WIP Wednesday - Mitts and Lights

Hello again!  Welcome to December and all of the craziness of the upcoming holiday season.  I had a lovely Thanksgiving and then did some serious shopping the rest of the weekend.  I fell hard at Candy Skein and bought enough yarn for a sweater.  Now that I finished my cardigan, I want to knit all the sweaters!

Anyway, I have been listening to Christmas carols non stop and thinking about what I am going to get for my family and friends.  I also have plans to get some shortbread made as gifts for my swap partners.  Oh the lists keep on growing!

Ginger Ale Podsters

One down, One to go

I was clearly productive in the time off of work during the holidays.  I went from one cuff to a 1.5 completed mitts.  I have since weaved all of the ends in on the left mitt and started the fingers for the right mitt.  I hope to get the right one done tonight because I still have a hat to make for a gift.  

One thing I can say is that, while I like the finished result, this pattern is riddled with mistakes and some issues.  I followed the size small directions so far an had to make some modifications, thankfully I get the general construction and was able to fix some things.

Rigging Up the Color Affection

Pretty Colored Lights!

I have had a Color Affection on my to do list for ages but hadn't found anything that inspired me to make the shawl.  Now if your a frequent visitor her at the musings, then you know I like me a garter shawl.  Anyway, I was inspired by Candy Affection by Maria of Kiwiria Knits and I found this lovely yarn at the Pittsburgh Indie Knit and Spin Festival.  When I saw the sparkily multicolored yarn from Fibernymph Dye Works I know it had to be a shawl. 

So I picked a lovely grey and went home to check out my stash for the third color.  I had a lovely teal blue in Shalimar Yarns Breathless and knew I found my set of colors.

So as soon as December rolled around I got my needles moving and started this shawl.  I am really pleased so far but I can't wait for the colors to start to blend and meld together.  But the stripy pattern is pretty awesome too!

So that's all for this week.

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

Check out my new meme Movie Madness Monday

<3 Heather

It's My Blogiversary!

Hello all, I didn't mean to have an extended hiatus but this Holidays were a busy 2 weeks.  In the coming days I plan on catching up and finishing out the blog posts I had planned for December.

One year ago today, I took the plunge and started this blog.  I really had no idea what tone it was going to take but I wanted to start something.  I was still reeling from losing my mother and just wanted something positive in my life.

So with all new things, I posted a lot, trying to find my voice and what this blog was going to become.  As time passed, I knew the yarn updates were going to probably drive the blog but was surprised at how much of my life I shared.

As the seasons changed I reflected on life and the world, I reflected on my mother and family and just became thankful for finding myself.

You all were a salvation in that you were interested in me and drove me to keep writing.  To tell stories of my family, my mom and my weekends and everything in between.

So in honor of my 1 year blog anniversary I have a quest for you to complete for a chance to win the giveaway.

But what is in this giveaway?

1 Skein of Madelinetosh Sock Yarn in Magenta

 I would have guessed a berry red but it's purple

5 Stitch markers of your color choice that I make

These are examples

And a pattern of your choice from Ravelry as a gift ($6.00 Max)

So here is the quest, by completing each step you will get an entry for the giveaway.

• one entry for commenting on this post
• one entry if you are a follower of my blog
• one entry if you answer, "Who is the blog named after?" in email or Rav message
• two entries if you can answer, "What did I bake the most of and what type were they?" in email or Rav message
• two entries if you can answer, "What is my favorite sport and team?" in email or Rav message (hint: they just came off of strike)
• finally three entries if you can answer, "What are the names of the dogs in my life?" in email or Rav message

The contest will go through February 6th where I will draw a winner!

Good luck!

<3 Heather

As a reminder, here is my email and Rav ID

Email: amaryllismusings@gmail.com
Rav ID: Junebug2285

WIP Wednesday - Shifting Hues

Hello all, I had a great weekend.  Friday was low key but lovely as my family and I attended an All Soul's Day Mass.  They rang a bell and lit a candle for my Mother.  As expected it was challenging but it wasn't as hard as I anticipated.  Following that we went to dinner for an early birthday celebration for my Dad.

Saturday, we went to the casino and while I did not win anything my Dad won $200.  Beginners Luck :)

I had plans to get my Sock the Vote Socks done but that didn't happen, given all of those plans.

In other news, I am happy to be on the other side of elections now and no longer have to watch all of the political attack ads on TV.  While I am truly humbled by our right to vote and decide on the leaders of our country, states, and communities, those ads drive me bonkers.

Speaking of bonkers, I realized I have far to many projects going on right now but here is my update.

Hue Shift Afghan

Lots of ends to weave in.  :(

I managed keep up with my one a day goal and have 5 blocks finished and the 6th started.  I am pleased with how soft and smooshy the Stylecraft is working up and it doesn't squeak on the needles like some other acrylic does.

