5/31/2013

May Yarnful Giveaway WINNER!

Helloo everyone!
It's the end of the month, May is finally at a close, and summer is right around the corner.  But that's not the only exciting thing happening around here; it's time to announce the winner of the May Yarnful Giveaway!  Exciting huh?  I know you're at the edge of you're seat... I know you can't wait to hear who won... I bet you're hoping it's you who gets to claim the wonderful mini skeins I have offered...


Congratulations AmandaCake on Ravelry! 

Amanda, you are the lucky winner of this month's giveaway!  I will be in touch with you very soon, so I get your address and contact info and send the mini skeins off to you!

Here is part of the List Randomizer (couldn't take a screen shot of the whole thing because it was too long)  I hope you can see that clearly...


Well, stick around for the next giveaway and some upcoming posts!

Emily

5/26/2013

Alpacas Have Taken Over This Post

Hi There!
Today I took a trip to Alpacas of Oregon, an (obviously) alpaca-filled farm that  houses the most adorable little alpacas EVER.  I think I'll let the pictures (and a video or two) prove it to you.  :-)


This little sign greets you as you enter...


And here is the welcome committee of alpacas, ready to say, "Hello!"


There's a cute little stable/barn (whatever you call it) where they keep the little ones...


And the friendly ones who like the camera...


Oh.  Um.  Hello there... how's it goin'?


I thought this one looked funny :)

I also to a video of this one ADORABLE baby alpaca who I think was allergic to me; he started sneezing (or choking, I couldn't tell, but let's just say he's sneezing :)) when I came over to his section of the barn  He's behind the big whitish alpaca.  I would't recommend watching it on full screen, it just makes the video pixilated.





And of course, the camera-friendly one got jealous and thought that she needed some more camera time :)

I also got some alpaca fiber (7.5 oz)!!

Emily

5/24/2013

It's Here! - Botanical Knits

Hi,
I received a very special package today!!







I can't wait to knit all of the beautiful leaf inspired projects!!

Emily

5/19/2013

FO: Zuzu's Petals

Hello,
I'm SO happy to say that I finished my Zuzu's Petals shawl-cowl!

The project was so fun to knit, and I highly recommend it to anyone who is new to lace knitting and wants to try it out.  There are only basic lace techniques throughout the pattern and everything is clear and understandable.


I was a bit surprised at how big it turned out.  I expected a small cowl but it turned out to be a gigantic cowl that could cover up my shoulders.  Now don't get me wrong, I love the size, it just wasn't what I was expecting.


I was an extreme perfectionist during the process of knitting this cowl.  The smallest mistakes (bad tension, a wonky eyelet) bothered me and I would unknit rows and rows just to fix the quirk in my knitting.  Despite how much this slowed me down I'm glad I put on my "Perfectionist Cap" while working on this project because I feel so happy when I can look at it and think to myself, "There are no mistakes in this cowl what-so-ever."



When I blocked my Zuzu's Petals cowl I decided that I didn't want sharp points.  So, instead of aggressively blocking it, I pinned the points at gentle angles, creating a slightly wavy affect.  I love it!


I have to admit that I did not pick the right yarn for this pattern.  It looks pretty, but I strongly think that it would look much nicer if I had chosen a lighter color with more subtle variegations.  But it still is lovely in my opinion. :)


And... I did my nails to match the style of the cowl!  I did a gradient moving from purple to green, and I painted some delicate leaves and dots (eyelets) to resemble the design on the cowl.

Well, I'm happy I finished something.  Comment if you would like to, and have a awesome day!

Emily

5/17/2013

May Yarnful Giveaway!!

Hello everyone!!
It's time for the (overdue) May Yarnful Giveaway!!  I know the month is more than half way over, but a giveaway is a giveaway no matter when it begins, right? ;)


You could win all of these lovely, colorful mini skeins!  They are mini skeins of my favorite yarns, and I have enjoyed working with all of them.  I hope you do, too!

