Knitting Socks, Summer, and Reading On

 Hello Friends,

I hope you are doing well. I have been well I can't believe it is August this week! the time is flying by. My sister is having her second baby this month so I am excited to meet my nephew. As you approach the actual month of the due date it gets more real. I hope this month we continue to take advantage of the warm weather and take Evan to the park and new places. 

I actually frogged my previous sock because I realised I casted on too many stitches and it was looking bigger than I thought would fit comfortably. I then casted on 64 stitches instead of 72. I made some progress over the past few days after taking it apart to make up the time. I am still on the cuff but I think I will knit faster this week since I am happier with the size.  I am knitting My Favourite Vanilla Socks by Meaghan Schmaltz.

Evan is enjoying the park days and getting so busy! He will be 20 months on Tuesday this week. Getting closer to being 2 years old! I took Millie to the vet yesterday and she is doing well. I will be adding some new foods to her diet and maybe take her for more nail trims. She liked exploring the room before the vet came in and I think it helped her to be more calm during the check up. 

I am reading Verity by Colleen Hoover, I started reading it a couple of days ago and liking it so far. My coworker highly recommended it so I was excited to check it out. I have read a couple of her books already and like her writing. I am continuing to read Doing It All by Whitney Casares. 

Thank you for visiting my blog today! I hope you are having a good weekend and have a great week ahead!

Life Lately

 Hello Friends,

I hope you are doing well. It has been awhile since I posted! I have been busy with Evan. He is now 6.5 months old and he is learning and growing a lot. He sits mostly unassisted and he is starting to roll to his tummy. He is such a fun and cute baby.  We are laughing at the cute things he does and it is such a fun age. I managed to get some time this morning to knit, also to take photos, and blog. He has longer naps sometimes that allow me to get in more time to do things. I threw in a load of laundry, gave Millie brushes, and got her breakfast. Then I sat down with my coffee, knitted, and then blogged. It has been a nice morning. He will probably wake up any minute.

I have been working steadily on the blanket. I knit when I can find time now I have around 4 repetitions left to go then will wash and block the blanket. I have shown Evan a bit of it and he likes to touch the blanket and also play with the tassels on the knitting bag. I hope that he likes the blanket and it is cozy for him to snuggle with soon.

Millie and Evan have been developing their relationship. He reaches out to pet her and she is gentle and doesn't react too much. We keep a close eye when they are close together. I don't want him to grab her tail or hit her by accident and that might cause her to get defensive. So far so good. She likes to join us at mat time and walk around him and observe what he is doing. She won't pass him if he is kicking or moving his arms around too much. If it is safe to pass, she will slowly walk past him and he will follow her with his eyes and smile and sometimes try to reach out to her.

In reading, there hasn't been much of it lately. I really want to improve on this in July and increase my reading. I do love to sit down and read a good book. Book Lovers by Emily Henry has still been on my shelf and I started Every Summer After by Carley Fortune. I like both of the books and will work on adding more reading into my days.

Thank you for visiting my blog today! I hope you are having a good weekend :)

My Long Weekend

 Hello Friends,

I hope you are doing well. This weekend turned into a very long weekend for me. I was originally scheduled to work on Friday due to our business being in the US. Then we found out this past week that we have Friday and Monday off. Friday was so relaxing, I worked on the puzzle and did yoga after so long not doing it. On Saturday we had some friends over for a BBQ, I got groceries and prepared beforehand. It was fun hanging out with them on our terrace and it was the perfect weather. Then on Sunday I had my parents over for a visit and we sat outside. Today is the last day off and I knitted, played Sims, did the puzzle, and did some cleaning and yoga. 

I started knitting socks using the perfect pair yarn from Loops & Threads in the colorway drive all night. I am knitting the socks using Loops & Threads size US 2 2.75 mm double pointed needles. I love the pattern of the self striping yarn it looks so interesting. I am using the pattern for basic knit socks on the yarn label intermediate level.

I worked on the puzzle more after a long break and finished it. Millie loves to jump on the table onto the puzzle and bite the pieces. Today she did a bit then gave up when I stopped her a few times. Once she moved, I could finish it. I bought this 500 Ravensburger puzzle called Cozy retreat on Amazon. I loved working on this puzzle and wish I could jump into the scene it looks so cozy and fun place to just hang out and work on crafts and hobbies.

On Friday, Millie saw her chance to check out our storage box I was filling for under the bed and jumped in. She didn't stay in it too long and let me finish filling it up.

Millie was very relaxed and happy in this photo on Thursday night. She knew it would be a good weekend with lots of relaxing time with mom and dad. 

