crazy payoff!

I watch a lot of podcasts these days and one of my new favorites is The Fat Squirrel Speaks. If you're up for some fibery fun, you should definitely go check her out. She's hilarious! Really. Go! I'll be here when you get back... =)

Over the holiday season, Amy Beth (of the above podcast) had a contest in her group on Ravelry for everyone to post their crazy. Mine? Knitting way too many things for Christmas! She did the drawing and guess what? I won an ebook! Such cute patterns too. This is the ebook I won:

I think that hat on the right will be the first one I try. Love it!

I also was gifted a pattern from a friend for my birthday! Aren't I the lucky girl?! I've seen this shawl (Piper's Journey) on a few podcasts and love it. I'd planned to buy the pattern when I was ready to start it so had it in my queue. =) Isn't it pretty?

I've seen this done in two colors and love the effect! The garter will be nice and relaxing and that lace edging is just enough detail to keep it interesting. This might end up being the year of the shawl for me. =)

Speaking if shawls, I've started on the shawl I'm testknitting but all this overtime at work is killing any knitting progress! It's just far enough along to start showing the pattern well when stretched out, but it's still so tiny!

It's difficult to stretch it out and take a photo. I promise a good shot when it's completed and blocked. =)

I did finish the hat I posted last week:

Not a great pic, but it was dark already when I finished it up on New Year's Eve and had to take a shot to post for the KAL. =)
(project details on Ravelry)

Want a peek at some of what I plan to use use up this year?

The fingering weight yarn on top is what I'm using for the current shawl. The oatmeal color yarn underneath is destined to become a sweater, though I don't yet know which pattern. The cream wool on the left will become a sheep hat:

Isn't that adorable?? I plan to dye some of the skein green for the grassy part. No new yarns, remember? =) I also have a bag of baby-appropriate yarns:

Mostly cotton and cotton blends with just a two small skeins of acrylic.

And I just had to share my little goofball:

Reilly's a good distraction from all the paid work! =)

Happy new year! =)

I hope you all had a safe and happy new year! Mine was quiet... just as I like it. =) Do you have any big plans for the new year? Mine are pretty similar to what I've planned in past years. 2012 brought about some big changes for me. I went from living in a nearly 1000sqft mobile home to living in under 200sqft in an rv. I made a trip to OR for work and was able to hang out there for awhile after. Not sure how much travel I'll be doing for work in the new year, but it's still a possibility. I do have some plans for this year though:

• Use the stash! Yes, I'm trying to go cold sheep in 2013. I have entirely too many skeins of yarn stashed in my rv at the moment. Some are for specific projects, others are leftovers from projects past, but there are too many just picked up because they were pretty or "too good a deal to pass up"... Yes, falling into old habits and it's out of hand. So the goal for the new year is to only knit/crochet from stash.
• Plan ahead! I knit way too many items in too short a time this past holiday season and that's just crazy. Although... my crazy did win me a knitting ebook yesterday! =) (More about that in my weekend crafty post.) This coming year though, I plan to knit/crochet/sew at least one gift each month and stash them away so next holiday season, I can knit for me if I want and relax more. =D
• Unprocess my diet! Meaning, get rid of as much processed junk from my diet as possible. I went vegan awhile back and though I do eat a vegan diet, I haven't been making the healthiest choices... by far. The great thing about being in a small space... I don't have a lot of food on hand so making a change is fairly instant. lol I'll be avoiding over-processed foods and choose whole foods and organics whenever possible... I'll be cooking a lot more! =)
• Be a more responsible consumer! I've made strides in this area already, but I need to really make a better effort in supporting things I believe in with how I spend my money. I've been buying too much commercially produced yarns, too many foods with excessive packaging, being too wasteful.I can't change the whole world, but I can make a small difference by choosing greener items for myself... or just not buying at all. =)
• Decrease debt! *sigh* I wish I could say, eliminate debt, but I still owe too much on my rv to make paying it off completely this year a real possibility. I did make another large payment yesterday and finished 2012 having made all my payments due in 2013. Yes, I'm a dork. I made a special trip to the bank yesterday just so I could see that my next payment wasn't due until 2014 before 2012 was done. lol
• Keep clutter in check! I'm instituting a one in, one out rule. This is a very small space and gets cluttered very quickly. Bringing things in without something going out turns into a problem really fast. This will keep things even, though I do need to go through things and see what can go in addition to just replacement items.
• Travel more for me! I've done a lot of traveling over the past 5 years, going wherever work told me to... but I'd really like to travel more for myself while I have the rv. I have the opportunity, now I'm just waiting for better weather. lol I stayed here in Spokane too long and winter is upon us bringing not so great roads to be on with such a big vehicle. It's been good for the bank account being able to save a couple hundred dollars a month here at my friend's place, but I think next year, I'll head south!
• Keep up the tiny house fund! The rv is good for now, but not my ideal. I still want that tiny home and have proven to myself that I can easily live in such a small space. Building my own would allow me to design it to suit my own needs, better than an rv designed for recreation. I've discovered I don't crave the constant mobility an rv offers, but rather the ability to move occasionally if I so choose. It will happen... hopefully sooner rather than later!

