Shopping List Saturdays: Paper scooper and worms

A couple of weekends ago, the boyfriend and I were at Costco. I spotted this list in the parking lot.

I love it when shopping lists have their own special paper.

Berries, syrup and dinner...they seem normal enough things to buy.

But then I turned it over, and...

When I first glanced at the list, I read that as PAPER SCOOPER and WORMS.

I was a bit perplexed.

First off, whats a PAPER SCOOPER?

Secondly, why WORMS?

After doing a double take, I realized that it was a POOPER SCOOPER and WORMS.

Makes much more sense.

FO Fridays: Amazingly Scrappy Beret

I've been on a self-imposed yarn diet this year. So far it's going pretty well. 

This is one of my stash busting projects.

After making my Grandma a shawl, I had nearly a full skein of Amazing left. I decided to knit myself a slouchy beret. It was a rather impulsive decision. 

I love Entrelac knitting. I love watching it grow. I've had my eye on this pattern for a while.

So, I used the leftover skein and some stash yarn for the hat. I did end up having to buy another skein of Amazing though.

The hat itself only took a couple of days to make.

Creepy cosmetology head alert!

No photo bombing cat though.

I ended up having to knit this using 2 sets of DPNs, which were both different sizes.

Thrifted Thursdays: Epicly Awesome Chair

Last Saturday, I went out to an estate sale. I was actually considering not going.

I had seen the listing about the estate sale a couple of weeks prior. I had seen photos online. The sale was listed as being in my zip code. But I was still contemplating not going. I had just made an awesome score at another estate/yard sale.

Then they updated the address for the home.

It was right down the street from my house. It's easily within walking distance. I can actually see the house from my driveway.

I'm not kidding, you really can!

I figured I had to go.

I bought this.

I'm calling it my Epicly Awesome Chair, because it is.

Even the back of the chair is epicly awesome.

It's an antique needlepoint chair. It has a very art-deco feel to it.

 I think they may be french knots? Maybe punch needle?

Either way, I'm glad I drove there. (I was heading out to rock climbing afterward.)

...Now comes the price.

$30.00

This is the most expensive item I have ever bought at a thrift/estate/yard sale. It's my Birthday soon, so I figure that this is my birthday present to myself.

Here comes the kinda funny bit...I had to pay for it in coins.

Yeap. COINS.

I had $14.00 cash in my pocketbook. Normally, that would be more than enough for little trinkets. On a whim, I grabbed the bag of change before I left the house.

I'm really glad I did.

They had the chair listed at $36.00. I didn't have $36.00. I really wanted this chair.

The first day of the sale it was listed at $50.00.

The lady who owns the business happened to be there, and said they could sell it for $30.00. So, I handed over my $14.00 and proceeded to count out the rest in quarters and dimes.

The chair ended up costing me $32.43 plus tax.

Year of Shawls: May Wingspan

Looks like we're up to May. Only six more silly posts. Not bad. This was actually my third knitted shawl this year.

The pattern's called Wingspan. I knit it using worsted weight yarn. I wanted it to have a more poncho type feel to it. I actually used Lion Brand Amazing in Glacier Bay. The colors do remind of a glacier. I love this yarn.

I have a confession to make. I didn't knit this from my stash. I actually bought the yarn specifically for this shawl. 

I figure that's OK though. This is also the only shawl that I've made especially for someone. 

I knit this shawl for my grandmother. Well. Kinda. My grandmother died when I was 5. I never really got a chance to know her.

I've never been without a grandmother though. I've always had Linda.

She's always loved us like we were her own. She's always been proud of us like we were her own.

She's always been grandma.

I've never really told her how much she means to me, though. 

So, I thought it was fitting that the first shawl I make for someone this year would be for her.

I'm going to give it to her for Christmas. (I hope she doesn't find out...)

Cross Stitch Sundays: Lazy day

Today has been one of those lazy relaxing days.

I went out to another estate sale yesterday. I made a very awesome purchase...but I've decided to wait to post about it til Thursday. I really want to post about it now, but I will wait.

I have my reasons.

Yesterday, I also went out rock climbing with some girls from my knit night. I ended up making it to the top of two courses. Granted they are training courses, but still. Not bad for someone who's afraid of anything higher than a step ladder.

I will make the rock climbing a steady, at least once a week, thing. 

So with all that excitement yesterday, I decided that today would be a lazy day.

First thing I did after getting out of bed today, was to crawl right back into bed. I picked up A Game of Thrones  by George R. R. Martin, and read a bit. I've decided to catch up to the series, before it comes back on the air. I'm nearly done with the first book.

I did the laundry.

I opened up all the windows. The summer was pretty mild out here in Las Vegas, but this is still the first day it's been cool enough to turn off the AC and open all the windows.