Thank you for visiting my blog today! I am working to get back to my schedule after a long break off. I have been feeling good lately.  I still have some moments when I feel a bit nauseous but it is much better and less than in my first trimester. I hope that you all have a great week!

Finished Knitting My Kitten's Christmas Stocking

Hello Friends,

I hope you are doing well. I finished knitting the stocking for my kitten Millie. I hoped to be finished this past year for Christmas, but it was a bit more work that I realized. I will now have it ready for next Christmas. I used the classic Christmas stocking pattern by Betty Lai on Ravelry.  I like the size of  the stocking for our kitten, and think it would be fun to knit up some more for Liam and I in the future. I liked the pattern, it was easy to follow and fun to knit up. I used the letter chart that Betty provided on her Pinterest as a guide to knit up Millie's name on the stocking. It was fun trying out something new and I haven't knitted out letters before this project. Below Millie is posing with the finished stocking. She is bigger now, but she definitely could have fit into this stocking when we first got her.

Pattern: Classic Christmas Stocking by Betty Lai

Yarn: worsted weight yarn in white and red

Needles: US 8 5 mm

Notes: On Ravelry

Joining along with As Kat Knits for Unraveled Wednesday.

Thank you for visiting today and I hope that you are having a great week! Sorry this post was a day late! I wanted to finish the stocking for Wednesday, and was working on it this week and realized I needed more time. I hope you join me for tomorrow's Friday Focus post on what I learned from last year 2021.

Have a great day!

New Year's Weekend and Plans

 Hello Friends,

I hope you are doing well. This weekend I mostly relaxed and did some cleaning. I chatted with family on Sunday to catch up in the new year.  It is nice to stay at home at the start of New Years after a busy holiday season and doing some things to get organized and working out makes me feel more prepared to start the year of right. Today I went for an appointment and visited with family and will be planning for the week later on in my planner.

I did just a bit more of the puzzle I received from my sister for Christmas last night. I finished the edge pieces and now moving on to filling in the middle. I love this puzzle she got me from Indigo. 

I am still knitting the classic christmas stocking by Betty Lai on Ravelry. I finished knitting the leg of the stocking, and will move on to the foot this week. I hope to be done on Wednesday this week and will share my next project ideas.

I finished reading The Santa Suit by Mary Kay Andrews yesterday. This book was so enjoyable to read and I loved the small town setting and the people were all so sweet and caring towards one another. This book was so comforting and perfect to read around the holidays. I will be continuing on reading The Bookshop of Yesterdays by Amy Meyerson and also reading Expecting Better: Why the Conventional Pregnancy Wisdom is Wrong - and What You Really Need to Know by Emily Oster. My sister lent this one to me because I will be trying for a baby soon. I have been writing in my one line a Day journal. It is interesting now to also look back at last year's journals each day.

I forgot to share the ornament I ordered for Millie from the Etsy shop threepeakscompany this Christmas. The example ornament they had in the photo actually had Millie's name, so I could see how it looked with her name right away. It arrived looking as expected and I love it. Here is the ornament below with Millie checking out what I am doing taking photos on the plant stand. I was so happy to also receive a couple of other ornaments for Millie from my friend and my parents. It will be so nice to hang them all up next Christmas.

Thank you for visiting my blog today! I love the weekend of New Year's to reset and think of the upcoming year. This week I plan to do yoga everyday for at least 30 minutes, drink more water, and tidy each day. I am feeling more on track with my goals lately and feel like I want to continue on with this feeling of motivation. I hope that you are also having a great start to the New Year! the next blog post will be on Wednesday, hope you will join me again!

Have a great day!

Happy Halloween!

 Hello Friends,

I hope you are doing well.  It has been a busy week with Millie getting spayed last Tuesday. I have been feeding her because eating normally didn't work with the cone and she would bump into the bowl. Today we freed her from the cone after going to the vet for a check up, and she was happy to run around and play as usual. I was happy to see her so happy and playing. I dressed as a witch for Halloween for work and also for my friend's Halloween party. I bought the witch hat on Amazon, which was URFUN Womens Wool Witch hat, and the black dress which was TARAINYA women's long sleeve maxi dress on Amazon. They both arrived the next day. I love the hat it is so comfortable and heavier so it doesn't fall or blow off your head. The dress is so soft and love the length and fit. I can wear it all year round instead of getting a costume dress that is just for Halloween. Then I bought the black toole, feather, and face paint from Michaels to dress it up a bit more for the party last night.  I took a photo with Millie before leaving for the party.

My friend's boyfriend's place looked very spooky for the Halloween party and we had a lot of fun taking pictures, chatting, and eating.

casting spells...

