Odds and Ends

this post is going to be filled with the odds and ends things that have been going on. the first is the stitch marker exchange that i joined earlier in the summer. i signed up for 3 swap partners. i sen tmy markers nearly a month ago now, but i just recieved my first set today! they are so pretty! i am so sorry about the picture quality...i just can't seem to photograph stitch markers well at all. if anyone has any tips i could use them! these are from laura (i can't seem to find her blog link on the website!). laura if you are reading this...thank you! ok so the small little balls...i have an explaination. i promsie. here it is. on the stitch marker exchange someone made stitch markers out of small felted balls. check them out here. i think they are just super cute! i just had to make them! i also think that they would be super cute as earrings. i am thinking about making them tomorrow! i will show pics for sure if i get to that! there is a tutorial that i found about making them: here. i may have to make them smaller next time. they may be a bit big for earrings, but i am going to try!
below is a baby hat. the yarn is encore colorspun worsted. i can't believe how it knitted up with all that pooling. i kind of like it and i kind of don't. it is a little bigger than i would have liked it to have been, but babies grow right? i did the top like the umbilical cord hat from the stitch 'n bitch book by debbie stoller...so cute.

Finished Object!

i love those words! This is the most fun project i think i have ever done. it is a prayer shawl. i loved all of it. i loved picking out all the pretty purple yarns espicially! so i cast on 175 stitches and changed yarns after knitting each row. this creates its own fringe! so cool. the idea came from a scarf in Sally Melville's book: The Knit Stitch. i already have a blue one planned!

this particular prayer shawl is for a sweet friend of mine: Susan who lost her father last week.

here is an upclose look at the shawl:

stay tuned: i am working on a fun felting project AND tomorrow is knitting at the library! lots of friends coming! very fun!

D is for Daisies (and Dogs)

Daisies...i LOVE daisies! they are my favorite flower. so happy! don't get me wrong i love all flowers but this is the best and please do not dye them! so often you find them dyed random unnatural colors and they serve a purpose but the white ones are my by far my favorite!

Again a defination from Happening reguarding daisies:

DAISY: The daisy is the Happening flower. The daisy is a free growing wild flower. It doesn’t seem to be a formal flower like the rose or orchid – it seems to be a happy, frivolous flower, as if God created it just for fun. We think of it as joyful, not serious. We note that the daisy openly shows its joy and beauty without wearing any masks. We also note that when the flower dies it spreads its seeds to create new life and we are reminded of Christ’s death and resurrection to new life. The daisy reminds us of 3 things: First, when we see a field of daisies, we are reminded that the flowers bloom together just like we have bloomed together in sharing Christ’s love at Happening. Second, we look at the flower with petals radiating from the golden center and think of ourselves radiating from the center of God’s grace. Third, we note that the daisy grows wherever God scatters the seeds and we are taught to “Bloom and Grow.”

There is even a Happening song about the daisy (I have the chords if anyone is interested):

May all of your dreams
Bloom like daisies in the sun.
May you always have
Stars in your eyes.
May you not stop running
Until the race is won.
May you always have blue skies.
_______________________________________________

D is also for Dogs!

i love dogs. i have only had one dog in my life. her name was Kelly. she was a pure bred Irish Setter. she was beautiful! (sorry no digital pics). my parents got her before i was born. evidently kelly was a worrier. mom and dad tell the story that when i was very little i would cry back in my bedroom and before they had gotten up to see what i wanted/needed kelly had already gone back towards my room. the trouble was that we had hard wood floors and she would nearly slide all the way there then come back to them and look at them like, "aren't you going to do anything. the baby is crying!" so funny.

after kelly died we kind of made an unintentional switch to cats. i love cats too but sometimes i wish we still had a dog. i want an animal that will go places with you. cats just aren't really into that! i want a weiner dog! they are so cute and have no idea how small they are! it cracks me up! i can't wait until i get a job and an apartment/house so i can get a dog!

look how cute that is. how could you resist?

FO: Finished Object!

I keep a running record of my finished objects and i was noticing as i was entering this one that it has been nearly 2 months since i had a finshed object! i can't believe that it has been that long. i keep thinking there is something i have forgotten. oh well. now about this fo. isn't it cute? this is a modfied booga bag. the base was about 40 stitches across and about 20 garter rows. then the sides did about 50 rows instead of the 64 the pattern called for. i bound off then went back and picked up the stitches for the flap. i knit the flap about 10 inches long, decreasing at the end. the yarn is bernat felting natural wool in the english rose colorway. i love the pink and brown! i found the button here. they have a great selection of buttons. i really like how this came out!

