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Okay, so I’ve decided to start another long term project. Ever since I finished the blanket out of sock yarn for my grandfather (which I still haven’t given to him! It’s sooooooo late it’s not even funny), I’ve wanted one for me. And I want to use up leftover sock yarn again. But I really don’t want to knit more squares on teeny tiny needles. Crocheted squares it is!

After doing a little bit of math (O did the math, I just showed with my arms how big I want the blanket to be and the size of the squares), he told me I needed to make 864 squares. That means that if I make four squares a day, I’ll be done in seven months. Seven months people. Just to have a blanket. But I’m okay with that. Like I said, long term project.

So far, on Friday I crocheted four and yesterday I made twelve. I’m hoping that I’ll make at least eight today. On the sidebar I’ve added a little entry thing where I’ll be keeping track of how many I’ve made so far.

Oh and I’ve got quite a few FO pics to show you all, but those will have to wait for another day. I need to go crochet me some more squares now.

I’ve been doing some more planting again.

O’s dad bought me these tomato plants last week and yesterday morning I moved them into the gro-bag that’s on the step next to the shed.

That little pot next to the tomatoes? I’m fairly sure it’s lettuce. My gardening method (when starting plants from seeds) is mainly along the lines of: seeds + soil + pots + sun + water => see what happens. It’s magic. So yeah, pretty sure it’s lettuce but not 100%. Some of the seeds that I planted in the propagator tray got mixed up so I’m in for a few surprises.

Then I’ve also got two pea plants and now they’ve given me two peapods!

In that second picture you can see the two cucumber plants in the background. Again, surprises. They just appeared in the same square in the tray when I’m fairly sure that I didn’t put them there. So now I’ve got two pea plants and two cucumber plants in one bigger pot. We’ll see how that’ll go.

And then there’s the cherry tree that was already in the garden. It’s coming along quite nicely.

And the strawberries! No idea where they came from. They just appeared at the base of the cherry tree last year and they’re still here. They’re actually trying to take over the little path and just spreading everywhere. I’ve had to pull out quite a few to keep them “contained” near the tree.

In other news, we’ve decided to buy a car in August when the car insurance goes down by quite a bit (turning 25 has its perks). And we’re also going to buy the plane tickets to go see my sister in Chicago for Thanksgiving once we’ve made sure that we can have the time off work.

Gorgeous yarn (Green Sheep Sport in the Nox colorway by The Unique Sheep) + great free pattern (just search for Rainy Day Socks in Ravelry) + 3,25mm dpns = pretty socks that knit up quickly.

I’ve been busy, but I have a good reason for my absence! See the above pic? *That* is what I’ve been up to. IVDC (InterVarsity Dance Competition) was held last Saturday at Blackpool. Once again, I got to dance in the Empress Ballroom in pretty dresses. :D

I’d say that Ian and I did quite well. We entered Novice and out of about 170 couples, we made it to 40th in the Ballroom dances. But only 101st in the Latin dances. Still, considering that Ian totally forgot our routine at the previous comp, getting through a round at IVDC on an almost improvised Jive routine (learned it the week before) is quite good.

Oliver was dancing in the ex-student category, so he wasn’t competing against me. He and Eleanor won fifth in the ballroom dances and came home with a shiny trophy.

Then it came time for the team match. Ian & I were chosen to dance the Waltz since that’s what we’re the best at. No ex-students were allowed in the team match, so we were bumped up to A Team this time. Believe it or not, we as a team won second place in Division 2! I’ve got a medal to show for it too. Engraved with “2nd” and everything. :D

Now, Ian wants to compete at the next open comp which is being held in Stockport on the 14th. I said sure, why not? And then we found out that it’s not WQCJ, it’s WFCJ for our category! I don’t know any Foxtrot! Well, I was taught a few steps on Monday, but we don’t quite have a routine. So Oliver’s coming with me this Saturday to dance practice and he’ll show Ian’s corresponding steps to what I was taught on Monday. The 14th will be interesting if nothing else.

The Bex socks are done!

Out of 100g of yarn, I had 3g left. Talk about cutting it close! All in all, I really like the pattern. Got into a nice groove once I had it memorized. The leg portions took forever (approx 2 mins per needle, yes I’m a dork and timed myself while knitting during my lunchbreak at work). The foot just zoomed by in comparison.

So now I’m taking a small break from cabling and cast on the Bitterroot shawl from Knitty. Since I’m using the yarn from the first Sip N Stitch shipment (The Unique Sheep Luxe (75/25 merino/silk) in Joe Van Gogh), I’m making the shawlette size. I’ve already completed one repeat of Chart A. ^_^

I’ve been knitting on my Bex socks almost exclusively this week. Today, it’s the only project that I’ve touched. Past the gusset decreases now. Kinda worried about running out of yarn. :/

So to steel myself against that possible eventuality, I’ve made my self a drink: Apple Sourz and lemonade (the British kind, sort of like Sprite).

Still snowing. Still knitting. But now with chocolate buns at O’s request. ^_^

First of all, the snow is still here. I took that pic on Jan 5th, but the front yard still looks pretty much the same so I didn’t bother taking a new photo. Pretty, isn’t it?

Secondly, even with all of this snow, the buses are still running so I’ve been working during week. This explains why it’s taken me so long to finish any knitting. But I do have an FO! These are the Garden Trellis mitts I knit for a friend’s birthday. Took me about a total of six hours for the pair.

And I’ve finally bought buttons for my Lorelei cardigan and they’re already sewn in. Tomorrow, I’ll try to get O to take pics of me wearing it so I can show it off. ^_^

Everyone seems to be blogging about all that happened to them in 2009. I shall sum up my year thusly:

1. Finished my MA 2) Lots of knitting (esp socks, but a sweater or two or FIVE snuck in there) 3) Got a baby brother and learned that a nephew/niece is on the way in spring 2010 so this all means even more knitting. Good thing baby stuff is small-ish, right?

I was hoping to finish up my Lorelei cardigan before the year ended, but I can’t make it to Hobbycraft for buttons until Jan 2nd. All that’s left to do is the buttons. So I’m still counting that in my sweater tally since the knitting (and seaming!) is all done. I’ve also got a blanket that needs finishing. Three more squares to go. Don’t think I’ll get those done (and seam the darned thing together) before the year ends, but I’ll keep plugging along.

As for what’s up for the coming year? 1) More knitting! I’ve got a test knit waiting for me as well as a pair of socks (Bex from Sock Innovation) that I can’t cast on until Jan 1st. 2) Saving money: I want to get a decent amount of savings that I can then use on plane tickets and visa applications etc for our eventual move to Canada. We still haven’t picked where in Canada, but I feel it’s a good thing to be flexible and not set on one particular place. 3) Hopefully buying a car (now that I have job so we can afford to have one) 4) Finally publish my two patterns. One of them has been test knitted, the other is being tested as we speak. Both will be available on here on my blog and one of them is for freeeeeeeeee. :D

And so I’ll leave you with a pic of my latest FO: A pair of Wanida socks (from Sock Innovation) knit in Darkness (Goth Club shipment from Handarbeitskram by Selana).

See you in the new year!