 I did some yoga.

I worked on my Geisha cross stitch a bit.

I'm starting to get the feeling that it's going to take forever to finish. 

The last couple of days I've been also working on my bunny. I don't know why I've never done a stamped cross stitch before. I love how quick it is.

I think I need to pick up some more.

I guess that my lazy day hasn't really been that lazy.

Shopping List Saturdays: Chk Breasts

I find it interesting how people get rid of their shopping lists. For most people it seems, shopping lists serve the sole purpose of making sure they don't forget something. They just throw them out when they're done.

Then there are people like me. I start off my shopping lists by planning my menu for the week. Then I plan out what I need from there. After I get home, I stick my shopping list/menu on the fridge. It's easy for me to see what I'm making for dinner.

I found this crumbled in a ball.

FO Fridays: Rambling Bramble

This was a quick little project that I made for myself this Summer. I love wearing cute little hats. I decided to make a couple for myself. So, I chose the Bramble Beret pattern.

I had just finished the Brigid Jacket from the same pattern book. I loved the way the cardigan turned out.

This was a spontaneous project. I used stash yarn for this project. I think it worked.

My step mom is Thai. She was a hair dresser in Thailand. When my family moved back to the states, my step mom had to go back to school. I guess the state of Texas didn't accept her foreign cosmetology license.  

One perk of all that is I ended up getting some old cosmetology heads. They just get pitched.

I love how creepy they are.

My cat does too.

I don't know what it is about cameras, but he likes to photo bomb things.

Thrifted Thursdays: Awesome Weekend

I had a very awesome weekend.

I went out to a yard sale and estate sale. I also went rock climbing for the first time, with two girls from my knit night. We ended up grabbing lunch together.

This is my yard sale haul.

This is a finished and framed crewel embroidery kit. Copyright 1979. 

It was $7.00. Not bad.

I love the way its framed. Some of the stitches are starting to come undone, but with the framing job I'll be able to fix it if it gets worse.

At the same yard sale I picked up this moose. Or is it an elk? Either way, I love it.

This one was only $1.00. Yeap. Definitely not bad.

Its a cross stitch. She even 'signed' it. I can't make it out though.

I picked up a couple of other pieces, including this really awesome sweater. It's double knit. The motifs are duplicate stitched on. It feels like acrylic. The sleeves are long kimono shaped. I love this sweater, and I can't wait til it gets cold. It was $1.50.

 I also picked up a little gift for my sister. It was her birthday last week. I plan on mailing out a box to San Angelo in the next couple of days.

I also picked up a highly practical coffee mug. I love using random vintage coffee mugs, and this one sent me back $0.25.

All in all a very awesome weekend.

WIP Wednesdays: Sweater for Mom

Today I've found myself working on my Moms Christmas present. I'm making her a sweater. I cast off for the body, now I'm just working on finishing the first arm. I actually really love the design. 

I'm determined to get the knitted gifts finished in time this year. So far I'm making pretty good progress.

I've made Grandma a shawl.

I've made my Grandpa a scarf. I still need to make him a hat.

I've made my stepdad a scarf. I still need to make him gloves.

I'm working on my Moms sweater.

I still need to make my cousins their gifts. The gifts are both small.

I regrettable haven't been working on my September shawl. The sweater is a bit time consuming.

I've finally reached the midway point on my Bonus shawl.

I've finally gotten to watch the Season 6 Doctor Who Christmas Special. I must confess, I don't like being caught up on shows. I hate having to wait for new episodes. I'm more a fan of DVDs. I can sit and feel really lazy and watch for hours. I hate waiting.

Well. I'm finally going to get caught up on Doctor Who. I plan on watching the Season 7 premiere sometime very soon.

Enough rambling. 

While watching the Christmas Special, I couldn't help but OOH and AAH over all the knitwear. One piece that really drew my attention was this sweet little vest.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b018nrhp/profiles/madge-arwell

 I was so taken by this little vest, that I've decided to make it. Last night I couldn't sleep. I had this on my mind. I stayed up last night perusing Ravelry looking for some similar pattern. I couldn't find any.

I'm determined to have this vest. I will have this vest, even if that means I must design it.

While I'm at it, I should look into having that dress too.

Year of Shawls: April Haruni

Although this is technically my April shawl, its technically my first shawl this year. Why? Well I actually joined the group Dozen shawls in 20dozen in April.

I've been playing catch up since then.

I'm fully caught up now. I'm actually going to cast on for my September shawl sometime this weekend.

So, here is my April shawl.

The pattern is called the Haruni. At the time, this was my most challenging shawl.

I knit the shawl using Knit picks yarn, which I dyed. I love dyeing yarn, especially with Kool-Aid.

I had seen this tutorial online and I loved the effect. Several weeks later I found the Haruni pattern. I knew they had to go together.

