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.

Photo source

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.

Photo Source

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.

Photo source

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.

Photo source

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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.

It's Blogmas 2019!

Hello Friends,

I hope you are doing well. Happy start of Blogmas! I can't believe that this day is finally here I am so excited to start it off. I have planned out some of my future blog posts and to get started I'll share my plan of the kind of blog posts I have in store for Blogmas this year. I will also be holding link up parties daily so feel free to post your holiday related posts to the parties. You can post even if you are not doing Blogmas daily, but would like to share some Christmas or holiday related content with others. It would be fun and I will be sure to visit all of your blogs. Below is a schedule of what I will be posting this holiday season and I hope that you like the topics. I will also be sharing my knitting progress throughout these posts on my scarves and reading progress.

It is going to be a snowy  and wintry day today in Toronto, so I plan to stay in all day reading, knitting, and preparing for Blogmas. This morning is already so windy and dark and it is freezing rain right now with snow on the ground. I am glad I don't have to go out today. I am also starting to eat the chocolates from my advent calendar today. I got the Lindt advent calendar againm we always enjoy the Lindor chocolates, they are so good. I also got a calendar for my fiancé Liam so we can both have the chocolates together.

Time to start opening today

I went to the One of a Kind Christmas show in Toronto yesterday and I bought some gifts for people and I bought myself some sleep stones scented with lavender. They are porous stone infused with this lavender oil. I bought them from Finesse Home Fragrance. You put them in a bowl by your bed and shake them before bed and it is meant to relax you and the scent helps you sleep.  I bought the refresher oil so I can add the oil to the stones to refresh them every few months. I have been wanting to get more sleep lately and I was curious about these. I am looking forward to giving them a try and get more sleep this holiday season.

The One of a Kind show in Toronto was wonderful this year. It was so nice to walk through and see all the lovely items the artisans had created. My mom bought me a lovely sign with an inspirational quote on it and my sister also bought one. I bought a few treats as gifts in the food aisle and the stones. We had lunch at some food trucks that were indoors, it is a big space! They had the Toronto Raptors super fan there as well and he gave an uplifting speech. I can't wait to go back next year already, we always have the best time going each year.

Please share your Christmas and holiday related blog posts below I would love to read your posts and have others view your blog posts as well. Share here and we can all view your posts daily and see what you are working on! :)

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Thank you so much for visiting my blog today I am so excited that it is now Blogmas and hope that you enjoy the upcoming month of posts! I will post daily until December 25th, and then resume my regular posting schedule of 1-2 posts each week after Christmas.

Have a great day!

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 :)

Knitted Earbud Pouch, Updates, and Reading On

Hello Friends,

I hope you are doing well. It snowed here a lot in Toronto all day Monday and into the night. We got 15 centimeters of snow. I was able to leave work on Monday in the early afternoon to work from home which was nice. Once I was inside and out of the snow, it was okay that it was a winter wonderland outside and pretty when looking out the window. Today I was also able to work from home and avoid the snowy roads for a little while longer. The streets are still not plowed properly on some side streets and cars are getting stuck in the snow. I am hoping tomorrow will be better when I drive.

I finished knitting a small pouch for my earbuds using a pattern called Earbud Pouch by Mary Keenan found on Ravelry. It was the perfect quick knitting project I was looking for. I needed somewhere to put my earbuds instead of just throwing them into my bag to take to work which gets them all tangled or I lose them. Now with this pouch I will be able to keep them from tangling together and they are more compact. The yarn I used for this project is Manos Del Uruguay yarn in the colorway Happy. I had some leftover from when I knitted the fingerless mittens using this yarn. I love the white with the pops of color in the yarn.

Lots of room inside for the earbuds

Pouch with the earbuds fully inside

I have been working on knitting the fingerless mittens for my mom and will be gifting them to her soon. I will be looking at some yarn projects on Ravelry to figure out what I will make next and then will be heading to Michael's soon to buy some yarn. I am due for a yarn shopping trip.

I have been reading Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty and cannot wait to read what happens next. I am so interested in the characters, their stories, and what will happen to them on this retreat. I have also been reading How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie every morning for about a week. I am applying the principles I am learning from the book in my daily life. I like reading it in the morning because then I can think of the tips when I am going about my day and how to best interact with others in a respectful way. I finished reading The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod and have been loving my mornings since applying the steps to have a miracle morning. I will be sharing my experience with the miracle morning in a blog post soon.

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

Thank you for visiting my blog today! What are you making and reading this week?