WIPs: Works in Progress

I thought we needed a little knitting content here at the ol'blog! i have been knitting, just not very quickly. i thought i would get a bunch more done on my multiple airplane trips last week, but i didn't get as much done as i had hoped.

This is my Koigu shawl that i just dearly love. this is pre-trips. it is som what bigger now. i am not seeing as much change now that there are so many stitches on the needles! i wish i had measured then to compare to now to see exactly how much progress i have made! oh well.

this is yet another booga bag. i found this yarn in DE while there with my family. i love yarn shopping there because there is no tax! they don't pay sales tax! it sure beats tennessee's nearly 10%!!! ok this is a new yarn to me...bernat felting natural wool. the colorway is called english rose. i love it! it is pink and brown! so great. this is a bulky weight so i am not sure why i decided to double it, but i did. it is super super bulky now, and may even be too bulky. not sure how it is going to felt. i guess we'll see. i'll keep you posted!

i am looking to start another prayer shawl for a good friend of mine whose father and mother are both very ill. for her there would be no other options but purple! i have decided to work lenghtwise and change yarns after each row leaving yarn for abulit in fringe. i think it will be quite pretty. i can't wait to see what purple yarns i can find! i am always up for a yarn search!

Stitch Marker Exchange: SENT!!!

This fall i decided to participate in the Stitch Marker Exchange. I took some time and really researched my partners, reading their blogs to figure out what colors and stuff they like. It was a lot of fun! Each one of them was so different, and one of them was from The Netherlands! so fun! I sent them on their way today, but i managed to take a few pics before i packed them this afternoon. I am convinced that stitch markers are just really hard to photograph. if anyone has any tips i would love to have them. here is what i sent:


these are lavender with small green beads. hanging is some little charms that say things like "peace" and "dream."


these are round red beads with black accent beads. hanging from these are crosses and charms that say "believe."

these are clay-like with balls of pink yarn with green needles, accented with pink and blue beads. these are super cute and my favorites of all that i did. this was so fun. i hope that these are well liked! i can't wait to get some myself! i will be doing this again!

C is for Caritas

First i should define what caritas is:

CARITAS is the Latin word most directly translated as “charity” in English. “And now abideth faith, hope, CHARITY, these three, but the greatest of these is charity.” (1 Corinthians 13:13). Caritas and charity can also be translated as LOVE. The kind of love that expresses itself in giving. In Happening, this loving gift may take the form of sacrifice, prayer, a letter expressing Christian love, of a gift given in Christ’s name.

Caritas has long been a big part of my life. it takes on physical and non-physical forms. At happening it comes in the form of small gifts and letters that are provided by the staff to each other and the happeners. after 9 years of being involved with happening i am guessing that i have made thousands of peices of caritas! it also comes in the form of the sacrifices we make for the weekend to go on, such as a lack of sleep, missing school/work, and lots of time spent working on related things. Prayer is also a form of caritas especially when praying for other people.

these are caritas bags full and ready to be distributed at happening!

Caritas is not just something that happens at happening. it happens all around us. Christ died on the cross to forgive us of our sins. this is the ultimate caritas. it also comes in the forms of phone calls during a time of need, friends, an unexpected email, the laughter shared among friends, the love of a family, and church. i like to think that i can pass along caritas everyday in all the little things that go on in day-to-day life. Just think of where you can pass on caritas to those that you meet everyday!

HAPPY CARITAS EVERYONE!!!

B is for Butterflies

ok this is another one of my obsessions. it all started because of happening, which is a youth retreat weekend that i have been involved with for 9 years now and am now one of the directors. it is one of the symbols of Happening, and has long been a symbol of Christ’s coming forth from the tomb. i think of the butterfly awakening from his earth-bound cocoon to the freedom of flight. the butterfly suggest that stages of human growth….larva suggesting early childhood; Chrysalis - teenagers before they break out to the adult world. finally, the butterfly symbolizes our beauty and freedom as our spirits soar in the joy of Christ’s love. the beauty and grace of a butterfly is why i love to have them around me.

A is for abundance!

a.k.a "The Stash"

Hi my name is Lindsey and I have a yarn problem. I love yarn. I love the way it feels, the way it smells. I adore staring at all the beautiful colors that it comes in. Thinking of all the potential projects. Yarn is a beautiful thing! Here are some pictures of my yarn abundance:

This is my abundance of Sugar n'Cream. This all started with the entrance of the Mason Dixon book into my life. Thanks Ann and Kay!

