Still Here... again!

I can't believe it's been more than a month since I blogged.
I've been thinking about it a lot, I've started several post that don't get finished and I've done lots of things that get recorded in amazing posts in my mind.

Our winter break was awesome and MG took about 10 days off work which gave us a lot of time together to play and visit and don fun things together. Lots of time with friends, lunches, dinners, board games nights, etc.
We were snowed in for a couple of days so we had to cancel a trip we had planned to Indy for 3 days because all the roads were closed and places, museums, shops and more were closed, so there was no point. Happily we were able to get a refund!

The snow days were cold but fun... I like the look of it and I love to write messages on it. MG was the happiest getting a shovel and going out to shovel parking spaces in our apartments lot just for recreational shoveling... and I was the happiest going to the corner of houses, sheds, balconies and such were icicles had grown to take them down and play with them. It makes me sooo happy!!! I love icicles!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And then we started the year with all the arrangements of leaving this loved place to go back to Mexico and seeing the deadline of our time here approach....... and then chaos.
At the end it was our decision due to a series of different misunderstandings and unfortunate series of events, but MG's prospect job fell trough, so now we are back to the look out for a job... deciding if we go straight back home, if we extend here, if he applies for another job here, is there a chance of this, of that or any other thing... talking to people here, in Mexico, and it has just been a full, stressful, emotional roller coaster in the past couple of weeks.
We are both stressed, trying to make the best of it, and so far the only "sure thing" is that we have extended our stay here for a little more. Still everything is pretty hectic around here and it's been hard to take my mind of it and be on top of my game.

My knitting and crochet are growing and I've enjoyed a lot this month at the shop, which being my last one (as it was supposed to be) I've had lots of classes and activities. They were so awesome to name January "Shanti's Month" so all my project based classes were free this month as a farewell which brought so many people in so I could share this craft I love so much.

I miss my mom a lot and I'm thinking about joining my friends (from Mexico) in Aspen for a week of fun next month... I cut my hair again and did red highlights which I love!

Also, I started Weight Watchers... trying to eat healthier, less, more water, more exercise...

Just a lot of things at the same time... but this is life! and I'm sure soon will be amazing, even more!

Thank you for your company here!
See you soon!
S.

A day at home...

Today was a cold, dark, rainy day... I woke up with a runny nose, feeling a little cold-ish, so I stayed at home... I made some jewelry, made lists of the things we'd like to sell when we move in February.

The weekend was great, I had a really good time on Friday and Saturday at the shop, there was a birthday and I made another rose cake, and there was a trunk show of Mountain color yarns on Friday evening... it was great!! I got a skein of deep green sock yarn. I'll take a picture later when there is better light.

And yesterday we had finally the Baptism. I'll upload the photos this week to show you a bit.
And then I had the Yarn store end of the year party... it was fun, lots of good friends, good food, presents and laugh.

We have to go for groceries... uuggh!

See you soon!
S.

12-12-12

I like days with dates like this one, I think they have some magic...
I made a wish at 12:12 today.

For this post I thought I'd show you 12 projects I haven't showed before... I couldn't find 12 around, so I'm skipping that until another day.

But I'll make a list of 12 random facts about me that you may or may not know:

1. I love to sing, but not so much to listen to music. I don't mind music if I'm in an open space or with more people but if I'm alone, sometimes it becomes a little overwhelming. I prefer to sing to myself.

2. I've been doing digital scrapbooking since 2010 and I love it. I think is the perfect way for me to make something fun with our photos and preserve our memories.

3. I listen to The Digi Show podcast, where they talk about digital scrapbooking... different to the music, I can listen to those episodes for hours one after another!

4. Until 2 years ago I wasn't really interested in clothes! I'm into them now, definitely.

5. I started baking in 2010. Fun!

6. I've been crocheting since I was 6, so 24 years now... only 4 knitting.

7. I want to be a crochet and knitting designer.

8. I'm terrible at drawing and I think I have no sense of color.

9. I started making jewelry in my sophomore year in high school. Almost all the time since then I have pliers and wire to hand... I am not good at selling it at all.

10. I'm in love with bright colors!

11. MG was my one and only boyfriend and he's the perfect hubby for me!!

12. I love cookies!!


There you go, 12 totally random facts.

See you soon!
S.

Project Finished: Van Ness Scarf

Hello friends!!! How are you doing??? I hope you are very well, warm and happy wherever it is you are... Here we've had the weirdest weather... Last week we had a couple of days in the high 60's and for a little bit we actually got to 70F!
Today we are at 30, that with the wind shield and all that actually feels like 22F!!! I'm freezing!!
I'm should be doing laundry, but I don't want to go out of the apartment because it's cold. I'll wait for MG to go out with him, and that way when we come back he can hug me and warm me up...

