Weekend Reading and Trying a New Recipe

Hello Friends,

I hope you are doing well. There are changes in Toronto now and we are moving on to stage 2 of the recovery process for the coronavirus. We had 178 new cases today so the numbers are going down in Ontario, Canada. I am feeling more positive about our progress, but I am still being careful when I got out and wearing a mask and keeping my distance. Yesterday I went to Metro to get groceries and people were being careful and keeping distance which is nice to see. Today Liam and I went for a walk and into the park. There were more groups together, but they were spaced out. It was nice to get out and walk, but it was very hot we were happy to get back inside to cool down.

This hill is a good workout!

I made a healthy summer salad for lunch today. I like making salads with chickpeas and it works well with my pescatarian diet to get more protein. I found the recipe on a website called Spend with Pennies. This chickpea salad recipe is delicious and I really like the dressing that you make as well with red wine vinegar and other ingredients. It was a nice change from the usual things I eat for lunch. I am working towards losing 20 pounds this year and hopefully before the wedding, so I am trying out new low fat and carb recipes. I will share my journey as I go along. I am really hoping I can make the positive changes I need. I felt good after this lunch and the walk today, so I feel more positive I can lose the weight before October.

I finished reading Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert. I found this book enjoyable to read and it is interesting to read more about the struggles of making a career as a writer. I knew being a writer  would be difficult with writer's block and getting published, but I learned more about the struggles of writers in coming up with ideas and feeling like they do not have enough struggles in their lives for inspiration. I look forward to reading future books she writes. I am starting to read the book Everything is F*cked: A Book about Hope by Mark Manson. I feel like this book is very appropriate to the times and how I am feeling right now with our worldwide pandemic going on.

I am still working on the cat puzzle. It has taken me so much longer than I had thought it would. There are so many flower pieces and fur pieces that all look the same. I will keep pushing forward with it and try to get it done this week. I want to get another one once I am done. Doing puzzles has relaxed me and brought me some peace through this time.

I will be looking for a new project to start this week and will share with you progress on that on my Wednesday post. I can't wait to start something new. I haven't been working on the bookmark, but I hope to start knitting it tonight to make some progress.

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

Saturday Stitch: Eyelet Mock Cable Ribbing

Hello Friends,

I hope you are doing well. Today I knitted the eyelet mock cable ribbing. It was an easy to follow 4 row repeat.I liked knitting this pattern and found it relaxing getting into the rhythm of knitting it.  I think it looks really pretty and would add a nice design to knitted garments.

Pattern:

Multiples of 5 + 2

Row 1 (RS): P2, *sl 1 purlwise, k2, psso, p2; rep from * to end.
Row 2: K2, *p1, yo, p1, k2; rep from * to end.
Row 3: P2, *k3, p2; rep from * to end.
Row 4: K2, *p3, k2; rep from * to end.

Repeat these 4 rows

Pattern from New Stitch a Day

Thank you for visiting today I hope you like the stitch pattern shared and let me know if you try it out. Please join me on Saturdays when I try out different patterns and knitting techniques for Saturday Stitch. 

Finished Knitting the Sunshine on my Feet socks

Hello Friends,

I hope you are doing well. I finished knitting the Sunshine on my Feet socks by The Kitchen Sink Shop. They were fun to knit and knitting each sock felt like it went by quickly. I plan to knit more pairs of these in different colors. They are especially good for the warmer months too, because they are ankle socks. I used wool to knit mine but if you use lighter yarn they would be nice and light for Summer. I also saw that the designer has other sock patterns I would be interested in trying out more of her patterns.

Pattern: Sunshine on my Feet
Designer: The Kitchen Sink Shop
Yarn: Kroy Sock in the colorway Tourmaline Stripes
Needles: US 3, 3.25 mm double pointed needles
Ravelry Notes: visit my Ravelry page for this pattern for notes here.



I have been reading more of Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert and Average is the New Awesome by Samantha Matt. Both of these books are so good so far and I often think of things I have read in both of them. I enjoy books like these that really leave an impression on me.

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Tonight I went on an evening walk to get some fresh air. I really enjoyed this reflective time and it was so peaceful and lifted my spirits. I sometimes feel lazy to go for walks after work and dinner, but when I just go and do it I am usually glad I did and feel more energized afterwards.