Above is the over abundance of caron simply soft. i still have plans on doing a log cabin blanket or ripple blanket with the brites in the picture to the left. one day. i love the fact that the yarns in the abundance have a purpose...for the most part!!

above is the abundance all spread out on the floor prior to going through it.

here it is again but this time it is all neatly put in its proper ziplock bag. where would the ziplock people be today without knitters?

p.s. A is also for airports which is where i started this post! more on that later!

A to Z of ME!!

Ok I have made a command decision. I can't believe I am going to say this, but....I think it is finally too hot to knit. Day after day of 100+ heat is just too much for me. I can't even think of what it would be like to be working with wool right now, and that is exactly what I have on the needles. I am working on a beautiful Koigu shawl that I just dearly love but I can't bear myself to work on in this heat. So since the progress on that is going to be slow I have decided to do something kind of fun with the blog. I was browsing a friend's blog and noticed that she was going to be working on the "Encyclopedia of Me," and I loved the idea. It will be all about me and my knitting habit! I think it will be a lot of fun. I will post "A is for..." and so on. I hope this will really inspire my blogging. So come back soon and often and learn a little more about ME!

I am finally on RAVELRY!!!!!!!!

I am just sooo excited to be a part of Ravelry!! It is so great! if you are on please add me as a friend. my username is lindy719. i can't wait to really get into it. maybe next week!

ok back to reality. the job hunt is going. i never dreamed how stressful it would be. so far i have never heard from the missouri job. no sweat...i really wasn't interested anyway. I am currently talking to practices in maryland, florida, and atlanta. location wise i am hoping for the atlanta job but we'll see. i go there on monday so we'll see! say a prayer that it goes well!

i have some finished objects to show off.

Yes, another scarf! i love working on them. i finally decided that i will be sending the completed scarves to Blue Monarch, which is a domestic violence shelter in Sewanee, Tennessee. i will be sending them once the weather cools off (we broke a temperature record today at 105!). so unitl then i will keep plugging along with them! This one is made out of JoAnn's Sensations Angel Hair in light green and Bernat Boa Yarn in Mocking Bird. it turned out really pretty. i might try this one again. i just love that angel hair! it is so soft!

next up is another baby hat. so cute, but i am tired of this yarn. it is Red Heart Baby Soft. i hate it. i am becoming more and more of a yarn snob. i really want this yummy cashmere at Angel Hair. one of the owners had it monday at knitting. i need to go over there and ask her what yarn it is. it was totally yummy and you can get about 2 hats out of one ball. it is probably out of my price range but i can at least go fondle it! haha!

this is a felted purse that will be going to the East Tennessee State University Welsey Foundation auction. it is made out of cascade 220 and some blue and gold sparkly fun fur. it is funny. i had the same amount of yarn that i always do AND i started with a base that i had already completed, yet i still ran out of yarn before i had planned. i was really concerned as i was finishing the project, but i think it turned out well! i really like the squatty size. it is really cute. i hope it brings big money! i'll update after the auction in september.

last up is another baby blanket with a crochet edge. this one is for a friend of my mom who just had her first grandbaby...a boy. i can't remember his name.

check out my friend's Diamond Fantasy Shawl! it is just beautiful! way to go girlie!

headed to chattanooga tomorrow and then on to atlanta on sunday. more to come!

Hershey Kiss

I finally made this little baby hat. it has been on my list for a long time now, ever since i bought this book: Too Cute Crochet for Babies and Toddlers. If you haven't seen this book, get in your car now and head to your lys, the library, or the local bookstore and check it out immediately! it is full of freaking adorable crochet baby hats. This is my first one of many i plan to make. The only reason i waited to make this hat is that the yarn it calls for is more expensive than i was willing to pay. It is made from Lion Brand Glitterspun in silver. i couldn't justify spending $7.99 for that small amount of Lion Brand yarn! so i finally found it on clearance for $2.99 a ball! a much better price for Lion Brand!
I can't decide if i should write anything on the ribbon. I thought it would be cute to write "It's a Boy" or "It's a Girl." and pair it with some of these: Hershey Kisses. I think that would make an adorable baby gift! Then i thought about just writing "Hersheys," but i am pretty sure that is boring! ;) I don't know...i'll think of something. Any ideas?

I am thinking about trying to convert this pattern to a knitting pattern. i really like knitting baby hats better than crocheting them. If I figure it out i will post the pattern! Wish me luck!

I finished all three of those baby blankets tonight. i will take pictures tomorrow! plus i have already cast on another project! until tomorrow!

