NaNoWriMo 2016!

It's been a long time coming back to this blog and I still can't promise that I will be updating this blog frequently but it currently seems like a good time to use it.

November is NaNoWriMo and this year, 2016, I am making a concerted effort to particpate and make it much further than I've made it before, unlike previous years, thanks to Boho Berry and her NaNoWriMo Bullet Journal.  She made it all seem so plausible and possible. I'll just leave this link here in case anyone else what's to check it out.

I have less time than I've ever had to do it as well.  I'm currently in my last year of college and it's taking more to stay update.  On top of this, I've recently gotten a job working overnight so a good amount of my time is spent doing school, working or sleeping..

To try and help myself in this situation, I've picked a story that's been mulling around in my head for the past few months.  They are characters I'm very familiar with but placed in a new place in life and a slightly different history.  Also I'm keeping the world quite simple.  There will be no magic, and the time is pretty current so there's no techonology or social rules that I have to work out.  The location and settings still need to be fleshed out but I'm generally confident about where it is and how it'll look.

On top of this, I'm actually doing an outline that has details.  I'm hoping that all of this will make the writing smoother and manageable.

Now the next question: by hand or on laptop I'd have to lug around...

Very mini haul

I was out doing errands for my mother today and I've reached the habit of checking out Dollar stores.  I've been on hunt for a specific type of pens sold at Dollarama and I finally found them (after visiting 4 other locations in the past 2 weeks).  I went elsewhere to continue mom's errands and went to another "Dollar Store".  I was about to walk back out when I finally found the quarter aisle of stationary.  I found a plain-ish set of star stickers for a dollar.  And then I saw the stamps - and not the cheap, crappy ones expected at a dollar store.  These ones are the same brand as the ones I've found at Michaels so I left with 2 of them and will be using them in my planner...obviously.

I also learned this week that not all Michaels stores are the same.  I went to a location that was by my old workplace, to see if I could find stickers and such for the Happy Planner.  I couldn't find the planner section at all, not even for their house brand, self building set. I asked the cashier and she said their location wasn't slotted to get the planners and therefore didn't get anything to do with planners.  That's just not right.

Happy I didn't wait

The "planners" I was waiting for, arrived today. I learned that I need to read descriptions more carefully.

It's still a nice enough but it's definitely not a planner.

It has potential if I make my own pages for it. One is definitely going to be used as is as a notebook. The other one will be set aside until I am better at making custom pages for it.

The brown one has an old leather feel to it, which I really like.  The green one is nice in colour but it doesn't feel anything like the brown one.

First new addition for the planner

After the first week with my planner, I realized I needed a quick way to get to the current week. So I made myself a tab to mark the week.

For my first try, it turned out okay. The construction and functionality is great. I just would like to have done a better lamination job.  On the design side, there's a lot to be desired. I can do much better, given enough time and I'll take the time to make a better one for a later date.

This gives me good encouragement to make things like dashboards and also lets me know that I do not need to get an Arc Punch.  A hole puncher and a pair of scizors can work just fine.  However, a laminating machine is much more cost effective that laminating sheets so I should save up and get one of those instead.

Happy Planner

I was finally able to get one of my planners on Sunday.  I went to Michaels' with my friend Jaci and made a bee line for the planners.  First thing I did was pick up the green one and hugged it to me like it was my favourite blankie.  I adore this thing.

It's a Happy Planner by Me and My Big Ideas.  I love the fact that's a disc bound system

I picked up many other things that day as well.  I got a mini stapler that has green staples (can't go wrong with that), washi tape, a couple of folders, sticker paper, larger disc rings from Arc, stamps, stamp pads...I felt like I went mad and loved every minute of it.

I was hesitant about how I would use my Happy Planner but now that I have it, I am seeing the potential left, right, YouTube, Etsy and Pinterest.  I am going to try and hold myself back and keep the decorating to one week at a time, preferably on a Sunday evening, before the new week begins.  Any appointments and reminders etc, will be added by either pencil or post-it note so that everything can be finally put in on the Sunday evening before.

I don't use the Morning/Afternoon/ Evening part.  I just don't sort my days like that.  I am still working out exactly how I will sort it but I'm leaning towards a daily To Do list, Reminders, Appointments and Due type of list.

I'm still waiting for the other one (it's really 2 identical ones) in the mail.  I got the stitch markers that I ordered the same day which is came from the same country so I assume that it will be very soon.

