First FO of 2014.

I am happy to announce my first FO of 2014! :) I finished a pair of socks on 1/7.

My Sunset Waffle socks.
These socks were my very first pair of toe-up two at a time socks. I love everything about these socks, except for the cuffs. For some reason I am really disappointed with how the cuffs fit. They are on timeout until I feel like tackling whatever problem occurred. At least they are off the needles! :)

Of course I immediately had to cast on a second pair of socks, and I managed to complicate that as well. I wanted to have two separate balls of yarn, one for each sock. So I threw all of the yarn on the ground in a large circle, which created a huge mess across my apartment. I grabbed two chairs and wound the yarn around two chairs. From there I found both ends of the yarn and wound two balls from the skein. In order to do that I had to set down a ball of yarn after 1 rotation, and grab the other in order to ensure each ball was even. I had to do this crazy long process because I have yet to own a niddy-noddy, yarn swift, scale, and winder. Thankfully I survived the whole ordeal. But of course I ended up casting on a cuff down one at a time sock. All that work for nothing.

Oh well, the sock color is pretty!

This picture is prior to the frogging, and I am quite glad I ended up frogging it. I can tell that the cuff is far too large, and that I would have been devastated. Whew. Disaster averted. :) 

In other news, the mail man arrived on saturday and dropped off some goodies for me to pick up! Due to work I couldn't pick them up until today, but it made my Monday bright and cheery :) 

 

This image is from Knitpicks: Hue Shift Afghan Kit- Baby. This image is not my own, by any means, and is property of Knitpicks. 

I bought 2 of the Baby kits, and one of the Decor kits before it was discontinued. One of these kits is going to complete one of my resolutions for this year, knit a baby blanket before april. I have some work to do. I am slightly nervous to embark on this project, mainly because I have heard that many people tend to run out of yarn. I am thinking about intentionally dropping a half needle size to ensure that I am under gauge rather than over. Any left over yarn will go to my own blanket in this color way. I also received a bit of yarn for an order today, a slouchy beanie for a friend. Because of the colors (heather grey and mint), I am thinking about working on a stranded knit, which would be a first for me. 

Knitting for days! :D 

In regards to my other resolutions, I am still going strong. I am approximately 200 pages away from finishing my first book of the year, which is a tad bit behind schedule. Oh well. I think I can catch up quickly :) 

I think I have some work to do. Until next time, Kaliroo-ster and her roommates Miro and Maui say Hi! :D

New Year, New Post.

2014. 

Oh my. I can't believe it is already 2014. I feel like 2013 just started 4 months ago. Although, I didn't have a problem writing 2014 today. It was seamless, as if I had skipped 2013 all together.  

I Already have a great list of things that I need to work on this year. Resolutions I guess you could call them. Majority of them are knitting goals, although, there are a few others. 

Knitting goals: 

~ Knit 12-14 pairs of socks. Yes. I want to knit at least one pair of socks per month.

~ Knit a baby blanket before april. I'm crazy, I know. 

~Knit 1 cardigan. 

Personal goals: 

~ Read 50 books this year. 

~ Go to the gym at least 3 times a week. 

~ Continue eating a vegetarian diet as often as possible. 

~ Go outside more.

~ Go on an adventure. 

~ Learn how to sew on my new sewing machine! :)

I will keep you posted on how I do! :) Here is some yarn love for today. 

Have a great day/night! 

Return.

It certainly has been a while.

I stopped writing for a while for a couple of reasons. My life became hectic and unrelenting. School became stressful and demanding. If I wasn't curled up in my chair reading hundreds of pages about counseling theory, haptics, facial expressions, oral interpretation of children's literature, or the relationship between openness and new friend acceptance on Facebook, I could be found at work or sleeping. I needed some time away to focus on my studies.

The break was much needed and worthwhile. I graduated in May.

I am extremely proud to have studied at CSU Stanislaus. I learned so much and made many great friends. 

