My Little Piece of The Net

Goals for the 26th year

Quit Smoking.
Write to Someone I Admire (Can be anyone from friend to celebrity).
Send 27 Post Cards (I miss connecting with people outside of the internet).
~~Leave the State for vacation.~~
Pay off my credit cards.
Give handmade gifts for special occasions. (Due to my schedule, I will give as many as I can)
Publish writing.
Sky dive or bungee jump.
Start a work out routine.
Debate with someone and try to see their side.
Walk for a cause.
Take a dance class.
Read a book a month (at least).
Give a gift to a stranger.
Hang out with my brother more often.
Seek Grammar/Writing Education Opportunities.
Volunteer my time outside of school.
Stop to reflect on the good things. (May decide to blog it, may decide to write it down in a journal).
Maintain a sick time balance at work.
Save up for a cushion/emergency fund.
Slumber Party/Diva Evening. (I miss sleep-overs!)
Learn to walk in heels!
Bring lunch to work (at least 3x a week).
Take a financial workshop.
Learn to cook/cook more often.
Go Camping!
Stop spending all my money on coffee!

A Finished Object!

Thursday, March 6, 2008

I finally have a hat to call my own! Meet the monk hat!

I love this pattern. To date I have made three of them. The previous two I gave away due to an unknown allergy to the material. However, this one finally made the cut. Those with keen eyes will notice that the brim of the hat matches the Montego Bay Scarf. I did this on purpose and I plan on making a pair of gloves with portions of the same yarn. I also wanted this project to be a part of Project Spectrum and the Mission Possible groups. I killed two birds with one stone making this hat. Obviously it's red and shades of red (Project Spectrum) and it was made from the Cascade yarn that I have had sitting in my stash for forever. I still plan on making another hat out of it and giving it away as a gift.

This has been the only project I have been actively working on since I ran out of yarn for Luis's scarf. At this rate he'll get the scarf for Christmas and it's not procrastination that is the problem. The dilemma is that no one around here carries Misti Alpaca! Lucky for me we're planning a trip to see Grim's parents this weekend. Hopefully we'll have time to stop my the LYS to pick up some more.

My next major project is another baby blanket. Maile (my cousin) is due to have her baby any day now and I had planned on having it all done for her by now. Alas, school and work have prevented me from doing pretty much anything but sleeping lately. For more on personal talk, see this blog.

In other crafty news, as soon as I get the chance I am stopping by the beading store to pick up materials for my first pair of handmade earrings. I have been dying to make a pair of chandelier earrings. Soon they will be mine! -=giggle=- I also picked up materials to make my own labels for my handmade gifts. I have little tags, ribbon and the appropriate stamps to make the tags extra special. Mary Catherine sent me some she had received from ETSY and it led me to the idea of making my own.

Creatively I am engulfing myself in the research process for my book. I need to set up a couple more interviews before I will begin the actual writing process. It's my goal to have a completed story by the middle of this year, ideally August. I have to get this story out there. It's always been one of my dreams to have a published book and after the writing class, I feel it is attainable. More to come as the writing process continues.

Other than that there isn't much to report. I'm hoping to display an obscene amount of yarn porn for you. My birthday is right around the corner and it's almost time for the LYS gift cards to start showing up in envelopes. -=giggle=-

I hope you are all well and happy!

Labels: Baby Blanket, Beading, Finished Project, Labels, Mission Possible, Monk Hat, Project Spectrum, Stamping, Writing

posted by Valerie @ 10:14 PM 5 comments

-=Wave=-

Monday, January 28, 2008

Hello everyone! I'm back in Albany. I actually got back last night, instead of posting a blog I read through my blog lists. I didn't realize how far behind I had fallen. -=giggle=- Anyways, I posted about the wonderful weekend over at my personal blog if you want to take a look. It was a truly wonderful weekend everyone. Grim outdid himself and spoiled me rotten! Pictures are over there as well! I'm going to try and keep up with the two separate journals. So that people only interested in my knitting/crafting can come here and anyone wanting to see personal info can go over there. I'm going to try it and see how it works out.

On with the crafting show!

First off, a question... is beading the new knitting? I am a little behind the times and I don't have any seriously crafty friends really so I don't know. All I know is that I saw like 15 different beading stores in the area of Manhattan we were staying in. That's in a walking distance of about 10 blocks. -=giggle=- On the beading not though, I realized I have a ton of leftover beads from my making stitch markers so I am going to try putting them to good use. I am going to run up to Barnes and Nobles tomorrow and look into some beading books. I'm also planning on making a pair of chandelier earrings for myself. A friend peaked my interest in trying it when I bought a pair for 12 dollars. He had given me this furrow-browed expression and told me that I could make them easily. Ding! Light Bulb! -=giggle=-

Speaking of Knitting! I popped my head into Yarn Co. when I was in the city. What a cute little shop. It has a nice selection of yarn and the owners were incredibly pleasant. I ended up buying 2 skeins of Idena Mohair Lux.

