Knitted Pumpkins and Reading On

Hello Friends,

I hope you are doing well. I have been busy with work and wedding planning tasks. I can't believe my wedding is only seven months away now. There is still so much left to do, but we have a lot of it planned now and I am getting excited for the big day as it gets closer. I am also happy that it is Fall now and it is getting chillier. I love the cooler air when we can wear sweaters and dress cozier which is perfect for inspiration for knitting and knitting some projects like scarves, hats, mittens to keep us warm. I also feel inspired to knit pumpkins this time of the year for Fall and Halloween. I found a pattern for knitted pumpkins on Ravelry by Katrina McNerney. I knitted two pumpkins, one in orange and one in white and they were so fun to knit.

Pattern: Knit pumpkin by Katrina McNerney

The knitted pumpkin looks like the photo below as you are knitting a tube shape in the round to make the pumpkin. The photo below was taken last night before I filled it with polyester stuffing and closed up the top and bottom of the pumpkin.

This pattern was easy to follow and makes for a great quick knit to make something festive for this time of the year. I used orange and white yarns to knit the two pumpkins. The white pumpkin was larger because the Loops & Threads Select Wool in the white colorway was thicker than the  Loops & Threads Impeccable orange yarn. I love how they turned out and I also knitted up the i-cord stems in brown cotton Bernat yarn to top it off.

I have been reading The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg. I think this book will help me to understand how habits that we form make our lives flow better and so far I learned that there is a part of our brain that actually works to help us to remember how to do things so that we can have more time and brain capacity for other thoughts and actions. I am trying to get into creating more positive habits in my life especially when it comes to getting ready for work so I am more organized and just do what I need to do to have a good work week instead of rushing around to get things done. This will allow me to take the guessing out of my schedule during the week and follow a schedule so I can be more receptive to new opportunities at work with less thought and just the use of habits helping be to be more successful.

Joining along with Frontier Dreams for Crafting On and Small Things for Ginny's Yarn Along.

Thank you for visiting my blog today! I hope that you have a great weekend

Finished Knitting Patons Spiral Socks and Reading On

Hello Friends,

I hope you are doing well. I finished knitting the Patons spiral socks using the spiral socks pattern by Patons found on Ravelry. I love the look of the socks and the Patons Kroy sock yarn in the colorway of coastal stripes. The self- striping yarn looks great and it is so fun to knit with to see what pattern emerges as I knit on.

 They do not have a heel in the pattern, but you can always add a heel if you prefer to have the heel. Without a heel, they look like my socks below straight swirly socks that you can pull on in any direction.

The two socks do not match exactly due to the self-striping yarn which makes them look so fun and unique.

The pattern creates zig-zag stripes up close that you can see them when you pull the socks tight. It also makes it easier to see if you are on track with the pattern and doing it correctly by checking to see that they have equal length of stitches until the next switch every 5 rows.

I will be knitting a turkey wine bottle topper soon as a gift for my fiance's mom. She received the bunny wine bottle topper last Easter from me, loved it, and wanted me to make another one for Thanksgiving. So I will be working on either finding a pattern or developing my own pattern for that soon and will be sharing the progress. I bought some small balls of Bernat cotton yarn on my last trip to Michaels and will be using them to knit the Turkey.

I have been reading the Miracle Equation by Hal Elrod, and so far it seems so much like reading The Secret. He talks about having unwavering faith and applying extraordinary effort in everything you do and these two combined will bring you success. My loan for this e-book is up at the library now so I will hopefully get it back soon. In the meantime I will be reading The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg which I borrowed from my sister. I am excited to read this book because lately I have been working on cultivating some positive daily habits to help me to be my best self and to accomplish my goals. I finished reading The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory. This book was so sweet and fun and I loved the characters. I really want to read more from Jasmine Guillory I love her writing style and her attention to the little things and creating characters that you are routing for. I am also currently listening to the audio book of Girl, Stop Apologizing by Rachel Hollis. It is so empowering and motivating to listen to. Rachel is very passionate about her work and really helps you want to be  your best and go for your dreams.

The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg

Joining along  with Frontier Dreams for Crafting On

Thank you for visiting my blog today and I hope you enjoy the rest of your week!

Michaels Fall Yarn and Decor Haul

Hello Friends,

I hope you are doing well. Happy Monday! We got through the first day back at work or first day of the work week. It has been a lot cooler outside lately and the first day of Fall is on Monday September 23rd in Canada. It's time for warmer sweaters and jackets now and  I have been wearing cozy sweaters and socks again at home and cozy-ing up with a blanket on the couch. I went to Michaels craft store this weekend with my mom and sister and I bought some Fall decor and some yarn to knit a few fall related projects. Michaels always has such lovely seasonal decor, I always look forward to shopping at Michaels for Fall and Christmas decor at the start of the season. Right now they have a good sale on all Fall decor, so it is a good time to go stock up. I really enjoy putting up the fall decorations in our place and feel like it is more cozy now with the decorations I bought. I love everything about Fall, the crisp air, the pumpkins, and the falling orange and yellow leaves. I am excited that the Fall season is here and I got my first pumpkin spice latte on the weekend. 

My Michael's Fall haul

I bought orange yarn from Impeccable yarn by Loops and Threads for knitting some pumpkins. I love knitting pumpkins at this time of the year, they are fun knits and they make great decor. I bought some Bernat cotton yarn to knit up a special gift for my fiancé's mom for Thanksgiving which I will be sharing in October.  I love the look of all of the Fall colors of yarn together in orange, brown, red, and black.

Yarn colors of Fall

I bought the picture below that says "hello Fall". There was such a good variety of pictures like this one at Michaels it was hard to choose and I wanted to take them all home. But I really love this picture and how it looks and stands up. It is perfect for the top of my shelf in the living room. The white pumpkin goes well by the picture's side.

I like the look of white pumpkins and neutral colored pumpkins are popular this season. The pumpkin I bought below is considered a "craft pumpkin" on the Michael's website, so you can decorate it as well and have fun with it. I will be leaving my pumpkin white.

Thank you for stopping by and I hope that you are enjoying Fall so far too! Please leave a comment below to say hello :)