When I received this paper, I was pleased to discover that I had graduated with honors: Cum Laude. I was fairly certain that I was a short by a couple hundredths of a point. I guess not! The only thing this paper is missing is my concentration. I need to see if this is fixable. 

Aside from graduating, I had something else wonderful happen to me. Kevin surprised me with a kitty he adopted for me. She is the best. 

 

She loves bags. Her name is Kali, but we seem to call her Kaliroo-ster far more frequently. I love her to death. She makes me smile everyday! 

Aside from those two major life events, my life has been pretty stable. We moved apartments within a couple of months after I went MIA. However, my knitting habit is still thriving, and has most certainly improved over the last couple of years. 

Newborn-Vertebrae

Honey Cowl

Whippoorwill

Socks (Plain, no pattern)

Tell Me a Tail Bookmark 

 Swarley the Monster 

Sock Monster 

I also found my first knitting project when I was 9 years old. My great-great grandmother taught me, and held on to this silly WIP. I now have it sitting in my special box, untouched. 

                                      

Right now I have quite a few WIPs. Color Affection, A slouchy beanie for Kevin, a second sock monster, and socks for me. I have also acquired enough yarn for a cardigan and a lace-weight shirt. I need to get started on that cardigan, mainly because I want to wear it this winter, and I am not the fastest knitter. I am thinking of knitting this pattern: French Braid Cardigan. With this yarn: 

Madelinetosh Chunky: Firewood

There would be a definite learning curve for me. I have only knitted one garment before. But, how else am I going to learn? :)

If you have any recommendations, please feel free to comment below :)

Kaliroo-ster says it's nap time. 

Have a great day! :) 

My ever-growing special yarns

Hello everyone!

How has the weekend been going for you? I hope good :) So, because it has been a couple months before I could post anything about my summer, I thought I might show you some pictures of my favorite yarns so far! :D

Enjoy! :D

Catch up

Hello everyone!

My goodness it has been a long time since I have jumped on blogger to write. I feel like time flew by between work and school starting. I guess my priorities switched a little for the last couple of months :( But I'm back! And I have so many different things to show you!

Over the last few months I have managed to whip up a teddy bear for the cutest little one year old :)

Isn't it darling :) It was not too hard to make and was a joy to see come together.

I also mananged to work on a birthday present for a while (still not finished). The strangling vines scarf made out of knitpicks stroll tonal blue-violet sock yarn. It is coming out beautifully. Hopefully I can have it done soon :)

I also managed to revisit the water bottle holder I made

a while ago. This one was another birthday success :)

Last but not least I whipped up a Giant's beanie for my Kevin's mom :) I know she will love it!

Any Giant's fan would love to have this for their birthday :)

Have a great day!

Talk to you soon :)

Nikkole

Nichole Yarn

Hello everyone!

I bought this beautiful yarn at Adelas Yarn in Castro Valley, Ca. I fell in love with the colors and how soft the yarn felt against my skin :)

The colors reminded me of the beach, mainly because of the varying colors of blue/aqua to a light sandy color that reminded me of the sand and ocean colliding, all into one skein of yarn :)

The lady there was also very kind to wind it up for me :) I took it home and immediately started taking photos! I have no immediate plans for this yarn, but it is sitting right next to me in my chair and waiting for inspiration to hit :)

Have a great weekend!

Nikkole
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Golf cozy :)

Hello everyone!

I have exciting news! I have just finished my very first knitted project! I made up my own little pattern for a birthday present to Kevin's poppy :) I picked out a yarn that was his favorite color and went to work learning not only how to knit with sock yarn and circulars, but at the same time how to knit in the round and Kitchener stitch. It was definitively worth the time and difficulty to see his face light up!


It turned out fantastic :)


I hope everyone has had a wonderful last few weeks :) I will be posting soon about a beautiful luxury yarn that I bought and photographed, but that will have to wait until next time!

Have a great next couple of days!

Nikkole
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