Woo Hoo Wednesday

Weigh in...I'm up a couple pounds but I'm blaming that on the massive dinner we had on Monday. I did not count calories that day. A person has to splurge now and again.

When the baby came over on Monday, I sized the purple dress on her but it's going to be way too big. I'll finish it up later. I think it'll fit her in the fall. It's not a very fall-ish colour, but it's a baby colour so I'm going with that. lol

So I started another one in a slightly thinner yarn and smaller hook. I think it'll work. I just have 3 rows to complete it and I think I'll make a little white heart for the front.

And the legwarmers. Well, I don't pretend to be a knitter. I just pretend to knit. There are some mistakes in these. If I was a more accomplished knitter, I would have taken them back to fix the mistakes, but I'm not, so I didn't. Some of the mistakes are quite glaring, as you can see on the one still on the needles. But DD won't care. She'll just be thrilled to have something handmade. I only have the cuff left but I have to psych myself up to finish it. That wee little bit takes me about an hour to do and it's hard. Such thin yarn on such small needles. But they were fun to make and I'll likely do another pair in the future.

I didn't work too much on squares this week. The baby shower is on Saturday and I wanted to have the dress and legwarmers done for that. I did get 4 squares done but forgot to take photos of them. Next week.

Woo Hoo Wednesday - A Little Late

Soooo, life gets busy, ya know?

I gained a pound while we were in Mexico. Doesn't sound like a lot but it was only over 18 days. I really gotta cut out the booze when we're there. And I've put on another pound since we got back. I haven't been tracking my calories. Not doing so makes it FAR too easy to slip back into old eating habits. But, considering I haven't tracked in a little over a month, I haven''t done too badly.

Another fabulous Woo Hoo. We have a new g'daughter!!! Madelyn Elise joined our family last week, weighing in at 8 lbs 14.5 oz which might sound like a lot but it's pretty average for our family. We grow 'em big!

This makes our 5th g'child but only our second girl. Our other g'daughter is almost 14. I and the aunties haven't been able to buy pink frilly things for a long time so ya just KNOW this little girlie is going to be spoiled. 

Here's what I've been working on...

A little dress that I found here on Sarah Sweethearts.

And a pair of leg warmers from here . I haven't used dpn's in about 30 years. This should be an adventure...LOL.

And something for myself. This will be a shawl made from a free leaflet I picked up at Michael's.

My Balls are Busted

I'm back! We actually got back 3 weeks ago but things have been hectic around here and I just haven't gotten around to posting. I'll do another post another day on all that's been going on.

I've been busy working on all those balls and I've finally got them done! I'm so glad to be finished with that project. The mostly somber colours were getting really boring. I broke out some bright colours this afternoon. What a treat!

So here we go. The original bunch.

What it looks like now. This is all sport weight yarn that I decided to add to the Cuddle Box instead of working up into squares.

The finished product. One hundred and eleven squares! This is the same bin that held the balls. It's crammed full. At 35 squares per blanket, there's enough for 3 blankets plus a few left over.

As I got to the end, some of the balls weren't big enough to make a full square, so I had to get creative. I think they turned out quite nicely.

I enjoyed this challenge I set out for myself and I'm proud of myself for actually finishing it. But I am glad it's done. I haven't figured out what I'm going to challenge myself with next. For now, I'm just working on squares in colours that appeal to me.

I'm also working on a couple of personal projects. I'll share those on Wednesday.

Woo Hoo Wednesday

No weigh in while we're on holidays. Not because I don't want to. I don't have a scale here. Pretty sure I'm going to come back with at least a couple extra pounds. Too many alcoholic beverages happen when we're down here. Seriously, I drink more in a couple weeks here than I do the whole rest of the year at home. Ah well. It is what it is.




There is a lady here who hosts a Stitch and B*tch in her home. I know lots of groups call themselves by that name but I really don't care for it. It sounds so negative. Luckily, they seemed a nice lot and I didn't hear any b*tching.




