Knitting a Candy Cane Scarf and Reading On

Hello Friends,

I hope you are all doing well. It has been getting a lot colder here in Toronto. It is also getting so dark now earlier at night after we moved the clocks back with daylight savings time on Sunday and it feels a lot later when heading home from work. Wedding plans are going well and I signed a contract for hair and makeup and will have a contract for a florist soon, then we are done signing contracts and have all of our main vendors, that is so exciting. I am really looking forward to our big day now as it gets closer.

I have started knitting a candy cane scarf by Kristen Retigg found on Ravelry. I am still going to be knitting the casual lace knit shawl, but I had to order larger needles so that is on hold for now. I was so excited to start the shawl project that I started without long enough needles and planned to buy some eventually. I picked up the needles again to knit this scarf last night to work on while I waiting for the needles and to also knit something fun for the holidays. It is knit in all garter stitch and by using some increasing and decreasing each right side row by knitting two stitches together and a knit front to back increase. This candy cane scarf is such a fun and festive knit to make and wear at Christmastime. I was thinking I can wear this scarf at the Christmas parade and markets to look and feel festive. I am knitting the scarf on US 9 needles and I am using leftover yarn Red Heart Super Saver red and white yarn from knitting last year's Santa gnome. I had a lot left over and enough to make a scarf and maybe some other fun things for Christmas.

Pattern: Candy Cane Scarf by Kristen Retigg

I just finished reading The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg this week and will start reading Better Than Before by Gretchen Rubin. As you can probably see I am really interested in reading books in the self help and self improvement category. I am also listening to the audio book of  The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey. It has been a great companion on my drives home from work and so informative and I love the lessons I have learned so far. All the books are to promote positive habits and I am a big believer that we can really change our lives by changing our habits as all three of these books demonstrate. I have been starting some positive morning habits and weekly habits and can see how they are improving my life already.

Joining along with Frontier Dreams for Crafting On, As Kat Knits for Unraveled Wednesday and Small Things for Yarn Along (November)

Thank you for stopping by! What are you working on and reading this week?

The Shawl is Growing

Hello Friends,

I hope you are having a good week so far. We ordered the save the date cards for our wedding on Monday and now we are waiting for them to come in the mail. I will have to ask our parents for addresses then get them sent off soon. It is a big first step to getting the wedding one step closer to happening in 6 more months.

I have knitted more of the shawl and am loving the detail of the K2tog, Yarn over, then purl the other side  that I did for four rows.As you can see in the photo there is not a lot of room left on the needles to grow this shawl, so I am planning on moving the shawl to bigger needles soon. This is such a fun shawl to knit and I like the pattern a lot so far. I am using the pattern Casual Lace Knit Shawl by Purl Avenue and you can find the pattern on Ravelry. I am using size US 6 circular needles and using Lion Bran Vanna's choice yarn in the colorway 'Dusty Green'.

I am still reading The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg. I have been listening to the audio book 168 hours by Laura Vanderkam, but I am not enjoying it that much and I'd hoped. She focuses a lot on career choice and talks about not thinking anything you do in your job is "work" unless it gets you farther in your career or you love doing it. A lot of people do work at their jobs that are not self serving for their careers so I don't agree with that. Also I was hoping it would be more focused on planning your time outside of work and it isn't so I will move on. I will instead be listening to the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R Covey. I am looking forward to listening to this popular book and hope to learn a lot and be inspired. 

Joining along with Frontier Dreams for Crafting On and Unraveled Wednesday with As Kat Knits.

Thank you for visiting today and have a good day!

Knitting a Shawl

Hello Friends,

I hope you are doing well. This weekend I have been busy seeing friends and doing some work on wedding planning by choosing our save the date cards. I chose four photos I liked from our engagement shoot and I can't wait to order the cards to send them out to everyone. Today has been a good day for getting things done at home. I need those days once and awhile to get some projects moving along and to accomplish my goals.

I also got a lot of knitting done today on a new shawl I started last week. I am knitting the Casual  Lace Knit Shawl by Linda Thach that was published in Purl Avenue and her pattern can be found on Ravelry.  I am using Vanna's Choice yarn by Lion Brand in the colorway of 'dusty green'. So far I love how the shawl is turning out and I like the simple pattern consisting mostly of knits, yarn overs, and purling the other side.

I am still reading the Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg. It is an interesting book and really makes me more aware of how making positive habits can change your life. I am also currently listening to the audiobook 168 hours by Laura Vanderkam and it inspires me to make the most of my time and put it towards actions which bring me closer to achieving my goals.

What are you knitting and reading?

Thank you for stopping by today and hope you have a great day