The Little Things...

Hello!
I'm in London, England, and I'm really enjoying it here!  I've seen so many of the amazing and famous sites, but what really made my visiting time here sweet, was the little things.  And, fortunately, I took some pictures of those little things, so that's what I'm going to share with you today.

There were tons of macaroon shops and stands around London, so my family and I grabbed a few as a lunch dessert.  I love everything about macaroons; they're tasty, and really cute to photograph :)  And the colors are just so adorable and cheery.

Flavors (from left to right):
1. Raspberry
2. Vanilla
3. Chocolate from Venezuela
4. Strawberry and Mint
5. Lemon Zest
6. Melon
7. Iced Mint
8. Chocolate

Yummy! - Well, that's all I have for today.  I'll be posting some more "knitty" pictures in the next post.  Tomorrow we're saying goodbye to London and flying off to Sweden, which will be a whole new adventure...

Emily

FO: Honey Cowl

Hello!
I have another FO to share with you today!  I'm so excited to have this project out of the way; It was really fun to knit, but I had other projects that I wanted to cast on.

Today's FO is my beautiful little Honey Cowl, a warm and squishy cowl with a super cool stitch texture.  The pattern is by Madelinetosh, my favorite yarn brand ever!  I used their Madelinetosh: Tosh Merino Light in color way cherry.  The Honey Cowl pattern calls for a DK (double knitting) weight yarn, but instead I doubled up the merino light yarn (which is fingering weight) and used it as a worsted weight yarn.

I'm sure you're dying to see the photos, so get ready for the grand parade of photos!!

Isn't the stitch pattern beautiful?  It's called the "waffle stitch", and it creates the coziest fabric in the history of knitting.  I think it looks a bit like garter stitch, but it has a more sophisticated look.

I really love the colors of the yarn.  They remind me of red cherries and other summery fruits.  I think the colors really compliment the pattern!

I couldn't get a picture of it being modeled, so I used a chair instead. :)

A tree branch also turned out to be a stellar cowl model.

And that is my Honey Cowl!  I hope all of you enjoyed this post, have a great day!

Question For You:  Will you be making a Honey Cowl someday?  Have you ever made one?  If so, how'd it go?

FO: Owl

HOOT!  HOOT!   Did you hear that?  It sounded like a bird call... HOOT! Oh, there it is again!  I wonder what kind of bird made that sound... a sparrow?  Robin?  Jay?  Or maybe an... owl?  Oh my!  Look in the trees - Do you see it?!  It's an owl!  A whimsical, teal and black owl!!

Yes!  I have finally finished my precious knitted owl!  It wasn't easy, but the job is now officially done. :)  And I am so happy with the adorable, irresistible owl that is the final product of my blood, sweat, and tears... just kidding -  It wasn't that bad!

This project has taken me a very...very...very long time.  Part of this is because the project is deceptively big!  I know it's a toy, and that it doesn't really look like a ton of knitting, but trust me - It is.  I don't recommend this pattern, Xavier the Observant Owl, if you're looking for a quick, small yardage, knit over the weekend project.  It's more of a long term project, in my opinion.  But it's so cute nonetheless.

I'm quite pleased with the yarn and how it knitted up.  I used Knit Picks Wool of the Andes in color ways Marina and Coal, knit on size 5 needles.  It's not the softest yarn I've used, but it's not scratchy enough to lead to discomfort.  The plies didn't split, so it was easy to work with.  I think the colors are very vibrant and are perfect for this whimsy little owl.

I decided not to add talons (feet) for two reasons:

1.  I didn't have enough yarn.
2.  Even if I did have enough yarn to make talons, I probably wouldn't have enough steam left to keep knitting for this project.

I was even debating whether or not to knit up the wings - I'm so glad I did!  The wings are my favorite part about the owl, they are floppy, round, and truly make it look like a bird.

I used felt for the eyes and beak, because I didn't have any big safety eyes.  I glued them on with fabric glue, and so far they are holding up well...

Anyways, I am so excited to have this little owl off the needles!  It feels great to have finished something.  There's more info and stuff about this project on my Ravelry project page, so please check that out if you want.