Anyways, this group collects the cancer caps I've been working on so I took them over. Unfortunately, I'm not able to post pics.


Blogger still isn't playing nice with IE so I can only post pictures using Chrome. I'm using our laptop and Chrome won't let me sign in unless I provide a mobile phone number. Like that's going to happen...hahahaha!!! I have no issues when I use our desktop. Stupid technology.


Another Woo Hoo is that Grampa didn't get any of my sick germs. We're both happy about that.


Anyways, sorry about the lack of photos. I'll post them when we get back in a couple weeks.

Woo Hoo Wednesday

Weigh-in...I'm down 2.5 pounds and a couple of inches. That makes me 16.5 pounds lighter and 8 inches smaller since the New Year. Yay!!!

It wasn't a very productive week but I got hit with the flu last week and I've had packing to do and arrangements to take care of before we leave this afternoon for our holiday. Still, I managed to get 11 more squares done.

Had to take the pictures on the couch because my suitcase is all sprawled out on the coffee table.

Touch wood, Grampa hasn't picked up my sick germs. Yet. Hopefully he doesn't at all.

Tomorrow night, we'll be at our condo in Mexico, far away from the cold and the snow. Woo Hoo!!!

Saturday Morning Mash-up

Just a few random things today.


One year from today, Grampa retires. He can't wait. He's worked for the same company for 34 years and, while the pay provides us a decent lifestyle and he'll have a fantastic pension, he's getting tired of the bureaucracy of working for a large corporation.


Today's temps. Dear God! If March coming in like a lion means going out like a lamb, spring should be downright tropical! Temps this morning, as I write, are -38C/-36F with a windchill factor of -47C/-53F. Winter has been very cruel to Canada this year. I'm looking very forward to snowbirding in Mexico after Grampa retires.


Guess who woke up to a massive cold sore bump this morning? I have this fantastic cream called Zovirax that works wonders on cold sores, if you catch them early enough. I felt the tingle last night, but, against my better judgement, ignored it. It's just a bump this morning and I'm hoping I've gotten after it soon enough to prevent it from becoming unsightly.


And I think I might have pink eye. I'm going to keep an eye on it (no pun intended...lol) to see what happens. But geez Louise. What else can happen. At least my kidneys don't hurt like they did yesterday. Last night I actually packed up a crocheting bag in case I had to call one of the kids to take me to the hospital this morning. Can't let downtime go to waste.


That's about it for now. Y'all have a great day!

Bustin' My Balls: Part 6

A quick update on my health. I'm feeling much better than I was yesterday. Still not quite up to snuff, though. Did a couple loads of laundry...was completely out of clean undies and we all know how it icky it is to recycle those! Also washed my bedding to get rid of the sick germs and so it would feel nice and fresh tonight. I'm sleeping in the spare room for now so Grampa doesn't pick up this bug. Don't need him sick while we're travelling.

And now...on to my balls. The original pile:

And now:

To this point, I've made 70 squares for Knit-a-Square . I had originally guesstimated that I would get 75 but, as you can see, I was off by a bit. I figure there are about another 40 squares in there.

I won't get this all done up before we leave on Wednesday but I'm going to keep plugging along until then and finish it up when we get back.

Thankful Thursday

Went to the doc this morning and it turns out I have the flu. Not serious but enough to slow me down to less than a turtle crawl. I slept most of the afternoon and I've been on the couch since about 4:00. I'm far too weak to do any crocheting.


The wind picked up this afternoon, increasing the windchill. Overnight temp tonight is forecast to be -31C/-24F with a windchill of -43C/-45F.


So what do I have to be thankful for today?


Well, I'm glad I got in to see my doc today and that I'm not seriously ill. I'm also thankful that I'm sick now and not next week.


I'm very thankful that I have a warm house tonight.