Photo from my walk through the park

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

Thank you for stopping by my blog today. I hope that you have a good week!

Weekend Visiting and our 7 year Anniversary

Hello Friends,

I hope you are doing well. I had a good and busy weekend, On Saturday I got groceries and we just mostly stayed in and then got takeout at a restaurant we enjoy to celebrate our seven year anniversary. It was nice celebrating and then we watched Knives Out again that movie is so good! I can't believe we have been together 7 years already, it flew by. On Sunday I did a zoom call with Liam's Dad, step mom, sister and her boyfriend. It was nice catching up with them. Then I went to visit with my family and my brother in law was also there so it was nice to expand our bubble a bit more and see him. It was nice to also see the cats at my parent's house I really missed petting them and spending time with them too. Today Liam and I are both off work. Our companies are encouraging people to use vacation before August, so I am taking off days here and there. 

I took a day off in May and then have a couple other days in July. I will be taking more time off in the Fall for what I hope will be our wedding we shall see. It is nice to have today off to do nothing and just relax. I have knitted so far and watched YouTube videos, we also started laundry and played Unlock!.

Unlock!

I got the 52 lists for Happiness journal I ordered it on Amazon on Saturday and was happy to receive it in the mail today. I love the photos in the book they are inspirational and I have so far starting added what makes me happy right now the first list in the book. I wrote few things like spending time with my family, a hot cup of coffee, a quiet morning reading, writing in my journal, and knitting. I will be adding to it more throughout this week. There are 52 lists, so my goal is to work on a list each week for a year to eventually fill the book. It is a fun new addition to my morning routine that I think I will enjoy.

I have continued knitting the Sunshine on my Feet Socks by the Kitchen Sink Shop. I found the pattern on Ravelry. I am pretty close to being done and might have a finished project to share on Wednesday.

I am also continuing to read Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert. This book is so good and she explained in the pages I read today that it helps with whatever creative endeavor you are taking on, that you do not put any financial pressure on it because then you might just give it up all together out of frustration. This is good advice from a successful writer that she did work a day job while she wrote four books, the fourth being Eat, Pray, Love which did really well before she quit her job to become a full-time writer. She did not want to put too much pressure on her creativity to support herself financially. I like this advice. So often we think that if we want to be considered a "professional or legit"writer, blogger, vlogger, or artist in any capacity, we need to be doing it full-time and supporting ourselves financially. But that can't always happen and sometimes we do need to work and create at the same time in order to establish ourselves. I find this book has tons of good advice for people in the creative field and I have learned a lot so far from her experiences and wisdom.

Thank you so much for visiting my blog today! I always like to come on here and discuss what I have been up to and then read your blogs too. 

Have a great day!

Lace Rib Panel - Saturday Stitch

Hello Friends,

I hope you are doing well. Today I tried out the lace rib panel found in the book 750 Knitting Stitches by Erika Knight. It is a really pretty and simple 7 stitch and 4 row repeat. I like how it turned out and love the detail of the pattern. I can see adding this pattern to garments as a nice detail or to bags or scarves. I decided that I will be making a bookmark out of today's stitch. I have make other bookmarks before and they are fun and quick projects to knit and they can make great gifts too.

Pattern for Lace rib panel:

7 sts on background of rev st st

Row 1 (RS): P1, yo, skpo, k1, k2tog, yo, p1

Row 2: K1,p5,k1

Row 3: P1,k1,yo,sk2po,yo,k1,p1

Row 4: K1,p5,k1

Rep these 4 rows

Pattern from 750 Knitting Stitches.

Thank you for visiting my blog today and let me know if you have tried out this pattern before.

Friday Favourites

Hello Friends,

I hope you are doing well. It has been a long week and I am so happy it is the weekend, so I am putting out a special post. I used to do these Friday favourites in the past on the blog and they were always quite fun to do.For these favourites, I used items from Etsy, Amazon, Indigo, and Wool and the Gang. I do not have any affiliate links with any of these companies. I have not shopped much at all during this time. This is like my window shopping and maybe I will buy some of these things myself eventually or can ask for them as gifts. I will let you know if I buy anything here and how I like them.

1. 52 lists for Happiness by Moorea Seal found on Amazon. These books have always been of interest to me. I think it would be fun to sit down and write out some of these lists and learn more about myself and what brings me more happiness.

