Well, here we are again - Christmas is creeping closer and closer - are we ready yet? Of course we're not - there are still 101 things to do before then!
However I did complete all my goals for last week.
I stitched my two blocks on Carnation, and now have just three blocks to go to finish the page. My goal for this coming week (which will be busy) is just one block, which will leave one for Christmas week and one for the few days before New Year. I'm really looking forward to getting this page finish under my belt.
I more than passed my goal on Breeze. Not only did I knit all the remaining repeats, I knitted the increase row and got started on the final section. So my goal for the coming week is to knit the last 7 rows, cast off, wash and block this piece.
And I also achieved more than my goal on my nieces' Christmas ornaments. Both back sections are now complete and they just need putting together. So this week's goal is to wash and press all four pieces, stitch up the sides, stuff them, attach ribbons and stitch up the tops - in other words, finish finish them.
On top of all this, I need to finish my Christmas shopping, write the remainder of my Christmas cards and post where necessary, go to my last Pilates class for the year, go out for two meals, go to Knit Group - oh, and go to work! Can we do this ... yes, we can!!!
No Slimming World this week - too busy. So much to do, so little time. And on that note, I will love you and leave you, wishing you and yours all the best for the festive season and may the frog steer well clear of your needles.
So can some kind person tell me where this last year went? How come we've got to the December WIPocalypse blog post already? I'm sure it was June only last week - no, that's a lie, it was too damn cold last week to be June!! I suppose it just feels like I've spent the whole year trying to get stuff done, but when I look around, there's an awful lot of stuff still not finished!
But I do have some finished pieces to show you.
First up are the blue booties and mittens for my sister's colleague's baby. I finished and blocked them earlier in the week and then took them to Knit Group to sew them up. So that's one of last week's goals ticked off. I daren't start anything else of the knitted genre until I get Breeze finished, but I do have plenty of projects in mind.
Next up is the second Christmas ornament for my nieces, so that's a second goal ticked off. I have charted up their initials to go on the back pieces of these, so one of my goals for this coming week is to work on the back pieces.
I also ticked off my goal for Carnation - another two blocks completed, leaving five blocks to go. This week I aim to complete another two blocks and get past the halfway point on this last row.
And last but not least, Breeze. I ticked off my goal on this piece by completing one repeat of the pattern. This week's goal is to finish off the remaining repeats, even though that will include starting a new ball of yarn.
In other news, I actually went to Slimming World this week and maintained, so still at 11 stone 9lb. I'm hoping that the dancing I did at the works Christmas do on Friday will have worked off the food I ate - I was driving so no alcoholic calories to worry about.
I'm already thinking about my knitting and stitching goals for 2015 but will save those for my New Year post. I've started my Christmas shopping - why do people have to keep reminding you how few days there are left before the great turkey extravaganza? I don't want to know, I'm stressed enough as it is anyway!
However, all the best to you and yours - may the frog stay away from your needles and may the run-up to Christmas not drive you nuts!
Yes, folks, the big C is looming just over the horizon and deadlines need to be set so that packages get under the relevant trees. Things have been fair to middling this last week at work, but it is not quite sorted completely, so I can't relax just yet. But there has been progress on the knitting and stitching side of things.
In order of importance for finishing, I am now up to two booties and one mitten for my sister's colleague's baby boy. The plan for this week is to knit the second mitten and then wash, block and sew up all four items. After that it will be down to my sister to make sure that they get to the right place at the right time.
I sent off the yellow baby knits on Saturday so now will wait and see what sort of response I get.
Next up is Breeze. I got another repeat done this week so there are now 101 stitches on the needle. I'm also very close to the end of the first ball of yarn. So this week's goal is to knit at least one more repeat on this piece.
Then there is the second Christmas ornament for my nieces. This will be Rudolph when it is done. This week's goal is just to work on this piece, although I am planning to take it into work with the intention of working on it at lunchtime.
Last but not least is Carnation. I got my two blocks stitched this week, which gives me a row finish (row 18) and a start on the last row (row 19). So there are just 7 blocks to go before this page is done and I have until New Year to do it.
I've also started setting some goals for next year - my cousin has a second baby due in February and my Mum will be 70 in November.
No Slimming World update this week cos I didn't go. A busy week this coming week - Pilates, Slimming World, office Christmas party, Knit Group, family for lunch on Sunday - plus knit, knit, knit and stitch, stitch, stitch!
Anyway, all the best to you and yours, may you hit your Christmas deadlines and may the frog stay well away from your needles.
Things have not gone so well this week. The weather has been atrocious and as I have mentioned before, this time of year is never a good one for my mental health. On top of that, it was not a particularly good week at work and tomorrow I have to face up to the situation and that may well cause some waves.
