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?

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 Spiral Socks and Reading On

Hello Friends,

I hope you are doing well. I finished knitting the first spiral sock using the spiral socks pattern by Patons found on Ravelry. I get into the rhythm of knitting the 5 row repeat and it is such a good pattern to knit while watching TV or doing something else at the same time. It has been a great project for the Summer because it is light and easy to carry around on trips. These will be so cozy to wear this time of the year when it is getting a bit cooler out and I am reaching for warm socks again.

In my happy place

Progress

 I love how this self striping yarn looks and enjoy knitting with Patons Kroy Sock yarn in this colorway of coastal stripes.

I finished reading What to Expect While You're Expecting by Heidi Murkoff. I learned a lot about how to get prepared for tying to have a baby or trying to conceive (TTC) as they used this term a lot in the book. I will keep these tips in mind when the right time comes for Liam and I. I am getting married next May and would love to start a family after I get married. I am still reading The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory. It is such a fun book and was perfect for the summer. Next up on my to read list is The Miracle Equation by Hal Elrod. I have it in an ebook format from the library and I am excited to read more of it. I really enjoyed Hal Elrod's first book called The Miracle Morning and its ideas and strategies for a better life really resonated with me so I think a follow up book with even more tips will be great as well.

Joining in for Yarn Along with Ginny at her blog Small Things and Crafting On over at Frontier Dreams.

Thank you for visiting my blog! I enjoy you visiting and love reading all of your comments!

Knitting the Wool and the Gang Top and Reading On

Hello Friends,

I hope you are all doing well. This week felt like it went by so fast. I am enjoying being back at work now and liking working in office administration. It was a big career change for me and I am happy I am liking this type of work. You can read more about my change in career from an old post I wrote last November: 'Career Change, Job Searching, and New Beginnings'. 

This week I made some progress on knitting the back piece of the Wool and the Gang Farrah Billie Jean top by knitting some more rows. I would like to make more progress over the weekend and hopefully finish the piece next week by working on it a bit each day. We shall see how the week goes.

I am currently reading Commonwealth by Ann Patchett and I am already really interested in the story line and seeing what will happen. So far it is making me think of the book Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty when there is a barbecue and you knew something big was about to happen (Also a really good book!). I like that in Commonwealth there are multiple characters and you learn about them in depth because of how the book switches to their different perspectives. I am looking forward to reading more of Commonwealth and seeing what these characters get involved in as I read further. Below is a photo of the book Commonwealth from the library with a "Read the North" tote from Indigo I received as a gift and it now comes with me to pick up library books and pack my books if I am travelling.

Joining along with As Kat Knits for Unraveled Wednesday.

Thank you for visiting the blog today. I will be trying to get back on track with the old routine of posting earlier in the week.

Hope you have a great 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!

Happy Spring! Knitting Progress, and Reading

Hello Friends,

I hope you are doing well. I am so happy today is the first day of Spring!  It was a bit warmer today and sunny outside. It will be warmer this week too and I am looking forward to it. I have been working on knitting the beanie lately which I won't be able to wear that long, but I can probably get a bit more wear out of it before the weather is too warm for it.

I have made more progress on the beanie and getting to the end of the first skein of Patons yarn I purchased. I will need to buy another one to complete the beanie. I also want it to be extra slouchy so I will be knitting it the most that is suggested for extra slouchiness. I am using the Barley Light pattern by Tin Can Knits on Ravelry. I am really enjoying knitting this beanie so far and the pattern is really nice with the patch of purl on one side and the rest is knit. I really like the texture that is created by the knitting and purling every other row on that part of the hat.

The Wool and the Gang Farrah Billie Jean top is coming along as well. I am working on the back piece and will be focusing on it more once I finish the beanie. 

I have still been reading Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman. It is such a good book so far and I am loving the characters. I have been listening to the audiobook Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. I am wanting to get into budgeting and have heard many great things about his strategies in paying off debt and also saving for your future. I am liking it so far and I am looking forward to learning more as I listen to more of the book. I really like audiobooks because I can also knit while listening to them so it is perfect for learning and getting some reading in while making progress on my knitting at the same time.

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

Thank you for visiting the blog today. What are you working on this week?

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!

First Piece of WAG Top Knitted and Reading On

Hello Friends,

I hope you are all doing well. Last week I was busy starting a new job that I got through the staffing agency. I am really enjoying being back at work once again after changing careers and taking time off to go take some more courses. It does however leave me with less time to knit and read! But I managed to finish the first piece of the Wool and the Gang Farrah Top this week and I am happy to be moving onto the back piece now.

