Sock and Shoe Mania!

So, if you noticed in my Wordless Wednesday post, I currently have an obsession with knee high socks. I decided that I need to kick it up a notch with my wardrobe. If I look nicer all of the time, that will become the norm. SO, I bought a bunch of knee high socks, and I have been trying to wear skirts when possible, and if I do wear jeans, I wear a button up shirt or sweater. Now, I do have a lot of pretty rockin' t-shirts. But who is to say those can't be paired with a jean skirt and leggings or socks? See, that would really dress up a simple t-shirt. And, in reality, it doesn't take much longer to get dressed, I feel nicer all day, and it's comfy.

Also in my picture post you probably saw a cute little baby shoe! I found this tutorial a while back and have been wanting to make them for a while. So, last night I dove in! They are very easy to make, and probably only take about 45-60 mins for the pair. Plus, the fabric pieces are so small they are the perfect project for scraps. I will probably be going shoe crazy for a little bit....

My Rav-Olympics project is slowly trudging along. I have been spending more time on Ravelry than knitting, so it's really not that far along.  It is a simple knit, but you still have to pay pretty close attention because the yarn is so fine. I have started my double knit cheese head hat, and I am loving it. I have yet to start the colorwork, but it is all on one needle and in the round now, so I feel pretty proud of myself.  I'm hoping to get more done on both of those projects next week... but sewing has been incredibly tempting lately. :) Hope everyone has a great week!

Wordless Wednesday

Quiet Time

I know I have been absent this past week.  Partly because my camera charger is still missing (and I really want to post pictures), partly because I don't have much to say, and partly because I'm lazy.  I was pretty excited to have this weekend off (minus the two hours I spent teaching knitting). It was the first time in a while that I had the weekend off, much less a DAY off! I have been working every day, and it was nice to have some time off when W was home.

Sat I went to the Spinning and Weaving Guild meeting. That was fun. I signed up to do a spinning demo at Fur Rondy, which is super exciting! I want to be more involved in guild activities, and this seemed like the perfect way to jump in! I then went clothes shopping.  I have decided that I need to kick it up a notch with how I dress. I'm tired of wearing jeans and t-shirts every day. I have a ton of nice skirts that I really like, and there is no reason why I shouldn't be wearing them. SO I bought a bunch of knee-high socks and a few nice tops and I'm ready to go!  We then had dinner out at the in-law's house.  That was very fun. They made delicious steak and potatoes... a nice Valentine's Day dinner!

Sun we hung out around the house.  W surprised me with some presents... he said we weren't "doing" V-day, so I was shocked to find three presents on the table when I got up! One was the Michael Buble CD.... I'm a bit obsessed with his music right now, one was Zombieland on Blu-Ray (LOVE that movie!), and lastly the Twilight book... that was more of a joke... overall, I was super impressed! He is pretty amazing. I taught knitting, and then my parents came over for dinner and a movie. Good times.

This week should have more to post about. I work today, but then I have the next two days off.  I'm planning on working and getting some things done in my craft room (which is so clean, it is amazing.) so I will be posting about that.... maybe with some lame iPhone pics. :) Hope everyone had a great weekend! Happy President's Day!

The Kindness of Knitters

I am constantly amazed by the kindness of knitters, both on a large and small scale. It is pretty well known that the Yarn Harlot keeps a tally of all the money that knitters donate to Doctors Without Borders. It was pretty amazing to watch the number climb dramatically after the Haiti earthquake. Plus, a TON of pattern designers have been contributing parts of their profits from the sales of their patterns on Ravelry... it was great to see the sheer number of patterns that were tagged with "help for Haiti".  Recently, a fiber artist and phat fiber contributor, lost her husband. She has a working farm, and I can not begin to imagine the stress that she is under. It has been amazing to watch the fiber community band together for her as well.  There have been fundraising auctions set up here, and her shop is still open here. Members of the phat fiber community are also banding together to knit or crochet squares for a blanket for her. I am always proud to say that I am a Knitter, and actions like this just make me even more proud.

Recently, I personally encountered the kindness of another knitter.  On Saturday I taught a class on needle felting.  It was a simple class, a few hours were spent practicing and stabbing lots of fiber.  It was VERY fun! The ladies were such a fun group, and I had brought all of my phat fiber samples for them to play with, which they LOVED. A few ladies tried to offer me money for my samples, and I told them no... they were getting use out of them and getting them out of my over stuffed craft room.  I went back to clean up after everyone had left to find some money... very nice gesture! Then the next day, one of the ladies came back into the shop for another knitting class. She had brought in some more things she had made the night before (which were beautiful) and a card for me. On my way home, I read the card, which was a wonderful little note about how inspirational and fun the class was... talk about an ego boost! AND it has a $10 gift card to the coffee shop next to the shop where I teach! How sweet! I will definitely be putting that to good use (for juice and food... not much of a coffee drinker, but some mornings I need a bagel, and now I can go grab one!). I was just floored.  How sweet.

So, if you are a Knitter, be proud. We are a good bunch.

25 going on 60

A long time ago I posted about how Josh believed that coming to our house was like going to your Grandma's... I was always knitting, there were quilts everywhere, and we had fruit leather. I thought it was pretty funny. I have always known that my hobbies are not the most typical for someone my age. I do work in a shop where most of the customers are old enough to be my mom. And my job is typically reserved for people who are retired... you know, have had a career, kids, etc., and now just need a little something to do. I have none of those. BUT, think about it... most people wait until they retire to do what they love. I get to do that every day! I think that is pretty amazing.

Today, I did something else that you see a lot of elderly people do, I fell in the shower. I took a bath last night and apparently that made the floor of the tub slick... when I stepped in this morning I slipped, then fell, then had the whole curtain fell on me. Not fun. In fact, I think I bruised my rear end pretty badly... it was killing me all day at work.

I taught a very fun needlefelting class today! The ladies had such a great time! I even decided to make a whole group of needlefelted dinosaurs. I made one body in class and it was amazing. They would be great toys for kids... so, that is a new project for myself.

I hope everyone has a good weekend!

Wordless Wednesday

(And I know I posted earlier, but ignore that... here are the pictures from last week!)

Seriously, I might go down there

If you read often, you will remember my rant about the assembly spending money to figure out if the previous mayor knew about our budget deficit.  You will also remember that spending that money was RIDICULOUS and really got the city nowhere.  So as I was watching the news last night, I almost lost it. The assembly is now trying to decide if they want to spend THIRTY THOUSAND dollars to hire another financial person to look into it. REALLY??!!?! Really. Now, unless they are going to be able to find so much financial misdoing that the city can take our previous mayor to court and earn enough money to make up for the budget gap, the salary of this person, AND the legal fees this will take, WHO CARES. You are wasting more of my money. STOP. The assembly is crying over spilled milk instead of cleaning it up.

The next meeting is in two weeks. If I don't have to work, I'm going to go down there and tell them to get their sh*t together and move on. Maybe in nicer words.... I can calm down in two weeks....

In knitting news, I am taking a double knitting class on the Tapestry cowl (rav link).  I understand double knitting, but had a hard time with colorwork while double knitting.  I think I just need to spend more time with it, but I was not about to cast on all 220 stitches and go for it. Alright, I have to go to work now... I'm subbing today, which means there is a pretty good chance I will get J's hat done, which will make me very happy.