Friday, November 30, 2018

NaBloPoMo 2018 Day 30

And we have made it through NaBloPoMo 2018!!  30 consecutive days of posting!  YAY!

I continue to keep up with my Advent Scarf. Here is my progress up to the end of today:


The next challenge I am making for myself in the month of December is two fold.

First I will be participating in Vlogmas 2018 where I will post a vlog each and every day from December 1st through December 25th.  I might continue until the end of December, but we shall see.  I will post a vlog on December 1st that will explain what my plans are.  I will film that today and will post it the morning of December 1st as Day 0.  On December 1st I will film all sorts of my activities and will post the video for Day 1 on the morning of December 2nd.  Hope this makes sense!

Second I will be participating in Holidailies 2018 where I will challenge myself to post a blog post each and every day in December!  Hopefully I will manage this as well, although December is lining up to be a busy month! 

Keep posted to see how I do on these challenges!

Thursday, November 29, 2018

NaBloPoMo 2018 Day 29

Second last day of NaBloPoMo!!  I'm going to make it!

Yesterday I managed to continue to keep up with my Advent Scarf and have finished up Day 5 now (and am ready to work on Day 6 over a cup of tea!)  Here is the newest progress picture:


And I spent a bit of time working on my Vanilla Christmas socks last night.  They are getting closer to completion, but still have a little way to go, especially since I have large feet...

I hit my NaKnitMo goal yesterday!!  I have knit 51,286 stitches so far this month!  And I have two days left to go so I will have a few more stitches to add to the total!

It seems that my posts are getting shorter and shorter as the month progresses!  I suppose there is less to chat about when I am here every day!

Wednesday, November 28, 2018

NaBloPoMo 2018 Day 28

Only two more days after today left in my NaBloMoPo challenge!! I think I will make it this year!

Yesterday I managed to keep up with my Advent Scarf and finished Clue #4.  I'll work on Clue #5 this morning over my cup of tea before I head to work.  This evening we are at church so I will work on my Vanilla Christmas socks there.

And I finished the first cuff on my Julenatt Mittens.  The next clue came out this morning but I still have the previous clue to finish.  I suspect I may give these away as the cuff is a drop snug on my hand.  I don't have the right size needles to go up a size either. Oh well.  Here is what my cuff looks like:


Tuesday, November 27, 2018

NaBloPoMo 2018 Day 27

Hello everyone! Another day of working and trying to squeeze a bit of crafting in!

So far today I have managed to finish the daily clue for the Advent Scarf and I will be spending some time later today working on my Julenatt Mittens.  I am hoping to finish the first two clues on at least one mitten before Clue #3 comes out tomorrow morning...  I am not sure if I will make it or not.  We are hoping to go watch the movie Ralph Breaks the Internet this evening so that will use up some of my knitting time.

Here is what my scarf looks like now at the end of day 4:


I also thought I should give you an update on my NoKnitMo challenge - my goal is to knit 50000 stitches in the month of November.  So far I have knit 46148 stitches.  It looks promising that I will hit my goal!!

Until tomorrow!

Monday, November 26, 2018

NaBloPoMo 2018 Day 26

Almost done with NaBloPoMo 2018!  4 more days to go! 

Today's entry is short and sweet and very late!  It was back to work today...  We were out the door fairly early and are finally back home almost 12 hours later.  Not much on the crafting front was accomplished today.  All my productivity from last week was not my "normal" - it was the benefit of having time off work where I could sit at home knitting to my heart's content!  But I am back to the real world again.  Yesterday I worked on my Vanilla Christmas socks and managed to add about 5 more rounds to both feet.  I also finished up the second clue on my Advent Scarf.  Here is what the scarf looks like before I started on Clue #3 this morning (and only completed three rows this morning - I will be knitting this evening for a while!)


Sunday, November 25, 2018

Eighth Year of Projects - Week 22


Today is Week 22 of the Eighth Year of Projects, NaBloPoMo Day 25, and Day 11 of my self imposed WIP-it Down Week!  