I really need to get better at posting more often...

because there is just so much to cover when i wait so long between posts. well let's do this in chronological order since the last post. the week following the last post i finished my last clinical rotation!!!!! woo hoo!!! so technically i am finished for good but i do have some paper work kind of stuff to finish up. :( oh well it shouldn't be too bad. official finishing day is august 5th! i can't wait!

so i took that next weekend off in celebration of finishing. that brings us to this week. monday one of my closest friends and i took off for Ste. Genevieve, Missouri. i had a job interview there monday, tuesday, and wednesday of this week.

this is the bed and breakfast that they put us up in. it was super nice with a pool and hot tub. it was my first time at a bed and breakfast and i was completely pleased. we were the only ones there so it was even nicer especially at the pool!

this is the hospital that i would be working at. it is really small but then again so is the town. there is a population of only 5,000 in the town and 15,000 in the county that the hospital serves. there are only 12 physicians in this little town and only one OB whom i would be working with. she seems super nice. i think all went pretty well and am looking forward to hearing from them probably next week. wednesday afternoon i got done with meetings about noon and we drove up to st. louis. what a great city. i had only been there once driving through so it was a real treat to get to stop and look around. we headed straight to the arch.

my friend had been up before but i had not! it was so cool! those little cabins they put you in to take you up are horribly small. thankfully it is only a 4 minute trip up so there isn't too much time to get too freaked out! haha! we went ahead and drove back that night.

thursday was my birthday!!! i love my birthday. after breakfast and present opening mom and i took off to murfreesboro to the yarn shop there: The Knaughty Knitter. it was a great little shop! this is the only shop in town that carries spinning stuff. i am really interested in doing a little spinning so i bought a drop spindle, some beautiful roving, and a new book:

after the shop, we had lunch there on the town square which was just a great addition to a little girls day out. on the way home we stopped at the Oasis Butterfly House at Blooms Nursery. this little hideaway is very close to the house but we just never had stopped. it is a greenhouse that the owner has turned into a butterfly house! so awesome! i just LOVE butterflies. there are also tons of turtles, fish, and birds in this house. it is not too big but a great find! our next stop was one of our more local yarn stores: The Haus of Yarn, where they lived up to their snotty reputation as usual! i did score some Crystal Palace cotton chenille on sale for 50% off and a great lace pattern:

i got the cotton chenille to make the flower washcloth from Weekend Knitting by Melanie Falick. it was also in an old issue of interweave knits but i can't seem to figure out which issue. i think they will be super cute in these colors (especially for 50% off!). After this we went to the beadshop across the street...thank goodness i didn't find anything there that needed to come home with me! we went back home, ate cake, and made dinner. my grandmother's sausage pie. it is soooo good. you take a regular pie crust and cook it first in the oven while you are mixing up the ingredients. the other ingredients include: breakfast sausage, spinach, mozzerlla, montery jack, cottage cheese, and garlic. how can you go wrong?? so you mix all that stuff up and put it in the crust and pop it back in the oven for about 30 min. holy cow....that is good eating! we made a salad with it. dad had a ball game that night which we went to, but unfortunatly he lost. :( oh well. that was the last game for the season and they came in 3rd in the league.

mom and dad went crazy for my birthday! i got a huge stack of books and a pink i-pod nano! here is the stack of books:

it is a great selection! so excited! i have totally enjoyed going through them! now to find a place for them on the already over full shelf!

whew...that was a lot! hope all is well with everyone and everyone is staying cool!

Happy Fourth!

I wish each of you a HAPPY FOURTH of JULY!!! Enjoy the barbque and the fireworks! We will be enjoying the fireworks downtown from a spot we found that doesn't require us to be in the midst of the downtown crowds! I can't wait! I just love fireworks! Have a safe holiday!

The Mormon Tabernacle Choir

Last night i had the chance to see the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in person and it was truely amazing! I am not a mormon but i completely enjoyed the experience. The tickets were free from a friend of mine and were pretty great seats. We were right behind the percussion section. This was actually really neat to watch these men play a number of different instruments. I have a couple of picture of my own but i can't make blogger post them. Maybe some other time, but for now enjoy one of my favorite hymns, Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing.

The Mixing of Varigated and Solids

During my searching and looking through the internet I have run upon many baby blankets and afghans pictured on varying sites and blogs, and there is something that I have learned. I have decided that I don't like knitted pieces that incorporate solids and varigated or ombre yarns in big items like an afghan or baby blanket. I really like it in something small and simple like a dishcloth:

How does everyone else out there feel about it? Do you like a mixture like this one:

(I am sorry to who ever this might beong to). I just don't like it. Am I alone here? Leave your thoughts in the coments!

More knittng soon!

FOs: Finished Objects

Because it has been so long since i posted about knitting, you all are in luck! i have quite a few finished objects to show off. I have been on a kick of small quick projects. i don't have a huge project going right now, but am thinking of starting a shawl for myself soon. My fist completed project is, yes, another scarf. i am making these scarves for the Domestic Violence shelter. i think they are really pretty and girlie!

