WIP Wednesday - Err Thursday? #2

Hello again, don't you just love the start of June?  I do.  I may not be a fan of the heat and humidity but early June is one of the best times of the year.  School is getting out, summer plans are being made and the season just brings a lovely energy to the community.

The temperature in early June is warm but not oppressive.  The nights are cool or as my mom would say "Good sleeping weather."  Plus the flowers are starting to bloom and perfume the air.

My favorite smell is honeysuckle that grows wild along some roads.  Particularly on the way home from my dad's house.  There is a stretch where the hillside is just full of the flowers and the air just smells sweet and clean.

It's those smells this morning on my way to work that reminded me that I should enjoy the weather before it gets too hot or too busy during the summer.

Speaking of busy, yesterday came and went and I forgot to take pictures so this post is a bit later than I would like but I wanted to update everyone on my progress.

Candy Skein Leftie

Lucky Shawl?

So it is with a frustrated heart that I update you all on the Penguins.  You may have noticed my series of playoff recap posts.  The Pens have made it deep into the playoffs and this round decides who goes on to the play for the Stanley Cup.  It is with a sad heart that I report to you that my beloved Pens are down 3 games in the best of 7 series.  The game tomorrow faces elimination and a sweep.  I am so distraught.

During the first game, I did my pregame rituals.  I got my knitting out, the shirt on the game on the ipad and started to watch.  It was an epic fail.  The next game not much better.  Last night, double overtime and a loss.  I don't know what else I can do but I keep working on the shawl to hope the good vibes help the team make an epic comeback.

Justice League Filler Squares

Just a square but it's going in an epic blanket

Before the round started, I wanted to work on something but didn't want to finish the Leftie too quickly so I started another filler square for my Justice League Blanket.  These blocks are fairly easy and mindless stockinette that can be taken anywhere.  The image above shows the 40 rows I have so far and I should get the rest done tonight at knit night.

Juego Sin Fin en el Verano (Endless Juego in Summer)

I ended up ripping this project out.  I just couldn't justify the time to make the shawl when I wasn't excited about doing the shawl or even wearing the shawl.  I learned a lot about using beads, reading charts and there are some aspects that were worth the time I took on the piece.  Instead I am going to use the yarn to make Lunar Tide.  It has a similar cable cast off that I can add beads too like the Juego and still have something that excites me and that I would wear.

Hue Shift Afghan

The latest addition to the afghan

Glamour Shot :)

I didn't work on this blanket but I did finally get some new pictures to show you.  Enjoy :)

Anyway, that was my week.  Hope yours is going well.

#letsgopens

For other WIPs check out Tami's Amis and Frontier Dreams

<3 Heather

WIP Wednesday - Superheroes

I have been hard at work this week and weekend.  I was off from work last Friday (and the rest of the weekend) and mostly spent the day doing laundry, reading and knitting.  I got all of my laundry washed and dried but I still have baskets of clothes to fold and hang.  I hate that step.

Since most of my weekend was spent knitting here is my update:

Candy Skein Leftie

Lucky Shawl at Primanti Bros for the Pens/Sens Game 5

The shawl was out and in progress during Wednesday and Friday's games.  As soon as the knitting bag was opened, they scored.  I know it sounds crazy but us superstitious fans must do their part too.

Since I am in hockey withdrawal until Saturday (when the Pens take on the Bruins in the Eastern Conference Finals) I decided to save the lucky shawl until the new series starts.  Those are going to be nail biters that will need the lucky shawl.

Juego Sin Fin en el Verano (Endless Juego in Summer)

I did another section of Clue Two of my Juego.  Now that all of the clues are out, the shawl looks really nice completed though I wonder where I will ever wear this shawl.  It's really not to my taste.  Perhaps I will give it away to my grandmother when it's done.

Justice League Filler Squares

Just a Blue Square

Since I was set aside my Leftie until the next series, I decided to work on the filler square that has been in progress since December (oops!).  This was just a plain blue square of 60X60 stitches but they are very important for the Justice League Blanket I have planned.  As of right now, I have the Red, Orange and Blue Squares complete.

Instead of jumping straight into another solid square I started to look at my plans and decided to put some squares together and see how the join would work.

