Saturday, January 31, 2009

Back Home and End of January

Well we are back from our quick vacation but have to admit that it felt so good even to be away for only a few days. We left Wednesday and got back Friday but it was time that we needed to spend together.

I didn't get as much completed as I would have liked to do but I think relaxing and spending time walking outside was more important. I did finish two more soap savers so that did help my monthly total.

I looked at my goals for each month and of course I met some of the goals but I didn't meet some of the others so I guess I need to work hard on those items in February. I didn't make any cool ties or complete any pants or slippers but considering everything else I finished in January I shouldn't complain. The slippers just need to be sewn together so I should be able to make up for none in January with lots in February.

Right now I am typing this blog on my new little computer which is wonderful. It's only 2.5 pounds with a 9 inch screen so it means I can take it with me where ever we go so when I have thoughts I will be able to write them on the computer instead of using little pieces of paper like I normally do.

It's almost time to call it quits for the day and say goodbye to January so I best get moving and finish up on the computer.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Snow, snow and more snow

Today was one of those days where all I saw was snow. Yes we did leave for our couple of days away but it also meant that we were driving through lots and lots of snow.

I was able to get a bit of crocheting done on the drive so that did make me feel a little better and since getting to the hotel I have been able to finish 4 soap savers. I brought all of the unfinished soap savers and slippers with me so will see how many I actually get completed before we are back home. Here is a picture of a couple of the soap savers that are now finished.


It's always fun traveling because I always pack way too much yarn to bring with me but at least then I have different projects that I can work on. Right now I have some boa for scarves, some yarn for hats and yarn for slippers. I think I may also have some yarn that I don't know that I will make with it with me so see I have lots considering I will be back home on Friday.

The snow has finally stopped and we got about 15 cm (6 inches). Tomorrow going to spend some time going for a nice long walk and then out for a nice dinner with my husband before I curl up to work on the various projects.

It's almost time to call it quits for the night so I better get off the computer and see if I can get at least one more soap saver sewn together.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Knitting results

For those of you that asked yes I completed the 7 hats. I actually dropped off the hats on Friday last week which was good. To complete the 7th hat I actually sat there and finished it.

I haven't got a lot to show since then as I have been knitting but not finishing projects other than a couple of boa scarves. I am hoping that by the end of the month to have some soap savers/sacks completed and maybe even some slippers. I figure if I can just sit and work on them I should be able to get quite a few done.

I may not post for the next couple of days as we are escaping the cold weather to relax and spend some time together.

I will post what I completed once we are back home.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Knitting continues

I am still working on hats for one charity for the store and now have 5 hats completed and two more on the go. I have also finished one scarf so I think by Saturday I should have the 7 hats knit that I have wanted to do.

I am so looking forward to Saturday after I finished these hats so that I can get back to finishing off a number of things that I have on the go. I figure if I work hard I should have really good results for completed items for January. Now let's hope that I don't start a few more projects before I finish some of the ones that I just need to sew up.

The yarn that I am using is a very pale yellow so it isn't very exciting so will be very happy to see the end of this yarn. I figure I may have enough to make one or two more hats after this and I will probably try and get them done before the end of the month as well.

My stash doesn't seem to be going down very quickly and I know that I have purchased quite a bit of yarn this month so of course that means I haven't used any really from my stash. I think I need to try and work through what I have for a while otherwise I will never achieve one of my goals for this year of getting my stash down.

Now it's time to get back to knitting so that I can get these hats finished and then get the other items finished as the month is flying by and my completed pile seems to be very small.

Monday, January 19, 2009

Too many projects

I was finally getting my projects under control when I got an e-mail last week from a store saying that you could get some yarn for free if you completed one item for charity by this Saturday. Well you can imagine that I wanted to see how it worked. Last Friday we went to the store and you simply had to pick up a bag of yarn and then use some of this yarn to make one item for charity. The item could be a hat, a scarf or a pair of mittens. I figured that wasn't too bad to accomplish in a week.

As of me writing this post I have completed three hats and am currently working on a fourth hat for this charity. I figure what I am going to try and do is do at least one hat a day between when I picked up the yarn and when I drop off the items next Saturday. This does help me use up the yarn that a picked up because it was three balls of 170 gram worsted weigh yarn. I have finished one ball of yarn and will at least get another ball finished if I work hard.

This project has resulted me in putting all my other projects on hold for a week so that I can see how many items I can complete for this one charity in a week.

I hope that I can at least use up a lot of the yarn that I picked up last Saturday so that it doesn't impact my stash too much. People laugh when I tell them that I currently have more yarn than my husband weighs and I know that it is at least 40 - 50 pounds more than he weighs. My biggest goal is to now start using up some of this yarn as quickly as possible and see how many items I can complete in one year. I currently have a number of projects that just need to be completed so hopefully my completed list for January will be very good.

I better get back to knitting so that I can get lots completed before the end of the month.


Friday, January 9, 2009

1st week of January

This week I have been busy with some knitting and crocheting but so far don't have anything finished. I have lots of knitting but now I just need to sit down and sew things together.

I continue to work on soap savers and slippers. I am looking forward to getting things completed so that I can put them in the box that I will be sending off to the soldiers. This week I also spent part of a day cutting out more cool ties so now to sit down and sew them together. I am going to have to figure out how many I have to make so that I can kind of put a schedule together to get them completed.

It's been fun working on different things this week so hopefully by the end of the weekend I will have some things finished so that I can update my list of things completed.

Hope to write about things accomplished by the end of the weekend. Off to knitting I go.

Sunday, January 4, 2009

New Year and New Goals

It's hard to believe but it is already the 4th of January and I have been trying to figure out some of my goals for 2009. My biggest goal is to find a new job and then continue to enjoy crafting.

Here are some goals for this year:

Monthly goals:
  • make 5 cool ties soldiers
  • make 2 pairs of infant pants
  • make 2 pair of slippers for soldiers
  • make 2 soap savers for soldiers
  • make 2 headbands for soldier
  • complete 2 other items for charity during the month

Yearly goals:
  • Complete needlecase from Creative Festival 2008
  • Complete first dragon encounter from Creative Festival 2008
  • Knit sweater for myself (purchased yarn with Christmas money)
  • Complete Camelot miniature cross-stitch from Creative Festival 2008
  • Finish afghan for us (started in 2006
  • Compete at the Markham Fair in October 2009
  • Get yarn stash down by at least 15 pounds by December 2009

So these are some of the items that I would like to achieve this year and as you can see there are craft related. I have other goals for 2009 but have not posted them above. Now my other goals are:
  • Do my final driving test and pass it
  • Lose at least 25 pounds (30 would be better)
  • Get more organized
  • Take at least 2 courses job related
  • Design a course for crafting
Now that I have written these items down maybe it will help me achieve some of them. I know that some are going to take some time to achieve but others shouldn't take me too long. Well better get to work on achieving some of these goals.