As I get used to this planner, I will post more about my journey of being more organized.

Planner Shopping

I am so anxious to get a planner. I do have one I purchased from my school bookstore however it doesn't have a monthly calendar and as I've been looking around, I just don't think it's enough. I've turned it into my Gratitude Journal since each day has a dedicated page.

I went into Indigo-Chapters to check out a Kate Spade planner. It only had the large size and it was the same thing at the Kate Spade store in the mall. While I like the general layout of it, I wasn't completely impressed. It's coiled and I can't move anything around.

I have 2 identical planners that are on their way to my house. They seem to be a good size based on the measurement provided on the website and they have binder rings. If the pages don't work, I can switch them out or make my own, no problem (other than wanting to use a heavier grade paper than regular computer paper).

On Sunday I'm going to Michaels with glee 😀 Me and My Big Ideas planners are now being sold in Canada through Michaels. I'm pretty sure this will meet my needs. I can move things around. I can customize it. I can change its size. The only thing I can't change is the vertical week layout. I don't know if I'll have enough space to write what I need. I won't know until I try it.

Missed Opportunities

I feel as if I had a missed opportunity and I really wish I had taken it.

I have the decent skill of singing and I enjoy it very much. I don't want to make my living at it, mind you but I do enjoy singing.  Unfortunately, I don't have as many opportunities as I did before.  Last night at my church, there was a Café Night, which contains musical performances, spoken word, dance, etc.  Someone asked me last night why I didn't sing.

My honest answer was no one had asked me. The thought never occurred to me to even ask if I could sing that night.  I had not actually had anything prepared.  I had a song in mind close to the end that I had done without accompaniment before but I also have the tendency not to always get the right key to start off on and generally it will end up being too high.

Despite all of that, I went home wishing that I had sung

In smaller pieces

I came to an understanding about myself as I finished washing the dishes.  I am better at doing small tasks than large projects.  This doesn't mean I can't do large project.  It just means I have to break the project down step by step and do then do all the steps.  I have a tendency to look at the big project, get overwhelmed and generally end up not doing anything which doesn't bode well for getting anything done.

I think this is why I really want to get a good planner going, and having it done exactly like how I want it done.  I'm going to try coming up with a few Gantt charts for the planner so at the very least, I can make a rough draft for whatever project I need to do and see what steps need to be taken.

On the Rails

Excited?  Definitely!  I went back to Ikea and got the proper rails I was looking for, Bygel Rail, and a couple more Bygel containers.  I kept my eye on the prize and did my best not to pay attention to anything else in the store.  I also stopped at Canadian Tire and got the proper screws since the rail doesn't actually come with them.  I was going to wait for my brother to help me but luckily my mom brought back some common sense into my head.

I put my bed together. 

I put my bookshelf together. 

I put my desk together. 

Why the heck do I need my brother to put a few screws into the wall?

It turned out great.  I probably should have measured it but I only have a tape measure which wouldn't even guarentee me a straight line, much less one parallel to the ground.  I eye balled it and it looks even to me.

I even added a few of my smaller plushies in the extra space on the rails. The top left bucket has Target from when I worked at Target.  I know his name is supposed to be Spot but now that's he's mine, it's Target. On the bottom rail are my 2 elephants from when I worked at Old Navy called Ella and Phanté and according to Ella's but, I've had them since 2006.

Research

Kinda apprehensive.  Kinda excited.  Kinda nervous  Kinda determined.  Why?  I want to do a lot better than I did last year for school and keep an upward momentum.  I believe a good plan can help with thatas well as a good planner.

In my previous post, I mentioned planner pages.  As much as I'd like to have a custom planner,  I don't have the equipment necesary at this time and I honestly don't believe I have the money to do it before the school year starts.  Therefore I have been looking online for the best planner that's affordable for me.

So far, I'm really liking the Kate Spade 2015 planner that I found on Indigo.  I read the reviews below and many people complained that the gold dots wore off very quickly.  If that's the only complaint, then it's not too much of a problem for me.  The one I preferred was the one with the black stripes across it.  The planner has the horizontal week to week section.  It seemed to me to be a hard find since most of the nicer planners I've seen online have the vertical day to day planner.  My writing takes up too much space for me to be able to use that properly.

