Peach iced tea for me please!

Hello everyone!

I hope that you guys are having a wonderful Monday! I am fully enjoying my Monday night, and I have had a wonderful day so far :) This morning I woke up early to write a paper for one of my classes (I finished it in a couple of hours) and I had a nice big bowl of cereal with some toast. After going to class for a couple of hours, I came home and decided that I have not had me time in a very long time. In fact, lately I have only had time for school, work, and working out...repeat. So as soon as I got home, I made a nice big cup of peach iced tea and I sat down with some yarn and really started working away at my knitting. I haven't quite gotten too far in the potential scarf, but I am very pleased with my results! Here is my rib stitch scarf :) This will be the very first scarf I will have knitted, so I am very excited!


When I figured out the order of the stitches and how it should look, the scarf just started coming along so fast with such instant gratification that my heart started racing! In a good way of course ;) I am excited to finish the scarf, regardless of the fact that it is getting warmer and warmer here. This is going to be an exciting summer full of knitting and crochet with some work on the side.

I hope everyone has a great next couple of days!

P.S. here is a couple of pictures from my campus. I just couldn't help myself. It was just so beautiful outside!

Nikkole
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Day 63 Pictures!

Hello everyone!

Sorry for my lack of posts. I feel so bad that I have not been able to post anything new or fun lately. I seem to only have time to work, workout, do homework, and then sleep [repeat everyday]. During this routine of my life, day 60 of p90x has come and passed! I finally had a day where I didn't have to get up at the crack of dawn and run out the door, so Kevin and I were able to take some pictures! Would you like to see???? Yes you do!!
Tada! My day 63 pictures! I lost an additional 2 pounds to make my total 13 pounds so far :D I am so happy with my results!

Until next time everyone!

Have a great day!

Nikkole
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Day 45 pictures :)

Hellooo everyone!

:D I hope you guys are having a great week! I am so glad today is Wednesday, because I have today and tomorrow off work! Yay! I have worked 5 days in a row with each one being 8 hour shifts with overtime. I am tired. I was able to sleep in this morning though, and boy was that super duper amazing! I woke up feeling refreshed and ready to enjoy my two days off and make something of my spring break other than work. I plan on going to a yarn store over the next couple of days :D I am very excited to go and marvel at all the lovely yarn all saying "take me home Nikkole!" haha. Well I do not have any thing new to show you as far as my creations. I am working on learning how to knit still, and I would rather not show you my failures quite yet ;) But I can show you my day 45 pictures from doing p90x! These pictures mark my half way point, and I can tell a huge difference in how I feel both emotionally and physically. I am very happy with my results, and I can't wait to start the next round all ready! Okay so here they are: This is my day 1... I was starting to become a whale.
Compare this to my day 30 pictures and you can see a huge difference!Tada! Here is my day 45 picture! Only 15 days after day 30 and you can see an improvement :D

I hope you enjoyed looking at my triumph! :D So as of today I have lost 11 and a half pounds, and I have lost about 3-4 pant sizes. Most of my clothes do not fit anymore, so that means I have to go shopping when I am at day 90! Such a great excuse to go shopping! I hope everyone has a great rest of the week! I will speak soon I promise (hopefully with a project this time)

Nikkole
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Happy St. Patrick's day! Free Four Leaf Clover ring pattern :)

Nobody can pinch me today! bahahahaha!


I may only have a percentage of Irish in me somewhere, but I am going to fully embrace the holiday with my Four Leaf Clover ring :)

Want one yourself? Let me show you how :) I will do my best to explain how I made this ring, but let me warn you that this is my first go at pattern writing/explanation. I comprised this of a few different styles of clover patterns, but mostly from this youtube video: click here!!!! The only difference between this video and my pattern is the beginning and how to make the ring. That being said, here we go!

my abbreviations are as follows:
ch--chain
tr--triple crochet
sc--single crochet

You will need:
Green yarn (I prefer worsted or dk. the yarn I used is wool of the andes avocado from knitpicks)
4mm G hook
Tapestry needle

First start out with a magic ring. ( take the yarn and wrap around your finger(s) so that you have the cut end towards you and the connected yarn on the back of your hand)

Round 1: Ch 4 into the ring. Then tr into the ring 2 times. ch 3. It should look like this:


sc into the ring (we are going to be working in the magic ring the whole time, so do not cinch together)

Round 2: Ch 3 into the ring. tr into the ring 2 times. ch 3. sc into ring.
Round 3-4: repeat round 2.


You should now have 4 petals.
Round 5: ch 5, that way you now have the stem. cinch the magic ring together (pull on the cut end of the magic ring). cut and fasten off.

