Busy Week Behind Me, Busy Weeks Ahead of Me

WIPs: wedding blanket
FOs: Little Boy Blue Baby Blanket
ItP: Boot cuffs (casting on tonight!), personal Christmas presents

Yep, it's that time of year. I have a couple last minute gifts I actually really need to make. Oops! haha But the end of November/beginning of December always has me in a Christmas. Particularly this year, since I don't have to worry about exams or papers or anything else, just work.

Which means, that I'm free to go out to Canmore on Saturday, with a friend, to (hopefully) finish up my Christmas shopping! Yay! hahaha

Otherwise, I have some orders to finish and a couple personal gifts to finish up before then. But I think I can do it! I can't tell you what they are, but they are pretty fast projects.

I've finished the baby boy blanket, now called the Little Boy Blue Baby Blanket. So gorgeous and soft! I'll post a picture later on for you all to see. It's knit out of Lion Brand Homespun, with the Lion Brand pattern "Diagonal Baby Blanket."

Other than that, been trying to track down information on venues (why don't people email when they say they're going to...? I don't like having to re-contact people a THIRD time...It's actually the best way to lose my money. Just saying), which has had almost exactly a 50% success rate. haha Some of the venues were super prompt and got me the information on Friday, as promised; others that said that they would didn't, so I called back. Then they promised it for Tuesday. Now it's been a full week...And still nothing. One even emailed me when I was out of the office and told me that she would get me information on Wednesday. And she did. And so that impresses me.

But enough ranting. I just don't like having to do double or triple the amount of work to track something down, especially when I could be spending a lot of money if you just pay a bit of attention and send me the promised email.


/end rant

Sorry, some things just get my gall.

Anyway, heading out. I'll chat at you all later. :)

Katie =^..^=

Sad News

WIP: Baby Boy Blanket
FOs: None

Sad news for the knitting blog/video podcasting-verse.

Karrie of KnitPurlGurl (associated with everything BUT the Etsy shop) passed away yesterday, very suddenly.

She was very active in the knitting community, and she mostly started the RAP (Random Act of Pattern) movement on Ravelry on Tuesday.

So, in her honour, on Tuesday's, gift a random person something that they have listed in their wish list on Ravelry, or one you think they might enjoy.

I only knew her through her podcast, but I think that she was a wonderful person, and I'm sending my condolences to her family. <3

~*~

Other than that, just busy at work. Only two more sleeps until my boy's home. Super stoked. And my ring should be finished its fitting by tomorrow.

And now it's time for bed. Tomorrow's hump day! Yay!

Night, all!

Katie =^..^=

Ooops! Got Tangled Up in Spinning

WIP: baby boy blanket
ItP: Spanish Peacock Shawl, boot cuffs, felted bags, dinosaurs~!

That's right, folks! I forgot my blog entry last night...Because I'm learning to spin! I took a lesson yesterday morning, and I'm already hooked. :)

So, that's what I'm doing tonight. I want to fill a second bobbin so that I can ply it together, and probably make a hat out of it! :)

Have a lovely evening, all!

Katie =^..^=

Post-Victoria

WIPs: baby blanket

FOs: none

ItP: Boot cuffs, disclothes, Christmas presents

Hello folks,

So no shop update this week, unfortunately. I got hardly any knitting done in Victoria, and now that I'm home, I'm looking into our options for where to hold our big party! (See the last post if you don't know what I'm referring to. haha)

We're going to have a long engagement, with the date being in July 2014. We're definitely going to be in the mountains, but we're looking into the different options that will be available to us there. (Although my favourite so far has been Kicking Horse Mountain Resort.)

I have also decided that I'm knitting a wedding shawl: Spanish Peacock Shawl by Meg Swanson (link will open in new window). I'm going to make it out of Handmaiden's Lace Silk in the Ruby colourway (ordered and hopefully here before Christmas)! 

So, expect to see lots about wedding over the next 20 months. On that note, my fiancee and I started dating 44 months ago today~! hehe (And again, go check out my previous blog post; he proposed to me in a really cute way. <3) In case any of you don't know, our song is: "Temptation Waits" by Garbage (this isn't the official video, but the song is high quality). It was followed by this one: "The One" by Garbage. 

Let's see...Other than that, just working on commissions and then I'm heading into build up of stock again for the Mommylicious show in Calgary on January 20th. 

And I might be completely insane, but I want to try to have that shawl finished to enter into the Stampede creative arts and crafts show. We shall see. 

