My Big Sister Moved Out

As the title reads, my big sister moved out.. I spent the day chilling at her new place, just hanging out, and my sister was so amazing in taking care of me. She cooked me dinner:

Some yummy pasta! 

I gave her the Game of Thrones blanket, and she remembered to bring it with her to her new house! Here I am just watching TV all cuddled up in it!

I am really sad though, makes growing up more and more of a reality. And plus, she took Yuna with her! Now Ellie is so lonely back at home. I miss Yuna too! And my sister! 

An Autumn Hat for a Spring Season

So when my dear friend gave me this yarn, she told me the sales lady told her it was probably enough only to make a small hat.  She was completely right! In fact, I actually had to rush the decrease rows because I knew I was running out of  yarn. The whole time I was a little worried if it's fit on my head.

Colour is beautiful. Pattern is beautiful. But it all wouldn't matter if it isn't wearable. Thankfully ... It is!

                                      

To be honest, I prefer my hats to be a little slouchy, and this one obviously isn't, but it's wearable at least! It perfectly cups my head. 

                          

I hope the decrease rush isn't too noticeable though. It looks pretty legit as a hat I think.

                             

One reason I chose to knit this Gin & Tonic Pattern is because the daisy stitch reminds me of maple leaves. And, as I've mentioned before, the yarn itself reminds me of Autumn. So, it was a perfect match, and the result seemed to prove me right.

Speaking of leaves, in front of my house, there's a couple of dead looking trees. They used to be beautiful trees but it grew so big that the branches kept hitting our windows. My parents decided to trim the branches which is understandable. However, what happened instead was they cut down every single branch so only what looked like some naked tree trunks were left. Today though, I saw this:

Leaves are growing back! Something something about being cut down and getting back up. Makes me happy :) 

For someone who typically doesn't care for cheesy messages, I sure find myself writing a lot about them lately

I feel like I just got over my quarter of a life crises. Some good things have been happening to me, and I'm trying to be somewhat more positive in my thinking (maybe I'm only an eensie bit more positive than I was), but I feel like I've regained some control of how I think my life should be. 

I think the problem was at 23, I felt like I should be on a certain career path, making a certain wage, have travelled way more than I have and just be on the right beginnings to a path leading to a successful and comfortable life. After all, that's what all my friends seem to be doing, and I felt somewhat left behind.

So, did anything change? Not really. But I feel like I learned to be more appreciative of some things, learned the importance of planning other things, and learned to let many things go. I've always been more of a 'go with the flow' type, so I don't know why I was having such a panic attack over how I thought things should be. Of course, anxiety is still there, but I also remind myself more, that things are looking up. Or even if it isn't, there's still so much cool things around me that I could be focusing on. 

That's why my walks with Ellie are so relaxing. I found a couple things that really made my day! For instance, a puppy!

How cute is that?! I also found more interesting flowers that I've grown to love so much! 

And lastly, walking home, somebody wrote this on the ground.

Now obviously the person who wrote that doesn't know me, so I had no reason to smile. For all anybody knew, I could be a horrible person. But then I figured I was thinking too much again, and smiled anyway. 

Beautiful beautiful yarn and follow up on my new needles!

So, I've been saving up that expensive yarn my friend bought for me in Seattle for a perfect project. I finally found a suitable pattern as the pattern itself states it's best with 'aspecial' yarn (although I thought 'aspecial' would mean it's not special, and this yarn is definitely special ... But I think it was trying to say best for yarns that aren't a complete solid colour. Otherwise, well.. That'd be odd phrasing to market itself)

Anyway, it came in a hank, and I just looove unravelling hanks /s.

Yeah, Some people use special equipment, some people use chair/ table legs, I use my knees (wow, look at all that dog hair) to unravel hanks. 

I know it's almost summer, but this yarn seriously screams autumn. Actually, since the first project I ever made, I don't think I've used non-solid colour yarn again. But I think it will be beautiful, the way the browns and yellows sort of blend in together.

