crochet – Page 2 – mimimustknit

July 2, 2016July 3, 2016

Summer 2016

It’s summer. I love it and all that comes with it – except the grass cutting. Hahahaha.

Summer for me always starts when the spinning guild ladies get together for our annual spinning weekend at White Lake. We rent a bunch of cottages and hang outside, go for walks, eat, drink wine and spin/knit/crochet. It’s really wonderful.

Spinning

It came to me a few weeks ago that I hadn’t received a knitting/crochet order in months. Honestly, I’m thrilled. This means I’ve had more time than usual to work on things I want to work on. This also means that I get to start using up my stash – which is really getting out of hand. (What I should do is have a little sale. I could probably pay for a trip. That is not a joke.)

The workshops are going really well. Oddly, the crochet classes are more popular than the knitting classes. I never would have guessed. I’ve always preferred knitting. But crochet definitely has some perks. I’ll be starting over in the fall with beginner workshops and then some more advanced workshops for the girls who have been coming since the beginning. I’m already planning. 🙂

Did I mention in my previous posts that my friend Bonnie and I are working on our Master Handknitter certification? It’s been very interesting. Trying to get a perfectly even rib really sucks – my ribbing sucks.

I finished my Icelandic sweater and then tackled Still Light and the X-Stitch Shrug. That’s three sweaters so far this year.

I did, however, get a few orders this week after someone posted the Azel Pullover by Velvet Acorn Designs. It’s a super fun and pretty little knit. And I had no projects on the go or waiting in the wings.

These days though, for some reason, I’m feeling really really inspired. My creative juices, bla bla bla. I always want to be making something. I get annoyed when I can’t knit or crochet. Someone will say “can you do that” and the wheels start turning.

I purchased this course from Craftsy: Professional Yarn Dyeing at Home by Sarah Eyre. It’s so fun. I need a crockpot and some acid dyes. Now I want to dye everything.

I’m really frustrated that I don’t have more time. I want time to design and knit. I want time to spin (yarn). I want time to work on my Master certification. I want time to dye yarn. I want time to read books. I want time to do more yoga and to study things related to yoga so I can become a better teacher.

Somehow, my summer schedule is looking pretty ok though. I’m hopeful that there will be more Creative Time in my immediate future. I’m doing a few private lessons this month. How fun. I’m excited. I never thought…

Life is good.

December 23, 2015

No More Waiting!

For the last little while, I’ve been saving my pennies to go on a trip. Not traveling has been really tough for me (as mentioned repeatedly in my previous posts). This week, the waiting is OVER!!!! I’m going to Portugal and Boston with my friend/co-worker Angie.

The planning and execution came about very quickly – I’m a bit impulsive that way. In about 12 hours, we picked a destination, researched a bit, booked our time off and booked our trip. We leave in less than a month.

I feel like leaping off a cliff! I won’t. But planning travel always makes me feel like I can fly. Strange, I know. What can I say. I’m addicted.

I got to see these two this weekend:

Makes my heart sing. (My son and my sister.)

The new workshop is a go.

Slouch Topper Workshop Poster-page-001

The blanket is finished.

Gauge checked and ready to rock on the sweater.

I’m going to finish this post and cast on before my night shift. Woot!

MERRY CHRISTMAS, HAPPY NEW YEAR and all that good stuff.

October 4, 2013October 4, 2013

37 Year Old Self

I’m up this early on my Friday off because (crazy me) was out of bed at 5:15 this morning to hit the gym for 6:00. (I need time for coffee before I do anything.) When I pulled into the parking lot at 5:54 am, I started thinking that it wouldn’t be so bad if this morning’s FitCamp was cancelled. But it wasn’t. So there I was, still yawning and picking the crud out of my eyes, getting ready to sweat my little arse off. I love it! It’s a new thing I’m trying – FitCamp. It’s total craziness but it’s a challenge (big-time) for me and I almost always (almost) feel like a million bucks when I’m done. Thank you Tina for asking me to go with you all those weeks ago. Now I’m hooked. There are worse things to be addicted to right? (Do I have too many addictions now?)

This week has been a great week – a week of reflection. (Insert eye-roll here!) Seriously though, I’ve been feeling very grateful. If I thought really hard, I bet I could come up with a few hundred things I love about being me – including, but not limited to, the people that surround me.

I’m a strong believer in we all choose to be who we are. Yes, the ground work is laid when we’re young by our parents. And most of our parents do a good job. (Mine did. Love you guys.) But you hit a certain age when you’re just old enough, smart enough, aware enough, independent enough, etc to just decide who you are and/or who you want to be. Then you work towards that. I’ve come across people who mostly sit around and feel sorry for themselves because they’ve been challenged in their life or it hasn’t been a perfectly smooth road. So what! Bumps build character if you’re smart enough to use those bumps as lessons and grow. Forgive me if I don’t feel sorry for them or have patience for them. Maybe that makes me blunt, or cold, or a bitch, or something but… seriously. Life’s too short. How much time do you want to waste on the Poor Me train.

