So Much for Spring

Big storm hit last night and still nasty winds today. Thank goodness it's my weekend; I've stayed inside with cups of tea and my knitting.

And my knitting has turned back to designing. I got inspired when I saw that someone knit my "Pyewacket" on Ravelry :) I've had this piece in progress since not long after I moved here. Time to breathe some life into it. And it's going well too. It's a bit quirky and I'm thinking of submitting it to Knitty. Actually it's going so well, I just composed the pattern blurb and designer profile a la Knitty lol Feeling optimistic in the face of not losing power last night I guess!

In kitty life, we're celebrating Charlie's 11month birthday today :) He's turned into such a distinguished looking cat! Maureen's doing well here in her new home, I'm happy to report. And Jake is a bundle of fluffy, energetic kitten cuteness. First pic is Maureen and Jake on my bed. Second is Charlie on yhe back of the couch :)

That sums up the day. I'm off to brew another cup of David's Tea 'Toasted Walnut' and get back to this piece of lace ;)

TTFN

Hello Spring?

Well, Spring may have arrived here in my little corner of Newfoundland. The snow is melting and streets are actually quite dry. Ice isn't out of Random Sound yet though so we might see another go. Gotta say I'm not gonna miss the snow this year.

In injury news, my wrist wasn't actually broken but the ligament in my wrist was torn as was the one that controls my thumb. Been 7+ weeks now and still have to wrap it with a tensor for work. But it is getting stronger.

Not much in knitting news because of the above. Done a bit more work on the Wingspan and started a lovely new piece just the other day. I had picked up Interweave Knits Spring issue while we were in Town the first weekend (celebrating my 2nd year anniversary in my adopted province of Newfoundland :) I can't hardly believe it's already 2 years!!!!) so I was flipping through it while the laundry was in and a number of the patterns were appealing to me. Long story short, I cast on the Serendipity Tee (Jesie Ostermiller) using DGB Confort from my stash. (this is the yarn I used to knit my St. Moritz sweater a few years back) Loving it :) The pattern is a simple but engaging top-down sweater with a lovely "smocking" look from well placed cables at the neck and top of the sleeves. It looks very classic, dare I say vintage inspired, and extremely wearable. And I already love the yarn so isn't that a bonus? ;)

As mentioned above, I've now been here for 2 years. Wow. Some days it feels like I was never anywhere else; like this is and always has been Home. That's an odd feeling for a girl who never quite felt like she belonged anywhere because she was uprooted too many times. But Home I seem to be and Home I'll stay.

It's Saturday night and there's a Habs v Leafs game on CBC. I've got chips, an Eatmore bar and a Snack-and-a-1/2 waiting in the freezer; other than my team, I'm Dad's girl lol So Go Habs Go!! (sorry, Daddy; hope your Wings can pull ahead) And hope everyone enjoys their weekend

TTFN

I Hate Ice

I have good reason too. And it's nothing to do with being cold.

I slipped and fell at the end of the driveway yesterday. Road rashed my left hand a bit and bruised my butt. Got up, dusted myself off and continued on my walk up to work.

After being at work about an hour, I noticed that not my left hand was not only a bit sore but there was major swelling going on at the base of my thumb and I was becoming unable to move it without a lot of pain.

I figured I'd last to the end of my shift and then go to the hospital. I only made it 4.25 hours before the pain got to be too much :(

After xrays, I have a hairline fracture near the top of the big bone in my wrist. Because of the amount swelling, I was fitted with a backplate and have to go back up for a full cast next Monday. I'm off work until then, at least :(

So now, I'm in pain and I can't knit, can't bake and can't dance. I'm supposed to "rest". Rest? I'm bored out of my friggin skull!!!! I want to scream! I can't even wash my own hair!

So yeah; I HATE ICE!!!!

One Down :)

Yay me!!!! *Kermit arm flail*

Just over an hour ago, I completed my first project of 2014. It's another Pimpelliese, this time in solid red Diamond Luxury Collection Superwash Merino DK :)

Only one problem: what can I cast on and finish in a month? It's one month to the cast on for the Ravellenic Games. Must go ponder queue and stash...

TTFN

Bye-bye 2013

Here it is. The final day of 2013. And here I am, lying on my bed with an attack of tendonitis in my left shoulder listening to "Mrs Crandell's Boarding House" by the Irish Rovers. My musical taste never really changed passed age 12 lol

What will happen in 2014? I can tell you what I hope to accomplish anyway.

Knitting Resolutions:
Gotta confess: these last couple years have been sadly lacking in the FOs. 2013 has netted me 3. Seriously. That's just sad. So, to start 2014 I'm determined to finish up my "Daydreams in Lace" (Brooke Nico; Rav project Majestic Dreams) and my "Ardrum Scarf/Wrap" (Aisling Doonan; Rav project Kinelea Lace). After that I have the yarn ready and waiting for Annie Modesitt's "Corset Top". That might be my Ravellenic Games project; more on that later. I want to complete at least 5 projects in 2014.

Dance Resolutions:
Although still residing in the middle of no-where in regards to dance, I'm determined to get off the couch and do something. Maureen, my darling 15.5 year old cat, gave me both Jean Butler's Masterclass and Colin Dunne's Celtic Feet for Yule/Christmas. I might not have a teacher pointing out my bad back foot turnout and my failure to kick my butt on my treble-hopbacks but at least I can move in a more proper Irish dance manner again. My resolution is to spend one morning a week in the company of one or both of the dvds.