I have had a very productive week!  I have worked on each and every WIP over the past eleven days of my WIP-it Down Week and I am sad that the week is nearly over (and that I need to go back to work on Monday).  Oh well, the Christmas break is not far off now!

My Sock Scrap-ghan looks the same as it did last week so I won't bother showing an update picture :)

I made progress on my Vanilla Christmas socks - I have finished the gusset decreasing and am moving down the foot now.  Here is where I am:


I made progress on my new sock design too.  I had the cuff done some time ago and now have added two repeats on the leg.  I am considering whether to add one more repeat or not.  I am leaning towards adding it...  Here is where I am now:


I worked on my Rowe Cardigan and have finished the ribbing on both the front pieces.  I am knitting these two at a time to make sure they are both nice and even.  Next up I need to get moving up the cable portion! 


And I worked on my Texture Time Shawl.  I am still a long way from being close to finished this.  I am not even half way done yet, but I am still enjoying the knit!


I also cast on two new projects this week.  I know - I was on a WIP-it Down mission, but...

New cast on number 1 - the Advent 2018 Scarf.  I knit the initial ribbing and the daily clues began to appear yesterday.  I am working on Day 2 right now.  here is a picture of what it looked like at the end of Day 1:  (the markers will show the end of each daily clue)


New cast on number 2 - the Julenatt Mittens (a Mystery Mitten KAL by Skeindeer Knits).  The first clue for these came out on November 21st and the second clue came out yesterday.  I am still working on Clue #1 on mitten #1.  Here is what they look like now:


And finally I posted my newest podcast early this morning.  


Over the next week I plan to try to keep up with my two new KALs.  I also have bought some fabric and I want to try to sew myself a couple of project bags!  Hopefully I will have those to show you next week!

Until then...  

Saturday, November 24, 2018

WIP-it Down Week Thanksgiving 2018 - Day 10


Well today is the second last day of my WIP-it Down week...  I plan to spend the day working on a couple projects.  I finished the first clue on my Advent 2018 scarf (I had done the ribbing the other day and the regular clues began this morning).  Here is what the scarf looks like after today (each marker will show the end of each clue):


And next up is to work on my Julenatt Mittens.  I hope to get the cuffs done or to complete the second clue on one sock today. I have yet to decide if I am going to do one sock first or do them two at a time in tandem.  The second clue was released this morning and I have done 8 rounds on the first clue on the first sock.  Maybe I will catch up today! 

And I filmed and edited my podcast this morning - I will upload it later today once it finishes exporting to my hard drive. 

I plan to go and watch a movie with the hubby - and knit.  It is a rainy, dreary day here!  Until tomorrow!

Friday, November 23, 2018

WIP-it Down Week Thanksgiving 2018 - Day 9


Back for another day!  Yesterday we had a yummy Thanksgiving meal and had a wonderful, lazy day.  Not a very colorful meal, but tasty!


I spent my spare time getting a goodly amount of knitting done on my Texture Time Shawl and made some decent progress.  I am still a long way from done, but am still happily knitting away at it.  Here is what I did yesterday (progress is from the blue marker):


This morning we have been out already and went to visit a friend who is in the hospital.  Hopefully she will be going home tomorrow!  The we went to Walmart and I stocked up on some fabric to try to sew myself a couple projects bags.  Here is the loot I bought: 



I plan to work on the bags tomorrow.  This afternoon and evening I think I will either continue with my Texture Time Shawl or I will work on my Rowe Cardigan.  I am leaning towards my Shawl...  Check back tomorrow to see what I decided on!

Thursday, November 22, 2018

WIP-it Down Week Thanksgiving 2018 - Day 8


Happy Thanksgiving to all of you in the United States who happen to be reading this today!  I plan to spend my day cooking (nothing too strenuous!), eating, and knitting!  Sounds like a good day to me!

Yesterday I worked on my Vanilla Christmas Socks and added ten more rounds to both feet.  Slowly making some progress! 


