My knitting goals for 2009.

Well, 2009 is going to hold a lot of changes for me. My boyfriend, Jarrod, got laid off at his job just before Thanksgiving. In December he had been talking to, and then interviewing with, Trek. Just before Christmas, they offered him a job.

So we're moving to Madison, WI!! Jarrod is really pumped about working for them, and we're both excited to live in Madison. It's a little overwhelming for me, considering I've never lived anywhere but Columbus, but I'm so happy for him and can't wait to see what Madison has to offer me!

So in the midst of all the new changes, I hope to accomplish some knitting goals I've been wanting to work on.

1. Knit my first garment. Hopefully it'll be for myself, but it could quite possibly go to Jarrod's nephew, Robbie!
2. Finish a crochet project. I've been teaching myself the basics, and I'd love to make some coasters for our new place, or one of the cute purse patterns I've seen on Rav.
3. Work on de-stashing. I've only been knitting for a year, but I've amassed quite a collection of yummy yarns. I hope to knit a few projects with some of it, and maybe send some of it away in swap packages if it matches my pal's tastes.
4. Learn to spin with a drop spindle. I bought a beautiful drop spindle on Etsy with some of the money my brother gave me for Christmas. I've joined the Spindlers group on Ravelry, and after I start reading up on where to start, I hope to give it a try!
5. Knit my first lace shawl or stole. There are so many lovely lace patterns in my favorites on Rav that if I don't get started soon I won't be able to knit even half of them in my lifetime!

What the mailman brought me: Part II.

When I realized that some of the Ravelry t-shirts weren't going to be reprinted, I finally decided to make my first Ravelry Mini-Mart purchase! Shipping was fast, and there was a cute picture of Bob sealing up my package.

I ordered the Love (1) tee and the new Bob tee.

I also bought the Frogged and Ripped pint glasses!

 

Jarrod and I have been drinking out of them on the weekends! The left one was my yummy New Glarus Spotted Cow.

I couldn't be happier with my purchases! I'm glad that I could support Ravelry in the process.

What the mailman brought me: Part I.

I've been lusting after quite a few knitting related things lately, and I've decided to spend some of my hard earned money on myself!

The first thing I splurged on, a set of Harmony Options from Knit Picks, to match my Nickel Options. There's a Knit Picks warehouse about 20 minutes from where I live so I'm always amazed at how fast my shipments come. I placed the order on the 20th and had my package delivered on the 22nd.

I bought the interchangeable set, that came with the pouch organizer. I also bought the size ID tags and the needle sizer. My Nickel Options came with the binder, but since the Harmonys are more fragile I've switched the cases around. My Nickel Options are now nice and snug in the pouch, and my Harmony Options are all zipped up in the binder.

I think I'm going to join a KAL that The Ravelry Book Group is going to start in December. We'll be knitting the Branching Out scarf and I can't wait to try out the sharp Harmony points on some lace work! Stay tuned for more installments of "What the mailman brought me!"

Cold weather is here.

I promised my boyfriend, Jarrod, a scarf around this time last year, when I first taught myself to knit. At first, we couldn't find a pattern he really liked and then I got caught up knitting for swaps. Before we knew it, it was warm out again and knitting a winter scarf seemed a little silly at that point. So here we are, a year later and Jarrod still doesn't have a knit scarf.

He has decided on A Scarf Askew. The talk on Ravelry is that this scarf curls badly, because it's a variation on stockinette. I warned him about this, and told him that even after I block it the edges might curl. He's said that's okay, and that he still wants it. So I bought the yarn the pattern calls for (Cascade Ecological Wool), in the hopes that mine will turn out like the one pictured in the designer's pattern when all is said and done. Jarrod wants a dark gray scarf and he doesn't want the tassels. I cast on a few nights ago, when he was away watching the Columbus Crew in the MLS playoffs. I had the DVR all to myself and opened a bottle of wine. By the time he got home I had 4 repeats done.

(That Malbec was really very good. The StitchMinder app on my iPod Touch sure came in handy in keeping track of the pattern rows and repeats.)

I've been working on the scarf steadily since then. I hope to have it done in the first few weeks of December. I've signed up for ISE 7, since ISE 6 was such a good swap, and I'm also waiting for signups for the third Ravelry Scarf Exchange. Those will both be starting in December with deadlines around February.

A New Bag!

I know, I know... I haven't been the best blogger. I just can't seem to find the time to take pictures of my WIPs or FOs, let alone log in and post! Looking for a job, knitting, and Ravelry have taken up all of my free time. I really would like to make blogging a habit, though. Mostly so I can look back years from now when I'm not so much of a "beginner" anymore. I'm hoping to find 15 minutes a day to set aside for all things blogging related. Whether it's taking pictures, organizing info, or actually posting, those 15 minutes will add up!

Just a quick update on what I've been knitting:

I've sent 4 swap packages off since May! I'll be sure to post pictures of what I sent, and received, as soon as I can! I'm also still knitting for my boyfriend's soon to be nephew or niece. The blanket is coming along fine, but I started later than I wanted to. The baby is due around August 10th, so I hope to have quite a few cute things to bring when we visit WI!

The real reason for this post is to share that I bought a new knitting bag! I bought a Jordana Paige Bella bag for Christmas, but sadly, it's not usable. I took it out of the bag and the inside lining reeked like skunk! I tried to let it air out, and even put dryer sheets in it for a few days but nothing helped. Anything that sits in the bag comes out reeking, too. The smell was so bad I contacted their customer service to ask for an exchange. I got a pretty pert response to my email. You can only exchange things up to 10 days after, and since I had decided to wait until the holidays to open the package I was way beyond that. There was nothing they could do for me. I understand that they have guidelines about returns/exchanges, but it left a bad taste in my mouth. I think their bags look great, but I will never buy anything from them again.

So I've been searching for that perfect knitting bag ever since! I finally found it in the Namaste Newport bag. It has a lot of room but doesn't look huge. The inside is divided in half with a privacy zipper pocket in the middle. One side can be all knitting, and the other side I can use as my purse. I'm so glad I won't have to carry two bags around! That will be especially great when fall quarter starts up!

They were just released this summer and I placed my order in time to still get my hands on the limited edition Peacock color.

I ordered it on Monday and got an email saying that it was shipped today. I can't wait till it gets here!