With this awesome yarn, I also get to test out my new needles (yay!) The bamboo is incredibly light; I feel like my wrist hurts a lot less because of that, and my fingers don't feel as stiff from pressing up against aluminum all the time. Not that I've never used bamboo before (I have bamboo double pointed needles) but I never used them that often to really notice a difference. There are drawbacks though. The chord between the needles is a little sticky, so when I'm using magic loop, it is a little tedious sliding the needles down the chord as you have to keep pushing it instead of a smooth slide. 

Honestly though, for the price I paid for the needle, I'd be surprised if there weren't any faults. Here's to hoping they last for a long long time! 

Mystery Blanket Solved!

If you've been reading my last several many posts, then you should know I've been knitting a blanket! Not just any blanket, a Mystery Blanket! Well, here it is!

As you can see, every panel is a different panel! Here is how the blanket looked without the crochet edge.

I think the crocheted border made it look so cute, like a baby blanket! Although, for its size, it pretty much is a baby blanket.

After knitting the squares, putting it together took a while because of weaving in the ends, which is my least favourite thing to do!

My friend wants to have the blanket because I said I wasn't sure if I was even going to actually use it. I'm a process knitter, so as the name sounds, I like knitting for the process of knitting rather than knitting just for the end result. I do love the end result though because I feel so accomplished, but when I choose the pattern, I choose depending on if I think knitting it will be fun. Maybe I will give it away. That friend has been asking for something for a long time. Well .. I'll see how I feel about it after the day has passed!

New Equipment!

It came!! I was beginning to think it was lost in the mail because I ordered new knitting needles and crochet hooks from online one month ago!

Here are my new hooks! Made out of bamboo!

                                  

I'm pretty sure I have all the sizes that I'd need ever (there's 11 hooks in that pile)! It's so light though compared to my aluminum ones, that I'm worried how easy it would be to snap one of them (especially for the extremely thin hooks)!

I worry about the snapping for my new bamboo knitting needles too.

I have 18 new needles here! I am planning on giving away my old doubles to whoever wants them, but I think I will wait and see how sturdy they are first. The entire package (both hooks and needles) was only $12.00 from Amazon! The cheap price makes me additionally suspicious about its quality though, but I looove the colours!!

                              

I can't wait until I start a new project with one of them!!!

The Final Countdown!

I was actually at a loss of what colour to make my final square panel for my blanket. I had arranged what I had so far like this:

I was missing one single colour! Unfortunately, I had less scrap yarn than I thought. All the rest of the panels are worsted weight yarn, so if I wanted the last panel to be worsted weight, the only choices I had (if I didn't want to open up a brand new skein of yarn) was white or black, both of which I felt didn't fit in. 

I did have one colour that would fit in perfectly with the rest of the green hues up in the corner there, but it was in fingering weight. After some thought, I decided to go for it. I wanted to use up the scrap yarn anyway. 

Unfortunately, the problem still exists that the thickness of the yarn was so different.

If I used size 8 needles (like I've been using for all the other squares), then it would make the square too small. I decided to use my size 10 needles to reach the gauge.

In the end, the last panel does seem kind of loose and thin compared to the rest of the squares, and in the light, you can see so many gaps because of the looseness. 

Regardless, it was still a neat pattern!

Second to last Square!

After this, only one more left until I can see all the squares together, make an edge, and complete the blanket! 

I'm 80% sure I didn't follow the instructions for this drop stitch pattern correctly. You had to do some skill I've never done before. It asks you to wrap the yarn twice around the needle before knitting some stitches, and then you're supposed to drop the wrap in the following row. I mean, the result doesn't look messed up, and it does look a bit like pictures of other drop stitch patterns, but I feel it looks more like basket weave than anything else. Except I guess, instead of a couple rows of knit stitches, you just have one long drop stitch. 

I usually watch movies of some sort when I knit (unless it's anime) but I found this interesting show to watch called Episodes! 