How was your weekend??? ours was pretty great!
We started Friday night with a concert by Carrie Newcomer... have you ever listened to her? We play her all the time at the shop and I love her... and MG got to listened to her a couple of weeks ago when we went to another concert (Krista Detor). So we went to Carrie's concert with some friends, and bought several of her CD's at the end...
Here's a song I like a lot...

But really, I think she has a lot of good songs, check them out if you can.

After the concert we went to a party to one of my yarn-y friends house, that happens to be a good friend of Carrie, so she came too, and we had a good time talking to her. MG got one of the CD's signed from her and a photo too!

But down to the point of this post... The Van Ness Scarf. I've been eyeing the pattern on Ravelry for a long time, finally I gave it a try, right in the middle of several other projects... but hey! I need variety, and change between knitting and crochet, larger and smaller projects.

I like this pattern because::

+ It's pretty!!!

+ it's eeeasy peasy... The central motifs can be a little challenging for a beginner but they are not bad. 

+ it has a pretty edging.

+ it's worked from the center-out, so the shells go in the same direction when you're wearing the scarf.

+ it's fast!

So that's a lot of good things.

I used 2 skeins of Lustra in a pretty apple green color, I had 1 skein from another project that got frogged and I wanted to use it up. I like the final choice.

I did something different for the center motifs, as I didn't like the idea of cutting the yarn to make the individual motifs and weave the ends... just lazyness... but here's what I did.

Alternate start for a 4 pattern repeat scarf.

*pattern is a multiple of 8+1 (+3 for the initial dc formed of chains)

Ch 35

Side A:  (3dc, ch 1, 3dc) in 7th ch from hook, *sk 3 ch, dc in next ch, sk 3 ch, (3dc, ch 1, 3dc) in next ch; repeat from * twice more. ch 3, sk ch 3 (from the base, not the ones just made), sl st in last chain of base chain.

Side B: working on the other side of chain. ch 3 (count as first dc), *(3dc, ch 1, 3dc) in corresponding shell chain from side A, dc in correspoding dc chain from side A; repeat from * to end of row.

With a ch 3, you'll be ready to start the first side of the scarf.

Right now, the scarf is blocking...
Well, I'm off to update a little bit my Ravelry projects while MG comes...

See you soon!
S.

PS... I did do the laundry while writing this post!

 

Rambling and several random things...

I feel like I've had such a full and busy week and also like I don't really have a lot to share with you, but lets try, I'm sure there's lots...

Last Saturday, a dear friend of our knitting group at the shop, that have been away for a couple of months, came back for a short day visit. It was great to have her back and I was amazed at how it was as if she had never left. We had a great time talking and sharing and eating... I made a rose cake to bring for her and we all enjoyed it. It was a chocolate cake with Swiss butter cream icing infused in peppermint. I wanted to try the recipe for the butter cream and this was a good way to do it... it was good, but way to buttery. (it actually made me feel sick after eating it, tooooo much fat in it::: not good!)
But, boy, it was pretty!!!

Also, last Friday I cut my hair again:::

 

I'm happy with it and it feels really light! I like that...

For the rest of the things I don't have any pictures.... I haven't been carrying my camera this week with me.

I took a class of knitted socks using 2 circular needles. So far I've stayed away from making socks mainly because of the use of double points that I don't like (they make my hands hurt) but I wanted to try socks... I'll take a picture and talk more about them later... The teacher was my new friend Karen, she's the one that we spent Thanksgiving with!
Also, last Tuesday, Karen invited me to a Bell Concert in which she was performing...
Have you ever been to a Bell Concert???
It was amazing, let me tell you... there was like 14 people with about 50 bells... they have around 40-50 techniques to make those bells sound and it was like hearing an angels choir!!!!
It was my first time hearing something like that but I loved it! I want to buy a CD of it.

This week was full with classes, crochet classes taught... I had classes on Tuesday and Wednesday nights... And yesterday I had an early class at the shop and I was there to open at 10am, class from 10-12, then stayed all day there, Tunisian crocheting a top I'm making and helping with some shop duties... and then class again from 5-7pm and closed the shop. It felt like a very long day.

Today I wanted to make some jewelry before going to the shop but outside is really foggy and there's not a lot of sun light... My artificial light inside the house is not very good so I won't be making jewelry, there is not enough light... so I'll watch a movie and crochet a new scarf with a Lustra yarn that I have and been meaning to use... and then go to the shop after lunch...
And we have another convert tonight!!! Carrie Newcomer... have you listened to her??

See you soon!
S.