Woo Hoo Wednesday

Weigh-in...I'm down 3 this week. Had a lot of ups and downs this month so my overall total is a loss of only 4 pounds for the month. But hey! It beats gaining, or even staying the same! Since the New Year, I'm down 14 pounds and 6.25 inches. Hoo-rah!!!

Managed to get 13 squares done this week.

In an effort to get all those balls busted, I've decided to not make any more with hearts. They take a bit longer to make and I spend too much time agonizing over colour combinations.

Not so Woo Hoo...I've picked up a bug of some sort. Woke up this morning with the beginnings of what felt like a cold but now I'm suspecting it might be bronchitis. I don't smoke but I'm wheezing like a 5-pack-a-day smoker. We're leaving next week for our holiday and I want to make sure I'm not sick with anything serious so I'm going to try to get in to see my doc tomorrow.

And on that note, I'm off to bed. 'Night, y'all.

Bustin' My Balls: Part 5

Well, it's been a whole month and the pile is diminishing.

Original:

Now:

So far I've made 58 squares.

I was really hoping to have this all worked up before we left for our holiday but I'm not sure it's going to happen. We leave in 11 days. I suppose if I didn't do anything else for 11 days I could get it done but good luck with that. Even with my kids grown and gone, life still has a way of getting in the way. All I can do is what I can do.

Woo Hoo Wednesday

It's been a crazy day. Almost didn't get to making this post.

Weigh-in...up a half pound but down a quarter inch. I'll take it. :-)

Here are this week's squares. Forgive the bad lighting. I only took it a few minutes ago and the lighting isn't as good as it is during the day.

Sixteen squares for Knit-a-Square for a total of 54 so far. The red yarn that I'm pairing with baby weight is interminable. It just keeps going and going and going. I figure I'll get 5 or 6 more squares out of what's left. I'll be so glad to be done with it.

Bustin' My Balls: Part 4

It's been 3 weeks and I'm making progress on the stash of balls.

Original pile.

The difference is really starting to show now.

So far, I've made 43 squares for Knit-a-Square. Grampa and I leave on our holiday in just under 3 weeks. Gonna have to hustle if I want to get these all busted before then.

Thankful Thursday

I'm thankful for the lengthening days.


In December, it's pitch black outside by 4:30pm. Now it's not completely dark until almost 6:00. Grampa has a 45 minute commute, usually getting home just after 5, so it makes me happy that he's doing his travelling in the daylight now. Lessens his chance of a collision with a deer or moose.

Woo Hoo Wednesday

Weigh-in...I finally blasted through that 2 week plateau I hit. I'm down 3 pounds this week though I have no idea how. Our trip to the city didn't always include the best food choices and I didn't exercise, even though I had planned to. However, I'll take it!!

It was a slow week, craft-wise. I got this cap knitted but I still have to sew up the seam.

And I only got 8 squares done. There are monthly themes and this month it's hearts and red/pink/white. I have tons of red balls but the yarn is a bit thin so I've been pairing it with pink or white baby yarn. I was stumped on what to do with the less than inspiring colours and then it hit me. I can put hearts on them!

Bustin' My Balls: Part 3

On Thursday, Grampa had an appointment in the city 3 hours away so we left bright and early. Since we're redoing our bathrooms, we decided to stay overnight and do some Home Depot shopping. So No Thankful Thursday and I didn't get to posting about my ball bustin' yesterday. So, without further ado, here's how my balls are looking.

Original pile.

And here we are 2 weeks later. Last week there didn't seem to be much difference, but you can see it now.

Thirty squares made for Knit-a-Square 

Woo Hoo Wednesday

Weigh-in Day. I'm up 1.5 pounds but my total overall measurements stayed the same. So I guess it's a Woo without the Hoo...lol. I'm attributing the weight gain to the monthly weight gain many women have. I'm making small changes at a time and haven't been exercising, just tracking what I eat. I'm going to incorporate using the treadmill for 30 minutes, 3 times a week. Maybe more if I can rustle up the gumption.

I got the brown cap finished but haven't started another one yet. Also 2 more squares for the memory blanket.

