Year in Review

I just went and collected the pictures of completed (and one none completed) pictures of my knitting from this year... Heres my year in review....
Feburary:

The Kyoto sweater that I knit formyself (but never wore) for the knitting olympics, and yes I did finish it in time! :)
March:

The baby sweater that I made for Marks nephew. I loved that knit! Shame that it was never worn, the head opening was to small and always forgot to get it off his sister to fix while we were there, now the little guy is MUCH bigger so no point in fixing.. Maybe Ill have to make Mark a similar looking one and make him wear it. ahha I just think its pretty. :)
April:

This was the very first thing I ever made without a pattern. More I just started knitting every row after casting on some number of stitches and it just sort of grew so I sewed together to make arms picked up stitches and knit a border and called it day.. Liked it alot but dont really wear it...
May:

I just HAD to knit that tank top from Vouge knitting or knit simple, one of the vouge magazines anyways. It stays pretty much hidden, what was I thinking?? knitting a top out of chunky yarn for the summer??? Next time someone yell at me please! haha
June:

the bear I knit for my neice that I never finished stuffing or sewing upstill in its bits and peices in my box. Maybe Ill do it this year for her birthday... hmmm... I love the way the stripped yarn turned out on her though. :)
July:

The sweater that I spent alot of time on knitting. I finished the front the back and part of one of the arms before I finally admited defeat and realised no matter how much blocking I would do this would NEVER fit so upset about it I just ripped it all to bits and decided as much as I loved the pattern it was NOT getting knit.. maybe another time....
August

My beautiful Madeline how much I loved you! Even though I had a headache with the border but got there in the end... I LOVED this knit and I want to make MORE! Maybe Ill make another one for this autumn in another colour a proper colour but I HAD to have it in black first time round. :)
September:

My first attempt on a top down sweater and my first proper go at designing even if it was just a panel pattern out of a book. Still loved the sweater and this was made from my big mistake back in July
October:

My first ever toe up socks! And I went and put a design on them.. I made them from cotton, I wouldnt do that again but I do like them. :)

My simple v-neck alpaca sweater, other then madeline my favorite knit! also a top down with no pattern...

My very first and only knit hat. With no pattern but my own (which I have wrote down and MUST sort out and put up here!)
November:

My secret knit out of alpaca.... Still need to wash and block this! :)
December:

My christmas sweater! another lovely soft melt in sweater... Was knit using Sirdar Breeze or something like that a cotton acrylic mix... Like I said I ripped apart another sweater I knit last year to make it... :)

Now what isnt shown are the Norwegian stockings that I started but NEVER finished. Loved the look of them just got REALLY bored and I hadnt finsihed the first one, I never would have made it through the second one, will have to try and redo those one of these years. haha :) And then of course my toothpick socks because they arent finished they arent making a show, hopefullyI will finish those without to much headache... and then my sp socks. Knitting on those just not finished with them.. Again in the new year so those will be part of next years round up....
Hope you enjoyed this years round up I had lots of fun knitting each of the things I did, hopefully in 2007 I will have even more to knit and show off! :)

What I got....

Okay Im still learning how to play properly with my camera. I took I dont know how many pictures last night while I was playing but to say the least they all came out looking like crap... So today I played some more. Im still scared of the wittle camera but thats me.. I dont wanna break it... but I did play and heres what I got! :)
First up the socks! Im loving the simple way these are turning out. :)

the flat one is just sitting on top of some things to make it even height with the "opened up" sock and that has a bottle of the bfs deoderant stuck down in it, shhh dont tell him I borrowed his stuff! HAHAHAHAH
Now heres what I got for xmas bday pressies!! :)
First off my drop spindle:

thats the second small lot of yarn Ive spun, I left it on there becuase I plan on adding to it and not just having that tiny amount.. Ive got this blue colour, a black and a white in the pack.. I started off with the white and the very FIRST spun I did I created this:

At first I was taking my time and thats why you see the thinner stuff then I just got a bit spinning happy and ended up with the thicker stuff when I ran out (well needed to pull more off) I couldnt believe how quickly it went because I wanted to play more, but it was also late at night. :)
Now I also got the camera its an HP Photsmart E427 that comes with its own printer. I love it! Its shorter then my mobile phone but slightly fatter. Still can be held in the hand and stuffed in a pocket as your walking down the street. Its a 6mega pixel camera. I dont understand all the technical stuff the bf got it for me he knows what hes doing! and he knew what I would like! :) I did take it into town twice with me but never pulled it out. :( I will but both times to many people were around and I couldnt be asked to stop and deal with the crowds while trying to take pictures.
Then I got a very pretty silver heart bracelet from his sister and a comfortable soft fuzy off the shoulder sweater from his parents. That Ive already worn (as you do) and its one of those sit on the couch and cuddle yourself sweaters! And it was a size smaller then what I normally buy and it fit me!!!
I went out on the 27th and got me a new winter coat, that went back up to my normal size though! haha

I stole the picture off of Debenhams website. Its where I bought the coat (well from their store in town anyways) Spent 2 hours walking in and out of stores getting depressed that I couldnt find a nice tailored looking coat for myself and then I went back to debenhams (the third store I walked into but left and went back at the end) I walked around and went back to looking at the only coat I sort of liked but didnt really want to buy it because I didnt REALLY LOVE it then I remembered they have a downstairs and went down there and found that little guy sitting all by itself seen it was my size tried it on, fit like a glove and looks GREAT! So I got it. I dont do the belt up but I do love the way it looks and feels. I also dont do it up to the last button like in the photo. Maybe one day Ill get a picture of me in the coat but until then there you have it. I love the coat... Its not leather, its not plastic, its not cotton, its not furry... Its a tailored wool coat... just me! :)
Now all I have to do is wait until the January sales and go in and get me a pair of jeans and Ill be sorted!
Have a great day and I probably wont be on before Sunday evening so have a SAFE and HAPPY NEW YEARS! See you all in 2007!!