While researching planners, a few things have popped out at me.  The Xyron and their sticker maker.  I want one so badly.  I found the sticker maker on Amazon (.com and .ca).  I also discovered the Sharpie Pens which can write washi tape.  On top of that, I saw saw tutorials on making stickers witha  regular printer and making post-it notes.  Put it this way, I have to find my way to Michael's or Walmart to get what is needed.

YouTube Videos that are inspiring me today:
- Alexis aka: MissTreenchcoat

Oh how I ♥ Ikea!

So...I bought a new desk from Ikea.  And it's about time too.  I've been living for 7 years using my bed or the kitchen table.

It's the Micke with Intergrated Storage.  The storage section is not the same size as the Expedit/Kallax shelving system unfortunately but it can hold some decent sized things.  I really do like it but it's only one part of getting this room and myself more organized. Since I've been watching many YouTube videos in regards to either planning or organizing, I also picked up these nifty Bygel containers.

I got 3 of them in white.  I opted out of the green since the walls are green as well and I think the white will stand out nicely.

I'm not ready to put of pictures just yet.  I puchased the incorrect....no, let's be more specific.  I picked up a drawer or door handle when I really wanted a towel rail to hang things off of.  So that has to go back to the store.  And since I'll be back at Ikea anyways, I can pick up the correct thing plus a few more and only spend a few more dollars.  Let's not go into the next Ikea trip I have planned to take in a couple of weeks or so.

There are ideas floating around my head to personalize this desk a bit more but that will have come at a later date.

Becoming a "Do-It-Yourself"er

As the new school year approaches, my mind is constantly thinking of new ways to become more organized and staying on top of my work.  In comes Pinterest with it's planner suggestions.

I have been on a YouTube kick of finding better Planners.  They are great but just about everything costs money and sometimes to an absurdly high amount (in my opinion).  Luckily while perusing through Pinterest, I found a video called How to Make Inserts using Microsoft Excel.  BOOM!  Mind blown and at a much more affordable rate.

I'm still trying to find a design that I really like.  I'm getting close but I don't think I'm there yet.  So far I have:

• Days of the Week
• Water intake
• "This Week" which is what need to be done over the week
• "Next Week" which is what is supposed to be happening for the upcoming week
• "Crafting Arts" which is where I can write down anything craft related for my blog
• "Random Ideas" for any ideas that I want to get down before I forget about them
• "Daily Checklist" which is a list of things that need to be done daily.  There is also an accompanying check box for this in the "Days of the Week" section

 

I still need to put together a month by month calender and maybe a day by day section as well.  I love Excel!  The next plan is to have a full size one that goes only with the portable one.

Good Yarn Related Week? It feels like it

WIPS
-Soft Stones by Ela Torente
Progress is feels like it's actually being made.  I finished the upper back, did the boatneck and now I'm working my way down the front.

-Cabled Helix Socks by Karen Buhr
The progress I've made is barely worth a mention.  I'm half way through the heel.  Since the last update, I was right before the heel...I will hopefully have more progress to show for this next update, like a completed sock.

-#100DayChallenge
As much as I love the Blankie, I have managed a couple of days without adding anything new...like Friday and Saturday.  I still manage to get some knitting done on other projects.

Almost an FO
-Plain Ol' Strippy Socks 
Eeek!  I had put these socks down months ago because I was struggling with picking up the stitches of the afterthought heels.  Tanya, lovely woman that she is, took my sock home with her and did it for me.  The only thing I have to do now is put in the heel.  I could have technically done this the same day she brought it back for me but somehow I didn't do it.  Next update, it will definitely be an FO.

Why this picture looks like it's a part of a romantic movie with soft focus is beyond me

Coming Back on the Needles
-Quick Silver
This shawl is so addictive and the only reason I put it down is because I wanted to make some progress on my other timed projects, which I have done.  So this week, I going to pick it back up again, especially since I have about another 2 weeks to get it done.

Stash Enhancement
It was mostly a pattern stash enhancement but of course, I do like what I got.
-Celtic Myths by Asita Krebs
A crescent shaped shawl, celtic themed cables with a bit of lace work that is available for free on Ravelry.

-A Little Old Fashioned by Lalie Roque
A Captain America themed circular shawl with a little crocheted edge.  The regular price is $3.50 USD but if you use the coupon code by May 31st 2015, you can get it for free.  (coupon code: language)

On a side note, as soon as I saw the pattern, I had to send a message to my friend JB because I knew she would LOVE it!