It has Matt LeBlanc (Joey!!) in it which was what drew me to the show in the first place. I haven't seen anything with him in it since Friends! (And like everybody else in my generation, I love Friends). He actually plays a more crude version of himself in the show, and at first I thought he'd come off as Joey no matter what role he has (sort of like Jennifer Aniston and Matthew Perry, even though I love them both anyway), but he was concvincing playing as a completely separate character. Anyway, I totally recommend! I'm going to watch it as I complete the final panel of the blanket!! 

 

Cheers!

 

A Waffle

I am so happy today! I spent time with my family at Buntzen Lake. 

We actually didn't spend very long there, but I've always felt really relaxed with nature. Especially when I see calm large bodies of water. You just kind of get lost in your own mind staring into it. It just feels sort of freeing; unrestrained.

Even just a short amount of time spent there helped to loosen up some anxieties. After that, I went out with a friend that I haven't seen in a while, but that I love so much so that when we see each other, we just pick up from where we left off (no pictures, sorry!) We just had one of the best talks. We just talked about everything. She is so great! She let me just talk about all my worries, and let me ramble on and I knew there was no judgement and she was so patient .. She's seriously like my little therapist. I felt like it was just what I needed. 

Between the nature walks and letting it all out, I really think my mood is picking up. I'm starting to feel more positive, and all I really wanted to feel was that I was going to be okay no matter what decisions I made. Even though I thought I was heading towards a particular path, and I ended up getting lost, I know I'll be fine. That's all I wanted to know, and I thought all my past negativity stemmed from worrying that I've somehow failed. Well, I'm not totally done worrying about that, but its lost its sense of urgency.

And who can forget my mode of meditation! Knitting! I finished making a waffle looking panel today!

I only have two panels left until I'm done my blanket!! Knitting gives me a sense of accomplishment that boosts up my self-esteem so much. The fact that I made something makes me feel so proud. Like I was productive today. It also keeps my mind busy so that it's not always focused on my worries. 

I can't wait until I'm done the entire blanket! When I'm finished an entire project, that's when I feel the most accomplished! Until then, keep on knitting! 

 

Sometimes I pretend to be a photographer

Well, true to my word, I stayed in knitting and watched Netflix! With that I produced this:

It looks simple, but I like the way it looks like two layers stuck together. Also, it's the first brown piece! It wasn't scrap yarn, but I sort of ran out of enough scrap yarn to make an entire panel except for white. But I thought I have enough white, maybe I should use a new color! And the brown fit in, so that's what I used. 

I decided to go out for a walk with Ellie though instead of shutting myself in the entire day. Sure knitting is therapeutic, but I thought the fresh air would do me good, and the blue skies would help lift the funk I feel like I'm in. I walked and sat around a park and decided that maybe while I'm being so negative about all the big picture things in my life, I should appreciate all the little things instead. I decided to take pictures of anything that caught my eye. It turns out, in attracted to plain everyday things.

The camera on the iPhone is amazing. It makes everyday flowers look gorgeous. Or maybe they just are gorgeous. 

There was also no way I wouldn't take a picture of Ellie, who makes me happy even on the worst days. 

Here's more flowers! I actually took so many flower photos. I love flowers it turns out! I don't think I really knew that about myself! 

I don't even remember what this flower is called. I just remember playing with them all the time when I was a kid. This photo was taken three seconds before Ellie stomped on it. 

I think at this point, I realized how much I miss the everyday beautiful things in life. I probably pass these types of flowers everyday and don't think twice about them since I'm so focused on the big stuff. And I know, it sounds pretty cheesy, and I usually dismiss all the 'inspirational' messages that are so trendy nowadays that everybody latches onto and sends viral. But I guess sometimes you really do have to just stop and smell the roses. 

Or maybe stop just to look at how blue the sky is. And how big the world looks. And feel small. And let my imagined problems that I know aren't real feel small. And for someone who usually scrolls past anything that sounds like pretty words packaged as 'inspirational', I started to wonder if I was feeling inspired right now. 

I'm still not sure what being inspired means though. I don't think I've ever been inspired by anything before. Probably one of the reasons I lack motivation. But, really, what does it mean to be inspired. Inspired to do what? 