Knitted Front Piece of WAG top and Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine

Finished front of WAG top

I have been reading Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman and I am really enjoying it so far.  I was listening to How to set a Watchman by Harper Lee at one point a couple of weeks ago and I will start listening to it again.

I am so happy the weather is getting a lot warmer and it is staying light outside later. I am so ready for it to be Spring now! I can wear this tank top soon once the weather is warmer and looking forward to it!

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

Thank you for visiting my blog today and I hope you are enjoying the start of your week!

Hope you have a great day!

Happy Valentine's Day and Finished Knitted Waffle Hat

Hello Friends,

I hope you are doing well. Happy Valentine's Day!  This weekend was fun celebrating my Mom's birthday.  I enjoyed spending a few days with my family and just chatting and spending time together.

I knitted a hat for my Mom in January as a gift for her birthday using the Bulky Waffle Hat pattern by Linda Suda. I loved this pattern and really like how the waffle pattern adds texture to the hat. To make the hat, I used the Patons Classic Wool Bulky yarn in the color green and size US 10 6 mm needles. I was happy she liked it!

My sister purchased a few of these helium balloons to put around the dining room to celebrate our Mom's birthday and the cats were very interested and scared of them. |It was entertaining to watch them inspect the balloons and the ribbon of the balloon. Roo (the ginger cat) was scared of the balloon and ran away from it when it got too close. Moo (black and white cat) was just interested and curious about the balloons, then eventually attacked the ribbon and was chewing on it.

Moo playing with the balloon

Roo investigating the balloon

I didn't get to reading that much this weekend as I had thought I am still reading Wild by Cheryl strayed. I will read more this week to finish it. Last week, I started listening to Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee on audiobook while I was knitting. I enjoyed reading To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee when I was in high school, so I was interested in listening to the sequel. I really like it so far.

I usually make some cute hearts for the holiday and like to knit with pink around this time.  But this year, I decided to show you some of the hearts I knitted in past years and have also included the blog post links if you would like to make any of these and are interested in the patterns.

Valentine Heart Pouch: link to Knitted Valentine Heart Pouch

Valentine heart: link to Happy Valentine's Day

Some knitting stitches that are fun to learn and use in some Valentine's day projects that were featured in some Stitchy Saturday posts:

Learn to knit the lace hearts knit stitch pattern: link to the post: Stitchy Saturday: Lace Hearts Knit Stitch Pattern

Learn to knit the heart vine pattern: link to the post: Stitchy Saturday Heart Vine Lace Panel Stitch

Joining along this week with Frontier Dreams for Crafting On, As Kat Knits for Unraveled Wednesday, and Small Things with Ginny for Yarn Along.

Thank you for visiting the blog and I hope that you enjoy the day with loved ones!

Have a good day!

Knitting Progress and Reading On

Hello Friends,

I hope you are doing well. This weekend I was mostly relaxing and had a couple of mornings of just watching HGTV and watching Flip or Flop Las Vegas and then Vintage Flip. Then the next morning I watched If I Stay, which was such a cute movie. I wasn't feeling well so I needed some rest and relaxation. I haven't done that in awhile, because most mornings I just take my smoothie to our computer room in our apartment and either job search or look at my blog or other's blogs right away. It was nice to just lounge around and watch the shows. They are so light and fun to watch and I will try to take some time now and then to have a lazy Saturday morning and watch these shows or in the evenings. During the week, I like to get on the job search right away so I start the day off motivated and get more accomplished.

This weekend was also good for knitting. I got a lot of knitting done on the fingerless mitts I am knitting for a customer using the Ribbed Fingerless Mitten pattern by Kathy North and also got some work done on knitting the Wool and the Gang Farrah Top. I was knitting the Wool and the Gang top a bit during This is Us on Sunday during the less intense and emotional parts. That show was so good and really sad and captured the emotions that Rebecca would be feeling perfectly. I am looking forward to watching tonight's episode too which sounds like it will be an equally emotional episode. I also watched the Superbowl on Sunday night and I was happy that the Philadelphia Eagles won for some bloggers I know who were rooting for them. I have been knitting the Wool and the Gang Farrah Billie Jean top and concerned it will be short for my liking. I asked some ladies on Ravelry what I should do and got suggestions to go up a needle size or to add more yarn. I might frog it and go up a needle size, but just thinking of what I should do so I can wear it when it is finished.