A little bit of progress really motivates you

Once I started to weave in the seams I became really pleased with the result.  This method as shown in the video above does not show the join and it just looks like I switched yarns.  There is a bit of a ridge on the back but I am going to put a back on the blanket to hide all of the yarn tails and seams.

When this was done, I decided to start and ultimately finished another super hero square which I will show on Friday.  Now all that's left of this column is one solid green square.

Anyway, that was my week.  Hope yours is going well.

#letsgopens

For other WIPs check out Tami's Amis and Frontier Dreams

<3 Heather

WIP Wednesday - Beautiful and Bright

I often think of my blog on my way to work on Wednesdays.  As I drive across a bridge, the colors often inspire what I start my post about.  Today, the colors were just so vivid.  The trees are finally at their greenest and the pale blue sky just made the color stand out.  The bright orange of the construction sign contrasted with the blue steel of the bridge and the red car in front of me.

Anyway, these colors are great examples of why I love colorful projects.  I love using the rainbow of colors at my fingertips to make something beautiful and bright.

Candy Skein Leftie

Let's Go Pens!

Well my lucky Leftie got a bit larger this week and the Pittsburgh Penguins advanced to a 2-1 lead over the Ottawa Senators.  I did knit on it during the third game but with a minute left I put it away because I thought we were going to win.  Clearly it needs to be out and in progress during the entire game.

Juicy Hitchhiker

Pretty Pink and Purple Hitchhiker

So I have mentioned this shawl when talking about Tropical Ginger Hitchhiker but I haven't had a chance to get a good picture or much work on it.  Thankfully, I had a lot of time yesterday where I worked on at the Election Polls.  We didn't have a great turn out for our local primary but I had 15 hours where I had to occupy myself and reading and knitting were my favorite options.  I needed something easy that could be picked up and put down and this shawl fits those requirements.  I also worked on a solid Justice League Square as well.

There was a part of me that wanted to finish the other hitchhiker but it is still benched.  Honestly it had better be late June before that thing is worked on again.  (read: Stanley Cup Finals are in the middle of June)


Juego Sin Fin en el Verano (Endless Juego in Summer)

I am working on the Juego Knit-A-Long with SpaceCadetCreations in Celeste base.  The colors are Endless Summer and Burnt Clay.  The Endless Summer was a Yarn Alliance exclusive from last September.  I love the green blue and orange that is weaving it's way around clue one and clue two is starting to grow on me.  I wasn't too keen on the clue at first but seeing the later clues has enabled me to keep working on it.  The burnt clay is really lovely and I just love squishing the ball I wound.

I have kept my swift and yarn winder in my car as well as my Maryland yarn to avoid the temptation to start all the projects but I really need to bring it in soon.  Anyway, I put two large Pens tumblers on the floor and stretched the yarn around it to wind the ball for this project.  It worked fairly well.  I tried it again for Leftie and it was a bit messy (Huge honking knots)!

Anyway, that was my week.  Hope yours is going well.

#letsgopens

For other WIPs check out Tami's Amis and Frontier Dreams

<3 Heather

Cozy Cone Dreams

As a reminder, there is a giveaway going on so check out my Blogiversary Post for details.  Remember, the answers are in the blog so check out my old posts for the answers to the clues :)

Honestly it has been a busy couple of weeks.  I have had a couple blogs that I wanted to get too but time got away from me.

Sunny California!  - California Adventures!

I had a trip planned between Christmas and New Years to Anaheim California.  I mentioned earlier in December my drama with my flights. Since that point, the flight situation got a bit interesting.

The original plan was for my Dad to take me to the airport, it snowed on the 26th of December.  We got about 6 inches of snow rapidly overnight and Dad is not a fan of driving in the snow.  We were going to maybe use my car since it has all wheel drive, but we panicked half way to the airport and he jumped out to take a bus back to the house.  I continued on and drove myself to the airport.

Image from my Parking Spot at the Airport

Once checked in, and through security the rest of the evening went as planned.  The flight out was uneventful, though I was by the latrine the whole time.  I will leave that experience to your imagination.

Me Trying to Find Some of the Students

Anyway, the conference was good.  I had 4 students from the chapters I support to keep an eye on and they were all great girls.  I think they had a good time and were able to take a ton of information back to their chapter.

