Finish and New Projects

Feline Love is completely finished! I finished up the back stitching while on campus Tuesday, but could not figure out how to do the french knots. Tonight, I found a video on youtube that really helped explain french knots and I was finally able to make them. Feline Love turned out very well and I can't wait to frame it!

After classes this afternoon, I went to Michael's and picked up another Dimension kit called "Oriental Butterfly." This is a rather large project, so it will probably take me a while to finish this one! I think this is a gorgeous design and hope to give it to my sister as a gift (maybe for Christmas?). Look out for updates...

I also purchased the pattern for Reclamation Scarf by Stefanie Japel. So far, the pattern is really pretty and I look forward to seeing how it turns out. This scarf will make a great Christmas present too!

My BFF gloves are also coming along as I was able to do a few cable repeats this week during lunch.

Thanks for looking and happy crafting!

Feline Love Almost Complete

Feline Love is really close to being completed. I started stitching the outline of the butterfly this morning and all I have left is to fill it in and do the back stitching detail. I've been working on this for a month but it feels like I just started it. Hopefully, I will be able to get it framed fairly quickly so I can hang it in my living room. I will post a picture of my progress later as I'm too lazy at the moment to go take a picture.

Originally, I had planned to go to Michael's today to pick up another kit but might not make it (will probably have to wait until Tuesday after classes). I am thinking about purchasing Oriental Butterfly by Dimensions or some kind of hummingbird kit if I can't find a hummingbird pamphlet. I think that my sister would like Oriental Butterfly, but I'm not sure if I'd be able to complete it by Christmas as I've read that it's pretty big. So, once I complete Feline Love this weekend (hubby is going off to a race tomorrow so I'm taking advantage of some down time), maybe I'll finally be able to finish reading Storm of Visions by Christina Dodd or work on BFF gloves a bit.

Busy, busy...

Well, I can see that my plan to update this blog at least once a week is working out very well....not really. This past week was the third week of classes and I am already feeling very burned out. I think that not having a true break over the summer did not help; I spent the first part of the summer studying for the GMAT to get into grad school by the first of July and the second part of the summer in an online class that I equated to ripping off a band-aid. The class was five intensely painful weeks that was over about as quickly as it started! So, I'm taking my current classes one week at a time and trying to make it through.

Last weekend was Labor Day weekend and I had Monday off of work and no classes on Tuesday, which gave me a nice long four-day weekend! It was very much needed! Monday, it rained literally all day long so I was able to get a lot done on Feline Love. I was also finally able to start on the second fingerless glove to my BFF set.

Here is what I have done so far of my second BFF glove. I got through the 12 rows of the cuff and need to do one cable increase row before starting on the cable pattern. At this rate, it may be finished by next Christmas! That may be okay though, since I am seriously considering keeping these for myself. ;)


Feline Love is coming along much faster now that I've completed the cats, which were full cross stitches. As you can see, I am down to the bottom right corner of the chart. I can't wait to see this completed with all of the back stitching detail. Hopefully, I will finish this project next weekend as I have a very intense week coming up and will need the weekend to wind down a bit.

Later today I am going to the bookstore to pick up my signed copies of Nicholas Sparks new book, The Last Song. It has worked out that for the past few years, he has had a book signing every fall and I have been able to buy my grandmother a copy for her birthday in December. Of course, I can never wait until December and always give the book to her asap. This year is no different and I cannot wait to give her his latest book. I basically started this tradition when my granddad got sick with lung cancer and then heart disease and my grandmother was staying with him in the hospital. I gave her a copy of The Notebook to distract her and help her "escape" for a little while. Now, she loves Nicholas Sparks' books and asks me frequently when his next book is coming out. I just smile, say that I'm not sure, and then show up a couple of months later with a signed copy made out just for her. It warms my heart to see the look of shock and excitement on her face every single time.

As always, thanks for looking!

Back to School!

As you can tell by the title, it's back to school this week. Classes start tomorrow and I am hoping that I have not bit off more than I can chew by enrolling in two undergraduate courses and two graduate courses. Hopefully, I'll be able to continue knitting and cross stitching with this busy schedule. I have a four hour break inbetween my morning and afternoon classes so I plan to take something to work on during that time besides studying.

Anyways, here are some updated pics of Feline Love. Junebug, aka "The Craft Kitty", always helps with my projects. She especially likes scrapbooking, well, she mostly likes to lay on my photos and layouts as I'm laying everything out. Hopefully, I'll be able to keep up the momentum on Feline Love as I am really liking how it's turning out. Schedule permitting, I'll try to post updates at least weekly.

Have I mentioned how much I am loving my Q-Snap? It fits perfectly in my hand and is holding the fabric tension much better than the cheap plastic hoop I was using from the Hummingbird kit. It is also making this hobby much more enjoyable as I'm not fighting the tool I'm using. Isn't it funny how we can be so picky about our tools? I feel the same way about knitting needles and scrapbooking tools, so I guess this obsession crosses hobby boundaries which is probably good for the industry.

Thanks for looking!