I used two packets of Orange Kool-Aid for this project and one full skein of yarn. I love the result of the dyeing. 

Cross Stitch Sundays: Geisha and a Bunny

I had a great weekend. I've been productive. I went out to an estate sale and a yard sale. I picked up a crewel embroidery and a cross stitch. Yay! I then went out rock climbing with two girls from my knit night. I almost made it to the top of the kiddie course. Yay! I've also had a crewel embroidery sitting around, waiting to be re-framed since June. I finally got around to framing it (more on that later). Yay!

I've been able to get some work done on my Geisha cross stitch. It's still pretty slow going. I'm not so crazy about gold metallic threads. I do enjoy the look though. 

I have my next cross stitch in mind. Well, I've had it in mind for a while now. My sister came out here for a visit this Summer. While she was out here, we hit up a couple of thrift stores and estate sales.

I picked this up at a thrift store out here in Las Vegas. I paid 3 dollars (more on that later).

The threads came in a big lumpy tangled mess. The actual fabric is very wrinkly. 

It's actually a half finished stamped cross stitch. Copyright 1987. So it's technically older than I am. I've never done a stamped cross stitch before. I do mostly counted cross stitches.

It really is half finished. This one stitch wasn't completed. I've decided to keep it like that.

I view it as a kinda homage to the person who last worked on it. 

I love giving things that have been lovingly handcrafted a new home. 

Shopping List Saturdays: CAPT CRUNCH

I found this shopping list in Las Vegas. It was folded into fours when I found it.

I love folded shopping lists the most. I know that sounds very weird. There's just something about unfolding a shopping list. It's kinda like a present. 

This one is a short list, but I love it. The big block letters. The huge staggered spaces.  WATER. MEAT. The ever important CAPT CRUNCH. 

FO Fridays: Eunice

These socks are part of my FO Fridays. I knit these up a couple of months ago. They are more Cookie A socks, this time they're Eunice.

I have a confession to make...I own four pairs of shoes. Yeap. Four.

Old ballet flats. I got them for 3.99 at Kmart five years ago. Yeap.
A pair of leather ballet flat things. Got them in Downtown LA.  Not very comfy. I think I might actually donate them.
A pair of wedges. They're my fancy job interview shoes.
And a pair of converse.

I wear my converse practically everyday. I wear socks a lot. Even in the middle of Summer.
A short cuff on socks is great in my opinion.

Something I've noticed, is that its not easy taking photos of your own feet. I have my sister to thank for these photos.

I know a lot of knitters don't care for color pooling you can get from funky multi colored socks. Sometimes it distracts from the knitting.

I'm not one of them. Sometimes simple colors would be better. But I love multi colored socks, the funkier the better.

WIP Wednesdays: 2 Shawls and a Sweater

So, we had a pretty good sized storm out here in Las Vegas a couple of days ago. It ended up knocking out our internet.  So, I'm a day late for Wednesday.

One nice thing about not having the internet, is that I didn't have any distractions. I was actually able to get some work done.

I got started on my September shawl.

I picked up the sweater I'm making for mom for Christmas. 

I got a little bit more done on my BONUS shawl. 

I also worked on my cross stitch some more (I'll post that on Sunday).

Last night I made a yummy dinner (but I didn't think about taking a photo.) Swedish Spareribs.

And last week I finished my August shawl.

Last Saturday the Boyfriend and I went out and bought a new bed. We decided to get a king sized memory foam bed from Costco.

The bed is awesome. Really comfy. But as usual, the cat prefers the box it came in. 

Year of Shawls: March Holden

Looks like we're up to the March shawl. (Who am I fooling...I don't think people actually read this...)

For March I did the Holden Shawlette. One thing I've noticed since starting this quest of one shawl a month this year, is I'm picking up a bunch of different words. Like shawlette. Google wants to auto-correct that to Hewlett. Yeah. Hewlett. As in Hewlett-Packard, the computer company.

Looks like I'm not the only one picking up new words. It looks like a shawlette is a small shawl.

Definitely not a computer.

Either way, enough rambling.

I knit this using stash yarn from a weaving project. Its Lion Brand 1878, which is a fingering weight 100% wool yarn. Its perfectly lovely for weaving projects. For the price, you honestly can't beat the quantity or the quality.

I'm actually planning my next weaving project right now. I'm going to make hand woven curtains.

Sometimes I think I just might be a bit crazy. 

Its a very simple shawl pattern. The edge kinda resemble waves. The shawl is finished off with a picot edge. All in all, I love the look of the shawl.

And I'm not the only one.

My cat decided to photo bomb my shawl.

 Here's a close up:

Whats kinda interesting is that he never really climbs up into that little nook. Turns out he was just waiting till he could be in a photo.