Guess What Today Is?

It's my one-year blogaversary!! Hooray!!

I started this blog mainly to keep a journal my knitting, but along the way, I've met so many wonderful friends. Some who live very similar lives as me...some completely different...but all of us connected by our love for knitting. I truly value all of you! Thank you for making this blog so precious to me. I say we celebrate by having a little contest!!!

I'm not one for making New Year's resolutions. They're just too...well...resolute! I like to call mine "goals for the next little while". Doesn't that sound like less pressure?

For personal goals, I really need to work on my attitude. I am constantly keeping it in check; stopping myself from being grumpy, angry and negative. I'm aiming for 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, "Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Jesus Christ.". That's tops in my personal goals.

As for knitting goals, 2008 is going to be the year of baby knitting! I find out the sex on Jan.22, and I have tons of patterns ready to choose from!

For the contest, share in the comments section either a personal or a knitting goal. The contest will end Friday midnight, and I will randomly choose one entry. The winner will get to choose ONE of the following choices:

1. Koigu, 2 skeins, each 160 m, colourP1555

2. Dream In Color Smooshy, 2 skeins, each 450 yds (enough for a shawl?), colour is Cloud Jungle, actual yarn a little darker than photo

3. Colinette Jitterbug, 1 skein, 267m, colourway is Gauguin #100

4. Handmaiden Sea Silk, 1 skein, 400 m, colour is Blackberry

Good luck!

Happy New Year!

What a year 2007 has been. Looking back, I've gone through some of the lowest and most painful experiences in my life, all of which I am so thankful for. I'm sure you've all heard or thought of the question, "If God loves us, why do bad things happen to us?". This year I got to learn that it's BECAUSE He loves us, that bad things happen. Everything works for His glory, and what may seem horrible and tragic to us, is all good to Him. Bad things strengthen us, teach us, help us to focus and rely on Him, help us to relate to others that are hurting. Bad things breaks us down into nothing, so that He can rebuild us. My lesson that the Lord has taught me in 2007, is to trust in Him and His timing, and to not care for my own desires, but to seek out what He desires for me. I would not change 2007 for anything. Nevertheless, I hope 2008's lesson is not so painful :)

"For I know the plans that I have for you, " declares the Lord, "plans for welfare and not for calamity, to give you a future and a hope." Jeremiah 29:11

Happy New Year! May the Lord bless you and your families.

Secret Project

Now that the craziness of the holidays is over, and my energy is much improved, knitting has resumed almost on a daily basis. I have so many projects I'm itching to start. But before I do, I'd really like to finish up all the WIPs lying around. But before I do that, I need to finish a secret project!

A while ago, Valerie from the great shop yarn4socks.com contacted me about designing a pattern for their sock club. Why in the world she thought of asking me is a mystery, but I couldn't say no to such a fun and exciting opportunity. My pattern will be included in their February installment. I can't really say anything about the pattern, or the yarn, or the yarn's artist, but I will say this...when I found out who's yarn I was going to be paired up with, I was squealing with glee! They are one of my favourites....really, really big...tops in the world of hand-dying! So exciting! The first sock is almost done.

Since I can't show you any pictures of the sock, I'll share a pic of this handsome guy we made a few days ago:



Unfortunately he doesn't look so great today. Due to some rain, he's currently missing an eye and his frontal lobe. Poor snowman!

Gifts

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! Ours was very nice. Usually, Christmas dinner is a big, chaotic party (which I love), but this year it was only us, my mom, and an uncle. The evening was quiet and relaxed, and it was a pleasant change. Mom really liked the gloves, and has already requested her next gift be slippers.

Here is a gift I received from my aunt, which was a total surprise:



Awesome, huh? I'm kinda scared to open it. I think it might turn into a new obsession. I haven't sewed since grade 8 Home Ec. Already my mind is racing with possible projects.

My dad gave me some Christmas money, and it has been well spent. I got some great deals at Serenity Knits' boxing day sale:



Jo Sharp, Koigu, and superwash wool for my mom's slippers.

Did you get any special gifts this year?

Just In Time!

My mom's gloves were finished rather quickly last week, thanks to a Lord of the Rings trilogy marathon. I used 2 balls of Zara, and a little bit of a third, on 3.25mm needles. Didn't make any changes to the pattern, except for extra stitches and decreases on each finger to prevent holes.



I also bought my mom the obligatory gift of chocolate (she loves Toblerone), and also a New Testament audio bible she had shown interest in.

Then, I started working on the doggie sweater. I thought my uncle's Pomeranian wearing a red and white ski sweater would be so adorable, but then I ran into problems with the pattern. I didn't quite get what it was saying, and the whole thing just didn't look right. It looked more like a sweater for a wine bottle. Plus there was fair isle on 2 needles...bleh!

I frogged the poor thing, dug out the pattern I used last year, and following the numbers, knit up this:



It's actually done now, but still drying. I know, the picture looks like a wine bottle sweater, but on the other side are increases for the chest, and two little legs. Hopefully I'll get a picture of the little guy wearing it.

All the rest of my gifts were purchased this year. I feel quite pleased with myself, because I remember running out to the drug store last Christmas day for last minute/forgotten gifts.

Thank you to all of you, who have given me the gift of friendship this past year. I hope you and your families have a safe and wonderful Christmas.

God Bless

Whoo-Hoo!!!

I got my Christmas present early!



After almost 9 years of marriage, I've accepted the fact that my husband will never satisfy my need for thoughtful gifts on holidays. The way I see it now, if I don't have any expectations, I'll never be disappointed. After a failed attempt to drop major hints on my birthday (Grace even presented him with my LYS' business card, with the word "swift" printed on the back and the price) I decided to be more proactive this Christmas. Yesterday I fed him one of his favourite lunches: calzones. When he was done, and was sitting there all full and content, this was our conversation:

me: I have to go to the yarn store to get needles to finish the dog sweater.

him: Hmmm...

me: So...are you going to buy me a Christmas present this year?

him: Why, what do you want?

me: A swift!

him: What the heck is a swift?

me: It's something that helps wind a skein of yarn into a ball of yarn.

him: Why would you need that?

me: Because most of the yarn I buy comes in skeins.

him: How long does it take to wind one ball?

me: With the swift? I dunno...maybe 30 seconds? (Okay...I think I may have exaggerated just a little, but to my defense, I've never timed a skein being wound, and I'm sure if you went really, really fast, 30 sec. is pretty close)

him: And how long by hand?

me: Depends on the yarn...maybe 15 minutes? (Umm...never timed myself winding a skein by hand either, but some of those lace yarns are like 1400m!)

him: How much is it?

me: 80 bucks.

my son: Holy cow, 80 bucks?!?

(son gets really nasty look from mom)

him: Okay.

(I silently bite my lip and pump my fist up and down in celebration)

So this year, my honey bought me the most wonderful gift ever! Hooray!

Getting There

My Christmas knitting has been slow-going. The other day I glanced at the calender, and had a mini panic attack when I realized how little time I had left to knit. The last two nights I've forced myself to work on my mom's gloves:

They're the Twisted Stitch Gauntlets from the Holiday 2007 Interweave. The pattern is just okay, but I'm loving this Zara yarn. I have tons of it in my stash, but this is the first time I've used it.

I also worked a bit on a doggie sweater. The patten is this one from Drops.

The yarn is Paton's Classic Wool. In terms of sizing, I'm just hoping it will fit. Last year I knit the same dog a cabled sweater with Patons, and it fit well, so I'm sorta following the same numbers again.

So...13 days left. I know I can finish these two projects. Anything beyond that, we'll see. I really don't like deadlines.

Are you ready for Christmas?