-Niamh by Woolly Wormhead
Cabled hat with buttons.  That was enough for me.  I love cables and if you can stylistically place buttons on it as well, I am all for it.  The regular price is £3.50 GBP

Stash Enhancement Amendment
This is kind of a stash enhancement but not quite since I already technically owned the yarn.  I dyed my first skein of  self stripping yarn.  I didn't turn out exactly as I was expecting however I have made adjustments to the colour recipe to fix that problem.

I call it The Evil Queen (or Regina).  It's a 4 stripe, 3 colour pattern.  The only problem as of yet is that it is very hard to see the purple.  I wanted a royal purple and somehow it turned into a navy-ish purple.  The other problem is that it's sandwiched between the blacks making it even more difficult to see...although now that I think about it this gives me 2 different colour way idea still based around The Evil Queen /Regina from Once Upon a Time.

I am anxious to dye another self stripping skein however I have realized I am getting low on acid dyes therefore, I need to learn how to use it more sparingly and to buy some more.  On top of that, I need more white or undyed yarn to continue with my expirimentations.

More than 5 days past since I was supposed to do this

I really can't say anything else other than I just didn't feel like it.  It definitely not that there was no knitting related things going on in the past almost week and a half.  I managed to cast on a shawl, enhanced my stash, participate in a VKN...I'm even currently dyeing yarn. Let's just get going on this.

Casted on
I was finally able to start my Quick Silver shawl and let me say that I love it and I am surprised with how much I have done so quickly. I'm also kinda proud since the blue yarn I used is my first attempt at dyeing with an acid base in my slow cooker.  The changes in the blue go from a dark sapphire colour to a really pale blue that's almost white.  The black yarn is from my shopping trip in my Stash Enhancement.

WIP
Soft Stones Sweater
Not much has been done on the sweater for this week since I have been focusing my attention on the Quick Silver shawl.  I have until the end of June, I think to finish it.  I did finally manage to get around to taking a picture and it definitely looks cool.  See?

#BBSC2015
I'm still making progress on my May socks.  As much as I like the Cabled Helix Socks, I didn't want to do the same design as stated in the pattern for the foot.  I have an idea in my head as to what I want to do and since I have never modified a pattern as much as this, I'm going to have to pull out some graph paper and draw it out...keep in mind I'm still on the halfway through the leg.

#100DayChallenge aka: Sock Blankie
I am not even sure how many I've done since the last update.  I missed Saturday.  Oh well.  I've finally made it to the other side of the blanket.  It's almost even and it makes me so giddy and happy.  I'm working my way back across.  Oh yeah, I also calculated how many squares I'll need for this...1446...yeah, I'm currently about 220.  This is going to take awhile. 

Stash Enhancement
Last week Friday, I met up with an old friend named JB.  We had so much fun.  We went to Lettuce Knit and Romni as well as a restaurant called The Grilled Cheese (absoulutely yum!).  At Lettuce Knit, I discovered many Canadian Indie Dyers and I wanted to leave with just about EVERYTHING!  Suffice it to say, I was reasonably good and left with a skein of Ancient Arts Fibre Crafts 100% BFL Yarn in the colourway Le Chat Noir and a set of fixed circular needles from ChiaoGoo (6US/100cm).  The yarn is so much softer and squishier than I thought it would be.

We then went down to Romni Wool.  Let's just say it was hard to leave with only 1 skein but I did it.  It was Regia World Ball Color Schachenmyer Nomotta (I think).  It's discontinued and I had to guestimate on the name of the colourway since it only had numbers on the ball label.  When I compared it to other skeins I saw on Ravelry, I looked like the colourway Madrid so we'll pretend that's exactly what it is.

JB also brought me a gift of mini-skeins to add to my Sock Blankie.  I haven't used any of them yet but give me time.  I know there's some self-striping yarn that I'm looking forward to using it. 

She even added some stitch markers she had made.  They are such a bright orange it's next to impossible to miss them but somehow I managed to misplace and not find it until the next morning.

Inordinately pleased with myself

I was unable to continue with the Exploration Station shawl because of this stitch.  I brought it up to my friend Tanya last week when I saw her.  She found a tutorial from The Purl Soho entitled Brioche Stitch.  So easy to follow the instructions there.