And I've almost completed one sleeve on the go-over. The go-overs are rather boxy but they're meant to be quick and easy and roomy. These usually go over top of other clothes, so they need to have lots of room around the shoulders so they don't bind. Other KAS members manage to make some mighty pretty go-overs within the parameters of the pattern. I'm not so talented.

Got 15 more squares done this week. Here are the basic ones.

And here are 3 that I fancied up a bit.

The black and grey one is an adaptation of another square but it didn't quite work out. It's got a bit of a pucker but I'm going to send it anyways. KAS doesn't demand perfection. Their main request is that the squares are 8 X 8 inches and this one is.

The star applique...yeah, I don't know what I do wrong. It's off-centre. My flowers ended up doing the same thing. They start out in the middle but don't end up that way. It must be in how I'm holding them as I'm sewing. Oh well. The kids won't care.

I had just a small ball of Christmas yarn left so I used it up in the middle and then finished it with the red. I really like this pattern. It's a great way to use up small amounts. It's on the KAS website.

And that's that.

What Woo Hoo did yoo doo?

Bustin' My Balls: Part 2

Here's what it looked like last week.

And here it is this week.

Not much different, yet. Actually, it looks bigger. Weird. Must be the way I arranged them this time. At any rate, I've made 15 squares so far.

Thankful Thursday

It was cold today. The windchill was -35C. That's -31F for you non-metric folks.


I'm thankful for being retired so I didn't have to go out in that brutality.

Woo Hoo Wednesday

Also Weigh-in Wednesday. I'm down another 1.5 pounds for a total of 10 pounds this month. Six inches also disappeared off my body. I can feel that my pant legs are a bit looser. Aiming for another 10 for February.

I got 15 squares made from my Ball Bustin'. The top two rows, as well as the two centre ones on the bottom row, are made with yarn that was just a bit thin so I added baby weight to them.

I got 2 more squares for the memory blanket done and half of another cancer cap. I love the chestnut-y colour of the brown.

The yarn I'm using for the memory blanket is a self striping one but since the squares are so small (4"), the stripe doesn't show. What I get is squares of different colours. I had just a wee bit of the orange-y to start the next square and then had to start a new skein which is why there's an abrupt colour change. It'll all work out in the end.

I worked on the purple go-over but only added a couple of inches to the sleeve. Not enough to merit a photo.

What was your Woo Hoo this week?

I've Been a Baaaaad Girl

On Saturday, I went to the next town over with my 13 year old g'daughter. She has 2 little brothers (4 and 6) and their house is in a state of chaos while the flooring is being replaced after a laundry room flood. I figured she could use a break.

Walmart was my undoing. I had to pick up a few things there and then remembered that I needed some green yarn to finish the memory blanket. Not really certain how much I'd need, I got two balls.

Then I spied some fun colours for the chemo caps. That particular stash needed some jazzing up, colour-wise. The blue one on the left practically glows and the turquoise in the centre is far prettier than it appears.

Then it was off to another store that I'd heard about but never been to. I wasn't sure if it was a regular second hand store or a consignment store. I didn't go with the intention of buying anything. I just wanted to see what the store was about. I learned that it's a regular second hand store. And they had yarn. A bit more costly than what our local thrift shop charges but still cheaper than buying new and it's worsted weight instead of the baby yarn I usually find in ours.

As promised, it's been tucked away until I use up my current stash.

Somebody put me in time-out.

Bustin' My Balls

Hahahaha!!! Not those balls, y'all!

*These* balls!

This is what was in the tub of balls I had after organizing my stash. I guesstimate there are about 75 squares hiding in there. Grampa and I are leaving for a holiday March 6th. I'm challenging myself to bust as many balls as I can before then.

C'mon. Admit it. You thought this was going to be a naughty post, didn't you? lol

Thankful Thursday

I'm thankful to B who agreed to work for Grampa today. Today was Grampa's second day off this month. He's getting burned out and really needed today. Thank you, B.