I'm going to do a longer post with pictures of Victoria tomorrow after I go for a lesson on how to use my spinning wheel!

Have an awesome day! :) 

Katie =^..^=

On the Way to Victoria~!

WIPs: Baby blanket, wedding blanket
FOs: None
ItP: socks

Hello everybody!

Sitting in the Tsawassen ferry terminal, waiting for the ferry to come in! It's rainy and wind so, it's running a little bit behind, but oh well. All's well. The road's were really good, with only a little bit of compact snow coming up and over the Coquihalla pass! Perfect weather otherwise, and really, rain is a good trade off from the snow and cold in Calgary!

Mike the Sheep is quite happy to finally be travelling again. He hasn't done much intense travelling since Japan. :)

Yesterday was good. Set off a bit later than we were planning, but we still made really good time.

We stopped in Canmore for Knit & Caboodle, which was awesome. Got some GORGEOUS Sweet Georgia sock yarn, which was awesome.

Then, we were toodling along Highway # 1, heading out towards Lake Louise, etc. And Dallas is like, yay! Castle Mountain junction, which is where we normally turn off to go down towards my parents'. And he asked if I remembered how we would text back and forth at this point to let each other know that we were safely at Castle, either going or coming to see each other (when we were in the first part of our whole long distance relationship). And, of course I remember it, so I think nothing of it.

Anyway, Dallas turns off for this exit, and I'm kind of like, we don't turn off here... (Well, actually, I was like, No! Don't turn off here. haha). And then I figure, well he's probably just going down towards Johnston Canyon, since this turn off is the best one for us if we're going to it, and I had mentioned that we should do the hike on the way out.

But no, he turned to go up the 93, through Kootenay National Park. So I super, super, confused at this point. And he pulled over at a rest area that's right over the bridge on the #1.

Can anyone guess what's happening here? hehe

He had on "our" song...And he proposed to me. I am now going to Victoria, not with my boyfriend, but with my fiancee! ^^

This is the ring:    

 

(Yes, that is taken against my brand new Sweet Georgia yarn. Haha.)

It's gorgeous. I love it. And the proposal was amazingly perfect; meaningful spot, in the mountains, with "Temptation Waits" by Garbage, which is now sealed as our song forever. hehe

I just need to get the ring sized, and we'll be good (the average size of a woman's finger is the size that my pinky finger is...So fair enough, the sales girl didn't believe I could have a size 9 ring finger (which I'm pretty sure it is))! But it's gorgeous and I love it. :D

The drive was pretty uneventful after that! haha Although we did see an aunt and uncle of mine that I hadn't seen in awhile and Dallas had never met.

Now, we just await the ferry, and I should actually get some knitting done.

Tata for now!

Katie =^..^=

P.S. By the way, my cheeks are sore from smiling so much. hehehehe

Better Late than Never!

FOs: None
WIPs: baby blanket

Hey all!

Yes, that's right. Just a quick post tonight, though.

I have my shawl pinned out for blocking right now and am working on the baby blanket.

I'm officially on vacation now, so tomorrow I have to clean the house a bit and pack for Victoria.

Super stoked!

So I'm going to go read a bit more, and I'll hopefully have more to talk about tomorrow (maybe even a mostly finished baby blanket)!

Have a lovely evening, folks.

Katie =^..^=

I Can Has Knitting Time Nao?

FOs: None
WIPs: Baby blanket, wedding blanket (Victoria trip car knitting)
ItP: More boot cuffs, dinos, dishcloths


No knitting has been done today. Super busy at work, so I didn't even get a chance to take my lunch break and knit. But that's OK.

And you know why?

Because I went and had dinner and a drink with my friend. And then I went and got the 8th volume of Sailor Moon.

And now I'm at home and I have super shiny fingernails. I need to give myself manicures more often to cure all these dang hangnails. Eventually! haha

8 more hours of regular work, and then it's vacation time!

I keep getting requests for slippers, and trust me, folks, I'm working on them. I have epic patterns of epicness for these slippers, and they will be all felted goodness, too. I'm just trying to figure out what to use as a grippy to keep you folks from slipping in felted slipper goodness.

Anyway. I'm off to read and potentially take some knitting time.

Have a lovely evening!

Katie =^..^=

P.S. I just read Knit and Caboodle's newest newsletter. I want this: Kitty Cat Tape Measure with Yarn

Trying Something New!