Weight Loss Resolutions:
On April 1st, 2013, I started using the My Fitness Pal app on my phone. My goal was to lose 60lbs by April 1, 2014. As of December 27, I've lost 43.6lbs; less than 20lbs to go :) I'm quite proud of myself despite some setbacks recently. But I'm determined to make my goal in three more months. (And I think my Dance resolution will help with this too ;) )

General Resolutions:
I've covered the important things but knitting and dance and my weight goals aren't, unfortunately, my entire focus in life. What else do I want to do in 2014?
For starters, I need to find a new job. Much as I like my co-workers, the job itself is starting to feel soul-sucking.
That being said, the Roomie Sis and I have been discussing the merits of moving to Pretty City. A different job is pretty well guaranteed if we can make the necessary preparations.
What else? I'm not happy where I'm at in terms of being single far-longer than I care to admit. So I'm resolving to be more open to letting someone in again; not every guy on the planet is an asshole. I need to remind myself of that more often.
Thanks to the lovely website, Dress911, I've discovered the joys of vintage style dresses. Counting the lovely lavender one I bought the other night (due to arrive Jan 8th:) ), I now have 4 little  numbers for when I need a little pick-me-up. I'm resolving to wear them whenever I feel like it, not save them for an occasion. Any day can be an occasion in a nice dress! Now I need to learn how to do something with my hair... ;)
I resolve to buy more shoes. This girl does not have enough pairs of heels ;)
I resolve to listen to music every day. I used to; I'm not quite sure what happened. I have a piece on my wall that says: "Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life"; how true is that? My soul is dusty; turn up the tunes and blow it away!
Maureen would like me to add her resolutions to the post:
nap more
thump Charlie hard enough to make him stop biting me
con Mommy out of more goodies
look cute and innocent
act surprised on my 16th birthday
enjoy more sun beams
signed, Maureen Mavourneen T_____

My wish is for everyone to find Peace, Love and Luck in 2014 :)
Happy New Year from Newfoundland, everyone!!

Who Wants Pit-chers?

I finished Daphne more than a month ago. And you all still haven't seen the finished beauty. And I started/finished another Pimpelliese in that time too. And I have a ton of progress pics of my new blankie which shock of all shocks I'm crocheting. So today's post is gonna be all about pit-chers of the lovely yarny creations surrounding me. And as further proof of yarniness, I'm typing this while wearing my "piquant" tank from the Knitty store :) Let's dive into the goodies now!

Pit-cher #1: Daphne is finished and being modeled (somewhat scarily) by moi. Turned out quite nicely, I think. Such a different construction method working side-to-side. Not a difficult knit at all, although I do recommend having a couple row counters on the go for this one. Project details on Ravelry under "Opa!"

Pit-chers 2-5: Pimpelliese #6 aka Easy-peasy Scarfy-dealy. Since me and Roomie/Sis decided to go into Town and visit Big Sis #2 for their mutual birthday weekend, I needed a little something to knit on the two-hour drive each way and keep my hands from too much snacking while there. Hence another Peasy was cast-on. As always, such an awesome pattern. (Shared the pattern with Big Sis #2 as she not only knits but spins and thought it lovely and full of possibilities :) ) This is some hand-dyed I brought with me on my trek East that I had bought at Golden Willow in Regina. Project details on Ravelry under "St. John's Waltz (Easy-Peasy Scarfy-Dealy #6)"

Pit-chers 6-12: Giant Granny (from the Bernat Satin booklet "Around the Seasons Afghans"). Of course color changes have been made and a yarn substitution. Red Heart Shimmer and Bernat Satin Sparkle work really lovely together. Project details on Ravelry under "Not Gran's Blankie"

And there you have it; 12 new pics of the yarniness being created in my little corner of Newfoundland. Hope you enjoyed. The blankie is going quite quick so I may have something new OTN sooner rather than later. Just a slight tease to bring you back ;) If anyone's reading. Do leave me comment if you're there; makes it feel less like I'm talking to myself... or the kitten. Ooh, I'm going to leave you with a pic of furry-nephew Charlie.  He'll be 6 months old on the 27th. Isn't he a darling?

TTFN

That's It!!

I'm completely fed up with myself. I've been in Newfoundland for 19 months and while I've got 43.6lbs gone now, my flexability has gone to pot. I decided to stretch and run the old class warm-up. I'm ashamed to say I can only kick as high as my shoulder 2/5 tries on my left and 3/5 on my right. Not acceptable. Not for the girl who not that long ago had the "title" Slip Jig Queen.

So rather than just realizing it and mourning the good ol' days, I've set my task reminder for my days off and one other day a week. A minimum of 3 days a week I'm thinking will have me back in dance-shape by the time we move to Town and I can join an actual class again.

I'm going to stop feeling like this motionless lump and get moving again. I'm doing this. I'm determined to do it.

Sorry for the rant but the more places I put this the more I'm going to stick to it. I took a pic during this morning's stretch. My feet are still strong, as are my legs. I can do this.

TTFN; knitting news next post, I swear ;)