I have had a series of oopsies that have delayed my one a day progress.  I had to rip out the yellow and purple square because I miscounted and I had to throw in a life line and rip out most of the bright pink and purple square because I put the decrease in the wrong spot.  Let's hope those boo boos are behind me.

One thing this is helping is that I have to pick of stitches or cast on so it's abating my startits.  I get the rush of beginning something with every new square.

Overall, I think this is moving along well.  However, in the Knit A Longs and the forums, there are rumblings that the 100 grams of Brava may not be enough yarn for the whole blanket.  With Christmas coming up, I will work until I run out and then order again.

I can't believe I am saying this but I am glad my purple row is done because I got annoyed with seeing those stripes.  I can't wait to start the blues and greens.

STV Spiffy Iffy Peresphone's Return! Socks, Ohh Shapely Boyfriend, and  Justice League Filler Squares are stalled this week what with the allure of the Hue Shift Afghan.  I do plug away at a few rows of the Sweet Azalea Shawl and the Diagonal Lace Socks but no new photos to share. I need to work on that.

So wish me luck and hope that I can get out from under my WIP overload, how are you all fairing?

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

<3 Heather

WIP Wednesday - Super Azalea Socks?

I know you all may not realize it but I try and come up with nifty titles for each post.  It's my little trailer to my post and I want you be intrigued to read this instead of hitting skip in your reader.  That said, I admit this one while intriguing is just a mash up of objects I am working on this week.

Really, I think that I may actually have a post each day of the week this week so my creative snark is a little depleted.  Anyway, make sure you check out my commercial debut for Math + Science = Success that I posted yesterday and I have a long long awaited FO on Friday.

So now that we have caught up, let's get to the yarny goodness!   I didn't get individual shots but here is what I have been working on.

Weekly Update for 10/03/2012

Superman Square

Usually these squares are done within a weekend and I move on but this one has challenged me.  There are a lot of color changes and color blocks.  I started this initially back in August but didn't like where it was going and ripped it out.  I am back to the point where I ripped it out and have restarted it for the next go round of Nerd Wars.  I am relieved that its going better not great but better.  I think once I get past the fiddly bottom of the S finally, I will be okay.  Keep your Fingers Crossed please!

Sweet Azalea Shawl

I finally started this shawl/blanket.  I had the swatch done forever ago but just needed the right push to get things going.  I had to make a chart to show where the stitches went.  The pattern is quite clear but I just could not picture it in my mind where everything went.  The chart is a huge lifesaver!  Anyway, I am plugging along and can't wait to see it completed.

STV Spiffy Iffy Peresphone's Return! Socks

Mel over at SingleHandedKnits had a great idea to have a KAL for the elections and created Sock the Vote and asked Indie Yarn Dyers to create specific colors ways for Cuff Down socks, Toe Up Socks and the Undecideds.  

I have a bit of a connection to both dyers (SpaceCadetCreations and Yarn-vs-Zombies) so I chose undecided to let chance decide which yarn I would receive.  

I got a beautify skein of Cashmere and Merino wool sock yarn and had to wait patiently for 10/1/2012 to start my socks.  I decided to up the ante and am knitting the socks at the same time using the magic loop.  I have never done this before but I jump into things with both feet and a dash of YouTube so hopefully the yarn knot gods are not against me.  So far I am kinda pumped about this because I had a heck of a time getting a pair of socks done within a month for NerdWars so hopefully this is a fruitful experiment.

So that is what's going on, betcha thought I designed super flowery socks didn't you?  

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

<3 Heather

2012 - April Recap

Seriously where is the time going?!?  I am so amazed at the posts I did in April and I really hope you liked them too!  I am sad that the Pens out of the playoffs but there is still a lot of great hockey being played.  I have really progressed with getting those Lego Blocks done and bought a bunch of yarn.  Oops! :o)

Anyway, in May I plan to get that Lego blanket done and finish some of the other WIPs I have going on before starting a bunch of new ones again.  Let's see how that goes.

<3 Heather

Photography Challenge - 3KCBWDAY2

Welcome again to the Knit and Crochet Blog Week, Day 2! Here are the details about today's topic.

Details and image care of eskimimi makes

So without further ado, I present the Yarn Loving Penguins!

Meet the Penguins!

Now these guys decided to take over my blog today.  I really had no choice because look at how much fun they are having swimming in yarn.

It all started on an expedition to find the lost mojo of the Pittsburgh Penguins.  Alas, I met these fellas a little to late for my beloved hockey team but they did endear me to their native habitat.

Welcome to our home!