Next thing to learn: 2-colour brioche and then I'll be ready to take on the Exploration Station again.

Off week?

Quality time with mom
It's sad that my mother is recovering from a broken wrist but I must say that I love getting to spend time with her.  She just can't stay at home though.Twice this week she comes to my room and tells me that we're going out.  Monday we made it to Promenade Mall, close to our old house.  She made sure I came home with 3 dresses, 2 shirts, 3 tank tops and a sweater.  After that, we went out to Swiss Chalet and ate dinner together.  She actually ate something.  Today, she came back to my room and said that we're going out again.  This time we went to Vaughan Mills.  We found 2 dresses that she wanted to get for me.  I wasn't too fond of the price so we decided we'd come back later and hope that they were on clearance or sale.  We went to 2 more stores out of the mall and we each came home with new purses (mine is awesome and green and can fit a knitting bag so I definitely can't complain).  I told her next time we go out we're not allowed to spend any money or else we'll both be broke.

Happening...
I got a tea to go to.  I have never gone for tea.  I don't even really like tea however this is an opportunity to see some of my old co-workers (and maybe they'll have the option of hot chocolate instead).

WIPS
#BBSC2015
I finished my April socks over a week ago and I pulled out my May sock yarn.  I pretty much stared at the yarn up until Tuesday evening, when I finally cast on a pair of socks.  It wasn't the Maeve socks like I planned.

I'm doing the Cabled Helix Socks by Karen Buhr (I had done the test knit for the pattern last year) and the yarn is Groverkill by Indigodragonfly.  I refused to go to bed until I finished the cuff.  I started on the leg this morning and it's coming along well.

Soft Stones Sweater KAL
I casted on the Soft Stones Sweater by Ela Torrente last Thursday night.  It's coming along well but I'm still on the first section.  I had hoped to be further along before this upcoming Friday since I'm supposed to be starting the Quick Silver on Friday.

#100DayChallenge - Sock Yarn Blankie
For the first time since I started this challenge I not only missed one day but I ended up missing 2 in a row.  I came home after my last exam on Friday, talked with my mom while preparing food for church the next day and then promptly went to sleep.  I didn't wake up until the next morning.  On Saturday, I went to church and after we came home, we left again to go and visit a family friend and didn't come back home until almost 1 o'clock in the morning.  Believe me, knitting was the last thing on my mind was adding in a square.

I didn't even attempt to make any extras to make it up.  What's done is done but I got myself back on track and made progress on Sunday.

I do have somewhat of a picture of the current state (before the last added squares).  It's too big for me to take a full picture.  It's almost all 4 squares deep!  I am very proud of the progress that has been made.

I haven't managed to finish anything this week and I've been good and haven't added anything to my stash.  I nearly did though but it turned out I already had the pattern in my library.

Just a little bit of squeeing!

I attended my first VKN (Video Knit Night for the crafting-muggles) though Sarah from The Canadian Knitter's Podcast,  I have been wanting to join since she first started talking about them however with Wednesday night classes, it was a bit difficult.  Luckily tonight after class (which was a final exam), I looked on Ravelry and saw the notice of the VKN.  I clicked the link and got through.  So much fun.

As an added bonus, a question I had got answered.  One of the participants, JB, is the sister of one of my old highschool friends.  He even came on quickly to say hi before quickly departing.

And now that I've done this, I will be looking forward to other VKN

This week of knitting

Meeting other crafty people
I had everything planned for this weekend.  I was going to go to the Toronto Knitter's Frolic.  I have never been before and it sounded so exciting to go to the marketplace.  And then a wrench fell in my plans.  My mother had an unexpected surgery on Thursday and I stayed home with her on Saturday...the only day of the marketplace.  Sad as it is, I'm much more concerned with my mother's health than buying more yarn, especially considering I could go to an LYS in Toronto  at any other time of the year.  So suffice it to say I'm planning to go on an LYS trip in a couple of weeks.  I wish I did have the opportunity to meet more knitters though.

While waiting for my mother to come out of recovery on Thursday, I saw a woman crocheting a hat.  Despite not usually being a person to talk to people that I don't know, as an interested crafter, I started a conversation with her (and it also helped that she didn't like she was crazy or anything and she had a cool name - Hermione - never met anyone in real life with that name).  We sat there discussing crafting and the program she runs at her church to teach all kinds of crafting.  I pulled out my socks and she was fascinated by them since she's never tried to knit socks but she has done booties.  I plan to make my way to one of meetings at her church to see how it is once exams are done.

