Gifts I knitted for Christmas

Hello Friends,

I hope that you had a wonderful time this holiday season. I celebrated Christmas this past weekend, and I really enjoyed going home to spend time with my parents and sister and her boyfriend. It was so nice catching up and giving each other gifts. I especially enjoyed seeing my family open the knitted gifts that I made for them! I had knitted my family socks this year and my mom a hat as well. They were wearing the socks around the house on Christmas day and Boxing day I am glad they are enjoying them. I knitted my boyfriend a Pokeball because he has been interested in Pokemon Go and also a game on his hand held Nintendo 2DS. I also knitted my mom and Sister tiny stockings and added a couple of surprises inside. It was a lovely celebration as it always is at my parent's house. They have always spoiled my sister and I and we always enjoy spending Christmas day and boxing day together. Below are the gifts I gave to my family and boyfriend. Socks were the theme of the year it seems!

My Parents' beautiful Christmas tree, Boxing day reading

Socks for my Dad, using Charisma Heather yarn color "black" using size 6 mm needles

Socks for my Mom, using Charisma Heather yarn color "Jean"  using size 6 mm needles

Knitted Pokeball for my boyfriend, using pattern by Studio Knit

I was spoiled this year with so many lovely gifts and I was happy to receive gifts from The Yarn Mamas from my sister. She bought me a long sleeve shirt that says "yarn" and a mug that says "yarn and coffee" two of my favorite things together! I love them and cannot wait to wear the shirt and sip coffee from the mug! maybe at the same time as I knit!

Thank you so much for visiting and I hope that you are all enjoying the holiday season!

 

Merry Christmas!

Hello Friends!

I just wanted to wish you all a very Merry Christmas! Thank you to everyone who follows my blog and drops by and leaves a comment or just reads my posts I appreciate you very much.  This photo was taken yesterday at the Distillery District in Toronto. I went with my boyfriend to see the play "A Christmas Carol" at the Soulpepper Theatre. It was an amazing performance and I really enjoyed it. Afterwards we went for a walk around the Distillery District and I spotted this adorable house and I just had to take a photo in it!

Warm wishes and a Merry Christmas to you and your family!

 

Last week before Christmas day!

Hello Friends,

I cannot believe that this is the final week before Christmas! there is not much more time to rush around and shop for loved ones. I am almost done knitting the last Christmas gift for my dad I just have maybe a couple of days work left. until I finish it and I had to buy another skein of yarn today to finish it up. Today I went to the mall with my boyfriend and I am happy to say that I have finally finished my Christmas shopping! I might have a couple little things for stockings I might want to buy but the main gifts are purchased. I feel lighter now that I am finished. Last night I settled in with some tea by the Christmas tree and was catching up on some reading. Lately my boyfriend and I have been sipping tea in the evenings to warm up after being out in the cold.

I made these "pretzel hugs" today, we had tried them out last week and my boyfriend and I loved them! I followed the recipe from the blog Sally's Baking Addiction.  They are so easy to make. You just need pretzels, Hershey Kisses (I used candy cane), and M&M candies. I set the oven at 250 degrees and then they melted, you put an M&M on top of each pretzel, then you pop them into the fridge to cool down for 10 mins. Please visit Sally's Website for more details.

I am excited to continue on with my sweater I started some time ago. Here is the progress so far on the back piece! I will be making regular posts about my progress on the sweater in the new year. Stay tuned...

I wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas to those celebrating! Happy Holidays! Thank you so much for visiting my blog and hope you come back soon.

Photo Source

Merry Christmas from my home to yours

 

Yarn Along: Knitting Last Christmas Gift

Hello friends,

This week will be a week of last minute shopping for Christmas gifts and quickly finishing off my knitting of my last Christmas gift. I am knitting one last gift for my dad and hope to have it done by the end of the week so next week I can focus on enjoying the last week of Christmas celebrations. I have really enjoyed this years knitting, I have completed many projects and also have been inspired to try new ones. Below is a photo of the sock I am knitting as my last knitted Christmas gift of the season. I cannot wait to post all the knitted gifts I have worked on after Christmas (do not want to give away the surprise!).

Sock in progress

Sock and Untethered Soul

As part of this week's yarn along with Ginny Sheller, I posted the photo of the sock I am knitting (using Charisma Heather yarn, color is black, and size US 6 circular needles) and the book I have started reading. I am reading The Untethered Soul by Michael A. Singer this week. It was recommended to me by my sister and  I am looking forward to reading it! If you would like to share your knitting and the book you are reading with others as part of a weekly link up on Wednesdays, you can visit Ginny's blog here and add your photo and link!
My tree is finally fully decorated and it was completed with putting angel on top of the tree and adding a tree skirt.

Thank you for visiting my blog and I hope you all have a good week ahead!

 

Yarn Along: Christmas Knits and a Knitting Project for 2017

Hello Friends,

I have been busy finishing up knitting Christmas gifts for my family. Christmas activities are beginning for my family and also with my boyfriend and his family. I am going down to the Christmas Market at the Distillery District soon and I am looking forward to seeing the artisans and to see the pretty Christmas decorations.
My boyfriend and I picked out our tree on Sunday night and brought it home. I was so relieved it fit in my car it was a 6 inch tree and it look beautiful perfectly plump branches and perfect for hanging ornaments. This is my first Christmas living with my boyfriend it is a fun time to pick out a tree together and share our traditions together. He is now fully realizing how crazy about Christmas I am!
We finished decorating the tree last night with the ornaments we have combined but I will be adding garland and a few more ornaments.