I've been doing a lot of thinking about who I want to be and doing some soul-searching to discover where I am now and how that relates to what I want in my life. I've made a lot of good changes (and had plenty of slip-ups along the way) and gotten closer to my goals, but life is a journey and there's always room for improvement! =)

Hope you had a very merry Christmas!

 I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! =)

It was another week of working a lot and knitting very little. I did cast on for a hat this week for a knit-a-long and I'm nearly finished:

Could have been done days ago, but after work, I've been choosing my pillow over the needles. Hard to believe that I was working 14-hr days on a regular basis this time last year with two full-time jobs. Guess I'm getting old... lol
(project details on Ravelry)

Oh! I did finish the pair of slippers for my friend in time for Christmas:

Not sure they went over that well, but they were done in time at least. I'm determined to finish up these skeins of acrylic if it kills me. lol
(project details on Ravelry)

I did take Christmas off and spent the day with my friend's family. We opened gifts in the morning then headed to her husband's parents place in northern Idaho for the afternoon/evening. I wish I could say it was drama-free, but it was much more like being with my own crazy family than I'd have preferred. The holidays seem to bring out the best and, sadly, the worst in people. At least this wasn't my family drama and Reilly got to have some fun!

This was just before he let loose with a barrage of barks letting those deer know he was in charge... or at least thought he was. heh Not sure what he would've done had there not been a window in between him and those 10 deer! These were young... maybe most will be pulling Santa's sleigh next year? =)

HO, HO, HO

Well, maybe just HO. =)

What have I done this week? Other than lots of OT for work, not a heck of a lot. I do have one HO (half-finished object):

The first of a pair of slippers for my friend. These are made with 3 strands of worsted weight yarn held together so they're quick... quick enough to actually be completed for Christmas morning. lol This is my second pair from this pattern - the first having been knit several years ago for my mom. This pair is being made from acrylic so they'll be easily washable, but and I can honestly say, I much prefer the wool version. I knit the first up Friday night after a long work day and plan to do #2 later tonight... plenty of time! =)
(yarn & pattern details on my Ravelry project page)

I did start a pair of fingerless mitts for her too, but the yarn choice was an unfortunate one. I'd picked up some inexpensive sport weight yarn from Big Lots (In the Loop) with the intention of make a few knitted Christmas ball ornaments. The deep red would have gone nicely with her off-white coat, but the yarn was crap. Not only did it knot up like that was it's job, but the yarn broke while I was trying to untangle it... then I discovered the yarn stained my bamboo needles after only a few rows. grr The yarn went back to the store. I swear, the more I've used it, the less I like any acrylic. I'm okay with acrylic blends, but straight acrylic? I'll be avoiding that in the future! Life is too short to knit with crap yarn. I'll be sticking to natural fibers from here out. I have a few acrylic skeins left in my stash, but no more will be coming in! :-/ Yep, I'm a yarn snob...

This past Tuesday, I was gifted a couple of patterns by designer Kimberly Gintar of The Giving Flower podcast in memory of podcaster Karrie Steinmetz who recently passed away. I received her Melting Snowman and Shawn the Shelf Elf. My friend collects snowmen and I plan to make the melting snowman for her once I have some actual free time again. lol I think I might need to make the elf for my sister's kids for next year though they might be getting too old for that. I picked up white and black fingering weight yarn and buttons yesterday for the snowman, but I wasn't able to find anything for the elf's skin. I might just end up with a really tanned elf! =) More likely though, I'll dye up a bit of my own...

Oh! My niece is officially "knit-worthy"!!!

I hear she LOVES her hat! No word on any of the others I sent, but at least one is being appropriately appreciated. =)

This OT hasn't been great for my knitting, but it has been great for the bank account! I had some OT on my last check and was happily able to make a double payment on my rv loan and even put some money in my savings account as well. =) The plan was to get my loan paid up at least through Spring when work tends to get a little (or a lot) slow and I'm now paid up until AUGUST! =D

save on shipping!

I tend to think everyone knows about this already, but I discovered this week that that isn't so. It's a little late for holiday shipping for this year, but good info to have for later!