People throw that word around. So have I. But I never meant it. At most, I guess a nice walk outside, looking at things I'd normally miss, pulling myself out of my own head inspires myself to just calm down. I need to get in control of my anxiety. Nothing is even wrong. I'm just worried for no reason. Just worried about everything, and worried about nothing. And I feel like I'm annoying everyone by my constant need to talk about it. I guess I just want someone else to validate that what I'm worrying about is actually worth worrying about. 

I hope I don't sound like I'm just spouting crap from my mouth. I don't want to sound like one of those people who try too hard to be deep. But I guess since my boyfriend, who keeps me grounded has been staying abroad for so long, my anxieties have just taken off. I need to remind myself, I have a life so many people would kill for. A good boyfriend, a good family, a peaceful life, a sprinkle of friends. And I appreciate all of it. 

I think taking off a day from work was a good choice. Everybody needs to take a break sometimes. I wish everyday was like this though. My dogs, nature, knitting and movies, all knitted together into a pretty perfect day.

Fall Leaves for a Spring Day

I'm in love with this stitch pattern! It looks like fallen leaves! It doesn't really match the Spring season right now though, but hey, I am making a blanket even though it's almost summer which doesn't match either. 

I think I only was able to finish this panel so quickly because I called in sick from work today. I think all the stress and exhaustion and overwhelming of everything caught up with me and I just really needed this day off. Knitting and Netflix is what I need; the only medicine I need! 

Simple yet fancy stitch

So who knew a fancy garter stitch could produce this?

The bumpy texture makes it look like a waffle! It's so nice to see a simple pattern this time to balance out all the elegant looking lace work and cable work. 

Look at this awesome pile of panels that I've accumulated!

I can't wait until it's finished!!!! Sigh, but I'm so tired from life lately. Work, and family and relationships just make me so exhausted! And I feel so guilty that I haven't been spending quality time with my Ellie! I've been having my dad walk her lately because all I want to do when I get home from work is sleep. 

Knitting is so therapeutic for these stressful days, but sometimes I even feel too tired to knit. It's so hard to stay positive, and I'm starting to feel like a horrible person for being so pessimistic all the time. The sad part is, I feel like I wasn't always this negative. But the least I can continuously tell myself, is just keep knitting one stitch at a time!

New colour for the Blanket!

My first white panel for the blanket! 

It was a good choice that complimented the pattern quite well! It looks a bit like snow covered evergreen trees doesn't it? 

That's number 10! I'm so close to finishing! Six more to go!

100th post!!!

I've always imagined my 100th blog post to be something exciting - like maybe I designed something awesome or I finished this really tough project. Instead, it's about the 9th panel of a blanket I just made.

So basically, nothing really special. Nobody really has an interest in a blanket in the middle of progress; they want to see how the end product looks like. I wish I had something special to show, for my 100th post, but all I have is this:

And, it even looks so similar to one of the other panels already.

It's the one in the right in case you can't tell the difference (coincidentally, they both are green as well). It just looks more spread out. Despite what appears to be my negativity, I quite like it. I mean, it looks different enough for me to like it, but not special enough to be part of my 100th blog post, which it is anyways. 

But to make this post sort of special, in celebration of me keeping up this blog and updating it until there are 100 posts, I just want to thank everyone who has read my blog, even just once or in passing, but especially those who comes to read more than once. It makes me excited especially when someone from another country (so not Canada) reads it (I've had the US, Australia, Russia, Ireland, France, UK, Poland, Turkey, Sweden and Germany) so I know they aren't just my friends from Canada that I've sort of mentioned my blog to and they read it out of obligation because they're so nice to me. 

I mean, I don't have trendy new designs people can buy or download, and I don't have tutorials or anything like that, so honestly the fact that anybody has read what I wrote even once makes me so so happy! I just like talking about my knitting, and whatever other thoughts I might have that sometimes aren't about knitting, and it looks like some people are actually enjoying it! It's a cool feeling that's quite hard to explain, but long cheesy story short, thanks guys!!