The snow covered earth was cool and bright but these guys would not be deterred.  They reassured me that my Penguins while amazing were not meant to win the Stanley Cup this year but with a healthy lineup next year the sky was the limit.  Funny how the sky is the limit for a flock of flightless birds, but I digress.

After a brief reprieve, I sat down to observe the penguins and pulled out my WIP.  They loved my yarn and proceeded to steal it to nest.  They jump and dove through it as if they were in the ocean.

I've got my Eye on you!

Some of the penguins got embarrassed of others actions and proceeded to give the exuberant bunch the evil eye.  I reassure the penguins that it was okay and soon found out that they were born as stitch markers but were released to the wild.  Finding yarn is a rare occurrence and some were just more excited than others.

Since I didn't like the blue boucle yarn, I decided to leave it with the penguins.  They were so happy that everyone soon was in the yarn pool.

Think my crazy penguins are neat, consider nominating me for the Photography Challenge!

<3 Heather

Check out other great pictures by searching for 3KCBWDAY2

Week in a Day 2

Alas, no finished object this week but it has been an interesting week.  Work has been really busy and after work has been even busier!

I started a Photography class on Tuesdays.  I have always loved taking pictures and with blogging have really made an effort to take more pictures to share.  The amazing thing is that with a lot of luck I have taken some really visually astounding and interesting pictures.  But I want to take them all of the time, so I decided to take the class to learn about photography and learn my new camera.

Taken in April 2010, at a Tulip Festival outside of Seattle

Our first assignment is to take pictures of our house using the different camera settings.  I don't like the lighting in my apartment, so I will take the pictures at my Dad's house.  The other part of the assignment is to find pictures that just take our breath away in magazines and bring them in.  I think this is the hard part because I don't have many magazines around my apartment.

Tulip in the Yard, April 2012

In my Grad class on Wednesday, I found out that my presentation is due on 4/18/2012 and not 4/25/2012 like I thought.  (Cue the sad trombone music)  At least I didn't freak out, I will get it done this weekend and then work on my paper that is due on 4/25/2012.

On Wednesday, the Pens lost to the Flyers 3-4 in overtime.  I don't think the loss would sting as bad but they Pens were up 3-0 in the first period and just didn't show up for the remaining 2 and overtime.  There is another game tonight, so hopefully they bounced back.  I do want to mention that I think our goal tender, #29 Marc-Andre Fluery played a really good game and that score could have been a lot worse if he wasn't on top of his game.

It's a Hockey Night in Pittsburgh! And I did make and decorate this cake.

There is another game tonight, which means it's a great day for hockey!

Thursday,  I got my Knit Picks order!  I ordered a Yarn Swift and Ball Winder, plus a scarf pattern called Richmond Lace Infinity Scarf and Knit Picks Chroma Fingering in Azalea .  I was so excited that I tested out the swift and winder last night and it is really addicting.

I also made a large purchase from Deramores.  I bought 8 balls of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran for a blanket I want to make.  I chose some muted blues, pinks and purples for white centered granny squares. I am basing my blanket off of the one made by Jacquie at Bunny Mummy.

Here is one of the colors for the blanket that I already bought

I also got 23 skeins of Stylecraft Special DK for some unknown project.  I admit to lusting after the yarn in all of Lucy at Attic24 so I figured why not get some and I can figure out the details later.  I am thinking of a ripple but it might just end up with more white centered squares like above.

Lastly, today I got the rest of the Lion Brand Cotton Ease from Joann Fabrics online store for the Lego Blanket.  They had a sale and free shipping so that is one less thing on my to do list.  I started the green blocks last night and they turned out great.  The colors are really looking good together and I should have taken a picture but I didn't.  Sorry. But, you will see them on Wednesday!

Well, that is all for now.  I plan on working on my paper this weekend but I also plan to get some reading done for pleasure.  I have neglected my TBR pile and it's ready to topple over on top of me.  I will let you know what I think of those books.

For actual finished objects, check out Tami's Amis

<3 Heather

2012 - March Recap

I feel as though I just worked on getting the February mosaic done but I am really pleased with everything I got done this month.  The weather had been finicky but in general spring has come in full bloom.  I can't wait to show you pictures of flowers and spring here in Pittsburgh.

  <3 Heather

PS Check out my good friend Samie's blog for her blog-aversery giveaway!

Requests are the Best!

So Pumpkin of Pumpkin Spins asked to see my new yarn purchases so here it is!

New Yarn Purchases

From left to right here is what I got:

• Knit Picks - Stroll Hand Painted Yarn in County Fair
• Knit Picks - Felici Fingering Self Striping Yarn in Hummingbird
• Candy Skein - Yummy Fingering Yarn in the March Colorway Leprechaun Lollipop

So there you have it, my latest purchases!  What do you think?  I think they are going to be awesome socks someday.

<3 Heather