Have a great day

Knitting,Reading, and Blogmas This Year!

Hello Friends,

I hope you are doing well. I have made quite a bit of progress on the scarf that I knit with the Juniper Moon Farms yarn. I have been enjoying working with this light, soft yarn and I like the self striping that is appearing in the scarf as I knit on. I am looking forward to wearing this scarf this winter. It is a skinnier scarf as I knit on I realized this more, but I think I will like it because I have a lot of bulkier scarfs and knitted items so it will be something lighter for days that aren't too cold.

I have really been enjoying reading Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis. It is a fun and inspirational read. I find it interesting that she got her start from a blog and started a media company. I am almost finished this book, it is a real page-turner for me. I took the photo below last Saturday morning. It is a favorite routine of mine on the weekend to make a coffee, then sit down for an hour or more and read, then knit and plan for the day. I like to write goals down in the notebook and love the cover that says:"Do more of what makes you awesome". This inspires me to think about what I could do to improve myself and work on my goals each day.

Also I would like to announce that ...

I will be taking part in Blogmas this year! 

I am very excited to join other bloggers in sharing a blog post daily from December 1st until Christmas Day. Christmas is my favorite time of the year and I look forward to sharing more posts talking about what I am doing during the Christmas season. I will be starting some Christmas knitting projects in December and will be posting entries on Christmas related topics and other topics that come to mind. I did not participate in Blogmas last year, but I did participate in National Blog Posting Month (NaBloPoMo) last year which takes place in November. For NaBloPoMo, I joined along with other bloggers in posting everyday for the month of November. I really enjoyed coming up with new ideas for posts for the entire month and it challenged me to think of new ideas and things to share on my blog. You can read my posts from last year here. I also liked to see what other bloggers posted on their blogs and enjoyed the community we created in a short time. I like these blog posting events and look forward to December when Blogmas begins.

Blogmas is coming...who else is excited?

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

Thank you for visiting my blog and I am looking forward to starting to post entries for Blogmas on Saturday. Hope you have a great rest of your week!

Weekend Knitting

Hello Friends,


I hope you are doing well. Yesterday my boyfriend, my parents and I went over to my boyfriend's mom's place. My parents met his mom for the first time and it was so nice all being together and them getting to know each other. My boyfriend and I have been talking about getting engaged soon,so it is a nice time for them to meet. Today my boyfriend and I went downtown to get some things he needed and then we went by the library to get a book. The one I picked up is called Shrewed: A Wry and Closely Observed Look at the Lives of Women and Girls by Elizabeth Renzetti. It looks interesting, it is a book of essays she has written on various topics relating to feminism. I am looking forward to reading it.

This weekend has been so nice. It was mostly spent reading, knitting, seeing family, and relaxing at home. It is so nice to have weekends like this when I can spend the day however I like and get some things accomplished at home. I feel more refreshed to start the week off if I have a Sunday where I have lots of time to prepare and plan for the week as well. I will be writing my meal plan and writing in my planner tonight. I want to plan out how I will use my time this week to be more productive in getting things done and accomplishing my goals.

Yesterday I cast on to start knitting a new scarf with the  yarn Juniper Moon Farm Cumulus Dappled in the colorway 'On the Rocks'. It is such a soft yarn and It has been so nice to work with. Last weekend I also bought some new wooden needles at Romni Wools pictured below. They are made by Brittany. Both the needles and the yarn are so light and delicate, so when I am knitting with both together it so light, like I am not holding anything much at all.

I cast on 30 stitches and am using size US 9 - 5 mm needles. I will try to knit the scarf with one skein of the yarn since I only purchased one. We will see how long it becomes.If it is shorter I might sew up the ends and turn it into a cowl. I am not using a pattern for the scarf and am simply knitting in stockinette stitch, so knit the front side and then purl the back side the whole scarf.

I received the hedgehog pin pictured below for my birthday from my boyfriend's step mom and dad for my birthday. It is from The Clever Clove. I love it, it is so adorable and it fits in so well beside the other knit pin I got from SeaandLake. The Clever Clove is currently on a break for a maternity leave and SeaandLake is not in business anymore.

Pins from The Clever Clove and SeaandLake

Thank you for stopping by! How was your weekend?

I will be posting again with some more updates on knitting and reading progress this week, so I will talk to you again soon!

Have a great day!

