A day of finishing (NaBloPoMo Day 4)

Today was a finishing day. The kind of day to wrap up all of the loose ends. To pin and spray and block. To cast off and weave in and wash.

I unpinned JA’s scarf… I’m so happy with how this turned out. I’ll do some proper modelled photos later this week. It’s the perfect colour, it was really quick to knit, and the lace adds the perfect touch of elegance.

Right after I unpinned it, I rearranged my improvised blocking boards (aka towels) and pinned out something else. I think that if all goes as planned, I should have 10 finished knit Christmas gifts to bring home with me on Wednesday. They’ll just stay there until Christmas since that’s where I’ll be giving them to people anyway.

P.S. It’s now November. That’s means that it’s totally acceptable to start listening to Christmas music, right? Right. If November doesn’t do it, than what’s happening outside right now should…

As a personal blogging challenge, I’m writing a blog post every day for the month of November as a part of NaBloPoMo (NAtional BLOg POsting MOnth). This is day 2!

Unscrunching (NaBloPoMo Day 3)

I finished knitting JA’s lace scarf last night (thank goodness for quick projects) and after a quick trip to the dollar store, it’s now blocking. Blocking in a very small dorm room with no blocking supplies certainly required some creativity, but it wasn’t hard! I just picked up a spray bottle and a package of 80 sewing pins at the Dollar Store for a total of 2.26$ (with tax), and pinned it out on folded towels. Cheap and easy, which is great if you’re a student who’s broke and busy!

All finished (but very scrunched):

Pinned and sprayed:

Have a great weekend!

As a personal blogging challenge, I’m writing a blog post every day for the month of November as a part of NaBloPoMo (NAtional BLOg POsting MOnth). This is day 3!

While I should have been writing… (NaBloPoMo Day 2)

While I should have been writing one of the two papers that are due in the coming week, I took a break and watched a movie… along with my knitting, of course! Seriously- how do people watch television without something to do with their hands? I’m still working on the lace scarf for JA. I was watching The Oxford Murders… it was good- better than I expected, actually. An interesting film about, well, murders happening at Oxford (no kidding). The premise is a grad student and a professor trying to figure out who the murderer is based on math and logic. The ending was a little depressing- it tied up all of the loose ends, but it definitely wasn’t a “they lived happily ever after” kind of ending. For those of you who watch Downton Abbey, Mr. Carson is the police officer- it’s very funny to watch him as his personality in this film is very different from in DA! Mr. Ollivander from Harry Potter also plays one of the main roles. The entire movie, in fact, I was trying to figure out where I knew actors from… some pretty big names in there!

I forgot to mention in yesterday’s post that I volunteered at my university’s book sale last weekend. Payment? My choice of any books at wanted from the sale. Pretty awesome payment if you ask me. I picked up a few really interesting books and I can’t wait to read them. Now if only all of the schoolwork would go away so I’d actually have the time and energy!

As a personal blogging challenge, I’m writing a blog post every day for the month of November as a part of NaBloPoMo (NAtional BLOg POsting MOnth). This is day 2!

A special scarf (NaBloPoMo Day 1)

Earlier this week, I found out that since my CDE (Child Diabetes Educator) is retiring, my appointment next week will be my last appointment with her. The only reason I’m still going to Pediatrics is because I just turned 18 in July and it takes almost a year to get into a clinic anywhere else. I did get in with an appointment for April, though, so this would have been my last appointment there anyway. In other words, this appointment is the last for both of us.

JA is a truly amazing woman. I remember the day after I was diagnosed with diabetes, they brought my parents and I in for intensive training. I was 7, terrified of needles, and I still remember JA joking about how I sat as far away from her as possible. She was the one who gave me bubbles to blow to make injections less painful. Over the years, she has become my go-to person for just about anything. She always returns e-mails and phone calls about any issue you’re having. She’s the one who will fight with you against your insurance or your pharmacy or the government. She makes sure that your prescriptions and referrals (cough, cough… Dr. H…) actually get signed and sent to where they need to go. She is always willing to try new things, find you the best of the best technology, and she is one of the most comforting people to be around. It’s not a wonder she’s in high demand and working way too hard! She deserves her retirement so very much and I wish her all of the happiness in the world. We’ll miss her, though… and I can just see COPC falling apart without her!

To thank her for everything, I’ve started a quick project that I can hopefully finish and block before my appointment on Thursday. The pattern is free here. The yarn is Berroco Vintage in Aster, which I picked up at Lettuce Knit a long time ago. (Rav Link)

I also just wanted to share these adorable pins we made at Craft Club today. They are made by stringing beads on small safety pins and threading the small safety pins onto larger ones. I could make a tutorial if there is interest… let me know in the comments! You can also do some neat jewelry with this technique.

As a personal blogging challenge, I’m writing a blog post every day for the month of November as a part of NaBloPoMo (NAtional BLOg POsting MOnth). This is day 1!