This is that Red Heart Rag Doll yarn that we got on clearance a while back at walmart. it has turned out so pretty. this picture just doesn't do it justice. Ok, another scarf:

This one is Lion Brand Jiffy Thick and Quick. It is really bright and fun. Again this photo doesn't do it justice. Another scarf:

There are now three of these scarves made out of this particular yarn. It is Landscapes by Lion Brand. A friend of mine gave this to me after she started a bolero out of it and hated the huge variations of color within the same dyelots. For her project it did look bad but for these scarves it really hasn't mattered too much. i can tell, but i hope it really isn't all that noticable. All of these have coordinating ribbons incorporated in the fringe.

Then i got an idea. There is a Medical Assistant student at the office i am doing this last clinical rotation who is pregnant. she is due in September and her last day is some time next week. i have got all that cotton flannel for baby blankets and bunches of stuff to make hats with. I made this hat first:

Then i decided that it was too Christmasy. What do you all think? Does it remind you of Christmas? I did not have any flannel that matched at all. Well it bothered me so i made a new one:

This one is much better for a baby boy, and i had a blanket that matched:

This blanket is super cute. it is a great light green color with blue stars and yellow moons and swirls. I crocheted a border that looks like star points. it is in that same light green as the blanket. I think it turned out really well. Here is the completed gift:

It is in a cute little basket with a book called, It's a Boy, which i found at walmart. i also included a cute little blue bear that i got at the dollar tree. i think it turned out really well and i don't have that much in it. only probably about 10 dollars in total, including the basket. i can't wait to give i to her. i jus love working on things for other people. i made another one of these baskets for a close friend of mine last fall and she has called me asking if i would make her some more of those cotton flannel blankes. more pics to follow about those.

For those of you keeping up with my job hunt, i have an interview for a CNM position in Missouri. There is only one OB in the little town, so it would be she and i. the interview is friday. i'll let you all know how it goes. i am super nervous....send good vibes my way next friday (the 29th) at about7:30 am. more later!

AHHH!!

things came up....will post ASAP! the more time away, the more knitting projects!

Geez it has been a while!

ok ok i know it has been a while since i last posted and the worst part is that i really don't have a good excuse! i have been working quite a bit but i have also had some days off. well i do have a great post in mind but it is too late to start that tonight so i will leave you with this and will get to posting hopefully tomorrow after work!

Seems like just about everyone who's blog I read has been doing this and even though i haven't officially been tagged i am going to do it anyway!

Rules:
Each player starts with 8 random facts/habits about themselves.
People who are tagged write a blog post about their own 8 random things and post these rules.
At the end of your blog you need to tag 8 people and post their names.
Don’t forget to leave them a comment and tell them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

1. I have this really weird hate for things, espicially wood, with small holes in it. i can't really explain it except that maybe it is genetic...my mom has the same problem here is an example of what i am talking about:

BLAH!!! i think it is the idea of little bugs coming out of the holes...yuck!

2. i really like flamingos! a good friend of mine graduated from college a couple of decembers ago and we decided to throw her a party. it is really hard to find graduation decorations in december so we randomly picked flamingos as our theme. it was really cute! come to think of it...i am suprised that we found flamingo stuff in december! i have been in love ever since!

3. i have been to egypt. my parents took me to egypt when i was in the 6th grade. we went just to go. while we were at the pyramids we went down into one of them...the small one i think and discovered that it makes your legs weak going down. my mom termed this condition pyramid legs! 4. on the theme of egypt...i fell off of a camel! while we were at thye pyraimds my parents thought it would be so great to ride a camel around the pyramids. my aunt and i were to get on one camel and mom and dad on the other. mom and dad got on faster than we did so their trainer signaled the camel to get up and at the same time my camel decided to get up as well...with my leg half over his back...and off i went! haha! not too many people can say that they fell off of a camel while at the great pyramids of egypt!


maybe this is him!



5. i have over a thousand emails in my hotmail account! i just don't ever seem to get around to going through them. now that hotmail has made their accounts bigger it is easier and easier to just leave it that way. i think i am only using like 10% of the storage space!


6. i never met my mom's father. he died when she was 10.


7. i don't really like to go to the movies. i love movies but i prefer to watch them at home on y couch! plus 8 bucks for a movie is just ridiculous!



8. last but not least...i love sitcoms....espeically MASH and the Golden Girls! i own all the seasons of both! so great!






























Now if you are reading this, you have a blog, and you have not done this yet, then consider yourself tagged!

lots of small finished objects! until tomorrow!