41 days left

Technically there are 43 days left til Christmas. However I need to have all of my gifts done before then. Normally by this time of year I have half of my shopping done and most of the handmade, knitted gifts done. This year- not so much. I've decided that some people who would have received a knitted gift won't be getting one this year. I'll start early for next year ;-)

I haven't even begun to shop. I have been un-inspired by the early arrival of all of the Holiday things showing up in stores WAY TOO SOON! There was stuff out at the beginning of Oct. What ever happened to Christmas and other holiday things hitting the shelves the day after Thanksgiving? And now, all of the big sales are starting early; dampening my spirit further. I've always loved shopping early on Black Friday. For the first time in 5 years I think I will stay home and sleep in.

ok, my rant is done!

on a more positive note, I've begun the stalking and spoiling process for the next round of SOAB. I am very excited and hope my spoilee enjoys all of the goodies I am planning to stuff into their box =)

And dear spoiler, if you are reading this- please don't stress. I'm pretty easy to please. I love getting mail. And a little something that would make me squeal like I won the lottery- Ghiradelli Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel Squares =)

Best.Job.Ever

I am loving my new job; and the best part- I get paid to knit! Ok, so not officially. though i do get to knit during down time; which is a few hours every day lately. I FINALLY finished my Cassidy cardigan & have made it my work sweater since it is freezing cold in the office. Its not the best sewing I've ever done, but it works.

I have begun my holiday knitting and hoping I actually finish some before the holidays arrive. On this years list: slippers, a blanket, mittens & hats for the kids. My reward for finishing is another sweater for me. I have the pattern & the yarn all set & ready to go as incentive to get stuff done.

Fair Entries

I went to the fair today to see how my entries did and to check out the other items entered in my categories as well as the others. I was pleasantly surprised at what I saw!! First, here is the poster explaining the different ribbons:

and now for the results.....................

I received 4 ribbons- one of each color!!! OMG I am so excited right now. Not too bad for my first time entering the fair =)

I am surprised at the item that received the blue ribbon; I whipped those up at the last minute. I'm thrilled that one of my items was considered for the tri-color (best in show) and even more thrilled my first attempt at serious lace received an Honorable Mention ribbon. There were some beautiful items entered in the shawl category. The only item not to receive any ribbons was my felted purse. I'm not upset by it, the competition was outstanding. Here are some photos I took this morning:

The item that won best in show was a stunning shawl:

What a thrill! I am already coming up with ideas for next year =)

Dishcloths and stuff

Here is a picture of a Garterlac Dishcloth- my first one! I really like how it came out. It was a little tricky as first, but once I got the hang of it this thing just flew off the needles. A great way to pass the time while waiting aroung for Jury duty!

I've also started on another dishcloth; this one: Hope's Delight from http://sew-funky.blogspot.com/ I'm doing this in a varigated yarn as well. I'll post a pic later today when its finished.

In other news, I finally got my swapee to spoil for SOAB over at Ravelry. WOOHOO! I've already started stalking and gathering ideas. I'm having a hard time trying to decide what to make. Will have to do some more stalking...darn! LOL!

To my spoiler (if you are reading this :) ) My apologies for not being very chatty in the forums. I find it hard to jump in on a conversation sometimes. Hopefully my ramblings here help! If not, feel free to have a mod ask.

Fingerless mitts are done!!

YEAH! I finished the fingerless mitts and I absolutley LOVE how they turned out! They are comfy and warm and just what I was hoping they would be. Here's a few pictures:

The next projects are going to be making the mate to the socks and starting on a pair of mittens for the hubby.

Catch up time...

I started knitting almost a year ago- last February. Out of nowhere I went out and bought a set of size 8 needles and sat down and taught myself to knit. I have crocheted on & off for almost 15 years- never really making anything more than 2 baby blankets (one is more doll size than baby!) and a few face washcloths. But for whatever reason- one day I decided I was going to learn to knit. When I was younger I would watch my great-grandmother knit in fascination...how did she manage to manipulate two needles into such beautiful things?! I didn't think I could do it as I had deemed it impossible in my mind and stuck with crochet. Looking back, I should have sat down and learned while she was alive to teach me- I was 24 when she died; no excuse. It took about 5 hours and I had the hang of it, all the while thinking "this is sooo much faster than crochet!" Sometimes I think Gram is helping me along :)

Since I have started I've made a bunch of things: A scarf for the hubby, a set of hat & mittens for each of my boys, slipper socks for Adam, two baby hats, a baby cardigan, a pair of socks for me, 2 sachets and a dozen dishcloths! I'll post pictures as soon as I figure that out!

Right now I am working on making seconds... I have 2 different socks started and one fingerless mitt. My plan for the rest of the month is to make the mates for each project. The fingerless mitts will be the first. So now you have some history, a little about the projects I have already finished and the ones that are almost finished!

First post!

This being my first post, I'd like to say "Welcome to my blog!" My intention is to blog about whatever knitting project I am currently working on as well as what is on my mind. A mix of knitting and life!