WEEK 21 - Puffs!

Ahhhh, I am so thrilled that it is almost the weekend. I am making my usual Friday hexi-puffs post, this morning. I have made progress on my cardigan design knitting...I will save that discussion for another post later this weekend.

I did manage to knit 11 hexi-puffs this week, in between design knitting. I didn't work on much else. The cardigan and puffs have pretty much consumed me lately. I am so ready to work on something else, but I stop myself when the "startitis" sets in. I have managed to be very good about it...so far. ~sigh!

So, my puff count looks like this...

11 hexi-puffs knitted this week, for a total of 161 puffs completed. 

GO ME! I am beginning to run out of sock yarn leftovers. My colors are getting more and more limited. I will be buying sock yarn as soon as I can, for the quilt. I knew this day would come...I am going to find some bright colors, of course. Stay tuned...

I hope everyone has a really great weekend. I plan to...No plans that I know of. Probably just hanging out at home. Yup!

Things I Love

Well, it's time for "Things I Love." I am not sure, but I have a suspicion that I am longing for Spring already. I know, I know...Winter just started. I'm sort of sick of the gray, rainy skies and cold temperatures. I want color, flowers, sunshine, etc...So, what am I loving this week?

Pressed and framed botanicals. My Oma used to have pressed flowers in frames, around her apartment. I used to press flowers when I was young...and I think I may try this idea again. I love the natural art aspect of it.

I will have to do some research on the proper paper to use in the frames, etc. It shouldn't be too hard, right?

I am loving "girly knits" right now. Anything with lace, ruffles and flowers on it. I have no idea why, exactly. Maybe it is the anti-Winter thing? No more slouchy sweaters, bulky hats, etc. I need something pretty and feminine. I don't know. I want to delve into Spring and Summer knits already.

I want this dress!

It's really cute. I like the style. I could wear it with tights and flats or leggings and boots. I want to wear it with a cute cardigan or a colorful triangular neck scarf.

Gimme, gimme...I say.

I don't have an "office space" in my small apartment. There just isn't any room for that. I mainly use a laptop, on my couch, as my office. Designing knits this way is a challenge, I admit.

I can dream about a cute home office, right? I love the look, colors of this pictured space. I want it. Once day when my youngest moves out (3 more years)...I am using the extra bedroom as an office/design studio area.

I miss not having a desk...

I am obsessed with tulips. There are so many colors and styles and I love them all. Daffodils and Tulips are often the first signs of Spring up here in the Pacific NW. So, I am looking forward to seeing them pop up out of the ground...like now, would be really great.

Maybe I should buy some tulips and put them on my coffee table...for a splash of color? I am actually craving color right now...

~sigh~ I am sick of Winter.

So, what are you loving this week?

Wordless Wednesday # 29

Oh Rainy Day

It is literally pouring buckets outside. It's so dark and dreary, soppy and gross. Another rain storm is here. I have lost count of the nasty weather storms lately. I am over all of this rain and cold. Is it Spring yet?

What do I do on days like this? Knit and watch Netflix streaming, mostly. I am halfway through the last season of watching Buffy The Vampire Slayer. So, knitting, hot coffee and a Buffy marathon. Perfect crappy weather day, in my opinion.

I will be SOOOO sad when I have completed all 7 seasons of Buffy watching. I am not sure what show I should watch next...Any thoughts? Some shows that I have saved in my Netflix Queue...Camelot, Sons Of Anarchy, The Walking Dead, Being Human UK and US versions, Downton Abbey, Charmed, Angel...and more. I am so torn on which to begin next.

I have made some progress on the left front piece of the cardigan, since yesterday. I tend to knit faster when I am distracted with television or music on my iPod.

Nothing much else to report for today. It has been fairly quiet and I am enjoying my free time to knit, watch TV and have really good coffee. Mmmmm...Back to knitting.

Monday Catch Up

I'm still not feeling all that fabulous today. My sinuses are killing me. I feel like someone has punched me on the bridge of my nose. Ugh! Despite being sick, I did run errands on Saturday and I spent most of my Sunday cleaning the entire apartment. I probably did too much, but I am thrilled to not have to clean much today. I just wanna lay down...S-I-N-U-S-E-S suck! I would take some Nyquil, but I really don't need to pass out. Things to do and all that.

I was also productive on my knitting. Usually, when I am sick, I don't knit as much. I did knit last night, while watching TV. I managed to finish the back piece of my Cardigan design. I also began the left front piece right away. I am on a roll...

I am hoping the smaller pieces (2 fronts, 2 sleeves) will go a lot quicker than the back piece. I just need to keep motivated and finish this cardigan.