Feline Love Update

During many of the car rides we took on our vacation I was able to read all of Sherrilyn Kenyon's latest book, Bad Moon Rising, and work on my Feline Love cross stitch project. Bad Moon Rising was a book that I had looked forward to for a long time since I fell in love with the main characters early in the series. I am thrilled with their story and look forward to the next book in the series! Now, I am reading Christina Dodd's latest, Storm of Visions.

I was not sure if cross stitch needles were allowed on planes so I packed my needle and scissors into my checked luggage and placed my other supplies into my carry-on so they would not get messed up. I purchased a 6 x 6 Q-Snap the day before we left and would have been really upset if it had gotten messed up! We did a lot of driving during our trip which provided the perfect opportunity to cross stitch. I found that the Q-Snap was much better than the hoop that I was trying to use and was easier for me to hold in my hand. I think I'm hooked! The following are pictures of what I managed to accomplish this week. I've almost completed the far right side of the chart. Also, on the return flight a lady was sitting in front of me making Christmas ornaments and I was so disappointed that I'd packed my needle in my luggage! At least I was able to finish reading my book, but I will take my cross stitch with me next time.

Vegas Vacation

Yesterday, we returned from our week long trip to Las Vegas. It was a fabulous, but very busy, vacation. The plane ride on Saturday from Charlotte to Vegas took a little over four hours and I managed to read some of my book and knit an entire dishcloth during the flight. That afternoon we bought snacks and drinks at Wal-Mart then managed to squeeze a nap (we had to wake up at 3:30AM to catch our first flight) in before the Tournament of Kings at the Excalibur where we stayed. The next day, we woke up bright and early to drive to the Grand Canyon. On the way, we stopped at the Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon Caverns. The Hoover Dam was amazing and the Caverns would have been interesting if the tour guide had actually used some geological facts in his tour. Instead, it consisted of a lot of corny jokes. We arrived at the Grand Canyon and checked into our hotel in time to catch a bus to Hopi Point to watch the sunset. It was absolutely breathtaking!

Monday, we traveled around the Grand Canyon, stopping at various view points. We also went to Sunset Crater and Walnut Canyon. Tuesday, we took it easy for the most part and had dinner at Emeril's. It was one of the best dinners we had all week. Wednesday, we were on the road again, visiting the Shelby Museum, Valley of Fire, and Red Rock Canyon. It was a long day, but worth every moment. We tried to go to Fremont Street after dinner at Rainforest Cafe but, for some reason, the buses were not running on schedule and we gave up. In fact, my husband and I never made it to Fremont Street but after getting stuck in the crowds at Treasure Island we decided it was not worth it for us.

Thursday was our last day in Vegas and was the most fun my husband and I had all week. We traveled with his family and this was our first day to explore completely on our own and just be together. We had breakfast at Mon Ami Gabi at Paris Las Vegas (I highly recommend this restaurant for breakfast - C'est tres bien!). I had waffles with fresh strawberries and whipped cream while my husband had eggs, toast, sausage, and bacon. He was really unnerved by the menu as the restaurant did use some French terms, but I think he liked it. After breakfast, we walked around the Bellagio and Ceasar's Palace. Thursday was also the day that we FINALLY got to go to the pool! I had been looking forward to going swimming all week and was so happy when we finally did. Afterwards, we grabbed a light lunch (it was around 3:30) and went to the Fashion Show Mall, which was huge, and then Madame Tussands. I did not realize that Madame Tussands was so interactive and they included props for you to use in photos with the waxed figures. It was very fun and completely worth the cost. We had planned to see the car collection at the Imperial Palace but got there at 7:00, not knowing that the exhibit closed at 6:00. Hubby was bummed but we had a great dinner at the Outback Steakhouse located near M&M World (yes, we went there too and bought way too many M&M's). It was probably the best dinner we had all week.

Overall, it was a tiring week. My husband and I have decided that if we ever go back we will skip Las Vegas and spend more time at the Grand Canyon since we were both very disappointed that we did not have more time to spend there. Now, I need a vacation to recover from our vacation!

First Fingerless Gloves

This project started as Cookie A's BFF Sock pattern from http://www.knitanon.com/blog/bff.html. As I finished the leg (according to the pattern) and was ready to start working on the heel I decided to try these as gloves instead of socks. I added more length by knitting additional cable pattern repeats (I ended up with 12 altogether from the cuff). Then I knit 3 cable patterns going back and forth on the right side and wrong side of the knitting to create the thumb hole. I suggest that you knit the first two stitches on needle one onto needle four (using 5 double pointed needles) so that as you transition back into knitting in the round the stitches do not stretch across the gap. Then continue to work 3 more rounds of the cable pattern, finishing with 5 rows of K2P2 Rib and binding off in the pattern. I used KnitPicks 2.5mm nickel plated double pointed needles and Heart and Sole sock yarn by Red Heart in Tequila Sunrise. This colorway worked beautifully!

I only have one glove completed at the moment and am waiting to do the next one on circular needles using Magic Loop as I found working with the cable needle and double pointed needles too fiddly. These will be a present for Christmas, but I have not decided who will be the recipient yet.