Graduated and working. . .

I graduated, no pictures, sorry but my hair looked horrid. It was a nice, beautiful, sunny day. Since then, I've been working on building up MacKintosh Yarns. I have been knitting up displays for conventions. Mainly socks right now. I have 3 done and only need one more and all 4 mannequins will have socks. I also sent a huge order to The Backwards Loop. it arrived today. I also took an order to Crazy Girl Yarn Shop here in Iowa.

Below I knit my Mey Seacell in the colourway Victoria. The pattern is Tadpoles, but knit upside down because it was knit toe up. I like it better this way.

Then I knit this sock out of my Woodland Bamboo blend in the colourway Jasmine. The pattern is Wendy Johnson's Diagonal Lace Sock.

I am also knitting myself a pair of Tadpoles for myself in Skye Sock Yarn in the colourway Emerald Serpent.

Four Days until Graduation

I have four more days until my undergraduate college career is over. Five years of my life and countless hours and dollars later, I am finally graduating.
To keep my mind off of the fact that i will actually need to make a living after Saturday, I have been knitting and concentrating on holiday gifts, etc.
My diagonal socks are coming along. i did need to frog back the second sock down to the beginning of the 6th repeat on the foot because i kept screwing it up. I redid the heel 3 times, but the only solution was to rip it back even more. I have finally caught up with the first sock and am hopefully going to finish them this week.

I also started my dad's holiday gift after much contemplation. I finally decided to use up the rest of my Paton's Kroy Sock yarn and make the socks striped. My grandpa's socks will be made out of Paton's Kroy also, but plain black maybe with a pattern, we'll see.

Boy and I were in Rockford this weekend. I studied most of the time, while boy slept, he's been sick. I did get to see my mom's face when she received the flowers I ordered her for Mother's Day. She REALLY liked them. I also helped my dad pick out a gift of his own for her.

Spring is definitely here. This is a photo of the pond in my parent's backyard. They just had it redone. There was a rip in the liner and the pond kept losing water. Not a good thing when they have fish in there.

Back to knitting since I'm done studying for the day.
Please remember! Everything in the shop will be on sale starting the 15th in honor of my graduation! It will continue until the 21st!!

Socks and holiday knits. . .

Yes, I said holiday knits. It's almost May and the holidays will be here sooner than you think. As I've said in the past, my family celebrates the holidays over Thanksgiving. This means I need to start knitting right now, considering my family has become accustomed to hand knits as gifts. below are some of the yarns I've pulled so far. I have already received a request for socks from my sister, but she wants them out of a colourway of STR that I don't currently have. Gotta love requests.

y destash quest has continued. i am working on a bulky hooded jumper out of my Icelandic that has been sitting in my stash.

I am also knitting a pair of Spring Forwards out of some handspun I purchased a while ago. I think they're turning out well so far.

This snood is also a holiday gift. This is for my grandma who lives in Jerusalem. I need to finish it by August because thats around the time they go a visit her annually. The yarn is Paton's Silk Bamboo in Plum.

And lastly, I am also working on a pair of Wendy Johnson's Diagonal Lace Socks in Wollmeise 100% SW Merino in the colourway Brombeere. This yarn has been sitting in my stash for over a year and a half. it was time to drag some of it out and use it. This is an extremely easy sock to knit and I can take it to class with me and not have problems.


Alicia's socks are done and drying. Hopefully tomorrow I can ship them down to Texas to her.
I am also almost done with my first wholesale order. It will be shipped out hopefully within a week. =)
Boy finishes up on the 8th, while i finish up on the 13th. I then graduate the 16th, oh joy. I hope he can spend the summer with me, but it all depends on whether my sister will move out of the condo early. It doesn't seem like she will, UGH!!! Frustrating situation.

Ahh spring. . .kind of. . .

Claudia's colors for this month's package for the Wollmeise Sock Club is definitely bright and colorful. But unfortunately, it didn't match the weather outside. It was snowing, yep snowing. I had just gone up to see boy and go see a movie. When we exited the theater, it had begun to snow. =P

Over spring break I went down and visited my brother and his fiance, Alicia, for 5 days. Unfortunately I was sick the entire time and couldn't get pictures. After that, my parents picked me up from O'Hare and we went to the condo. On Saturday my dad and I went downtown to Navy Pier, which was a lot of fun.
Here is a picture of the ballroom at Navy Pier. Lake Michigan was gorgeous!

Picture of part of the skyline. It was such a beautiful, clear day.