Before

After

I am beginning a couple new projects this week. The first one is my last knitted gift for the Christmas season and it is for my dad. I'll keep it a secret incase he reads the post! I am casting on the beginning of a sweater! I am very excited about this and I will be focusing on knitting this sweater in the new year as my big project for 2017,  I am following a pattern on knitty.com called 3timesChic. I am using 6 skeins of Lion Brand Yarn Homespun in the clouds color,  I will be posting about the progress of the sweater during the year and keep you updated on how it is going. I will be writing about what I am learning along the way and tips for other knitters who want to begin their first sweater as well.  I am currently still reading Wildflower by Drew Barrymore this week and almost finished but decided not to post the book in the photo so I am not too repetitive.

so far so good... I've knitted 2 1/2 inches of the back piece

What the sweater will look like! (hopefully) pattern from Knitty.com

 I also wanted to let you guys know that I got the job I interviewed for last week! I am very excited it is in a childcare center that uses the Reggio Emilia approach and I am starting in January so I will use this time before work to catch up on my knitting projects and prepare to teach soon.

Thank you for visiting and hope to see you soon!

 

Yarn Along Wednesday- Wildflower and Knitted Socks

Hello Friends,

How are you this week? I hope that November has treated you all well, and that December has wonderful things in store for you! I am doing well, I had an interview yesterday for a job at a childcare center that I think went really well, so now I am in the waiting stage to hear back from them but I am quite excited because I am hopeful that it will be a job offer *crosses fingers*. I am also getting excited well more excited for Christmas since advent begins tomorrow and I begin the tradition of opening a door every day to get a chocolate usually by Laura Secord or Lindtt. My boyfriend is going to get one too. I am glad he will be joining me in advent too we have shared one in past years when I would come over to visit we would eat most of them when I would come over but now since we are living together we will have our own.
 This Wednesday I have decided to do another Yarn Along, it is pretty fun to share what projects we are working on and the books we are reading. You can see other bloggers posts for their Yarn Along at gsheller.com!
This week I am sharing a book I have had on the go for quite some time and I really enjoy. It's called Wildflower by Drew Barrymore. It is interesting to read about her life especially her upbringing she definitely did not have it easy at first and it was a struggle but she got through it and thrived. The knitting project I am working on this week is to finish socks I am knitting for my sister for Christmas. I am on the second sock now so I should finish it if I work on it all today. I will also share another photo that I posted on Monday with a peppermint mocha from Starbucks in one of those holiday red cups. I like the design this year and that some say crafted by hand and heart because I believe everything I make and other's make are crafted by hand and heart.

Wildflower by Drew Barrymore and knitting the second sock using Charisma Heather light gray yarn by Loops & Threads

Starbucks break with knitting on Monday enjoyed the new cup!

Thank you as always for dropping by! I always appreciate your support and comments.

 

Knitted Baby Booties

Happy Friday Friends!

It is the end of the week and we are heading towards the weekend. For some the weekend is already beginning and others it is soon within reach. Today I finished knitting up my second pair of baby booties and I posted on Instagram already but also wanted to share with you on my blog. I am so happy with how they turned out because I have wanted to knit baby booties for so long but I used to think they looked hard to knit but I finally decided to give it a try and they were really fun and easy to knit up! I followed a video on YouTube because I love to follow videos when I am learning something new. I watched One Hook & Two Needles' video on how to knit baby booties. Please visit her channel if you would like to knit some of these booties she explains very well and goes at a good pace to follow along.

 Here is my pile of knitted items that I will be donating to the Salvation Army so far. I have a child's hat, a baby hat, and two pairs of baby booties.

Thank you for visiting and I would love to read your comments! 

 

Yarn Along Wednesday

Hello Friends,

It sure has gotten colder in Toronto. We had  the first snowfall of the winter season here in Toronto on Sunday and there is still a little bit of snow on the ground now to remind us winter is coming.
We put up the Christmas tree at my parent's house this weekend and attended a Santa Claus parade it was so nice catching up with them and sharing in some of our usual Christmas traditions. I was able to squeeze a bit of knitting into our busy weekend by the Christmas tree which was lovely.

Knitting by the Christmas tree, a secret give for someone special

I have been knitting a lot lately I started a secret project for my boyfriend and I have been knitting up hats for charity and finishing off socks for my mom and sister. I will get started on another knitted gift for my mom soon. I was thinking of knitting up something for my dad too, I will have to brainstorm some ideas for a knitted gift for him. I finished another hat for charity for a baby and I just got a bunch more yarn to knit up some more hats they are pretty quick to knit up so I am sure I will have a stack to donate in time.
Today I participated in my first yarn along by posting on Instagram and now on my blog. I have seen other knitters post what they are reading and knitting and thought it was a fun idea. If you want to also participate in Yarn Along, you can upload your picture of a book and what you are knitting by following the link below.

I am knitting baby booties for charity and got started on one today. I have finished it now and it is pretty adorable but I will post a photo when both booties are completed. I used a pattern from a Youtube channel One Hook & Two Needles and the video is called "0-3 Month Booties - Beginners Knitted Version 2" if you want to check it out! I am currently reading Homeward Bound by Emily Matchar it was recommended by another knitter I follow on Instagram so I decided to give it a try. It is pretty good so far and it is interesting to read about a movement towards domesticity that I have noticed that people of all ages are engaged in, and people in their twenties (like myself) are interested in things such as knitting and making their own jam and blog about it. I am loving it so far!

Thank you as always for joining me in this space and I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

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