WIP
Vanilla Latte
The heel has been turned!  I love the FLK heel :)  I just have a good chunk of the foot to do but it seems quite feasable and I hope to be finished by the end of this month.  I am looking forward to wearing these socks!  The first one fits perfectly other than wanting it to be a bit longer on the leg.

Sock Blankie
Progress is being made!  I had to find the instructions on how to do a side triangle but I did it!  I think I only have 2 rows more to even out the top row but I don't know how long that is going to take. The hardest decisions for the blanket is picking out colours that I haven't used close together so to speak...and that sentence does not make sense.  I just need to spread out the colours and types of colours a lot more

Stash Enhancement
Nicole C. Mendez Yarn and a Stitch Marker
I have always wanted a pair of rainbow socks...or at least since I've gotten into the self stripping kick.  Random search on Etsy brought me to Nicole C. Mendez.  She seems to do rainbow yarns on a variety of yarn weights.  And the price is very inexpensive, especially considering the fact that it came from Germany.  On top of the price it arrived in just over a week.

Let's not forget about the stitch marker I got from her as well.  It's called Tree of Life.  Absolutely simple and beautiful, just my style.

Creations by Uli
Ever since I heard Ginny from Penguin Soup talking about her chain mail bracelet and stitch markers, I added Creations by Uli to my Etsy favourites and well as following her on Instagram.  When I saw the set with the Eiffle Tower, I realized this was the time to buy and I was not disappointed when I got it.  I showed them to Hermione and she asked me to order her a set.  I am definitely willing to buy more.

Soft Stones Sweater by Ela Torrente
This is what comes from stalking the "Patterns: Sales & Promo" thread on Ravelry...again. This pattern by Ela Torrente is exactly what I was looking for in a sweater.  It's a boat neck and it's got positive ease.  I can change it a 3/4 sleeve if I want to.  This one had me giddy.  It's on sale for 50% off until April 26th, Rome time...and that time has passed for the sale.

Quick Silver by Melanie Berg
I have been eyeing this pattern for a month or so after seeing on a podcast but I can't remember which one. 

KAL & Plans
#BBSC2015
Haven't selected the yarn yet since I'm not finished the Vanilla Lattes yet.  However, I really want to knit with Must Stash Yarn's Dark Side of the Moon, especially since there's a KAL going on starting on May 1st I think, or it's already started.  No prizes involved which is perfectly fine.  It's just for fun.

Soft Stones Sweater (by Ela Torrente)
First of all, got the pattern for 50% off.  I cannot complain.  It's a boatneck sweater which I wanted to make for a long time.  I think I have the yardage required in stash (or at least I will once I pull the Explorer Station shawl that I am obviously not finishing since I still can't Brioche...but I'm not bitter.  The KAL starts on May 1st and goes until July 1st.

The main colour yarn I've chosen is Wollmeise Twin in the colourway 13 AL.  I'll decided on the other 2 contrast colours later.

Quick Silver (Melanie Berg and Stitch Addiction)
It's all Kate's fault (host of the Stitch Addiction Podcast).  Before I even saw the latest episode, I saw the thread called Shawl KAL.  I went through my list of shawls that I wanted to do and narrowed it down to 4 patterns.  Then while browsing through that list of 4 trying to figure out what to do, I noticed that Melanie Berg, the designer of Quick Silver, is having an Any Shawl KAL, provided it's a Melanie Berg shawl...so why not?  The Stitch Addiction KAL starts May 1st and ends June 30th.  Melanie Berg's KAL starts on May 8th and goes until June 12th.

I don't think I have enough yarn in my stash, or at least I don't have yarn that I'm really inspired to work with in my stash...but I could always attempt to dye a couple of skeins...hmmm....ideas....

To Dye or Not to Dye
It will be called either Regina or The Evil Queen
Obviously procrastination is a big factor for me.  I can plan for ages and months to years later, I still haven't done it.  I have been wanting to do my first skein of a self stripping yarn.  The plan was to buy glass jars and dye it this weekend.  But what had really happened was that I bought 2 deep plastic containers and still didn't dye anything

Nightwing or Robin
I told one of my cousins I call 'kilah that I was going to knit her a pair of socks based on Young Justice.  By the time we finished on the discussion about colour, it as determined she just wanted it centred about Robin/Nightwing from the cartoon.  I'm pretty sure I can get the colours from what I have but since I have not dyed self stripping before (hint hint), I just don't want to mess it up since it's not for myself in the end.