I also worked a little on my Sammie, the Sock Monster last night. I finished one leg/foot. I haven't been working on this monster all at once. I go through little spurts here and there. I have one more leg/foot to knit and then the socks. Almost done, I swear. I am just being very slow about it...

I also managed one hexi-puff over the weekend. I am having a slow hexi-puff knitting week, it seems. That is okay...I am almost out of polyfil and sock yarn scraps anyways. I need to buy some more of both. I may have to put the blanket on hold until I do buy more stuff. We will see how it goes. I am not buying yarn until the middle of next month, probably.

Otherwise, all is quiet at Casa Lana today. The cats are all sleeping downstairs with me, as I sit here on the couch, blowing my nose...a lot.

I have my snuggle buddy, Phinnegan. He is passed out next to me...snoring. He is making me all sleepy just looking at him.

He is just so sweet. He knows when I don't feel well.

Okay, have a great Monday everyone...

The New Hair Cut

Alyssa Milano's cute Pixie cut.

I ventured out today to run a few errands and to get my hair chopped off again. My hair was getting long, curly and unruly. Well, I admit that it had been 3 months since my last hair cut. Shame on me.

I would have taken a photo of my new hair cut, but really, I am still not feeling all that well and I look like crap. I decided to share the picture that I took to the salon as an example of what I wanted. So, I got the "Alyssa Milano Pixie" cut. I love this hair cut. I even have the whispy sides...Normally, I prefer my hair to be cut around my ears. I guess I was feeling adventurous? My hair being super short feels SO much better.

The woman that cut my hair always gushes over it. I was told I have nice waves/curls. My hair would be so easy to managed due to the body. She loved my hair cut choice too, etc.

I am also thinking of coloring my hair again...pretty close to the color in the photo. It's a bit darker than my natural color. My mousy brown hair is looking more and more faded...the grays are washing out my brown. I don't have enough gray in my hair to leave it natural. I have enough to make my hair look...ICK! I'll decide another day, I suppose.

I will fix my hair and take a nice picture when I am feeling a bit better. No one wants to see my puffy eyes, red nose. Besides, Alyssa Milano is much prettier than I am. He he he...

WEEK 20 - Puffs! (Plus More)

I only have 7 puffs to show for my efforts, this week. I would have had 2 more, but I had to frog them for knitting mishaps. One hexi-puff was lopsided and the other was just a sad attempt at intarsia knitting. Epic fail! As you can see...I was a bit more creative with my puffs this week. Two of the above hexi-puffs are different. The most notable one is the center puff. It is knitted from the center outward, rather than bottom up. I like the look/effect of that puff too. I may add some more like this for a different look to my puff blanket.

My yarn color selections are seriously lacking lately. I am running out of scrap sock yarns. Eeeek! I never thought I would say that. I am almost to the point where I am going to have to actually buy sock yarns to finish this blanket. I am also very low on polyfil to stuff the hexi-puffs.

My count for this week is a follows: 7 hexi-puffs knitted for a total of 150 puffs completed. I am about 35% of the way finished with my Beekeeper's Quilt. Woo hoo! Who thought I would have stuck to this project? Certainly not me. I usually get bored with long-term projects. For some reason...the slow and steady progress of knitting hexi-puffs makes me excited. It never gets boring for me.

Phinn, dead asleep. Twitching, snoring and meowing in
his sleep. Silly kitty poo...

In other news...I am still not feeling all that well. I haven't developed the full cold just yet. So, I am guessing my not feeling well is due to "the monthly" right now, more than the sniffles. Poor Hubby is pretty sick. He came home from work last night, ate dinner, took some Nyquil and passed out soon after. I can't blame him...He still looked like death warmed over when he got up for work this morning.

Phinn and the other two cats seem to be in sleep mode. It seems like in the winter months...they too hibernate. It's dark, dreary and really rainy here lately. I took this photo of Phinnegan, yesterday. He was passed out. Snoring, twitching and meowing in his sleep. It was freakin' adorable.

What are my plans for this weekend...despite illness? Well, I have errands to run tomorrow. I am getting my hair cut, for one. My hair has grown out a lot...3 months worth. It is getting chopped off. Finally! Sick or not...I am going out tomorrow in the rain, probably. I have cabin fever this week. I have no plans for Sunday, really. I will probably catch up on my knitting/movie-watching, etc.

Tonight...Belgian Waffles for dinner. No one feels well and comfort foods are a must. I plan to watch Grimm at 9pm, knit for a bit, read a few chapters of Cat & Bones book 4 and then fall into bed. Nothing more exciting than that for me, tonight. Sad, I know...

What are you up to this weekend? Anything cool and exciting?