FO (finished object): Gingko Shoulderette Shawlette (woohoo!) I just need to block it, and then it will be COMPLETELY finished in time for Victoria, even!
WIPs (Works-in-progress): baby blanket, wedding blanket (car knitting for Victoria trip)
In the plans (ITP): dinos, dishcloths

Hello everybody,

So I'm trying something new (right before vacation, I know!). I want to try to write, if not everyday on this blog, than at least every other day. This will take a lot of commitment on my part, but I think that it'll be good for me. I've always wanted to be an author, so I think that blogging here will help to work that out, especially since I'll be able to blog about knitting!

Now, I'm not guaranteeing pages and pages of glorious knitting goodies, etc. (Like the Yarn Harlot did in the early days.) But I am guaranteeing at least a few paragraphs to update you where I am in my knitting progress that day. Also, please understand that normally all of my activity has to take place outside of a 9-5 Monday-Friday job, unless I'm writing a quick snippet on my lunch break/when it's super slow. This does mean that any actual publishing of the blog will take place after 6 from Monday-Friday, but anytime during the day on weekends or stat days that I have off. Notifications of new posts can be gotten if you "follow" me, or I will be posting links on Twitter and Facebook!

Also, I don't normally ask for this, but I would absolutely love it if you guys can leave comments; I try to respond to all the ones that I get now, and I it would be spectacular if I got more to help bump me up. Or, if you can share any of my posts. I really want to grow my Etsy business to be able to share with more people, and this blog is an excellent introduction to myself and everything that I do to be able to improve my shop and product.

Speaking of improvement, did you notice that the pictures are getting better? AND I have a paper tag on everything now so that you can what the fibre content is and care instructions are. And they're made with the totally adorable cat that my friend drew for me.

Speaking of which, the cat has been named Lucinda. :)

Let's see...Not much is happening. Super happy that I finished my shawl, and I hope to be able to finish the baby blanket before Victoria!

Oh yeah, tonight I dye my hair again...My roots are showing already! 

Have a lovely day, my dears! I hope to have another post tomorrow. :)

Moving Forward

On the Needles: Gingko Shoulderette Shawlette
In the plans: dishcloths, baby mittens and hats, dinosuars


Hello from a cold and snowy Calgary! (At least it's sunny today!)

That's right! We've had about 8-10" of snow in the city itself, with more falling in the outlying areas.

So, that's led to the wonderful weekend of staying in here at Nekozuki Yarns! Which is a good thing, considering that I'm trying to get the huge shop update done for Sunday.

I know I promised a video podcast, but I'm actually sick, and I don't feel like hacking up a lung on camera today. So the first video podcast will take place the weekend of the 24th. Just after my vacation!

And yes, that is correct, I will be doing the update on Sunday. However, it will not be until after 11, considering that it is Remembrance Day.

Moving forward, update days for the shop will be every two weeks on the Sunday, with a break around Christmas.

However, anything purchased between November 16 and 23 will be shipped following those dates, as I will be on an actual vacation (instead of catching up on life) in Victoria, BC, with my boyfriend! So excited~!

So, be prepared for lots of non-item photos in a few weeks!

The Crestmont Christmas fair was awesome! There was lots of traffic, and pretty successful for me.

In the plans? I have another market with Mommylicious here in Calgary on January 20. However, until them I'm lying low and getting Etsy updated/working on more new stock (notice the note about "knitted dinosaurs"? That's part of the "more new stock).

This time around, I have sparkly rainbow mittens, owly looking mittens, and a bunch of old favourites, too!

There are some pictures of the new items for your viewing pleasure below (I wanted to have an epic amount...But my camera battery died just as I stared! Sorry.):

Aren't these gorgeous? I love how the colours blended together in the felting process.

I have more of these in the future!

Not quite what you are looking for? There are also some grey/white ones that will be posted in tomorrow's update. You can also always talk to me about custom orders~!

Have an amazing weekend, my lovelies! I'm off to knit and watch Disney movies and get over this cold. -_-

Katie =^..^=

Sneak a Peek at the Goodies!!

Hey all! Just a super quick post!

You need to go by my Facebook page: NekozukiYarns
I will be posting some more pictures tonight, hopefully, before bed and heading out tomorrow!

Super excited for the Crestmont Christmas Fair!

Make sure to come out and support local handmade for your Christmas and holiday gift-season! We're in Crestmont 3-8 on Friday and 10-4 on Saturday!

I'll have mittens, fingerless mitts, felted bags, and headbands, plus a whole bunch of cute hair accessories just waiting to go with you to your Christmas parties!!

Hope everyone had an awesome Halloween!


Take care!

Katie =^..^=