On a brighter note, L and I went to the Knitting and Stitching Show at Harrogate yesterday. It was a long day (2 hours drive each way) and the venue was very crowded. However, I bought some pretty things and didn't spend all the money I took with me, so am quite pleased with myself.
This is my new yarn bowl bought at Harrogate, a belated birthday present from my parents. It took several attempts to take a photo which showed anything close to the right colours. The bowl is glazed in shades of purple, which insisted on coming out looking blue. I'm very much looking forward to using it with my next project.
Next up is a couple of finishes. Here are the booties and mittens sewn up and ready to post off as soon as I get an address. I finished them on Wednesday and baby Henry arrived early on Thursday afternoon, so that was good timing!
Then this morning I finished the stitching on the first of the Christmas ornaments for my nieces. I need to crack on with the other one now as the countdown has begun. There are Christmas trees on sale at my local supermarket!!
Moving on to work in progress, I got two more blocks done on Carnation, so only have nine more to do to finish this page. I'm really looking forward to crossing this particular goal off my list.
And finally I've managed to make a little start on the second blue bootie. I had hoped to be much further on with these, but as I said earlier, it was not really a good week this last week.
In other news, I put on another 0.5lb (Mum's birthday) so am back up to 11 stone 9lb. Definitely need to try harder this week.
With tomorrow's difficulties ahead of me, I need a good night's sleep so will love you and leave you, and hope that the frog stays away from your needles.
Knit or stitch? That is the question! I have knitting deadlines and stitching deadlines, and limited free time in which to get everything done. But progress has been made in all areas. Work is the main culprit for eating up crafting time, but the other problem is the weather. Both knitting and stitching are sedentary hobbies and it is easy to find that I've been sitting so long that I'm chilled to the bone and my fingernails have gone blue.
Anyway, moving on to progress pictures:
I managed to get three blocks done on Carnation last week, so that puts me a bit ahead of my target. The remaining three blocks on this row have more confetti so will take a bit longer to do.
This is the first of the Christmas ornaments for my nieces. It will eventually be Santa's face. When I have stitched both ornaments, then I will decide who gets which one.
Moving on to my knitting pieces, Breeze has now been transferred onto a circular needle in order to have space for all the stitches. It is definitely a different feeling knitting flat on a circular needle, but I couldn't see any other way of doing all the increases without losing a stitch off the end of the needle at some point.
As you can see, this set of baby knits is done apart from the blocking and sewing up. I was told today that the baby is breech and will therefore be arriving by Caesarian section in the near future. I really do have to get these finished pronto.
And this is the start of another set of baby knits, this time for one of my sister's colleagues who is due around Christmas. In this case, we know that the baby is a boy, so blue it is.
In other news, I put on 0.5lb last week so back to 11 stone 8.5lb - no worries, what went on will come off again.
I'm starting to feel a bit chilly, so will stop here. All the best to you and yours, and may the frog steer well clear of your needles.
And a very Happy November to you all! This is a happy dancing WIPocalypse post and I feel good!
I'm happy dancing because on Friday I sat up late and finished my first pair of hand knitted socks. They are not perfect (I never expected them to be), but they fit, and are nice and comfy. I am so chuffed with myself, I could fly!
Moving on, I got the next two blocks done on Carnation, which means that I am still on target to finish this page by the end of the year. Also on the stitching front, I have decided on charts for my nieces' Christmas ornaments and hope to get started on those this week.
However my new start is in preparation for someone else's new start. My knitting is obviously improving because I got this baby bootie knitted up in about 2 hours while I was at Knit Group yesterday.
And I've made good progress on Breeze this week to the point where future WIP pictures are going to look a bit cramped. There are 83 stitches on the needle and about another 50 to go. I think that I may have to move this onto a circular needle so that I don't start losing stitches through lack of space.
And to answer this month's WIPocalypse question, I really like working on evenweave but I really don't like using metallic threads.
In other news, Mum's Halloween party plus assorted cake at work added 1lb to my weight, so back to 11 stone 8lb - but it was worth it! And my journey home at nights has suddenly become much, much quicker as the construction guys have finally given us our properly functioning junction on to the main road back only about 11 months behind schedule!!!
The winter weather may be upon us, but I do wish all the best to you and yours, and may the frog keep away from your needles!
Just a short post tonight because I don't really have much to tell you. This week has just been same old, same old, apart from my parents' Halloween party on Friday night.
However I did manage to stitch four blocks on Carnation and finish row 17. This means that I only need to complete two blocks a week to get this page finished by the end of the year.
On the knitting front, I have been pushing on with the second sock and am now making my way down towards the toe. With luck and a following wind I hope to have a happy dance for you in my next post.
And in other news, I lost 2lb this week which brings me back to 11 stone 7lb and back to my target weight.
I wish I had something more exciting to tell you, but I don't and its getting late so I will finish here. Hope all is well with you and yours, and may the frog stay away from your needles.
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