And I cast on the Julenatt Mittens by Skeindeer Knits (her current mystery mitten pattern).  Clue #1 came out yesterday and I got a little bit done on that (only eight rounds on the first mitten).  This clue has us doing the cuff and I like the way it is looking!  Here is the little bit I have done (it is so small that I need to hold on to it to photograph the poor thing!):


Today I plan to work on my Texture Time Shawl.  I am hoping to finish Clue #3 on the first half of the shawl today - we shall see if I manage that!


Hubby and I are spending a quiet Thanksgiving Day together.  We got ourselves a small turkey (8 pounds) and I'll get that into the oven a bit later.  We also plan on having corn, mashed potatoes, and stuffing. It won't be very colorful, but it will be delicious!! 

Until tomorrow my friends ♥

Wednesday, November 21, 2018

WIP-it Down Week Thanksgiving 2018 - Day 7


Here we are back for another day on my self-imposed WIP-it Down Week! 

Yesterday I got a goodly amount done, plus we went out and did some shopping too.  I finished the ribbing section on the two front panels of my Rowe Cardigan.  Here is what it looks like now:


And I cast on the ribbing portion of my Advent 2018 Scarf.  I think my hand dyed yarn will work out just fine!  I am excited for the new clues to begin coming out every day later this week!  Here is what the ribbing looks like:


We also went out and did some shopping yesterday.  I found a few things - a couple knitting books, some little Christmas decoration things (lights - which will probably make an appearance in my next podcast), and a laminator (found this at my local Goodwill for $4 - I have no sheets for it so I will have to wait to test it out!)

I am not 100% sure what today holds!  I am thinking I may do some sewing and work on a project bag - I just need to decide on what pattern to try!  I suspect it will be a drawstring bag with a boxed bottom.  And the first clue for Skeindeer's Mystery Mittens (Julenatt) came out earlier this morning.  I imagine I will cast those on today as well.  The second clue comes out on the weekend.  I think I may be missing the point of my WIP-it Down Week!!  hehe  Here is my yarn selection for the mystery mittens:


Tuesday, November 20, 2018

WIP-it Down Week Thanksgiving 2018 - Day 6


Welcome to another day of my self imposed WIP-it Down Week! 

Yesterday I managed to get a goodly amount done on my new sock design!  I am nearly finished the leg!  I am contemplating where the best round is to transition into the heel flap and I may have another 4 rounds to go before I am ready for that.  I'll mull it over until it is time to pick up the socks again for their second day during WIP-it Down Week!  Anyway, here is what it looks like now:


Today I plan to work on the two front pieces on my Rowe Cardigan.  I may also cast on and do the ribbing on my Advent 2018 scarf but I will see.  If I finish the ribbing early then I will get moving on the scarf and will come back to the Rowe Cardigan after I have finished the ribbing. Or at least that is my plan so far this morning!  The hubby and I may run out to do a bit of shopping today also.  If we do that it will eat into my knitting time...  What a tough life :)


Monday, November 19, 2018

WIP-it Down Week Thanksgiving 2018 - Day 5


Back for another WIP-it Down day!  Today I am going to spend all my knitting time working on my sock design.  When I last worked on this I left off after four rounds beyond the cuff - so basically not much was done...  Here is a picture of where I was at the beginning of the day - here is hoping for a decent amount of progress!


Yesterday I got a good amount of work done on my Vanilla Christmas socks.  I picked up all the gusset stitches on both socks and managed to get all the way to the end of all the gusset decreases before I turned in for the day.  Not to continue along the feet, although with a size ten foot that takes a little while...  Here is what the socks look like now:


Until tomorrow everyone!!  I think tomorrow has my Rowe Cardigan as my project of the day!  Looking forward to working on the two front panels!

Sunday, November 18, 2018

Eighth Year of Projects - Week 21


Today is Week 21 of the Eigth Year of Projects, NaBloPoMo Day 18, and Day 4 of my self imposed WIP-it Down Week!  Whew!!

I have had a good week crafting even though I had quite a few work commitments interfering with my crafting time!  My WIP-it Down Week began on Thursday and I have been able to give some attention to a couple languishing projects!  