On TV/Netflix this week
A Different World
This show is still pure awesomeness despite the fact it's from like 25 years ago.  I think I'm in season 5.  Dwayne and Whitley are engaged.  Ron and Kim are dancing around each other.  Ron and Freddie had a make out session on live radio without their knowledge.  Col. Taylor is about to become a father again.  Terrence and Lena are hilarious!  I don't know what I'm going to do when I finish watching all the seasons.  I seriously wish that there was a continuation of the show like 25-30 years later.

Arrow/Flash
I just don't know what to say without this becoming spoiler ridden for those who watch the show.  It is just awesome and I am looking forward to the spinoff that is supposed to come with the Atom (love Brandon Routh).  And Black Canary is really starting to come together!  I'm so excited.  There's only one thing that I didn't really like but I'm sure the characters will get through it and head in a better direction.  Maybe in the summer I'll go further into this...when people have had a chance to catch up and this season is over.

Orphan Black
Excuse me as I drool on the floor.  The clones are back!  While I am excited to see the Leda clones are back, I am seriously more interested in the Castor clones.  They seem to be a lot more self aware than their Leda counterparts.  I am still trying to figure out how Tatiana Maslani does it.  She played Sarah, pretending to be Rachel and you could tell that it really wasn't Rachel.  They're played by the exact same person!  Tatiana deserves all the awards for this show.  I could have used some more Felix this episode but I know he'll get more time as the season goes on.  Helena and her dream sequence was so sweet too bad it wasn't really happening although I do want it to happen for her.

All I really want to do is watch Dwayne and Whitley

I came no where close to knitting as much as I wanted to this week.  I guess I had other things on my mind like doing group projects, interview nerves and discovering that Netflix finally has "A Different World" which just absolutely awesome!

WIPS
I thought I would have been able to finish my April socks this week.  That definitely did not happen.  I am only half way through the leg.  There's no point of showing a progress picture of it at all.  I'm still oohing and ahhing over the way the colours are swirling around the socks

My Sock Blankie is the only thing that got constant attention this week.  I added 8 squares throughout the week  I really like some of the square designs I did, especially the stripping ones.  I was kind of bummed that I didn't add a square on Friday.  It was such a long day that I reached home 7p, went to bed about 7:30p and didn't wake up until almost 7a the next day.  I did 2 on Saturday to make it seem a little more balanced to me.

 

Isn't the pink on pink square adorable?

Stash Enhancement

I did not make any new purchases this week (being broke will do that to you).  This is a week of waiting for orders to come to me!  I got my first skein of yarn from Penguin Soup (aka: Ginny).  She's a Canadian Dyer that I discovered while looking for knitting podcasts.  I think Ginny was the inspiration for wanting self-stripping yarn socks.  I had every intention of buying a skein from her from when I first saw the yarn but being unemployed and then having limited employment makes one have to think twice on what money is spent on - darn transportation needs...

When I saw that Ginny was doing a Firefly yarn club called Firefly: The Shiny Club, I felt the need to finally get my toes wet in Penguin Soup yarn.  The first skein arrived on Wednesday and it is gorgeous.  Let me say one thing though, I hate sparkle.  I have always associated it with little girls, girly-girls, drag queens and Michael Jackson.  I do not fit into any of those catagories however I'm pretty certain my little sister is going from a little girl to a girly girl and she ADORES sparkly things.  I had one exception and that is for a diamond.  It's my birthstone and I want the diamond to be as sparkly as it wants to be as long as rest is generally sedate...wow, I kinda went off topic there.  Back to matter at hand...I don't like sparkles.

There is now another exception.  I like sparkles on the skein of Penguin Soup yarn I got this week.  It's no where close to overpowering and it so much nicer quality that a skein of yarn that I had previously purchased and ended up using for socks for my aunt.  She loved it.  I hated kntting with it and the sparkles were coming off on my hands.

This skein of Kaylee inspired sock yarn called "She'll Fool Ya!" is staying mine!

