brunch

brunch
Originally uploaded by bareblueskin

knitting backwards

I'm participating in the Ravelympics again this go around (knitting olympics in time with the Olympics) and we're now past the halfway mark, and I'm knitting backwards. I'm far behind, but I should also say that I've had house guests for the past two weekends so when I thought I would be knitting I was out on the town instead. Really, a better outcome. But now, I'm sitting here looking at this little sister's dress I'm making and wondering how I'm ever going to finish by the crazy deadline of...you know, I don't even know what day the Olympics end? Okay I've just Googled it and the end is February 28th, so I have one weekend left. Phew!! Because as it is, I'm going to have to knit every night for hours in order to make it even close. And tonight? Tonight I'm knitting backwards. Last night I did the row where I join in the round, and switch colors, and somehow I knit the increase row, instead of just knitting. ARGH! So I'm unknitting the ONE row that I managed to knit this weekend while catching up on episodes of House when I should be going to bed. Oh well. I never go to bed on time anyway. And I need to have this sorted so that when I go to knitting tomorrow I can just fly.

If you're tuned in to Ravelry, here's my project.

Busy Sunday

Oops. I think I went a bit overboard. I meant to roast some chicken breasts and veggies, but I ended up with 2 roasting pans full of veggies. See what happens when you're busy watching Superbowl commercials?

Roasting Vegetables - 375 degrees, potatoes, sweet potatoes, sweet tomatoes, red pepper, carrots, parsnips, onion, salt, black pepper, basil, rosemary, thyme, garlic powder (didn't have any real garlic). I had intended to roast chicken breasts, but I wasn't really sure how to cook them roasted since they're boneless, skinless chicken breasts. I think I'll end up subbing the parmesan salmon recipe I use a lot.

I've been knitting a lot lately - working on a lace scarf that's slowly growing, starting a new lace scarf, and finally, starting on my first sweater. It's the Top-Down Raglan Cardigan by Laura Chau. Two of my knitting group friends made this sweater last fall and I've been gathering my nerve to start. I only have 12 rows so far, but I'm still figuring out how the pattern is written. I am using Caron Simply Soft in Charcoal Gray Heather. I bought 7 skeins, and I know that's overkill but I don't want to run out, and you can always find a use for Simply Soft.

Speaking of Simply Soft, for the Ravelympics I'm going to use that yarn in Orchid to make the Little Sister's Dress for my friend's daughter. Her 1st birthday is in June and I want to make sure I have something ready. This dress has been on my list since I first learned to knit and I think it's something I can manage to knit during the Olympics. I know for most knitters this wouldn't be a challenge, but I am very slow!

I've been reading a lot too, the Uglies series. I'm on book #2 Pretties. It's a fast read.

I also post weekly updates on my big cross stitch project, Soul of the Rose, on the 2010 Weekly SAL blog. Go over and check it out!

So many projects it's hard to choose.

I know what I'm doing this weekend! The yarn for my very first sweater for me came today! And some yarn for who knows what. I also stopped at the library because two of my requests came in. Um, make that 4 requests. Now do I knit or read? I haven't learned to do them both at the same time yet. Funny, in the foyer getting my mail and packages, a girl said "so you're the Ingrid who gets all the mysterious packages! Now I know." Do I get lots of packages? Have I mentioned that I love packages? Oh, and why is it that every project I make needs size 10 needles?

day 14 couch 1.14.2010

day 14 couch 1.14.2010
Originally uploaded by bareblueskin

Here it is, my beautiful new ikea couch! It's the Karlstad in Korndal Blue. I love it! Now I need to get something on the walls...

Clementines

01.12.2010
Originally uploaded by bareblueskin

Two weeks ago I split a box of Clementines with a friend. We bought it as a healthy treat after going to the gym. Last Tuesday I finally remembered to bring a Clementine to work to eat at lunch. I'm not a big fan of citrus, but these are so small I can eat the whole thing. The thing is, it wasn't all that tasty. I thought the flavor would be a lot stronger. Maybe they're getting past their prime...

Winter Birds

I'm sitting at my desk at work and I can see five robins and a blue jay skittering around on the brick steps, looking for a meal of bugs from in between the cracks of the stone wall. Here is the view from my office. My work is in the lower level of a house, sunken basement, so I see the steps, garden and driveway. There is so much activity outside this window! I know it's hard to see in the picture, but there are 3 robins on the stairs. Maybe it shows up better if you click on the picture. Today is the first day I've seen these birds. The winter here has been so cold even the squirrels have been in hiding.

Day 5 -1.5.2010

It's 11:30 am and I'm just now eating breakfast at work.

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2010 Stitching Project - Soul of the Rose

For the past two weeks I've been thinking a lot about all the projects I have going - cross stitch, knitting, home improvement, gardening, self improvement, etc. I start lots of things, and I even talk myself out of starting a lot more than I have started. I'd like to chip away at the projects that are laying around, but you know starting a new project is more fun! I've decided I can start one new cross stitch this year, and I'm going to use it as my stitch-a-long project to post updates on every week. That means I have to actually work on it every week. Even if it's just 10 minutes. I think I can do that.

Making excellent progress so far - I finished the stitching on 2 santa ornaments from the same pattern and I even put the away the remaining lengths of floss. Now I just need to do the finishing on these - find the backing fabric, stitch them up and stuff them. This time I'll be ready with an extra finished ornament for a swap or a gift. Yay! This is the same pattern I used for a swap last year and I wanted one for myself.

I bought a kit from the Dimensions Gold collection called Soul of the Rose, a Waterhouse painting January 19, 2009. I had wanted this kit for ages, and I even bought the mat and gold frame to go with it, so I was all set. But did I start it last year? No. Did I even sort out the floss in the kit so I was ready? No.

Today I managed to sort out two of the four bundles of floss. This is a very well put together kit, but it still takes time to pull the threads out and put them in groups.

The New Year Purge

It's become a New Year's tradition for me to spend Januery 1st organizing my closet. I mean everything. The entire closet gets emptied, dusted, vacummed, and then put back in an orderly fashion. I need at leat a full day for this because my closet is about 10 wide so it's mostly storage. I decided not to tackle the closet for my January tradition becuase I can't actually get to it. My whole apartment has reached a mess level that makes me anxious. SO, I spent today focusing on the living room. I did work a little in each of the other rooms, but this is where I spent the most time.

The sheer volume of my paperwork mess has me overwhelmed, but at least all the financial/health papers i have come across so far are filed. i know there are more piles of it lurking in the bedroom but i'm okay with not finishing everything by monday. i think everyone else has the same idea. i took 1 bag each of paper and jar recyling outside and their are piles of bags of trash and recyling along the side of the building. yikes! I did finish a craft project too and find my old aquarium rocks for the paperwhite. The desk resettling will be tomorrow. I think it's time to break for dinner.