I finished the sleeves on my Rowe Cardigan!  I am happy with that and now am ready to begin the two front panels.  This sweater is getting closer to completion! YAY!!  My progress this week on the sleeves is from the green marker:



I shook the dust off my Sock Scrap-ghan too!  I tucked in some tails, I sorted all my sock yarn balls into two baskets - already used in the blankie and still need to be used in the blankie - and I added three little squares.  Hopefully I can add several more squares later in the upcoming week when I devote a second day to this project. The red, brown, and blue squares are the new ones:



And I have spent some time on my Vanilla Christmas Socks.  I am now ready to pick up and do the gussets.  I usually gauge myself as around half way through a pair of socks once I begin the gusset decreasing!  My progress from last week is from the blue marker:



I also did a couple rows on Texture Time, but will wait and show a picture next week as it looks very much the same as last week!


And finally I dyed three skeins of yarn to begin the Advent Scarf 2018 pattern!  I will cake up the yarn and cast on the ribbing this week sometime this week. The regular clues will begin to appear daily on November 24th.



I also posted Episode 10 of my podcast last night!



Saturday, November 17, 2018

WIP-it Down Week Thanksgiving 2018 - Day 3


Oops!  I am quite late today!!  It has been a very busy day here!  This morning I taped my podcast and it is currently uploading to YouTube as I type this up (it will be live in about an hour or so).  I spent some time also editing the video this morning so that it could have plenty of time for exporting while I was out in the afternoon.  In the afternoon we (or church) participated in the local Christmas Parade here in town.  We met up and got out little float into position about noon and the parade began at 2pm.  It took us nearly an hour to walk from where we were initially stationed to the beginning of the parade...  Then another 45 minutes to walk to the end of the parade route...  I got some exercise today but not much knitting.  Oh well.

Yesterday I got a goodly bit of work done on my Sock Scrap-ghan.  I managed to tuck in a bunch of tails, I sorted out all my little sock yarn balls into used and unused (what has already been added into my blankie and what still needs to be added), and I added a whopping two little squares to the thing.  I was hoping to have done more, but it is progress and I am happy with that! 

Today I had hoped to work on my Texture Time Shawl, but it is already 7:40pm and I am bushed.  I think I may just call today a bust knitting wise! 

Last night we went to see the tree lighting thingy in town and it was fun. The tree in town looks wonderful!  Here is a picture of me and the hubby (I'm wearing my Sockhead Slouch Hat):


Until tomorrow!


Friday, November 16, 2018

WIP-it Down Week Thanksgiving 2018 - Day 2


Good morning and welcome to Day 2 of my WIP-it Down week.  Yesterday we had a snow day and the university was closed, but I was already at home with no plans to go anywhere!  I have seen reports that we got between seven and nine inches of snow!  It is expected to reach 40F today so much of it will melt! 

So I had plenty of time to knit yesterday and I also spent some time in the kitchen.  I finished the sleeves on my Rowe Cardigan!  I had also hoped to start the two front panels, but I didn't get that far.  I'll tackle those pieces on my second day I work on Rowe.  Here is a picture of the completed sleeves (my progress is from the green marker to the top of both sleeves - working them two at a time):


And I show on my vlog what I was doing in the kitchen and also show a bit of the snowfall. 


Today I plan to work on my Sock Scrap-Ghan.  First I need to count how many squares I actually have done, second I need to tuck in a few ends (I try to keep up with this so it is not too daunting!), thirdly I want to go through all my little sock scraps and see which ones have not appeared in the blanket yet, and fourthly I need to get knitting on this again!!  Here is what the blanket looks like now:


Check back tomorrow to see how much progress I made!!

Thursday, November 15, 2018

WIP-it Down Week Thanksgiving 2018 - Day 1




Today is NaBloPoMo Day 15 and Day 1 of my self imposed WIP-it Down Week.

I have a little over a week off work for the Thanksgiving break and I plan to get caught up on some crafting projects.  Each day I plan to spend a goodly amount of time working on a specific project with the goal of creating some finished objects - or at least the goal of showing all my projects some love!  
Each day I will post what my plans are and will post a "before" picture.  Then the next day I will also post the "after" picture to show what progress I made.  I will also be vlogging about the process.