I am still reading Wild by Cheryl Strayed and it has been a long time now reading this book. I think I will be finishing it soon and think that I have not been so motivated to read it. I think it is a big slow paced for me and I would like if more was happening to make me wonder what happens next, but so far I feel like it is all the same. I know it is a true story though, so they can't add any climatic events that did not happen just to spice it up a bit. Anyways I will be finishing it soon I hope. I am looking forward to my next read after I am finished this one which is Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman. I received it for Christmas and I have heard wonderful things about it and can't wait to start it.

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

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Have a good day!

Happy Mail, Knitting, and Reading On

Hello Friends,

I hope you are doing well. I received this adorable knit pin in the mail today from Sea + Lake Paper Co. I had seen it in an Instagram post and had to have it so I ordered it last week. I love the detail on the pin. I love the hand with the knit tattoo on the fingers and then the hank of yarn on the wrist. I like the needle pointing up at the Fringe Supply Co label.

I was also happy to receive the Manos Del Uruguay yarn in the mail today from Wool Tyme. This yarn is in the colorway Happy and I am so happy I got it in the mail! Now I can begin knitting some more fingerless mittens for a customer. It was fun receiving all this happy mail today.

Manos Del Uruguay yarn and Knit pin from Sea + Lake Co.

I haven't gotten too far on my Wool and the Gang Farrah Billie Jean top because I had to keep frogging it. I think the tension was loose at one point when I joined another ball of yarn, but I will try to tie a knot this time around and see if it makes a difference and helps it stay tight.

I am still reading Wild by Cheryl Strayed and really enjoying it. I am such a slow reader lately, sorry for the repetition. I hope to be starting a new book next week!

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

Thank you for visiting my blog today! What are you working on and reading this week? I hope that you will come back soon!

Have a great day!

Knitting Progress, Crafting Projects on Trend, and Reading On

Hello Friends,

I hope you are doing well. I have been making slow and steady progress on knitting the front piece of the Wool and the Gang Farrah Billie Jean top. I have knitted more of the front piece. I have knitted 11 inches so far on the front piece and need to knit 3.5 inches more before I can begin shaping the armholes. It seems like it will be on the shorter side just looking at it, but the pattern says 22" in length which is fine. I will have to see how it looks when it is completed to know if I should add some length on.

Some crafting trends that have been interesting to me are the punch needle wall art featured in the Crafter's Box. I first saw this on Darling Be Brave's Instagram story and then also followed Crafter's box and love the look of the project. I had never heard of rug hooking before and it makes me think of latch hooking that I once loved to do. The Crafter's Box has partnered with BookHou for their February box and so many people have already been inquiring about getting their hands on a box to get started on this fun and beautiful project. The finished project is beautiful and would look amazing up on the wall.

Punch Needle Wall Art Photo source Crafter's Box

The Another project or type of knitting that has caught my eye is the Fringe Association  Log Cabin Make-Along hosted by Karen Templer. I think this new trend in knitting looks so amazing and has been popping up all over my Instagram feed. I would like to learn more about it and try out a project using this technique. I am planning on buying some yarn to start my own log cabin blanket soon. I love the color combination below with the gray, cream, and black. I might copy this combination for my blanket.

Log Cabin Knitting project Photo Source Fringe Association

Has anyone given either of these two new trends a try? Do you know of any other new trends? I find it so interesting how there are always new fun things to discover within our craft. I am hoping to try out these two new trends this year.

I have finished Stuff Every Vegetarian Should Know by Katherine Mcguire and I really enjoyed it and think it is the perfect little book to refer to and grab when you are cooking or need to refresh yourself on what you should eat to be a healthy vegetarian. I have been vegetarian for four months now (since September 2017) and I have been loving it. I do not really miss meat and I am always discovering new foods and recipes I love. I feel great and have also cut back on dairy more and more. There is always more to learn and discover. I hope that in 2018 I try more vegetarian and vegan recipes, and to keep learning more about the lifestyle.
I am also still reading Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed and I am almost finished. It has been an interesting read and I have been thinking a hiking trip like the one she took would be very tough to do and not everyone could do it that's for sure! I know I couldn't do it on my own. I am looking forward to watching the movie once I am finished reading the book.

Books I am reading this week

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

Thank you for visiting my blog today and reading about my knitting progress, some new trends in crafting projects, and what I am reading.

I hope you have a great day!