I have some fun new posts coming up about some projects, so keep watching my blog for more fun. :)  Comment if you want to, and have a great day/night!

Emily

WIPs: Sweater, Owl, and Honey Cowl

Hello Everyone!

I hope you're having an awesome day, I know I am.  It's as sunny and warm as can be here in Oregon, and the school year is ALMOST over.  I get out of school on next Thursday, the 13th, and I am so excited about the end you have no idea!  Okay, maybe you do if you are a fellow middle schooler! :o)

Anyways, I have a handful of projects to share today.  Two of them you probably recognize, the Owl and my Owls Sweater, but the third one is fairly new.  I'm really happy that I have time to post today and talk about these new projects of mine.

I'm sure you have been wondering about the Owl toy I was making.  Well, I'm glad to say that I have finished the horns, and I am now working on the wings!  I have a good feeling that you'll be seeing the finished owl sometime soon ;)

Next up is a small update on my Owls Sweater.  I think I mentioned this in a previous post, but my dog decided to take a nap in my sweater and she messed it all up.  Here is the new work I've done after the little incident with my dog.

I also mentioned a new project.  It's a Honey Cowl, and the texture is really fun and easy to accomplish.  I'm making it for my mom.

I hope I can finish this soon without running out of yarn to make a decent sized cowl....

Have a great week!

Emily

It's Called Organization!

Hello Everyone!
Today I did some "end-of-spring" cleaning.  I reorganized my stash, found a nifty and quite artistic way to store my knitting needle interchangeable tips/crochet hooks, and just polished up my room because A. My room was messy.  and  B. A friend and her family are coming over to my house tomorrow and C. I was getting tired of having my yarn and needles take over my room. :)  So I would like to show my End-of-Spring cleaning progress later in the post, but I have some stash updates to share with you.

If you remember 2 posts ago I talked about how I went to an alpaca farm.  Well, not only did I get to see the cutest alpacas ever, but I also got to pick up 7.5 ounces of their luxuriously soft fiber!  I'm hoping to spin this fiber up and try dying, since the fiber is a natural color.

Also, over the weekend I bought 3 skeins of yarn at two of my favorite local yarn stores.  On the left is a beautiful skein of Madelinetosh Merino DK; in a cloudy mix of purples, blues, grays, and aquas.  I'm hoping to make a Pressed Leaves beret out of it this summer.  The other two balls of yarn are Quince and Co. finch.  I love the pretty shades of blue and the simple texture of the yarn.  It's 100 % wool, but not scratchy at all.  I'm going to make a Daybreak Shawl out of them!

 I want to show you some things I accomplished during my insane organizing day.  I found a really convenient and artistic way to store my needles and hooks!  Ta-daaa!

A few months ago my dad made me a little "pencil organizer" for my artist pencils.  However, I didn't really use it.  I preferred to have my pencils in a little pencil can.  So the organizer was left empty for a while.  But I came up with a genius (not really) idea to put my pencil tips and crochet hooks into the organizer and display them like some sort of "decorative art thingie...

I also organized my cheap needles.  Since I have my nice nickel plated needles, I don't really use my cheap needles...unless I have to.  But, they need a place to stay until I need to knit with them.  I also put some assorted mini skeins on my knitting table so that I can be prepared incase I have a need-to-knit-a-hexipuff moment.

And to keep my interchangeable cables tidy and untangled, I pinned them on my wall!

I even gathered up all my knitting notions and put them in a little bin so they don't get lost and spread out all over the place.

My favorite little notion is my baby turtle tape measure.  I think the design is really cool and it is just so adorable!

I think the turtle believes that my drop spindle is a carousel or something.  It's a very interesting turtle, indeed. ;)

And here's a pretty awesome (in my opinion) picture of my blow glass ball.  Doesn't it look like the ocean on a sunny day?  By the way, I made it! :)

Stay tuned for a WIP post on Wednesday!  I wanted to post about my WIPs today, but this post is already really loooonnnng.  So I'm saving the knitty goodness for this Wednesday.

Have a great rest of your weekend!

Emily

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

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

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

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

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