Overall, the first 2 days were workshops for the students and alumni the the last 2 days were the legislation meeting.  In between, there was one night that was less regimented and we went to Disney's California Adventures.

California Adventures

We didn't get to ride to much only the Merry Go Round but it was nice to walk around.  We got Cozy Cone Drinks from Carsland too!

Nothing like drinking from a traffic cone.  :)

And we caught the Pixar Parade!

Who doesn't love Roz!

After Disney, the legislation dictated the rest of the time in California.  I knit on the floor to keep myself occupied and got 1.5 Justice League Filler Squares done.  Nice and easy knitting while listening to debate.

I am on the far left, knitting away.  Notice I am not the only one knitting.

So we ended with the banquet and I flew home on December 31st.  I got an Economy Plus seat for the main trip to Chicago which was nice and a half empty flight home with no one else in my row.  All in all a good trip.

Now for a small amount of bad news, while in Anaheim my Grandfather passed away.  He was 86 and just didn't recover from a procedure to remove fluid from his lung due to his congestive heart failure.  He passed away peacefully and we buried him on 1/3/2013.  While I am mourning his loss, I know he is at peace.

Sorry for the sad news but I wanted to catch up and share my adventures in California.  I had originally intended to meet up with Tami from Tami's Amis Blog (where I link up on WIP Wednesday and FO Friday) but she was sick with the flu.  Maybe next time.

<3 Heather

WIP Wednesday - Happy Halloween!

Hello all, it has been a while since I blogged.  This has been a hectic month between busy at work, crashed hard drives, and family drama I just haven't had be able to fit blogging in.

I hope that those of you who were affected by Sandy are safe and the waters are receding   Speaking of Sandy, we have just gotten a ton of rain and the rivers and streams are flooding but no where near the levels that NY and NJ are facing.  As a result though, they have moved trick or treating to Saturday which is my Dad's birthday. We have plans to go to the casino for an American Cancer Society fundraiser and I get to meet my bestie's new boyfriend.

Anyway, between now and then is All Soul's Day and there is a service at church that will honor those who have passed away between the last All Soul's Day and this one, which includes my mother.  Please keep us in your thoughts because it's going to be a hard day.

But in the meantime of all of these goings on I have made some progress in my knitting that I would like to show you.

STV Spiffy Iffy Peresphone's Return! Socks

I have heels!

Well I am making good progress on the socks.  I love the pattern and doing socks 2 at a time is great because I know when I get to the toe the pair will be finished.  Anyway, I plan on getting the heel flap, turn and gusset done by the end of the week. The it's a mad dash to election day to get the foot finished.

Shapely Boyfriend

Raglan Cardi!

I know it may not look like much bu this is a top down raglan cardigan.  If you recall, this used to be my Karina Vest that I blogged about earlier in the year. I really was not feeling the pattern and ripped it out and started this cardigan.  I will need more yarn but I will cross that bridge when I get to it.  However, I am so amazed at how the leaning increases have been able to produce.  There is some serious Hogwarts magic that occurs when you knit.

I have to admit, that when I think about the name, the voice in my head sounds like Long Duck Dong from Sixteen Candles....Oh Shapely Boyfriend!!!!!

Justice League Filler Squares

Orange you glad I didn't say Banana?

So I am working on making a blanket with 6 Justice League Characters as an homage to an episode of Big Bang Theory.  I have Superman, Green Lantern, and Aquaman done but needed a mindless project for a car trip.  So I started on a filler square.  This one is half way done but I should be able to finish it soon.

Hue Shift Afghan

Two Little Blocks

I couldn't help but start this project.  I had some stylecraft stashed and  matched up the colors to the kit as best as possible and started.  Unfortunately, my gauge was wrong and I dropped a stitch so I decided to count this as a swatch and then restart the blocks on 11/1/2012 for the next round of nerd wars.  This blanket is made in 4 sections and if I make one square a day I can get a section done before the end of the round.  :)

Hue Shift Afghan from Knit Picks

So that is what's going on in my neck of the woods, how about you?

For other WIPs check out Tami's Amis and Frontier Dreams   

<3 Heather