I decided a long time ago who I wanted to be. I think that we have a pretty good idea of who we want to be when we’re in our late teens. Maybe some of us don’t consciously know it but it’s there. It probably took me 15 years before I had a clear picture and another five to become that person. But I can honestly say that I’ve arrived. It’s freaking awesome! It’s been a tough ride but it’s been so worth it to be able to sit here and say that I love my life.

I was driving up to Ottawa on Monday night after the super-foods workshop (which was awesome by the way) wondering what I thought my life would look like at 37 when I was 17. Isn’t that a funny thought? I think I probably thought I would be married, have a couple of kids, have a cute house, work in an office – something generic like that. Back then, 37 was so old. Did I think I would be old by 37? Cause I sure as hell don’t feel old. My body aches from my workouts but that’s a good kind of ache. I never thought I would only have one child, not be married and perfectly happy about that, be tattooed (awesome), love my job, doing yoga, travelling as much as I can, still making new friends and still learning. I could go on. It’s sort of a strange and funny thing to have been thinking about. It put a smile on my face.

So, here are a few pics from my week.

The workshop at Renew by Heather Hughes.

I hit Chapters (for a Starbucks Chai) and found this book which is now on my reading list.

Did some shopping for our Cali trip. Not sure why everything is black and grey. Definitely not a reflection of how I feel. Just the colours (or non-colors) that I appear to be attracted to these days. Hmmmm. I did purchase some dark teal yarn to make a big chunky knit cowl. Does that count? (I know I wasn’t supposed to buy more wool but I’m weak).

Did some shopping with France. Almost bought these shoes. So deliciously vintage.

France took me to Fratelli’s for my birthday dinner. I really love spending time with my sister.

Steve got me a new external drive for my Mac for my birthday. I crocheted a cozy for it. THAT’S how geeky I am.

Now I’m going to go wash the salty sweat off my body, put some big-girl clothes on and hit the road to visit Michelle this weekend! So excited. I think she has a lot of crafty things planned for us to do.

Hope everyone has a great weekend.

10 more sleeps to Cali!!!!

May 16, 2013May 16, 2013

Preparations

I booked a week off work again. It’s been lovely. But I didn’t do it really so that I could relax. I did it so I could prepare for my weekend guests. Ok. That’s not the only reason. But I wanted a few days to get some things done around here.

I honestly didn’t think it was possible to love home more than I did before. But, with every little thing I get done around here… I fall more and more in love with it. Being here makes my heart and soul happy.

I saw these when I went to get the mail the other day. Beautiful apple blossoms by the side of my driveway, full of dew from the cold mornings we’ve been having.

I turned the heat off because we’ve been having such nice weather. Then I got home on Monday morning after my night shift to 14 degrees Celsius. Yikes!

I honestly slept most of the day on Monday. Those three night shifts in a row really do a number on all of us. Fortunately for me, I had nothing planned for Monday. I even went to bed at a reasonable hour and managed a great sleep. Oh, and I worked on the monster truck. Unfortunately, I didn’t get as much done as I would have liked because I ran out of yarn. AGAIN.

I got to spend a big chunk of my day on Tuesday with my Mom. It was great. We hit this little basement pub for lunch. It’s a really cozy spot. I love the stone walls and the old church benches. I had my favorit – POUTINE!

Yesterday was full of crossing things off my to-do list. I took the old sewing machine out, hemmed, pressed and hung my new drapes. They really change the space – make it a tad more elegant.

I also tackled a few sticky projects. I got this antique dresser from my uncle Andre. Beautiful dresser but covered in little stickers from his then-young-daughter. I took out my Goo Gone and got all the stickers off. Now it looks beautiful! I also had this sticky trim stuff around my tub in the upstairs bathroom. It came off years ago but the glue remained. I’m sure you can imagine the stuff that stuck there. It was really gross. So, yesterday, I scraped at that too and put in a new sticky trim. Looks fab and I’m very proud of myself. Hahahahaha.

So, here we are. Finally. Pictures of the monster truck. It’s still not finished. But it’s close.

I still don’t like it. BUT, I’m guessing when it’s all put together and the bumpers, lights, mirrors and eyes are on, I will love it. AND, when I give it to Patrick and he loves it, it will all be worth it.

It’s a long weekend! I’m pretty excited to have people here. I’ve never been big on hosting – makes me go a little OCD. But, more and more, I realize that I love my space and I want to share it with people. So, this weekend will be full of family, food, maybe a bonfire and probably a little crafting 🙂 It’s going to be wonderful.

Have a happy long weekend everyone!