I didn't decorate a lot this year, but here are some decorations I put out for Fall and Halloween this year below. I used the "hello Fall" sign from last year and decorated around the TV stand with knitted and crocheted pumpkins from previous years. I bought the crocheted one a long time ago and the pink one was knitted last year. I also put up a fall wreath on the door and I liked how the porch looked with the wreath up this year. I plan to also get a wreath for Christmas. 

I displayed a small Halloween scene on my dresser with the haunted house and the trick or treater girl. 

I bought this Tiny Treasures Ashland trick or treater girl figurine from Michaels yesterday. She is so cute with her ghost costume and has a vintage look to it. That goes well beside my haunted house. 

I got this haunted house a long time ago and display it every year for Halloween. Each part opens to see some spooky scenes inside. I love haunted houses at Halloween and this one is pretty nice detail for a Dollar store find. One of the ghosts heads broke off, but mostly still in pretty good shape. 

I am still busy working on the Blustery day in Berkley scarf  and it is almost halfway done. I bought another skein of yarn at Michaels because I realized I wouldn't have enough to finish it to the length I wanted with just one.  I will be starting on some other projects soon for Christmas gifts to have them done in time for Christmas.

Thank you for stopping by and I hope you enjoyed Halloween!

Friday Favourites

Hello Friends,

I hope you are doing well. I am enjoying a glass of wine and listening to some music as I go through looking for this week's Friday favourites. It is an enjoyable time to browse to see what interesting things I can find this week. I look at it like window shopping in quarantine. The items below are all items I found today on Etsy and Indigo. I will let you know if I buy any of the items and what I think. Please let me know if you also do too. 

This cat in a basket of yarn is too cute! From PinsNSticks on Etsy.

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Eat Sleep, Knit Repeat socks by IfTheSockFitz on Etsy

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Not today cat shirt by TiptopClothingusa on Etsy. We all have these days...

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This cat pendant necklace by SilverMooseArts for cat lovers to wear it and tell the world you are a cat person. Found on Etsy. As you can probably tell I am a cat person because most of these favourites have cats involved.

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Love this sign that says "Get your knit together" by papersushi on Etsy.

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Cozy retreat Ravensburger puzzle. I adore this puzzle and was looking for the right one. I think I found my next puzzle from Indigo. I want to go into this puzzle and relax there.

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These nesting boxes are so pretty and a great way to get organized from Indigo.

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This journal that says "do what makes your soul shine" from Indigo.

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Thank you for stopping by! I hope that you liked this week's Friday favourites. I have fun putting them together and doing some shopping. There are a few of these in my carts now. 

Have a good evening,

Knitting Projects and Reading On

Hello Friends,

I hope you are doing well. I am happy to be getting through the week and it is Wednesday again. We are getting closer to the long weekend with civic holiday on Monday. 

I made some progress on the Waverly Weekend Cowl by Donna Brooks pattern found on Ravelry. I am loving this pattern and how it is turning out so far.

I didn't knit more of the Merry Fair Isle Ornament by Yarnspirations Design Studio on Ravelry. I will be knitting more this week to make more progress.

I finished reading Average is the new Awesome by Samantha Matt. It was a good book to remember to take care of ourselves and have expectations for ourselves, but not too high or impossible and to celebrate our successes even if they are normal. I would recommend this book if you just wanted a light read as a reminder to appreciate yourself even if you have some flaws or not exactly the weight or career you would prefer to be, but to accept and love yourself as you are.I am continuing to read The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman. I am really enjoying this book and love the main character Nina. I can relate so much to her. I look forward to reading it again soon. I lost my loan on it this morning, so I hope to get it back and finish it soon. I am also reading Everything is F*cked by Mark Manson. I have sort of put this one on hold for a bit, because I got into finishing the other books that are on loan to me from the library. I look forward to reading on. I am reading One Day in December by Josie Silver and think it is a fun read and enjoy reading about the protagonist's search for love. 

I thought I would end my post for today with a photo of the light catching my philodendron this afternoon. The photo was snapped at the end of the day right after work. I also was testing out the camera on my new phone and really liking how it is taking photos. I love being surrounded by plants even in our basement apartment, it is always nice and mood lifting to see plants and greenery.

Joining along with Frontier Dreams for Crafting On and AsKatKnits for Unraveled Wednesday.

I hope that you are having a good week too and keeping safe! It is getting a lot better here with Covid-19 and we might even be getting closer to stage 3 in Toronto now. I am looking forward to getting closer to life as normal, I know it is a long way off still and for the rest of the world. We need a vaccine for this virus before we are in the clear.

Have a great day!

