Went into a store...

My friend introduced me to a local yarn store that I didn't know was near me all this time! It's called Black Sheep Yarns. 

It's so much nicer and such a different experience than the big box stores such as Wal-Mart and Michaels, and it feels more personal than buying yarn from online. There's a nice lady that works there who also is very knowledgable and was really nice about answering any questions.

Of course, I couldn't leave without buying anything! So I bought... 

I'm planning on making a super slouchy hat. Or maybe I'll make something else, but it was so soft, I had to buy it! 

A "Why me" sort of day

Sometimes when things go wrong, everything goes wrong. 

I guess that's what I get for buying cheap needles. Luckily, I had one of the same size that I didn't throw out yet, so I'm using that one to finish my project. 

But on top of this, my tablet is starting to break down, and I'm feeling sick on a long weekend. On the bright side... (because I'm trying my best to be optimistic here), my project is coming along quite well. No stitches dropped when transferring from one broken needle to the next! 

Starting Anew

It's been too hot to knit, hence the two month silence from me. But I've put aside all my walks, hikes, and outings with friends to finally, finally pick up this: 

Nothing like knitting in my PJs in the middle of an afternoon! 

I've been quiet

Sorry for the lack of updates! The last two weeks were pretty rough, as a big event happened in my life where I felt I hit a wall and was forced to come to many unsettling and uncomfortable realizations. Anyway, to keep my mind off unhappy matters, I actually haven't been knitting at all. I turned to other hobbies, some new, some really old.

One of them is puzzle building! 

I actually am 90% done now, so that's an old picture. But it took me two to three days to get to even this point. I used to be really into puzzle building- it actually depends if I come across a puzzle that I decide I really want to build. I can't really explain why, but it was oddly therapeutic building this. 

Another new hobby that I didn't even know existed until a week ago was colouring books for adults!

I love artsy things, and when I was a child I absolutely loved colouring in colouring books, so this is really nostalgic. It doesn't even feel childish either. It feels like I'm helping to complete something beautiful. And it is beautiful! 

This is all I've done so far. But isn't it neat? It's so intricate, and pretty, and creative. I just never thought I'd be colouring for fun again, and not even feel childish doing it. When I first heard of it, I knew I needed to buy it. 

Lastly, I've been trying to jog/hike - do something healthy, be closer to nature. 

Nothing like fresh air to keep a healthy mind! And I can't get enough of breathtaking views. 

So why aren't I knitting to keep my mind off unhappy things? Well, I love knitting obviously, but I find once I get comfortable with the pattern, it leaves more room in my head to think. And I just wanted to not think at all. Every other hobby I've mentioned above leaves me no space to think, requires all my convcentration or makes me too exhausted to think. 

Plus trying all these new things and rediscovering old things have made me really happy. I feel peaceful! 

Baby Princess

My first dress!

Unfortunately, not wearable for me. It is wearable for little toddler babies however! ... As well as my Lumpy bear!

It's so adorable!! I made some slight mistakes though - the armholes are uneven size (whoops!), but like usual, nothing major! I got really really lazy at the end however when weaving in ends ... I began to just tie a bunch of knots! Hope that that will hold the dress together and that the whole thing won't just burst as the poor child is running around.

Anyways, I think the dress will look good with a matching headband, don't you think? 

Procrastination

This is the problem when your pattern mostly calls for row after row of purely knits and purls. For all the love I have for knitting, it still gets boring. Today, I worked on my current project until I finished watching all the episodes there were to Episodes. Unfortunately, I couldn't find anything else worthy of watching on Netflix, and couldn't bring myself to knit without watching anything, so I put my knitting down for the day to focus on other things.

I went and bought my husky a long leash so that she could roam around the backyard by herself. 

She surprised me by following along near me quite well despite the option of not having to go where I go. It made me feel pretty gleeful as there was a part of me that was always a tad disappointed that she just isn't that loyal in comparison to Yuna who had moved out. But I guess she must be somewhat! It gave me a little hope that my dog does love me as much as I love her. (Okay, I knew she likes me, but she likes everybody, and I wanted to be special!)

Anyway, after hanging out with my dog, I only had the patience to knit two more rows before putting it down again to read a book. The last time I read a book must have been a couple of months ago! So this was nice (also, notice the familiar bookmark?)

I have this .. preference for only enjoying reading when I'm reading outloud. I mean, I can silent read, like when it's inconvenient to read outloud or my mouth is dry or something, but I really do like hearing my own voice say words. 

Too bad you can't knit and read at the same time, or else I'd probably trade in Netflix with a good book. It's also too bad that I don't like to listen to audio books! 

Anyway, I'm really hoping to get my ass in gear and finish the project by this week. I feel especially anxious to finish it since its for someone. But man.. I'm hating the repetitiveness of it all. 

In Dog News...

I love love love dogs! 

I slept over at my cousin's the other day and hung out with her Pom! 

I don't think I'm used to small dogs! They're so small and scuttle-y but so cute! Her Pom unfortunately doesn't get along with other dogs, so I can't let her play with mine. Speaking of, they are being all lovey dovey lately.

Sleeping together, and also playing together at the dog park! I tried out a new dog park, and although it's a bit further than my usual dog park, I like the environment there much better! More space, more shade, lots of bushes and logs and other things that scream nature! Here they are playing a scene from the Lion King!

Today, I only took Ellie out for a nature hike with my friend (my sister had Yuna at her place). 

I hope she enjoyed the walk! The scenery is beautiful! I'm so happy that there has been so much sun lately and that I actually get to enjoy it too! Blue skies, green grass.. And chilling under a tree, my kind of day! 

Too bad I didn't bring my knitting, it seems like it'd be a good spot to relax and knit loose! 

Baby Soft

An old old friend of mine spontaneously messaged me on Facebook asking if I could knit her something for her new baby. At first she asked for a baby blanket. My first thought was No Way.. Not for somebody I haven't talked to in years, and especially since I just finished knitting a baby blanket. And also because it's time consuming and expensive! 

But ... I have such a hard time saying "no" to people. Well, I did say no at first. And then I started feeling bad because somebody is basically just telling me they really like my work! However, since she didn't offer to pay me, and I felt too awkward to ask for any payment, I told her I will knit her what I felt like knitting. After all, I had some baby yarn in my stash I wanted to use! 

Soft colours, perfect for a little baby! 

Bag half full

I knitted my first ever bag (courtesy of Sweet Stranded Bag)! It's a drawstring bag, and despite what the picture might look like, I am not actually going to put buttons in there.

Instead, I want to fill it with my feminine hygiene products, as right now they're just thrown into my bag. But if you're also a woman, you'll know how embarrassing it is when you reach in to grab something from your purse and out falls a pad. So, I thought this cute little green hearted bag could help shield away some of that embarrassment!

I knitted this with leftover fingering yarn. This pattern clearly does not use a lot of yarn though because I still have a lot of leftover leftovers leftover.

The chord was made from just a single crochet chain used with my new bamboo hooks! I didn't make the same ichord that the pattern suggested because for the life of me, I could not get a handle on the provisional cast on.

I know, I know. Why did I give up learning a new skill? Well because I plainly didn't feel like trying and ripping something a million types. Trying to be more positive as a person, but my stress levels have taken a spike upwards. Knitting is happiness though!

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!