Now to make the ring. We are going to use a tapestry needle to weave in the loose end from the stem of the Four Leaf Clover go in between the stitches until you reach a petal. Weave yarn in and out of the Four Leaf Clover then cut the yarn.

You should now have one loose string of yarn in the back of the Four Leaf Clover. Thread this string into the tapestry needle and push into the Four Leaf Clover so that you have a loop. Pull this loop tighter until it fits sung on your finger. Leaving the loop at the size you want, continue to weave in and out of the Four Leaf Clover until the loop is sturdy. weave the string into your work then cut.

Tada! You should now have the ring! :D

If you have any questions or comments please let me know and I will be happy to reply! Have a great day! :D

Nikkole
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And so it begins....

Hello everyone!

I know it has been forever! I am so sorry :( Life has gotten quite busy over the last ten days. I try to post every three days or so, but it seems that when you are running around like a crazy mad person, you forget to find some to blog. I am in the midst of the semester, so projects and exams are due. So I have been a busy girl! During the last couple of days, I have been working away! That's right! I got my job back that I was laid off from a couple months back. So now I have work on top of my 15 units of classes. Yay! I am so happy to be working again and getting regular paychecks. In celebration of getting my job back, Kevin was so sweet to give me a card with a gift certificate to a craft store in my area. I of course went shopping right away and got these lovely items :) I am excited to see what I can make with the bamboo yarn. It is so soft and delicate. I am also a little bit nervous to use the dpns. I am still new at knitting and hopefully I can pick it up pretty fast. I also have a couple of pictures from a learning swatch that I have been working on. So far I have learned a couple of things :) It's nothing special, but I like it just because I use it to learn :) Well... I guess it is time for me to return to the world of homework. Working now has limited my time to do homework even more than it already was. I hope everyone has a good next couple days! :) Enjoy the lovely weather changes :D (I get to see this every time I am on campus)


Nikkole
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Inches and Threads

Hello my lovelies!

How is everyone doing? I hope well! I am enjoying a Friday night at home with my yarn and study guides. I have been working on studying for two exams next week, and the one I had earlier today (I did okay). I am most looking forward to the abnormal psychology study guide, because it is just so interesting! But first before I continue in the land of homework, I wanted to show you guys my latest project! I bought some supplies to start working with crochet thread, and so far I have had a few successes. I think my favorite is the multi colored flower :)

Today was also my day 30 for P90x! So far I have lost a total of 6-7 lbs and a little more than a full dress size. The biggest difference is in my waist, abs, hips, and legs. Proof that this program really does work! I am even more excited to see how I look towards the summer time! Kev took this picture early in the morning, so forgive my tired, messy hair look ;)


I hope everyone has a great Friday!

Nikkole xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Two special gifts

Hello my darlings!

I hope everyone has had a great weekend! It is a beautiful Sunday afternoon here in California. No rain, only sunshine bliss. I am so sorry for the lack of posts this week. What can I say, school has started! Plus I was starting to feel guilty that I might not have had a project to show you. But after a couple of nights worth of hooking, I have two special gifts for a few people very dear to me. Remember that beautiful Chroma yarn that I had bought from Knitpicks? If not you can find it here. Well I have been going crazy thinking about what I want to make with such beautiful yarn. So I starting blog surfing, and I found this blog post with free pattern. Started right away, and I was even more happy when I realized I had enough yarn to make a second one! So of course, I asked Kevin's sister if she would like the other beanie. Of course she said yes!


I love the way both of them turned out. They are so soft, warm, adorable, and fun! The pattern is very easy to make, and I highly encourage you to try it out :D I didn't have to do any modifications to my head from the pattern, but some may have to because the pattern is made for a child, not an adult. I just have a small head and my yarn stretches well. Can you see the butterfly?

On another note, this Tuesday, I am going to be conducting a classroom observation and I am so excited! And to thank the teacher who so graciously said that she would let me come and observe any time I wanted, and Kevin's mom, who is an aid for special needs children and was so awesome to ask the teacher permission for me, I made a girls water bottle holder with a little V charm. I have yet to finish the teacher's water bottle holder (I am going to use red and blue for school colors with her own charm) but I am very happy to start another, and maybe even one for myself! Would you like to see how it turned out? I bet you do!


I love how beautiful it came out! I am sure it would look better with a water bottle in it though :) This holder is great for when you are on the go and need to carry around a water bottle, or even exercising! The yarn that is used is Sugar 'n Cream cotton yarn, which has a very distinct texture. This yarn makes great washcloths! :D

Well, I guess I should go and attend to my paper that needs writing. It is due tomorrow of course, so I should probably stop procrastinating. I figure if I finish quickly, I might make a quick trip to the craft store and grab some more Sugar 'n Cream yarn for my own water bottle holder! :)

Have a great start of the week everyone!

Nikkole
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