It's Knittin' Time!

With fall getting ready to knock on our doors, I've picked up the trust knitting needles once again.  I've been knitting bits and pieces over the summer, but not consistently.  This needs to be remedied. 

I have started some Podster Glittens in two colorways.  One is for a co-worker who ask many moons ago for flip-top mittens.  I enjoyed making them, but they are trying too. 

Thus I decided to knit a few projects that are quick and gratifying.  One's to be a gift, so that'll have to stay hush hush, but the other is very Autumnish!  It's this cute pixie hat in the amazing deep orange colorway.  My photo does it no justice!  I'm looking forward to posting as I finish some projects.

Along with a few new projects, I have some cast-on that I should finish.  One is my Clockwork Skies Cowl.  Love that pattern! I'd really like to finish it so I can wear is this Fall/Winter.

I knit the wurm for my BFF.  It was a glorious hat.  I have some left over yarn from my Octopus Mittens (★).  I feel that the wurm would make an amazing matching hat for the yarn.  The switching colors looking like the tentacle suckers!  :D

I've also got a few other craft projects of the non-knit variety in the works.  Again, for Christmas.  Hopefully I'll finish all that I would like to have finished by then. 

In order to have something to do while knitting, since I need to stay engaged on multiple levels, I normally watch tv.  Today it has been D.Gray-Man.  Imagine my amused surprise and delight to look up and see the Millenium Earl knitting away mid-way through an episode (22 I think).  XD  I love when characters knit randomly for no apparent reason, or for good reason. 

But tv can get boring and you have to stop to change discs so  I've been looking in to audiobooks too. 

I've been reading Martin's A Game of Thones.  As an extraordinarily long book and series, I feel this would be a good invest for the knitting!  Maybe even The Wheel of Time Saga as well as The Lord of the Rings.  Let's get the fantasy reading...er...listening on!  ;)

Pay it Forward '11 Reflection

In January of last year, Facebook had a Pay It Forward Project meme going around.I'm a bit late in getting this done, but better late than never. I wanted to write up something on the five Pay it Forward projects that I finished in the last year.

The idea was simple:

Pay it forward 2011: I promise to send something handmade to the first 5 people who leave a comment. They must in turn post this and send something they made to the first 5 people who comment on their status. The rules are that....it must be handmade by you and it must be delivered sometime in 2011.In the midst of completing and gifting the projects I started to think about it all.

And I wanted to collect the links for all the projects into one place.
MP1: 11's Sonic Screwdriver (completed: June 15, 2011 ; gifted: June 18, 2011)
MP2: Anti-Possession Mitts (complete: July14, 2011 ; gifted: August 1, 2011 )
MP3: Gates of Greyhaven (completed: June 26, 2011 ; gifted: July 23, 2011 )
MP4: Grape Wurm (completed December 25, 2011: ; gifted: January 2-5, 2012 )
MP5: Blueschief (completed: July 1, 2011 ; gifted: August 21, 2011)

All posts related to Pay it Forward '11.

It was fun picking patterns and yarn to go with the patterns that I felt reflected the recipient. I put thought into the pattern choice. I also put thought into the yarn choice be it color or fiber.

Overall, the project helped me get a lot of knitting done. It also helped me delve deeper into the fiber world. I ended up visiting a proper knitting store for the first time. That was a fun experience. It made me wish that there was a knitting store closer to home. Also, it would be nice if there were little cozy cafes near by that I could sit in to knit, read, or write from time to time. The main stream never has the same feel that the little independent stores did when I was at college. Though I didn't get around to visiting them too often.

Speaking of reading, I was inspired by a fellow tumblrite, Airiz, in her post about the gathering of her top books of the year. (Her blog is fantastic btw.) It was something that made me realize that I had stopped keeping track of the books I'd read, what I felt about them, how long it had taken me to read, and other such things. I miss making my list and seeing what I read and how it coincides with my life. I read a lot in high school and through college, but the habit fell by the wayside before I graduated. This year, I would like to start it up again and keep track of everything. Hopefully I'll be able to post about some of the books here and encourage reading.

So this year, I'd like to complete a few knitting projects that have been languishing on my needles. I would like to put a dent in my stash of yearn before buying anymore *crosses fingers* I have enough projects and yarn pairings to get my through for a bit. And I'd like to read. Be it from a physical book, on either of my Kindles, or an audiobook while knitting away. I want to get back to doing more things that will relax me and help to keep the stress levels low.

Of course, I hopefully will put a major dent in my MBA course load as well. But like I said, taking the time to read for pleasure is something I haven't been really consistent on in the last few years. I'd also like to try and read things outside of my usual fantasy novels. I want to read more classics, maybe some non-fiction, or other authors that had previously caught my eye but I'd never gotten around to picking up their books.

Let this be a year of knitting comforting projects and reading.