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2. The Five Minute Journal by Intelligent change is another journal that I have always been interested in trying out. It would be a fun addition to my morning routine to fill out a page each morning to reflect and start the day off right. I also subscribed to intelligent change and receive emails each Tuesday with inspirational articles.

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3. Happy yarn happy soul mug from CluckCluckBoots found on Etsy. I originally saw this mug in an Instagram post, and I really loved the look of the mug. Yarn always makes me happy and feed my soul.

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4. The Knitting Planner by Jen Geigley found on Amazon. I originally saw this planner in an Instagram post by Jen Geigley. I think this would be a fun planner to check out! have any of you used this planner? I am curious about it.

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5. The More or Less Definitive Guide to Self-Care by Anna Borges, found online at Chapters/Indigo. Who else feels nostalgic about calling it Chapters? I miss those days. I think that self-care books are so helpful to read through to find reminders how to slow down, rest, and refresh. This book had a lot of good reviews on goodreads.

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6. Knitting 'Day and night' spinner enamel pin by Twill & Print. I first saw this pin on Instagram awhile ago and love the way the knitting looks with the coffee cup and the background scenery. A lot of work went into the design of this pin and it would be a great addition to my project bag.

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7. Cats in Hats by Sara Thomas on Amazon. I saw this yesterday on Yarnhoarder's Instagram. She had knitted a hat for a cat's one year birthday. It is so cute looking at all the cats and the different hats you can make for all occasions. My parents have two cats I could knit these for...

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This photo below cracks me up! The mohawk hat for the "edgier" cat.

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8. Wholesome Culture shirts, tank tops, and sweaters that promote a positive message to take care of the earth and each other. I have seen photos of their clothing on Instagram and love there stuff. I would love a tshirt or sweater from them. There are also other brands with good messages like these. I would like one that says be kind.

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9. Glory bag from The Wool and the Gang. I found this fun bag to knit on the Wool and the Gang website. It would be fun to get another one of their kits to knit up. I got a kit for a tank top from my sister quite awhile ago and enjoyed knitting it up.

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I hope that you liked my Friday favourites!  I discovered some of these things a long time ago on Instagram and while shopping, and some others I just discovered last night. It was fun putting together this list of things and thinking of all of those things that would be fun to get. They bring me joy just window shopping and scrolling through all these wonderful things. Have you bought any of these things and what are your favourite things right now?

Have a great day!

Knitting and Reading Updates

Hello Friends, 

I hope you are doing well. This is a slow week at work and feels like it should be the weekend by now now. Sometimes weeks seem to drag on.  We are halfway there! I am looking forward to the weekend and it is a long weekend because I took Monday off because it it my seven year anniversary with my fiancé Liam on Sunday. We plan to just relax and spend the day together. I am not sure what I am getting him yet but maybe I will try to be creative and get him something or make something.

I have been working on knitting the second sock of the Sunshine on My Feet sock pattern by The Kitchen Sink Shop. I am happy it looks so much like the other one and the yarn matches up so far in the self striping. 

I have been reading Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert. I have not read as much this week and will read more tonight. It has been quite interesting so far and I am learning a lot and really reflecting on creativity and also being authentic. I am still reading Average is the New Awesome by Samantha Matt. It is a fun read and also offers some insight and self-reflection.

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The virus continues on and we discussed it at a meeting at work today. It seems most of us are quite happy working from home. Come September, some people might return to the office and the rest will continue to work from home. Those that volunteer will be the ones to help our company test out the waters. I will happily continue to work from home. I would love to work from home permanently, that is something that might happen as well, we shall see. Only time will tell. I am doing okay at home through this pandemic both working and also in my free time. I just miss seeing our families and friends we have been doing video calls which help a lot. I might do a Father's day social distancing dinner  this weekend to visit. We just take it one step at a time that's all we can do. Pictured below is the personal protective equipment (PPE) I have been using throughout this time to protect myself and others.I also had some gloves, not sure where those ended up. 

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

Thank you for stopping by the blog today. What are you working on?

Have a great day!

My Weekend in Quarantine & an Update on my Plants

Hello Friends,

I hope you are doing well. This weekend flew by! I had a Facetime call with my family on Saturday and picked up groceries. Today I had a Facebook messenger chat with my friends, it worked out pretty well and I like the fun filters you can add to your face. I worked on the cat puzzle off and on as I passed by and picked up pieces. I am finding the parts of the puzzle with flowers challenging because they all look the same. But bit by bit, it is coming together.