If you go to the post office's official website, you can set up an account and print your own postage. The advantage? No lines! Oh, and you save some money too. =) I have a small digital scale and can weigh my packages, but if you use the flat rate priority boxes (free from the post office), you don't even need the scale. I used to keep a few boxes on hand when I had more space. I shipped 4 packages Monday and 3 of the 4 were cheaper to ship flat rate than by weight - it doesn't take much to add up! When printing the postage online, they give you a small discount (up to 15%) on shipping and they also give you free delivery confirmation (a savings of $.75 per package). The best part? You can also schedule a pick-up and you won't even have to go to the post office to drop them off no matter how big the package or how many you have. The only down side is that you can't print first class postage on the site. I have heard you can print these through PayPal's website though so if you're mailing lighter items, be sure and check that out!

The other alternative? If you're not making the gifts yourself, purchase gifts from companies that offer free shipping (gotta love Amazon!) and have the item sent directly to the recipient. No, you won't be able to wrap it yourself, but a lot of companies offer gift-wrapping services now. Amazon has been offering a lot of $5 credits lately too so keep an eye out for those! I purchased an item for $25, got free shipping and used my $5 credit so it only cost $20 + tax shipped. Not a bad deal!

little time for yarny fun

You're expecting a lot, aren't you? I know I was! After the past couple weeks, I expected at least a couple finished objects, but that was not to be. Why? One word... overtime. Yes, it's that time of year. It seems to always hit around the holidays and it hit hard this week. I'm thankful for the opportunity to earn a bigger paycheck especially with the slow time of year quickly approaching, but 12-hr work days sure do cut into the knitting time! =)

I stayed up late last night and I did finish this:

That's the last hat that needed to go into the mail for Christmas! =) I finally settled on a pattern for this hat. I've made this pattern once before and really liked it the first time around. I really like it in this less-contrasting color combo as well and can definitely see knitting this up again in the future. This one turned out a bit large. I'm usually a tight knitter, but apparently I knit more loosely in acrylic... no time to reknit it so I'll just include a note for him to let me know if it's too big and I'll make another out of the leftovers.

(pattern and yarn details on my Ravelry project page)

I started this:

a few days ago, then switched to the hat since it had to go in the mail. This should be a wide headband by now... but it's not. The original pattern is written for bulky yarn, but it came out super wide in that and I switched to fingering weight yarn held double - much better! I don't really like how the increases look on the right though. Yes, this part will be under her hair, but still. With all the OT, I'm doubtful this will be finished for Christmas anyway, so I'm thinking of frogging it and starting over. Good thing I have something else for this kid! =)
(yarn and pattern details on my Ravelry project page)

I've spent a lot of time working the past several days, but I did take a break Friday night for a Christmas party. I can't believe Christmas is so close! Everything is going in the mail tomorrow, but I still have a project in the beginning stages that I haven't had a chance to work on much and still need to make something for my friend who's letting me park in her yard... the same friend who decided I needed to finish up one of her intended Christmas presents and finally handed it to me as I walked out the door yesterday so now it's in my rv. *sigh* I can't say I have any urge to work on it though. I'd rather rip it out and start fresh rather than try to fix what's already done, but as long as the OT holds out, I'll barely have time to mess with it at all if I want to finish my own projects.

I think she'd maybe be more understanding if she had a job, but she seems to think everyone has as much down time as she does. She might just be getting a ball of yarn and an IOU for her gift this year so I can finish that blanket for her. lol

getting a yarny (or other crafty) deal...

Yes, still knitting away, but I wanted to share something I've figured out recently...

Jo Ann Fabric has been putting out a lot of good coupons lately and it used to be, you were limited to using one 40% (or 50% or whatever) off coupon per purchase. Not anymore! Last time I was in there, I bought 4 items that were not on sale and got 50% off on each... just wish I'd figured this out when they had the 60% off coupon!

Here's how:

1. Use the paper coupon from the ad flyer.
2. Sign up for the emails from Jo Ann's and you'll get coupons in your inbox - print those.
3. Go back to that email and click "send to phone" - this will come as a text message and has a different number on it than the one you printed above.
4. Download the Jo Ann Fabric app on your smartphone and log in with your email then go to "coupons" and pull up the current coupon - this will have yet a different number on it.

Now you have four coupons - two digital, two on paper. Jo Ann's will let you use as many coupons as you have on the same order (one per non-sale-priced-item, of course) as long as they have different numbers below the scan bar. This is a great way to buy multiples of, say, yarn in the same dye lot that's not currently on sale or just multiple skeins of the same type of yarn for a colorwork project in just one trip. =) I got four skeins for a sweater, all at 50% off and saved about $22.

Now, you know too. =)