Knitting a Turkey for Thanksgiving

Hello Friends,

I hope you are doing well. I have taken today off work and it feels so good to have time to myself. I decided to take a few days off work around my birthday this year to give myself time around one of my favorite times of the year, which is right around my birthday, Thanksgiving, and fall. My birthday is tomorrow, I will be 31 years old. Turning 31 makes me reflect on how fast time is going by. I think of how life is going to change a lot in my thirties with getting married next year,starting a family, and buying a house. There is so much to plan and do right now with the wedding coming up and the year coming to an end. I have also become very consumed with knitting and reading lately and this could take up most of my days easily. Today I met up with my fiancé Liam during his lunch near his work and I have done a workout, knitted, read, and chatted with my mom. I did a lot of knitting today on the new project I have started.

I am knitting another wine bottle topper, this time it is a turkey! I am knitting it as a gift for my future mother-in-law and will be giving it to her on Saturday for Thanksgiving  on top of a bottle of wine. I hope that she likes it as much as she liked the bunny wine bottle topper I made her for Easter this year. I have a couple of days left to finish it. So far I have the body done and am starting the head and the beak of the turkey.

I have knitted the body of the turkey in the seed stitch pattern to give the body of the turkey some texture to resemble the feathers they have on their bodies. As seen in the photo above, the head of the turkey is going to be simple knit stitch in the color red. The beige stitches are the start of the beak of the turkey. I will be knitting some wings also in the seed stitch to give them texture. I drew up a diagram of the turkey plans as this was something I did not find online. I find it fun to make my own patterns and I am using some of the design from the bunny topper to guide me with the body and the head decreases. I will share the pattern with you all when the turkey is complete in the next post.

I am still reading the book The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg. It is so interesting to learn about habits and how they affect our lives and how we go about our days. Another book about habits that I will be reading next and might have taken a peak at already is called Better Than Before by Gretchen Rubin. My sister read it and loved it, so I am so excited to read this one next.


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

Thank you for visiting today and I hope that you have a wonderful day

Knitting Progress and Reading

Hello Friends,

I hope you are doing well. This weekend I was celebrating my boyfriend's birthday and also visiting with family and friends. I did not have time to catch up too much on my knitting but I am making up for it during this week! I have been setting up my Barley Light beanie/hat by Tin Can Knits for decreasing and have plans to make a dent in the decreasing the rest of today. I hope to share some photos of the finished hat soon! I want to wear it for some of the remaining cold days. I was glad I could get some more yarn last night after work to continue knitting it.

I have also been working slowly on my Wool and the Gang Farrah Billie Jean top and have knitted some rows this week while watching TV.

I had a great time visiting with family this weekend and it was so nice to also hang out with these guys. This photo is from Saturday afternoon when I showed up. They were so comfortable having the couch all to themselves. I got some cuddles after this photo when Moo (the tuxedo cat) finally got up to greet me.

Love them

I have still been reading Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman when I have some energy before bed to read. Lately I have been pretty tired, but I will try to make it more of a priority. I have also been listening to Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey on audiobook. Looking forward to working more on my budgeting to pay off my debt and student loans and have savings again.

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

Thank you for visiting my blog! I have been posting once a week lately because I am adjusting to working and blogging and trying to find time to knit, read, and blog (my favorite things!).I will hopefully be returning to posting twice a week shortly. Now I am off to see what others are working on.

Hope you have a great day!

Progress on Knitting Beanie, WAG Top, and Reading

Hello Friends,

I hope you are all doing well. Later this week, I will be starting a 2.5 month contract. I am excited to start a new job again and it definitely is never boring right now with this change every so often and starting new contracts.

I have been knitting the beanie that I was discussing last week. The pattern I am using is called Barley Light by Tin Can Knits, found on Ravelry. It is a fun knit so far and I am loving the color of the yarn I chose. I am using Patons Kroy Socks yarn in the colorway Flax. I can knit the pattern from memory now and it is a pleasure to knit. It is a two row repeat after the ribbing. The two row repeat is purling the required stitches based on the size of your hat, (mine is an adult large although it does not look too large) and then knit the remaining stitches in the row and then row two is to knit all stitches for one round. This continues until you reach the length that is suggested and then the decreasing begins.

I have also been working on the Wool and the Gang Farrah Billie Jean top and have been making steady progress on it. The yarn dye gets on my fingertips because the yarn is upcycled denim! It comes off when I wash my hands though. So I will definitely be giving it a wash before I wear it.

I have still been reading Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman and really enjoying it so far. It is so sweet, funny, and sad at times. I have been enjoying getting to know what a complex and interesting character Eleanor is, and I am looking forward to reading more.

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

Thank you for visiting my blog today. I hope that you are having a great week so far and I would love it if you stopped by again.

Hope you have a great day!

Knitting Progress, New Project Plans, and Reading

Hi Friends,

I hope you are all doing well. I have been good, and I have been busy working a lot of hours at a temporary work assignment in Toronto. I will be finished the three week contract tomorrow and I will hopefully be starting another job soon. I am currently working some temp jobs to gain work experience while job searching and hoping to land a full-time or part-time position in office administration.

I have been knitting the second piece of the Wool and the Gang Farrah Billie Jean top which is the back piece.  I finished knitting the ribbed bottom edge of the piece and now starting on knitting in stockinette stitch for the body of the top.

I have still been reading Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman and really enjoying it so far. The character is funny and I love reading about her hopes and dreams on finding her dream man, and her observations about the people around her.