In general, my schedule will be (but will be subject to change along the way):

1. Thursday - Rowe Cardigan 
2. Friday - Sock Scrap-ghan
3. Saturday - Texture Time
4. Sunday - Christmas Socks
5. Monday - Rowe Cardigan
6. Tuesday - Sock Design
7. Wednesday - Sock Scrap-ghan
8. Thursday - Sock Design
9. Friday - Sewing a project bag
10. Saturday - Texture Time
11. Sunday - Christmas Socks and Advent Scarf (the first clue comes out this day)
12. Monday - back to work...

Today is Day 1!!  I am ready to work on my Rowe Cardigan today!  I am getting close to completing the sleeves and hope to get them done today.  Being able to begin moving along to the two front pieces of the cardigan would be wonderful and I hope to get onto the ribbing of that today.  Here is what the sleeves look like at the beginning of the day and tomorrow I will post a picture of where I finished off by the end of the day:



I will also be vlogging about my WIP-it Down week.  Earlier this morning I posted my introduction video.  Today I will document my activities for Day 1 and will post that in the morning on Day 2.  So basically I will be one day behind in posting!  Here is a link to the Intro video on YouTube.



Wednesday, November 14, 2018

NaBloPoMo 2018 Day 14

Hello!!  I had another busy day at work and today looks about the same...  Tomorrow I begin my Thanksgiving break and will be home with plenty of crafting time until we go back to school on Monday November 26th!  I plan to do a lot of knitting this upcoming 11 or 12 days!!  Plus there is a winter storm that is expected here tomorrow - a perfect excuse to stay home and indoors!  YAY!

So I did no knitting yesterday, but I did get my editing done on my WIP-it Down week intro vlog (which I will post tomorrow morning) and I dyed some yarn for the Advent Scarf that I am going to be making.  The yarn is drying now and I hope to get it caked up tomorrow.  Then I can cast on and get the preliminary clue knit up (the ribbing).  The remaining clues will begin coming out every night beginning on November 24th and will continue until Christmas Eve.  I am excited to work on this project!!  Here is what my yarn looks like:


I am hoping it is not too tonal for the design.  Time will tell.  If it is too tonal, I will redye it and even that out.  We shall see if it is necessary or not!

Until tomorrow!

Tuesday, November 13, 2018

NaBloPoMo 2018 Day 13

Good morning!  Not much new around here.  I was at work most of the day yesterday, then we went out and found some groceries, and in the evening we went and saw the movie "The Grinch".  It was a fun day, but not much crafting was accomplished.  I did a few rows on the heel flaps of my Christmas socks in the morning and that was about it for knitting...  Oh well, this evening I hope to get some more done!

Only two days left at work and I am ready to begin my Thanksgiving break (a few days early).  There are no classes next week at school, but since my classes are on Monday and Wednesdays I plan to begin my break on Thursday!  I plan to do another WIP-it Down Week as I have done in previous years.  I plan to lay out all my WIPs (five of them) and will plan out a focus project each and every day.  On each day I plan to spend all my crafting time working on a specific project.  This way I "force" myself to spend some time on my languishing projects and (hopefully) make some progress on everything!  I shall be posting daily updates and I plan to vlog about it too.

Take care everyone and I'll see you tomorrow!

Monday, November 12, 2018

NaBloPoMo 2018 Day 12

Here we are at over 25% of the way through NaBloPoMo!!  I think I might make it through the month this year! YAY!!

Yesterday was spent mostly relaxing and doing some knitting on my Vanilla Christmas socks.  I have finished up the leg and am now working down the heel flap.  Hopefully in a few weeks I will have a completed pair of socks!  My progress yesterday is from the blue marker down:


Time to go and get organized to head to work for the day!  Almost Thanksgiving Break here and I am excited for my WIP-it Down Week!!  And I am excited for some down time to relax and recharge my batteries - it has been a busy autumn...

I posted the first half of my haul video from Friday this morning.  I'll post the second half (the Goodwill portion) tomorrow morning.  Check it out if you are interested!!