Finished Ribbed Fingerless Mitts

Hello Friends,

I had a wonderful birthday last Wednesday and thank you for the birthday wishes it meant a lot to me. I will share some photos from the day in my next post. I have finished knitting the ribbed fingerless mitts pattern by Kathy North. I like this pattern because it is so simple and I love how the ribbed stitches look on the mitts. I chose this dark gray color for the mitts this time using Patons Kroy sock yarn. I used the fingering yarn so I went up in the number of stitches I cast on so I could get the right gauge for the pattern. The original pattern calls for worsted weight yarn, so I doubled the pattern and cast on 60 stitches onto size 3.25 mm circular needles.

Pattern: Ribbed Fingerless Mitts by Kathy North on Ravelry

These will be great mittens for transitioning to cooler weather in the Fall. I am looking forward to wearing them now when it is a bit chilly and the perfect temperature for fingerless mittens.

Thank you for visiting my blog and hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Thankful

Hello Friends,

I hope you are doing well. I have had a busy week full of good moments. We had a Thanksgiving potluck lunch at work on Thursday, and I made some cranberry sauce to bring to the lunch. I used a recipe from Simply Recipes for the first time and it turned out pretty tasty. I have also been making butternut squash risotto dishes today to bring to Thanksgiving dinners this weekend. Because I am vegetarian, I wanted to offer to provide a dish I can eat as my main and others can eat as their sides with their turkey. I used Maddie Lymburner's vegan butternut squash risotto recipe from her YouTube channel and it is so delicious. I love how it used nutritional yeast which I love and it is such a good alternative to using dairy.

Butternut Squash Risotto

I bought these flowers to bring for my parents for Thanksgiving today. I found them at the Superstore and just loved the pumpkin pot and the detail on the pumpkin.

I love this hand towel I bought in the summer. It has the ingredients list and directions to make a pumpkin pie. I love using festive hand towels in the kitchen around this time of the year. I might try to follow the recipe to make one this year!

I have been working on knitting the second mitten of the fingerless mittens. I have been making steady progress on it this week but had to frog it a couple of times due to dropped stitches which makes it look loose, so I would rather take it apart and make the changes to be happy with how it turns out. I should be done them soon! Then I will focus on sewing up the seams for the Wool and the Gang Farrah Billie Jean top.

Fingerless Mittens by Kathy North. Pattern from Ravelry

I love this time of the year because it reminds me to be thankful for what I have. I love being surrounded by family for our Thanksgiving meal and enjoying the holiday together. I am so thankful for time spent together and the delicious food we share.

Thank you for visiting my blog today. I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving if you celebrate here in Canada. I hope you enjoy your weekend!

Have a great day!

My Sister's Wedding, Knitting, and Reading Updates

Hello Friends,

I hope you are doing well. I have been very well, it was my sister's wedding last weekend and it was amazing. I had a great time and enjoyed being her Maid of Honor. I made a speech and choked up a bit during it and people cheered me on and I also got a few laughs. I danced a lot and really enjoyed myself. I shared some photos from the big day below. They had their wedding on the harbor so there was a view of the lake from the venue and you can see the boats in the background of the photo of the sweetheart table.

My boyfriend, Liam and I by the flower wall at the end of the night 

With my hair and make up done!

Our bridesmaids bouquets in the limo!

I noticed the "just married" hearts on the back of the limo, so cute!

Where my sister and her now husband sat! 

It was so fun being my sister's Maid of Honor and helping her plan the events like bridal shower and bachelorette leading up to the wedding. I had such a great time at the wedding and reception afterwards. I am looking forward to seeing more photos from the photographers and also seeing the video the videographer took on the day.

In knitting, I have not been knitting too much. With the wedding and other work and exercise sessions it has been tiring and when I get home I just lay around. I really want to get better with this and knit a little each day so I make more progress towards my knitting instead of big spurts of knitting when I have bigger chunks of time which does not happen as often now working fulltime and going to the gym and trying to fit in time with family and friends. Below is some progress towards the second of the fingerless mitts. I knitted some rows today and got started and sometimes just getting started is the hardest part, then I will be done in no time.

I have still been reading Surprise Me by Sophie Kinsella. It is good but I have to read more often. I will be sure to give you my honest opinion of the book when I am finished it. I love Sophie Kinsella's novels so I am sure I will love it once I put more time aside to read it. As you can probably tell by now I am having issues with making time for knitting and reading.

Also I am so happy it is Fall now! Who else loves the cooler weather here? It is also perfect for knitting as it gets cooler I feel like knitting more and look forward to knitting chunkier projects.

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

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Have a great day!