This week in my Knitting Life

This week has actually been pretty good in general.  My birthday passed and I didn't work on it either.  I spent it with family.  I had a blast with my much 2 of my brothers and my sister.  My dad and step-mother and the kids took me out to dinner.  When I got back home, I took selfies with just about every member of my family, looked through a ton of old pictures that my grandfather had.

I had my last day of work for Target Canada and I couldn't be happier.  It was a great place before liquidation started.  After it did, the customers seemed drastically different than the ones that used to come into the store before and it just made work no longer fun.  I got an email about a job the day before my last day, did a successful phone interview and I have a group interview on this upcoming Friday

#100DayChallenge
I spend way too much on Instgram.  That is a given.  I love to go through the Explore tab and this time I saw the #100DayChallenge.  Basically it's about starting a new habit or challenge for 100 days, take pictures and put it on Instagram and tag it....so I've got the first one going pretty good and the picture taking part but I think I'm going to nix putting it on Instagram because putting pictures of knitting squares seems kind of repetitive after the 2nd day.  And the reason for the repetitiveness is because I decided to add a square a day on my Sock Square Blankie.

I am liking doing this.  There has already been a day where I added 3 instead of just 1.  I still have to do a square a day no matter how many I went over the day before.  I can see a lot of progress being done on this project by the end of the 100 days.

I also added onto the challenge to drink water at least once a day.  I have a tendancy to drink a lot of soda and juice and if that's not available or the water is not room temperature, I have been know to just not drink anything at all for the day.  And since I got this cute tumbler from Target (one of my final purchases) with a feather on it, I drink at least one of these a day.  It also doubles as an alarm clock first thing in the morning.

WIPs
If I haven't been working on my Sock Square Blankie, I have been working on the Vanilla Latte socks.  I just finished the toe on Saturday night and tried the sock on.  I absolutely love it.  The FLK heel I did was the absolute best I have ever done.  I only have 1 little hole on the side but I'm working on perfecting my technique.  The sock yarn I'm using is from my stash.  I wish I had more...or that Knitpicks still made the colourway but now I do want to get other varigated sock yarns from Knitpicks.  It's been awhile since I've made an order.  We'll see.

I haven't done anything for the Plain Stripy socks but if I do manage to get the Vanilla Latte socks done this week (crossing my fingers that I do), I'll get cracking on them afterwards.

Stash Enhancements
A few weeks ago, while watch The Canadian Knitter Podcast on Youtube, Sarah mentioned a thread to watch on Ravelry called **Patterns: Sales and Promos.  It has now become a thread I check every day.  From there, I have found lovely patterns that are discounted for initial release (and sometimes that means free!).  From stalking the thread I have aquired:

• Rorqual Shawl by Laura Aylor
• Flieder Hat by Olya Bagi
• Leafy Lisa Shawlette by Kelli Slack
• Equinox Cowl by Nat Raedwulf
• Dragon to Butterfly Shawl by Dragonbird Creations

I think I'm on a "let's put it around the neck" kick.

Sarah mentioned specifically mentioned a pattern called FivebySix by Ellen Kardell.  It's free until April 13th so I took advantage.

On it's way
This is a wonderful week (or 2) for the mailbox for me.  I got a email notification that the first month of the Firefly: The Shiny Club by Penguin Soup is on it's way.  You can't see meright now but there is a huge grin on my face.

On top of that I went on Etsy and purchased a set of stitch markers by Creations by Uli.  I saw a set that she had made for Fibres West.  It had an Eiffle tower on it.  I love anything that reminds me of France (I'm also have a hankering to decorate my room in a Parisian theme and eventually get around to it). I just had to get, even though it's been weeks.

And because while scoping Etsy after my Creations by Uli purchase, I saw that a Rainbow Sock yarn by Nicole C. Mendez was available...so eventhough I said I was not going to be making any purchases due to an event at the end of the month, I saw the total for a tree stitch marker and the yarn and including shipping it was less than $24 including shiping.  So that's on it's way too.

On the other hand...
I need to pick out a pair of socks for early Friday morning.  I have no clean handknit socks.  I am half way through quite a few pairs.  I'm really wanting to wear the Vanilla Latte socks that I'm currently working on but I don't know if I'll finish it within the week.  I know I could get the Plain Ol' Stripy socks (Part Deux) done in time but I'm not sure if those are the ones I want to wear.

Knitting First World Problems...