A game that I have been loving lately is Unlock!  Liam and I played this a couple of times now and it is so much fun. However for the Squeek and Sausage game we got stuck on part of it and we'll be coming back to that one but might try another one soon.

I knitted more of the Sunshine on my Feet sock pattern by the Kitchen Sink Shop. I am working on the second sock of the pair now and I should be done this week.

I haven't updated on my plants lately, but I have a new addition to my plant family I shared on Instagram yesterday. I got this cute little succulent last weekend and it has been doing well. I really love how succulents look, I hope I can take care of this one properly I have not had the best of luck with succulents.

I bought these beautiful flowers today at Metro and really love having fresh flowers in the kitchen now each week it really makes me feel happier.

The philodendron is growing more and the small one beside it is the baby from a cutting I once did.  These plants are so easy to take care of and I love the process of cutting and growing more.

I also got this little one from Metro (I mostly shop at Metro these days!) It is so cute I love the pot and they seem to be doing well with a little spray of water once a week.

My bamboo plant is doing well and thriving. I love this plant and I add water when it is low which is almost everyday and it keeps healthy and vibrant. I have had this one for a few years now.

My African violent hasn't flowered for quite some time. It was in the kitchen for quite awhile which doesn't get as much light, so I moved it to the living room and hoping it gets more light there. Lighting is very hard to get when living in a basement apartment, but I still try because I love to have plants around.

I also have a peace lily and it really has been suffering. It looked great for so long, but it hasn't flowered for a long time now. Now most  the leaves have died off, but I was actually quite relieved and amazed that some of it actually survived. I pulled the dead leaves out today, so the plant that is still alive can grow more and have a chance. 

Thank you for visiting my blog today. I hope that you had a great weekend and have a good week ahead. How was your weekend?

Single Eyelet Rib - Saturday Stitch

Hello Friends,

I hope you are doing well. Today I am sharing the single eyelet moss stitch that I knitted for this week's stitch. I like the 8 row repetition and did 4 repetitions of the eyelet rib stitch to knit up the swatch. This pattern was fun to knit and easy to follow.

Pattern:

Cast on a multiples of 5 + 2

Row 1 (RS): P2, *k3, p2; rep from * to end.

Row 2 and every alt row: K2, *p3, k2; rep from * to end

Row 3: P2, *k2tog, yo, k1, p2; rep from * to end.

Row 5: As row 1

Row 7: P2, *k1, yo, skpo, p2, rep from * to end.

Row 8: As row 2.

Repeat these 8 rows.

Pattern from 750 Knitting Stitches

Let me know if you give this one a try! I am changing the posts to "Saturday Stitch " instead. Hope you enjoy the weekend.

Knitting Second Sock and Reading On

Hello Friends,

I hope you are doing well. Thank you for your feedback on last week's post about my feelings on George Floyd's death and all that is occurring in the world. It is about time we made the difference we need to see so we can all live peacefully and not in fear. I really hope that change comes from all of this and this violence doesn't happen again. So far this week is going by slowly and it has been a lot hotter here in Toronto. Tonight Liam and I played more Unlock! we got a few more games on Amazon and we received them in the mail today. These games will keep us busy for awhile. It was nice to do something different and break the monotony by playing an escape room card game. We got pretty far this time, but did not escape on time we will have to keep trying! We played the Squeek and sausage game.

I have been knitting more of the second sock. I am following the Sunshine on my Feet sock pattern by The Kitchen Sink Shop. I am enjoying knitting this pattern for the second time.

I am continuing to read Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert. It is a very good read and I am close to being done. I am also currently reading Average is the New Awesome by Samantha Matt on Overdrive on my phone. It is a light fun read so far.

I hope you are having a good week so far. We are currently on week 12 of this quarantine. I can't believe its been so long. 3 months! Blogging here each week has really helped me keep busy and it is fun sharing what projects and books I am working on and keeps me going and focused on some goals. I think it is so important and especially right now to have hobbies and interests at home and I have really enjoyed getting more into writing in my journal, reading, knitting,blogging, and doing puzzles. What have you been working on this week?

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

Thank you for visiting!