Christmas Knits in Progress - Blogmas Day 14

Hello Friends,

I hope you are doing well. It is a rainy Saturday morning here in Toronto.  I have plans to do some more Christmas shopping, get my hair cut, and visit with my family. I can't believe we are two weekends away from Christmas! The weeks are going by so fast, so I am trying to get all of my Christmas shopping done this weekend so I don't have to be shopping and rushing around last minute.

Today I am sharing my works in progress for Christmas decor and gift ideas. I am continuing to work on the Christmas ornament using the Merry Fair Isle Ornaments pattern by Patons Yarnspirations. I am really liking how it is turning out so far. My problem is when I am switching between the red and white yarns, they are twisting. So whenever I go to knit, I have to untwist the two colors and this takes so much time. I need to spend some time to untangle the yarn so it is more pleasant to knit the ornament.

The second project I am working on for Christmas is the headband from my ideas for gifts to knit post, using the pattern headband with a twist by Mirella Moments. It was a bit tricky to start this project, I had to restart it a couple of times just getting familiar with the pattern. It ends up looking similar to a regular knit two, purl two, but it involves both increases and decreases in the pattern every row. I have made some progress on it this morning and I started knitting it again last night. I have quite a bit left to knit, then I will join the ends in a twist. I am planning on giving this to my sister for Christmas when I am finished.

Thank you for dropping by today for Blogmas day 14! We are moving right along in the days leading to Christmas. In the next 10 days I will be doing more knitting projects, baking cookies, sharing DIY projects, and more. I have a lot planned and I am really enjoying Blogmas so far and I hope you are too!

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Hope you have a great Saturday!

Ten Gift ideas to Knit for Christmas - Blogmas Day 6

Hello Friends,


Happy Friday! I hope you had a good week. It is such a fun time of the year to knit gifts for others. I always feel inspired to knit up gifts and have knitted socks, scarves, ornaments, and finger-less mitts in past years as gifts. I didn't really have a plan to knit anything as gifts this year but I thought if a fun and quick project comes along, I might knit them as stocking stuffers or some quick knitted gifts. I love knitting for others and Christmas is a wonderful time of the year to knit for those I care about. I found ten gift ideas on Ravelry. I will pick one or two ideas from the list and will knit it and share a post about in another upcoming Blogmas post.


1. Grrlfriend Market Bag - Knit this market bag for a friend or loved one, to carry their belongings or for groceries. Pattern on Ravelry by Laura Spradlin.

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2. Tiny parlour cat. These would be adorable for a cat lover in your life. I am thinking of myself and also my parents. I think these would be so cute to pop into someone's stocking for Christmas. Pattern is on Ravelry and written by Sara Elizabeth Kellner.

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3. Merry fair isle ornaments. These ornaments are so perfect to knit up to put on the Christmas tree. They would also make great gifts to tie onto gift bags or to knit up a couple as a gift itself. The pattern is from Ravelry by Yarnspirations Design Studio.

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4.  Santa's reindeer coaster. These reindeer coasters are so adorable and would be so fun to knit and gift to loved ones this holiday season. They can enjoy them around Christmas this year and more to come. The Pattern is from Ravelry by Mountain Majesty Designs for $4.00 USD.

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5. Trellis lace bookmark. I love this beautiful bookmark. The pattern is found on Ravelry by Leigh Myers. Perfect to gift someone accompanying a book.

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6. Chunky basket. These baskets are perfect for someone who wants some extra storage baskets with a beautiful knitted look. This pattern by Elizabeth Pardue can be found on Ravelry.

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7. Woolly Cacti. These cacti are fun and a good way to have the look of plants without the maintenance. Gift one of these to a friend or family member who would like to have a decorative knitted cactus with no watering required. The pattern can be found on Ravelry by Lucille Randall.

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8. Earbud pouch. These work so well to keep your earbuds from getting all tangled up in your purse or bag. Knit one for someone who complains about the tangling and they will be grateful for the organization. The pattern can be found on Ravelry by Mary Keenan. I knitted one for myself and love it.

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9. Headband with a twist. This headband would make a great gift and keep someone's ears warm this winter and look stylish at the same time. The pattern is on Ravelry by Mirella Moments.

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10. Cable braided necklace. I think this necklace is lovely and it would make such a fun gift. The pattern is on Ravelry by Olga Buraya-Kefelian.

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Thank you for visiting my blog today and checking in for another day of Blogmas. I hope that you got some ideas of what to knit as gifts from this post. I know I want to try out all of these but will select one or two to try out during Blogmas.  I am really enjoying posting daily Christmas related blog posts. I love the daily posting and how it challenges me to come up with different ideas each day. Share your post above in the inlinkz link up party if you have a post you'd like to share.