Okay, yes, this is a picture of Mac's butt, but I guarantee there is a good reason for it. While I was home, we took Mac to petco for a bath and a trim. Usually we take our dogs to Petsmart, but they don't do that good of a job on Mac when it comes to trimming. So after we took him to Petco and they did an amazing job! No one has ever trimmed his butt this well. It is sooo wonderful!

I have also been working on some very simple projects right now.


New news is that I will be moving into my sister's old condo, which is much larger and nicer. I now get to find a job before I graduate in this area. I hope it won't be that hard. I am meeting up with an advisor who will help me spruce up my resume and help me with my job search. But, I am staying in Iowa, hopefully for a few years until the economy gets better. I mean, Iowa's unemployment is only 4.6%, which is low compared to the rest of the country.

Gotta Love the cold and snow

As you probably know, I love the cold and adore snow. I wish we had gotten the large amounts of snow that went just slightly north of us. My parents and Boy got that and I was slightly disappointed it missed IC. So, plans have been changing quite a bit lately. My Valentine's Day was kind of boring. I watched movies all day. Boy was in upstate NY attending a memorial for his cousin who was killed on the 6th. And we're not going down to visit my brother for spring break, we're probably just gonna go to my parents condo in Chicago. It should be fun though.

I had to stop knitting my shawl because I finished the first skein and hit a snag. . . all of the other skeins I bought were an off white cream colour and not the white of the first skein. I just happened to use the only white skein for the beginning of the project. Soo, I need to go an buy some more of the white before I can continue.
I have been knitting though. I have finished a couple of projects below. I finally finished my dad's hat last night while watching the Oscars. Yay! It's soft, thick and beautiful. I hope it fits!

I also did some destashing and knit a slouch out of some Misti Alpaca Sport Weight yarn that I have had for years! It's a forest green colour and neither pictures show it very well. I have 2 more skeins left I believe and need to figure out what to do with them.

Mac was very reluctant to model it for me, but I managed to get a cute picture!

I also started another slouch based on one that Scarlett Johansson was wearing in a picture I saw. The first one is being knit out of Cascade Eco Wool, same as my first Ailidh hat. I'm hoping to make adjustments with Malabrigo for the second one before I write the pattern down.

Well, I need to finish going through my Marketing notes, because I have an exam in less than 2 hours. Ugh!
There was also an update in the shop on Saturday. Enjoy!

Rain??

Today is a beautiful gloomy Monday. I love two kinds of days, gloomy rainy ones and crisp white snowy ones. I love over cast skies and cooler to cold weather. Those are both ideal to me. The snow is melting and it feels like spring, even though it's only February. Quaint eh?

I have been slowly but surely been working on my wedding shawl.
Details:
Pattern: Shetland Triangle
Yarn: Baby Cashmerino
Color: white
Needle: US 5 24" and 32"

Apparently the orange beanie That I knit a while ago doesn't fit my dad's head properly. Sooo, while I was home over the weekend I picked up some Debbie Bliss Como in grey and a set of US 13 circulars and cast on. The hat is 52 stitches and will be a basic beanie. The yarn is awesome and soft to work with, if only the skeins had more yardage.

Of course this post would not be a proper post unless I had a photo of my beautiful baby boy. He's enjoying the cooler/warmer weather, but not the rain.. This dog hates rain, baths and any other source of water that gets on him, except snow. odd dog.


For spring break I'm going to down to Austin to visit my brother and his fiance for a few days. it should be fun. =) Boy was supposed to come with but he never gave me an answer and I said screw it I'll go alone. Life does go on.

OMG Knitting Stuff!!

Okay, yes, I understand that i REALLY have not been keeping up with my blog or anything fiber or knitting related. So here is a knitting post, omg omg OMG!!!!! Yeah. . . I hadn't been in the mood really to knit anything in the past few months due to stress. Lots and lots of stress.
Below is a new photo of my second Old Shale scarf that i still haven't finished. I am about 3/4s of the way done with it and it's still on the needles. Sigh. I've been dragging it to classes in hopes of finishing it as soon as possible. Also, thank god for movies and knitting while watching them also.

I also started a new pair of socks. Details:
Pattern: Tesserae Sock by Anne Hanson
Yarn: MacKintosh Yarn Mey Seacell Sock Yarn
Colourway: Victoria
Needles: US 1 circular

I also dyed up some sock yarn for my bridesmaids socks. I have 4 pairs to knit. I know all but one bridesmaids shoe size.

Mac has been enjoying the warmer weather. I've been opening the balcony door at times and when he's not out on the balcony, he's usually laying right in front of it feeling the breeze blowing in.

