okay so now for a knitting pattern. It’s got to be something Christmas related, and cat-toy appropriate, so how about these cute little Christmas Lights!? My cats would adore playing with these, I just know it!
Tags: cats, knitting
I love Christmas! It’s just wonderful, if you ask me. It makes me happy, this time of year, though I don’t know exactly why.
Christmas has always made me happy. When I was a little girl, I would get so excited during Christmas Eve that I would wake in the middle of the night, and go and sleep beneath the Christmas Tree. :) My mother always made an effort to make our Christmas Tree pretty impressive, and the lights would make me feel happy and safe to sleep under. :)
As a child I loved all the effort my mother would put in, she was nearly always nice to me on Christmas. Oh I know how pathetically sad that sentence seems, but it’s the truth, she made an effort to be nice to me on that day, something she pretty much didn’t do on any other day save my birthday – until I was about 12 I suppose – and Easter.
I love going out and seeing all the houses with lights up, it’s beautiful and joyful, in my opinion, though I can’t help but think of all the power used. But part of me doesn’t care. :D
I also LOVE to sing Christmas carols! They’re so beautiful and happy, and they suit my little bird voice. :D I don’t know how anyone can not love this time of year, and all that goes along with it. I’m not talking about all the shopping and forced family functions, I’m talking about taking joy in what you already have. In my case, a man that I love with all my heart and that loves me just the same way back, two gloriously fun kitties who are lovely, and a snug little home to share with them all, and knit to my arthritic finger’s content. Ahhh, that’s it, that’s the stuff. Add some carols in the background and I’m just stupidly happy. :D
Of course the knitting pattern here has to be a Christmas Tree! This Evergreen Tree pattern is so cute and open to so much adornment!
Tags: Christmas, Christmas carols, knitting, singing
In the coming weeks and months, I’ve got quite a few projects that I’ve decided I’m going to knit ASAP! I’m excited, so I’ll share here what’s going to be produced by me in the short term future!
Alright, lets start with two that are actually on needles as we speak. I’m about 40% of the way through the Dapper Heringbone Scarf for my fiancé, which is knitting up very nicely, and is great to just ’sit and knit’ with. It’s not complicated, easy to remember, looks great, and the yarn is nigh-on edible in how deliciously soft it is! MMmmm, yaaaarn! I’ve also started – for the fifth time, I believe – the Ruffled Neckwarmer which I’m very excited to get done and actually wear!
Now for the things I’m going to knit soon… Well, I’ve got some stupidly lovely Rooster Almarino DK yarn that I’m going to knit up the Leafy Cabled Neckwarmer, which is a pattern I’ve had my eye on for the longest time! I’m so excited to be making this one! I’ll have to knit it up in 4.0mm needles, so it’ll be a bit on the narrow side, but that just makes it more wearable in not freezing weather!
I’m in a right neckwarmer/cowl mood, so the next project to work on will be the Quilted Cowl, which I think is just SO pretty! My fiance really likes this one and the last one, too, so that’s a bonus! That one, and a few others, will be out of some lovely Berroco Ultra Alpaca Light which I’ve got a few nearly-full-balls of from a swap with someone. I’ll also be making my modified version of the Falling Leaves Cowl with some of that yarn, and I simply cannot wait!
The only other project, and it’s a huge one, that should be started rather soon is the Nightsongs Shawl which is just beautiful, and I’ll be doing that one in some rather pretty Okiteks Angora deLUX.
So that’s all the projects I want to get done really soon, though I’m sure that I’m forgetting some… Oh yeah, I’m also thinking of making this one, the Drooping Elm Cowl! Well, I look forward to getting some of those done! But for now, it’s fun to day-dream about them!
Tags: knitting, projects
I’ve taken a real dislike to the snails, because in spite of their supposed hibernation habit, they’re eating my little plants!
I know that not all snails hibernate, but I thought that the regular garden variety would! I mean, I don’t usually see them around my little yard in the Winter… at least I don’t think I do…
They seem to go absolutely mental for garden mint, basil, and beans. Notice in the last post when I was talking about all the plants I had I didn’t mention beans? That’s because they ate the entire plant! There were three little stalks coming out of the dirt and there was just no getting the plant back during the Winter, I don’t think it would have come back after that no matter what season it was, really.
The garden mint is a voracious plant, seeming very healthy in spite of the nightly attacks by the snails, but the basil is going the way of the beans, in spite of my putting a ring of salt around the pot the herb is planted in. I’ve also found chunks missing from the tomato plant and the silver beet. Damn snails!
Snails don’t usually bother me, in fact I try very hard to not stand on them when it’s been raining and they’re all over the place. I usually care about the snails, but I can’t stand seeing my little garden be destroyed by their fat little chompings!
Did you know that snails can sleep for up the three or four years? That’s something to respect! There’s also been a snail stuck upside-down to the underside of the awning over my back steps for at least six months. That’s also impressive, I mean, why’s he there? Snails are hermaphrodites, so I can call him a ‘he’ and be pretty sure he is a he. :D
Okay now for a knitting pattern… Hmmm, what shall it be… I know! If I wear this Snail Hat, perhaps I’ll be able to communicate with the snails and politely ask them to not eat my plants! This hat is so awesome!
Tags: garden, knitting, snails