Until tomorrow!

Sunday, November 11, 2018

Eighth Year of Projects - Week 20


Hello and welcome to my latest Year of Projects update!  Week 20!!  Today also marks posting for each of the first 11 days in November so I am doing well in reaching my NaBloPoMo goal of posting each and every day in November!  This week has been relatively productive for me although I have only focused on two projects.

My Texture Time Shawl has seen quite a bit of love this past week.  I am now working on Clue #3 of the first half of the shawl and am about one third to one half done with the clue.  I am looking forward to completing the shawl and being able to wear it, but that is still quite a way off.  My progress this past week is from the blue marker:


And I made some progress on my Vanilla Christmas Socks too.  I added a couple inches and hope to soon be ready to begin the heel flaps.  My progress is from the blue marker:


My progress on NaKnitMo is going well too.  In order to hit my target of 50,000 stitches in the month of November I need to average 1,666.67 stitches per day.  At the end of Day 10 I should have knit a total of 16,666.7 stitches and I have actually knit 17,894 stitches so I am a bit ahead of schedule!  YAY! 

I posted my latest podcast early this morning.  It is a bit rambling but I had fun talking to everyone about all sorts of upcoming plans I have!


I hope everyone has an amazing week!!

Saturday, November 10, 2018

NaBloPoMo 2018 Day 10

I'm running late today!!  Oh well...  I got my podcast recorded to go up later tonight or overnight - depending on when the file finishes exporting from my editing program.  This is a slow process!!  Oh well, hopefully I'll get it onto YouTube before I hit the hay tonight.

We had such a fun shopping day yesterday!  I am going to be recording all that I bought and will post the video in a few days.  But, I will add in a picture of my loot here:


I didn't buy too much and struck out in a few stores, but we did check out a new (to us) Goodwill that was really nice!!  I found a few goodies there! 

I have not had a chance to do any crafting yet today!  I will have to remedy that and get some knitting done this evening! 

Take care everyone and I'll see you tomorrow!

Friday, November 9, 2018

NaBloPoMo 2018 Day 9


Good morning and welcome to Day 9 of NaBloPoMo!!  Almost a third of the way through the month!!

I had a productive day yesterday with both work and knitting!  I had four one hour online educational sessions to watch/listen to and was able to happily knit away on my Texture Time Shawl throughout!  I made some decent progress on the shawl, although I still have a long way to go until it is complete!  I am done up to the end of row 58 of 154 on the first half of Clue #3.  Anyway. here is a picture of my progress yesterday (from the blue marker forward):


Today we are heading out to do some shopping and I will tell you all about it tomorrow.  We are hitting Hobby Lobby, Joann's, and Michaels.  We also plan to stop at two different Goodwill stores - one of which I have never been to so I am excited!  Wish me luck in finding all sorts of nicely priced treasures!!

I am keeping up the pace for meeting my NaKnitMo target!  So far in November I have knit a total of 17,016 stitches and I need 13,333.36 to be on track to completing 50,000 stitches in November.  So far so good!!

Until tomorrow - make it a great day!!

Thursday, November 8, 2018

NaBloPoMo 2018 Day 8


Back for another day!  One week is done in NaBloPoMo already!!  I managed to get a bit of work done on both my Christmas socks and my Texture Time Shawl yesterday.

Texture Time sees another few rows done on Clue #3 (from the blue marker onwards):


And my Christmas socks saw some progress as well (from the pink marker onwards):


Texture Time has a total of five clues.  The first clue is the center back portion and clues 2 through 4 are done on each side of the center piece fanning out to either side.  Clue five is an optional edging which I suspect I will include.  I have completed clue one, have done clue two on one side, and am working on clue three on the same side.  I will complete clue four on the first side next and then I will go back and do clue two through four on the other side.  Then I will do the edging (clue five).  Hope this makes sense :)

Today I have several online educational sessions so I will be able to happily knit through those - four hours of knitting time!  YAY!!  Let's see how far I get through the remainder of clue three on the first side!