Haha, a few months back I commissioned some yarn to be spun at a mill down in texas. I commissioned sock weight yarn. . . .I received a call, paid and was sent the yarn. i looked at it confused and decided to dye some up to see how much it would bloom. The final product is below. Yeah. . . .thats sock yarn for who, a giant?


I also want to congratulate my friend Anna who is expecting her second child this summer. Grats!!
Also, I rejoined Weight Watchers after five years and lost 3.8 lbs last week. Granted most of what you lose the first week is water weight, but it still means something to me. =)

Ugh. . . stress. . .

It's almost been a week since I had my surgery to remove my wisdom teeth. I have been surviving on vicodin for most of the week. My jaw still hurts, mainly in the evenings. So, boy forgot his coat at my parents condo and had to borrow one of my dad's until he could get his coat back. BUT, it turns out that his own coat doesn't really fit anymore. No idea why he didn't get a new one for the holidays because he needs it in the Iowa weather. Oh well, my dad said that he could borrow his coat until winter is over, but he wants it back afterwards. I did retrieve his coat this weekend when my parents and I went into Chicago for 2 nights. It's funny, he left it hanging in the coat closet. . . . yeah. My mom is a selfless person, she let him borrow my dads coat, paid for his way back to school, and gave him $100 for a taxi and food. Yeah, nice woman. He had to spend some of the money paying his roommate back though because he left his wallet at school and had to have it sent to my parents house before he went to O'Hare Airport, which wasn't what the money was for, but whatever. Oh well. Gotta love stress eh?

Soo, classes begin Tuesday for me and I'm hoping my last semester in college is umm relaxing? Heh, with two marketing classes I want it to be relaxing, we shall see. I haven't really been knitting lately due to my procedures and just lack of energy. I'm starting to feel better, but still have a long way to go. My mouth will probably be sore for eh another few weeks and my body is completely out of wack. Kind of wish i had another 2 weeks off to lay around on vicodin. Luckily I have tomorrow off. Yay I get to straighten up my apartment! Ugh. . .

Okay, some GOOD news! My brother Mike got engaged to his gf Alicia! They've been together for over two years. he bought her a beautiful .66 carat Tiffany & Co. engagement ring! Nice $5K ring right there! It's a classic 6 prong, platinum setting. They are planning a wedding for this fall. I can't wait! I'm dragging boy with me, because he still hasn't met my brother. Sigh. . . . Anyways, here are some pics of the ring below:



Btw, I guess I should start referring to boy as FH (future husband). Hmm I'll think about it.
Almost forgot, some of my wedding details:

Time: Winter (I'm looking into Dec 17th 2011)
Where: Chicago (looking into Navy Pier Lakeview Terrace)
# Guests: 50 (25 each side)
Colour Scheme: blue, white, silver
Announcements: sent out Spring 2010
wedding bands: Boys: titanium with silver inlays and engraved Mine: umm we'll see

More details as it gets closer. . . . <3

Hello 2009!

Yeah, I know I haven't posted in a while and I am sorry. I haven't really had the urge to get on and post, considering I really haven't been knitting this past month. I spent my first week and a half here at home playing World of Warcraft and waiting for my grades. This past week and a half, well the first part of it was spent in my parents condo in Chicago with my parents, boy and the animals. We had a lot of fun. Boy and I went downtown and visited Tiffany's (bought my wedding band) and the Apple Store. It was COLD, but fun. This past week we've been back in Rockford enjoying rented movies and the snow. Today I had my colonoscopy, fun fun, the nurse had to stab my hand twice before she got a vein for the IV. It wasn't horrible, the prep kind of sucked, but it's over. Tomorrow boy goes back to school, classes begin Monday, I'm sad. =( My mom also guilt tripped me into agreeing to get my wisdom teeth out on Monday. . . the fun just keeps coming.
Well, some good news, the HAWKEYES WON our bowlgame!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GO HAWKS!!!

Yesterday, boy and I picked up my new and permanent engagement ring (2 pics below). I always wanted a sapphire ring and this is just gorgeous!!!!!!! Yes, my parents know, his still don't, but we have time to wait (3 years ugh!!).

And another pic of my dream ring!!

Still alive and kicking. . .

Don't worry, I'm still here. =) Homework and studying have taken over my life. One more semester until my undergraduate career is over. That is a very sad thought for me. What will i do without college and naps and sleeping and and and and and college!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Anyways, onto what I've been up to. Winter break officially begins tomorrow for me. it started today for boy. Sigh, schmuck. I have the hardest and most stressful final this semester tomorrow at 4:30pm. yay for me. I went up to Cedar Falls and picked boy up today. Mother nature decided that I needed a challenge while retrieving him. It snowed the entire time, yep snow. At first it was dusty snow and then it became wet and thick. It took me 3 something hours to get him. Usually it takes about 2 something. Ugh.