Today I went to Michael's to get some yarn for a new project. I have been so excited to start a new project for awhile, but did not know exactly what I wanted to make and also needed time to make a special trip to Michaels. One day this week, I realized I have never knitted a beanie before and I really like the slouchy hat look. So I started looking at patterns this morning and I found a pattern for a beanie on Ravelry called Barley Light by Tin Can Knits. I chose a similar color to the hat in the photo for the pattern because I thought it looked so nice in that color. The yarn I will be using is Patons Kroy Socks in the flax colorway. I am looking forward to casting on today and will be sharing photos with you soon on the progress of the beanie.

Screenshot photo of the Barley Light beanie on Ravelry :) (Photo Source) 

Joining along with Nicole from Frontier Dreams for Crafting On, with Kat from As Kat Knits for Unraveled Wednesday, and with Ginny from Small things for Yarn Along (March)! Please stop by these amazing blogs if you would like to also share what you are working on and see what others are working on this week.

Thank you so much for stopping by the blog today, and I hope you have a great day!

Knitting Progress and Reading

Hello Friends,

I hope you are doing well. Yesterday was Family Day for us in Ontario, Canada and it was nice to have the day off to get a few more things done towards my knitting, reading, and blogging. I will be starting a three week work contract today through the employment agency I am working for. I am excited for this new job to start and I am happy to be getting back out there working again. I also had a couple assignments last week which I enjoyed.

I have been been knitting the Wool and the Gang Farrah Billie Jean top and have made some progress on it. I am close to being finished knitting one half of the front piece and just have the other side of the neckline and strap to knit. I decided to just keep knitting it the length it asks for.I had been concerned about the length, but now I am thinking it will be fine and if it is too short, I can wear another tank top underneath it.

I have finished reading Wild by Cheryl Strayed. This book got mixed reviews, some people liked it and some did not. I did like it, but felt like it was a bit long and repetitive at times. What drew me to the book was that I love reading books where the protagonist sets out on a journey and reflects on their past and their new journey changes them and allows them to approach life differently. I feel like Cheryl's hike on the PCT did affect her and change for the better and encourage her to reflect on her life. I have now started reading Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman and I am really enjoying it so far.

I would like to start knitting a new project soon and have held off for awhile on starting something new because I wanted to make more progress on the Wool and the Gang top and also had to finish off some work on some gifts and a I was working on for someone. I have been thinking a colorful shawl would be a fun next project. I will be searching for patterns for my next project this week and brainstorming ideas.

What are you working on and reading this week?

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

Thank you for visiting my blog today and reading about what I am knitting and reading this week! Now I am off to see what others are working on.

Have a great day!

One Fingerless Mitt Already Knit and Reading On

Hello Friends,

I hope you are all doing well. I have been working on knitting the fingerless mittens lately and of course job searching. I have finished knitting the first mitten and love how it turned out and how comfortable it is. I am using the pattern Ribbed Fingerless Mitts by Kathy North which I found on Ravelry. The mittens are a fun, quick, and easy knit, and perfect for beginner knitters. I really enjoyed knitting this mitten up while watching TV because of its easy and repetitive pattern. I will be starting the second glove tonight and will hopefully be done before the weekend. I am looking forward to wearing them and it is supposed to be a bit warmer this weekend, so these fingerless mittens will be perfect to wear.

First finished ribbed fingerless mitten

comfortable fit and stretch

I haven't worked too much on the Wool and the Gang Farrah Billie Jean top, but made some progress by knitting a few rows. The front piece is pictured below with the progress photo of the first fingerless mitten.

I finished reading The Sun and Her Flowers by Rupi Kaur and really loved it. I love how there are poems about many different topics and she covers many issues women face and deal with all the time. I loved the poems about heartbreak, growth, and falling in love and being in love and loved. I plan to read these poems often and select ones which comfort me at the time and also make me reflect on life. I did reflect on each poem, and many made me reflect on what I had read because I felt emotions. Because of the nature of the poems, they make you reflect on your past and your life and family. I recommend it if you have not yet read it. I could not put it down.
I am still reading Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed and Stuff Every Vegetarian Should Know by Katherine Mcguire.  This little book has a lot of tips on what to have in your pantry and how to get the right nutrients needed on this diet. It also includes meal plans if you need some ideas on what to eat. I am enjoying it so far and it will be a great reference book as well to add to my cookbooks.

Joining along with Frontier Dreams for Crafting On, and As Kat Knits for Unraveled Wednesday. They are always busy working on lovely projects and others also link up to their posts about what they are working on each week. You can give them a visit if you like, and share what you're working on too.

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Knitting a Wool and the Gang Farrah Top Billie Jean

 Hello Friends,

I hope you are doing well. Today I started knitting the Wool and the Gang Farrah Top Billie Jean kit. It is rated as easy and follows a simple stockinette pattern for both the front and back pieces. I am using the Billie Jean yarn which is 100% upcycled denim. It is a stronger yarn and has been really nice to work with so far. It is also soft so it will make a comfortable and durable tank top.

So far I have knitted 7 rows of 1 x 1 ribbing and a few rows of stockinette. I really love the ribbing on the bottom. The first piece I am working on is the front piece from bottom to top. To see the packaging that the yarn came in please check out my first post on the kit by clicking here. You can check out the kit by visiting the Wool and the Gang website here.

Close-up of the bottom of the front piece

I have still been reading Not Working by Lisa Owens and enjoying it so far. I can relate to the character. She thinks of her past place of work often and is living with her boyfriend and trying to find another job. She is unsure of what she wants and I am sure she will find clarity by the end of the book.  

Joining along with Frontier Dreams for Crafting On and AsKatKnits for Unwraveled Wednesday.

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