It's Leap Day! Did you know that in Britain and Ireland, women may propose marriage only on leap days? Supposedly, Margaret of Scotland required fines of a pair of leather gloves, a single rose, £1 and a kiss be levied if the man refused. This law sounds pretty reasonable to me. Oh, and she was only 5 years old when she created that law.
On to the crafting!
I've been working on a Gryffindor scarf for a while. It's taking me longer than it should, mainly because it's my take-along project that I only work on at lunchtime. I'm hoping to finish this up really soon. Here's where I'm at right now:
I'm about 70% done, so I'm hoping to have this done by the end of the week.
Well, I had a jam packed week full of crafting, multiple trips to the post office, fun with friends and seeing my favourite band, The Dropkick Murphys.
The week began with a long weekend, the holiday observed here in Ontario is Family Day, which we lovingly call Turducken Day. This year was the 4th annual Turducken feast, hosted by the lovely Ms. H and Mr. D, and a most excellent time was had by all. My favourite part is always the post-dinner move from the party room to their place where the real party happens. What a night!
My trips to the post office resulted in a whole bunch of packages going out, as well as a couple packages coming in to me. Big, squishy packages full of fibre!!!!!
As far as actual crafting goes, I got quite a bit done. In fact, I tallied up my projects for the year (I'm participating in 112 projects in 2012) and am already at 39!!! Holy crap! It's got to be all the spinning. Here are the finishes from this week:
On a sad crafting note, I had to frog 2 month's worth of crocheting :( The crazy hat I've been working on for Mr. Social was WAY too small, despite me doing a gauge swatch and everything. So it is being restarted on a larger hook. Hopefully this time it works out.
Of course, the highlight of my week was going to see the Dropkick Murphys! They have been my fave band for what seems like forever, and no matter how many times I see them live, it never gets old.
We had originally planned to make our pilgrimage down to Boston for St. Pats to see them this year, however decided against it on account of needing to save for our trip in the fall. But, the first show of their St. Pats tour 2012 was in Toronto, so we didn't have to miss out. I got to pick up a shirt, and TORONTO WAS THE FIRST NORTH AMERICAN CITY TO HEAR THEIR BRAND NEW SONG!!! How exciting is that???
There was one song I had hoped they'd play at the show that they did not, so here it is for you all to enjoy, The Dirty Glass by The Dropkick Murphys.
We haven't had much of a winter this year. A few days of snow, a few days of "real" cold (I define real cold as under -5°C/23°F), mostly just grey and wet. Normally, I really enjoy winter, I love the snow and the crispness of the air. I feel like I've been robbed of that this year, and for the first time that I can remember, I am looking forward to spring.
What makes me really sad is that this year we will miss out on one of the first signs of spring approaching, crocuses peeking out from the snow.
No, I didn't create that Valentine myself (I wish I could take that credit). See more Harry Potter Valentines by yenniper here and here, and some Lost Valentines here
Crafty things I'm addicted to include knitting socks (full grown human and mini-sized), spinning, sewing anything, and now....baby sweaters?
Seriously, baby sweaters are so cute due to their tiny size and of course, fast to knit. I've only ever finished a full grown sweater in a week once, but the last 2 baby sweaters both took about a week each.
Last night, Mr. Social and I watched Hobo with a Shotgun. This movie was everything I wanted it to be and more. Gratuitous violence, excessive gore effects, 80s soundtrack, awesome all-around campiness, amazing newspaper headlines (like "Hobo Stops Begging, Demands Change"), and an appearance by Rob Wells who plays Ricky in the Trailer Park Boys.
As a surprising contrast to all the violence, there is a lot of sentimental sappiness in this movie. Who knew a homeless vigilante could be so sweet? I don't want to give anything away for those who haven't seen it, so I won't say anymore, but I highly recommend you check it out.
So, what does Hobo with a Shotgun and The Raccoons have in common?
When the credits began to roll at the end of Hobo with a Shotgun, we heard the familiar sounds of Run With Us, sung by Lisa Lougheed. This was the theme song for The Raccoons.
Seems that people all around me are growing or planning/wanting to grow some teacup humans in their bellies. This is good for me, and here's why: While I do not want to grow one of these for myself, I do love to knit tiny things.
This week's WIP Wednesday showcases my second ever baby sweater. The parents of the baby this is intended for are pretty punk rock, and do not as yet know the sex of the baby (it's playing coy and hiding its junk during scans). Assuming that said punk rock parents will have a punk rock baby, and wanting to remain gender-neutral, I opted for colours not typical to baby garments. Makes me think more of Hallowe'en actually, but I still think it's pretty cool.
Firebrunette, if you're reading this, look away! Nothing to see here...
Seems to me that making a list has helped me somewhat in keeping organized. I finished the sock required for the test knit before the deadline I set for myself, finished the Dr. Who mini-satchel I was working on and did a whole bunch of spinning. I spun 5 skeins of yarn to be exact.
I'm really happy with how the bag turned out. It's a mini-satchel, so I guess more like a purse than anything, but soon it will have a bigger messenger bag to keep it company.
I'm feeling a little overwhelmed with all the things I need to do this month, so I decided to make a list to help me keep focused and to keep track of what is done vs what needs to get finished.
Here goes nothing:
1) Finish Diamond Gansey socks for Mr. Social 2) Finish test knit socks for me (left sock needs to be finished by Feb 5 at the latest) 3) Dr. Who mini-satchel 4) Baby sweater for gift 5) iPad cozy 6) Other Dr. Who satchel (size as yet undecided) 7) Kraken hat for Mr. Social 8) Start second Kraken hat 9) Pink and black hat for C 10) Spin all the things
I'm sure I'm missing a few things, but this is a good start. I'm hoping to knock a couple of these off the list this weekend.
Last Saturday I did a sewing test as the final step of my college application process. I hadn't sewn in a while (because I'm always knitting or spinning) and had forgotten how much I love to sew. So I finally started a project I've been meaning to make for a long time.
A while back I had purchased some fantastic Dr. Who fabric and had some vague ideas as to what to make with it. For now, I have decided on a bag and am pretty excited about it. Here is my progress so far:
I've still got a lot of this fabric left, so I'm already plotting what to make next with it!