I also knit and finished a pair of house socks. The yarn came from carrie of Funky Carolina. it's part of the handspun club she offered some time ago. I LOVED IT!!! She spun me shetland into a sport weight sock yarn. I couldn't put these down. They are sooo soft!!!

Here is my new ring, which I picked out and have been wearing since it's arrival. It's not official (as in parents don't know?), but I'm planning a 2010 wedding. yeah, okay, let's move on to more fiber stuff. (band is sterling silver, stone is a .47 lilac spinel, ring was handmade on etsy by jewelscurnow) I have a thing for handmade items. =P I'm getting boy a handmade titanium ring. =)

I LEARNED HOW TO RBAID MY FIBERS!!! I know this sounds sad, but it took me for frickin ever to figure out!!!! Now, I'm content. =P

It snowed!!!

This has been a crazy weekend. I went home to study for my redo of my finance midterm exam. The weather is changing quickly. It has been very windy and brisk the past few days and tonight it snowed here in Iowa City. SNOWED!!
I got some knitting done. I finished my Old Shale Scarf yesterday. This made me happy, considering that I actually need to wear it now. The yarn used is MamaBlue Troika Sock in Little Wing. The only disappointing thing about the yarn is that there are small red specks throughout and it looks odd.
Here is it dry, it blocked out to 71 inches long and 8.5 inches wide. (the pic below, it is folded over itself)

Here it is blocking on the guest bed downstairs. Lots of pins!

I also started a pair of socks for myself. The pattern is just my twist sock pattern that I used for my high ocTang Hazel Knits socks. The yarn being used is my MacKintosh Yarns Celtic Sock Yarn in Faiye.

Below is also a new colourway I will be offering (one of many). It is called Moroccan Market.

In other news, thank you for the nice messages when I was feeling down.  Boy and I are trying to work things out and restructure our relationship. The main time we fight is when we're apart, so yeah. LoL. Have a great week!

More yarn pictures coming soon. =) 

Hanging on. . .

My sanity is hanging on by a thread. Lately I've been depressed, not wanting to get out of bed or do anything. Not a great thing when I've suffered from depression in the past and it almost ruined my life. I'm also constantly crying over things. I seriously need this horrible feeling to go away. My relationship is also hanging on by a thread. I try and try and try and I feel empty, used, and thrown out at times. Kind of like right now. This really needs to turn around or I'm going to lose my mind.
I get to retake my finance midterm next Monday, thankfully. I was gone on the day of the review due to Yom Kippur and was excused. But I didn't really receive any notes about the review until Tuesday, the day before the exam. So, my professor is allowing me to take it again.
This image from a few days ago looks how I feel right now.

I have been doing some knitting here and there. Right now I'm really working on a Old Shale Scarf in Mamablue's troika sock in Little Wing. Yes, it's kind of soft and I like it, but I think the colour is horrible for socks. I think it's better for a scarf.

Here's a close-up of the pattern.

I also have 3 new colourways to put up and one of them is below. it's all Faiye (well, new and improved Faiye that is). it's one of my old colourways and I spruced it up to my liking.


I also took 5 large bags of yarn to Crazy Girl Yarns in Coralville to destash. It was a long time coming. I feel better after that.
Have a great week! <3 <3

Week of studying

Sooo, I went home last Wednesday to study for my three midterms this week. I was actually supposed to go to Blizzcon in Anaheim, California, but because of my exams, i stayed and studied most of the weekend. I got a couple of breaks, but most of it was spent grinding entrepreneur finance into my brain. Yes, very fun. I have a midterm tonight, tomorrow and Thursday. I can't wait for the weekend to get here.
I did get some knitting done while I was home. I finished my dad's socks, finally. Here he is wearing them below. He likes them and will hopefully wear them. I did the garter rib from sensational Socks and knit them in Trekking XXL, forget the colour though, sorry.

I also finished my Corazon Mittens. These are a project for my production class, so thankfully those are done also. The yarn used is Nashua Julia. it's a great yarn and very soft. I'm quite proud of these.

My Sundara sock club shipment arrived today. While I like the name, I'm not fond of the colour. I'm not a huge purple fan, if you hadn't noticed. I'm willing to part with this one heh. I'll sell it for the normal price of Sundara sock yarn $23 plus shipping.

Last week Mac and I also had a photoshoot while he was laying on his bed outside. This was one of the cuter ones.

I am also in the process of destashing some yarns. These will included some Wollmeise, Hazel Knits, Plucky Knitter, etc. The images will be posted in my next post if you're interested.