The colors are a little off but you can see that it's a various colored mohair. I was thinking about the wavy scarf or shawl. Or at least that's what I put down for the 2008 Mission Possible. I don't know if I mentioned that I had joined, thinking on it. There is a list on the right sidebar with all the projects I have to get done before December 31st. If you don't get done with the project you have to donate the yarn. It's a way to stash bust and get some knitting done as well. I figure it will be one hell of a way to get some of my gift knitting done on top of the A Loose Knit Group.

Crafting Items for Feb:

Finish the maze baby blanket. It's coming along really nicely. I showed Shawna at the shower on Sunday and she positively loved it. Mom-Mom (Grim's Grandma pestered me a bit about not getting it done, she also didn't seem that impressed with it but she's a little hard to read.) I suppose as long as Shawna appreciates the effort it's worth it.

ALK-Group chose scarves for this month so I am going to start on Louis's scarf as soon as I get done with the baby blanket.

I am also going to need to complete a couple of projects for Project Spectrum. February is dedicated to Fire, so we'll see what I can come up with.

Busy little me, eh?

Honestly, I think that's about it for now. Happy Crafting!!

Labels: Baby Knitting, Beading, Knitting, Loose Knit Along, Mission Possible, Project Spectrum, Weekend

posted by Valerie @ 5:57 PM 6 comments

A Productive Sunday.

Sunday, December 30, 2007

I have completely emptied out every single email address I have. Boy I was getting behind on those emails. Sorry guys I am a terrible pen pal over the holidays. Then after that I went through and caught up on all the Ravelry group posts ( I was surprised to find there wasn't many). I emailed a couple of people I was interesting in coversating with and then moved onto the next task. Blogs. I went through my entire Friend's list on Ravelry and caught up on all the Holidays News, then I hit my usual reads. After that it was time to start working on my blog. I wanted to add a finished section as well as a Groups and Alongs Section. So I did, then I noticed how difficult I found the font to read. So I figured if it was hard for me, it might be hard for others so I increased the size and made it bold. Does it help at all ?

Now I am blogging before I prepare to get ready to go to my mom's house. We're supposed to help her put together my brother's new desktop. Also, we need to bring over their presents. OMG! I totally forgot to blog about this! My mom got engaged over the holiday weekend. Her birthday is the 21st and her boyfriend of 7 years proposed to her! He set up a suprise party at the place they had their first date. So that got her, then they brought out a hat and started singing Happy Birthday.. Well tied to the hat was a ring and a card that said will you marry me?
HOW CUTE IS THAT! So needless to say, my mom is over the moon.

As far as knitting goes, I am making terrific progress on the Tree Jacket. I am planning on bringing it with my tonight to work on while the computer tech (Grim) works his magic. The Cobweb stole is definitely not going to work, I am definitely not skilled enough or patient enough to work that pattern. So I bought another one lastnight. It's the Feather Lace Shawl (link to the right). I casted on lastnight and I think I am going to do well with this pattern. I am using Sublime's Mohair Blend in White. I went to the yarn store, gift card in hand, and got enough yarn to finish the Accidental Drop Stitch Vest (link on right). Finally!! -=giggle=- I also picked up some black yarn for Grim's fingerless gloves, and Lambs Pride Bulky in Black and Neon Green for the Record Bag I want to make. However, now that many are telling me the Stitch'n'Bitch Nation pattern will work, I might just use it for that instead. Lamb's Pride will felt right? I confess I know nothing about felting. -=giggle=-

I am hoping to get a lot of projects completed this new year. I joined A Loose Knit Along, which is dedicated to working on projects for Christmas. That's why I went ahead and picked up the yarn for Grim's gloves. I also jumped on the wagon and joined Project Spectrum. I really want to be more receptive to color and what I can create with color.

I have a whole bunch of goals for the New Year. My number one goal being the EVER so Typical goal of quitting smoking. I want to but at the same time I don't. I know it's bad for me but I enjoy doing it. You know, one of those things.

Any top goals for you guys?

Anyways, I hope everyone has/had a wonderful weekend.

Labels: Blogging, Emails, Engagement, Felting, Laptop, Loose Knit Along, Mom, New Year, Project Spectrum, Ravelry, Resolution, Yarn

posted by Valerie @ 1:49 PM 4 comments

About Me

Name: Valerie
Home: Troy, New York, United States
About Me: I am 26 years old. I work, go to school, participate in roller derby and knit every chance I get. Oh, I also love hanging out with my boyfriend (Grim) and two cats (Kiya and Sigh).
See my complete profile

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