Entering Guidelines:
- Comment to get one entry
- Follow my blog to get extra entries!
- If you live on planet Earth, you are welcome to enter (apologies to knitting martians on Mars)
- Don't be a sore loser!  Nobody likes that. :(
- Rude/inappropriate comments will be deleted and not entered, sorry.
- Cross your fingers, the giveaway ends on May 31st :D
- Please please PLEASE leave me a ravelry ID or an email so I can contact you if you win.

"May the odds be ever in your favor." - Effie Trinket, The Hunger Games

Have fun!

Emily

5/12/2013

Back in the Groove!

Sometimes, all it takes to get back into knitting is to start a new, quick, and interesting project.  I learned this while working on the latest project, Zuzu's Petals.

I've been having a really hard time being excited about knitting.  I think this is because I haven't been knitting very interesting project.  My Owl Sweater, Owl Toy, and hexipuffs are all knit in the same old stockinette stitch, and I must say that stockinette is possibly the most boring stitch to knit.  Knitting straight stockinette projects has made feel less pumped about knitting and I've been procrastinating a ton.  So, to motivate myself, I started a brand new and fresh project to keep me interested.


I am loving this project so far!  It's a cowl, but looks like a shawlette.  There are a handfuls of yarn-overs here and there in the pattern, so it keeps me interested.  I'm about half way done with it, and I am going to wear it to school tomorrow or one Tuesday. :)


This pattern is surprisingly very easy to understand.  I didn't have to look up tutorials on YouTube on how to knit certain stitches and most of the techniques used in the project are ones I already know.  Even though it's an easy knit for me, I am really enjoying it and I highly recommend it!

The yarn knits up nicely, and I love watching the subtle color changes form.  The light blue flecks in the fabric look so awesome.

I will be posting again once I finish my shawlette cowl!

Emily



5/10/2013

The Marvelous Hexipuff Family

Hello!
I'm back!  It's been a particularly long week for me, but it was a good week. :)  Before I share some knitty stuff with you I think I'll share some happy things that happened over the week.

First of all, soccer tryouts have ended, and I made the team I wanted to - the A Team, also known as Fury.  If you have ever been so anxious and excited for something that you felt as if there were thousands of butterflies in your stomach then you know exactly how I felt the days leading up to the one day (yesterday) when I was told what soccer team I would be playing on.  Anyways, I am so thrilled about the outcome and I am relieved.  All the butterflies have been released into the wild :)

Now, I have some knitastic photos to share!  Everyone likes photos, right?  Well, here comes the grand parade featuring the newest additions to the Marvelous Hexipuff Family (and yes, that is the family name). ;)


Red Hexipuff - Malabrigo Sock
Turquoise and Green Hexipuff - Ducklings (my handspun)
Blue Hexipuff - Jojoland Melody Sock
Purple, yellow, blue hexipuff - unknown yarn (because I lost the label)



5/06/2013

Slowly...

Hi,
I've been working on my owl, along with a few other things like my sweater (which I had to start over, the story is later in the post), and a few hexipuffs.  Knitting has been very s l o w for me lately, but I'm looking forward to picking up the pace once school is out in a few weeks. :)  I have some progress to share, and my owl is ready to get some horns!


I'm completely done with the straight stockinette stitch part, and I am ready to divide the stitches for the cutesy-hootsey (I know that's not a word :P) owl horns.

Also, I had to start over on my Owls sweater, due to my "innocent" dog taking a nappie on it while I was at school, which is what my witness (Mom) told me.  I'm catching up, but still have a lot of knitting to do.

Along with knitting a little bit over the past few weeks I have been trying hard to improve the look of my blog.  The tabs have been relocated to the side of my blog, and in a font that doesn't annoy me (the old tabs font literally drove me INSANE).  :)  Also, there has been a slight change in font in the posts.  If you like these changes, please let me know, I love feedback.

Until the Next Post,
Emily