Woo Hoo Wednesday

First things first...Weigh-In Wednesday. I'm down another 3.5 this week for a total of 8.5 this month, so far. Woo Hoo!!!

For the last month, or so, the team that Grampa works with has been putting in some long hours and had to deal with some difficult situations so the company is taking them, and their spouses, to supper in a nice restaurant tonight. I am NOT going to count or care about calories. This will be my first cheat day in 3 weeks. It's probably going to take me all week to recover from it, calorie-wise, so I'm not expecting much of a loss next week.

Remember these?

I got all the light blue yarn worked up and finished the dark blue one. I ended up frogging the grey one because I realized the yarn was a little thin so I'm going to add a baby weight to it. There were actually 6 blue skeins when I started working them up so this is what I accomplished, square-wise, this week.

Sixteen squares for Knit-a-Square

I finished the back of the go-over and now I'm working on the sleeves. I've slowed down on this project because I'm getting bored of seeing the colour. This always happens when I work on a big project. It's why I always have several things on the go. Anyone else like that?

Another cancer cap, this one in a solid denim-y blue. I figure some kids might prefer a solid colour instead of stripes.

Another big Woo Hoo was getting my stash organized. Took me 2 hours but it was so worth it. Things had gotten so jumbled up. Now I'll be able to quickly find what I need.

What was your Woo Hoo this week?

I'll Show You Mine If...

...you show me yours. Your stash, that is.

It was Grampa's weekend to work so Sunday afternoon I decided to organize my stash. Figured it was a job best done when he wasn't around to see just how much I actually have. You all know what I'm talking about. *wink*

Good grief. Even I was surprised. I mean, I knew I had a lot but, geez, Louise!

First up are the WIP's.

This is an afghan I started ages ago to give my mom who is a huge fan of jigsaw puzzles. I don't have enough of the lighter purple to make a piece so I added a couple of others so you could see what each section will look like. Mom knits like crazy for charities but, like many of us, doesn't make anything for herself.

The following are things I'm working on for Knit-a-Square .

Go-over.

Tank-top style vest.

KASCuddle for babies. I make these with the little bits of leftovers. Two strands and always one light strand and one dark. I love the tweedy effect it gives. And because the colours are always changing, it doesn't become boring to work on.

Hexagon sweater.

I've had the light blue yarn for literally years. I remember buying it when my eldest, now 32, was a child. Eek! So I've decided to get it used up. It's a little thin so I'm pairing it with the green baby yarn to make the square a bit thicker. I came across the other two squares that I had worked on as a take-along project and then forgot about.

This is the yarn I have for the cancer caps I'll be taking to Mexico.

Crochet cotton picked up at the second hand store. The plan is to use it for embellishments on some of the darker squares.

Reeeeeeeeally old school Phentex that's been discontinued for ages. Some I bought way back when and some I found at the second hand store. This stuff is fabulous for slippers.

Bought to make myself a shawl.

Also bought to make myself a shawl. Lighter weight than the previous one and probably way more than I'll need...lol.

Baby weight.

Sport weight.

Chunky. The large ball of green on the left is actually neon green.

Textured yarn.

Christmas yarn.

Worsted weight above and below.

Some yarn I found after I got all the photos taken. Again, the green on the right is the most glorious shade of neon. Going to make a scarf for the teen aged g'daughter with that.

A 44 Qt/41.6 L tub of balls.

The KASCuddle yarn.

And here it all is, minus the WIP's and crochet cotton. Sorted by weight because that's what makes sense to me.

And I see I missed three large skeins of a nice soft worsted weight. Doesn't surprise me. You should have seen the state of my living room while I was doing this...lol.

My goal is to use this all up this year without buying more. I'll still pop into the second hand store to see what they've got. I generally don't get too lucky there as yarn gets snatched up fairly quickly. But anything I pick up will be set aside for next year. Wish me luck!  Haha!

Ok. Who's brave enough to show their stash?