Sweater made it in time...

Later today or tomorrow I will TRY and take pictures of the drop spindle and the small amount of yarn I have made so far. :) I will also take a picture of the socks so far as they are that my sp sent to me. :) Ive made no progress on the blue ones but I swear I will!
Heres close up detail of my xmas sweater:

I finished it in time as well, the arms took longer then I wanted but that was only because I got slightly bored of them... shh dont tell the sweater! Because I love the way it came out and how soft and squishy it is... perfect for lounging around in just like what I had wanted! :)

Sorry the picture is kinda crappy even though it was taken with my new camera!! (Its what my wonderful bf got me for birthday/christmas gift) But I was slightly woozie and it was the evening after being out for xmas day... :)
But thats the finished sweater ever so happy with how it turned out andhopefully I will have more pictures to show now I got the new camera, its small and fits in my pocket, I havent held it directly up to my phone but I think its the same size... so I will be carrying that round with me lots and hopefully take pictures of things. :)
Hope everyone had a SAFE and Merry Christmas!! :) Or whatever it is that you celebrate I hope you had a safe and happy time!! :)

Happy Birthday to MEEEEEEEEE

Because I like everyone knowing and celebrating with me..

TODAY I TURNED 25!! WOO HOO!!

Happy birthday to me
Happy birthday to me
Happy birthday dear me
Happy birthdya to meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

:) Yes Im a goof and LOVE when my birthday comes.. I got cards from my dad WITHOUT having to pester him for them I found that really nice!! :) and then from my mom and John whom always send me a card without fail even when Im 6 months late with theirs! :) got some ecards off of friends and this morning I got one from Mark sat against the tea kettle!! :) Last year he forgot to get me one but this year made up!! :) I love cards! hahaha....

The drop spindle was a gift from my friend Bonny who did a sneaky and sent it to me so THANK YOU SWEETIE!! I LOVE IT!! I did give it a play and have a tiny amount of spun yarn sitting on the side I swore pictures butI havent gotten round to it yet, but I promise I will...

See you all later and have a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

I LOVE MAIL!!!

Sweater is coming along got some of the arms done yesterday.. Today and tomorrow though Im going to slug through them and HOPEFULLY finish them!! I LOVE big needles and yarn... Just most of the time I prefer the look of the finished product using smaller yarn/needles I know Im all sorts of confusing when it comes to that. :)
The body was like 170? stitches worked in the round and on the cabled rows would take 10 minutes to do obviously when I was shaping it (first sweater in the round I added proper shaping to!!) it speeded up because I had alot less stitches working! :)

But okay onto some wicked news......
I GOT MY PACKAGE!!! AND OMG DOES IT ROCK!!! Im just not sure who its from???? I am going to go on a limb here and say its from my sp?? as shes the only one who knows Ive been craving a drop spindle.. and THATS WHAT I GOT!! WOO HOO My camera batteries are charging at the moment so I WILL be taking pictures later, I dont get to play JUST YET but trust me I WILL play soon!! :) THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for my gift!!!!!! Assulting the postman asking him to find it for me worked! :) Yesterday I ran into him and asked if it was there he said hed find it for me and drop a note into the letter box and let meknow he found it.. he did and I picked it up this mornign!! WOO HOOO

Also today I got LOADS of mail!! :) Walked Mark to the door and he just kept picking it up and then handed it to me with a funny look and said "its all for you" .... I love mail becuase I NEVER get any but one time a year! AHAHAHAHA :) I got 2 birthday cards (one made me cry and the other laugh... the crying one was piglet getting a BIG hug from pooh bear he knows Im a fan) from my dad each with pictures in it from when I was about 10!! Made me laugh... and I got a christmas card from him with a picture of him and his girlfriend with Santa... :) He gave me money too thats going for a new winter coat. :) Not that I NEED one it just what I WANT because the sleeves on mine are slightly to short and its now annoying me. I like extra long arms that I can wrap around my hands. hahah.... And then I got a birthday card and christmas card from his girlfriend. :) I got a birthday card (that made me cry!!) and christmas card from my Mom and John. And then out of the blue I got a christmas card from my friend Cassie with a picture of her and her partner and their baby she had a year ago.. I will have to be sure to write her becuase I lost her email AND phone number AND home addy over the year and havent been able to get ahold of her now I got her home addy to at least write and say thank you. :)
So I made out today... :) Actually its made my day!! Okay so really I should have waited until Saturday for it all, but hey why not party/celebrate for the rest of the week? ehehhe I still have Marks pressie to open Saturday.. hmm wonder what hes going to get me... :D As Im not even sure what I want! HAAHAHHA

Body down, arms to go....

I finished the body!!! WOO HOO!!! Okay so I should have finished it yesterday and started teh sleeves but I spent most of the day walking to and from the post office standing in line for 30 minutes both times to be told they STILL couldnt find my package (of which I dont know WHAT it is or WHO its from!!)... So not much knitting was done yesterday I STARTED to cast off just didnt finish it... I just finished it now!! :) And I took a picture. Umm my picture SUCKS! but here it is...

Yes I know it looks horrible, but I was trying ot fix it,,, so imagine what it looked like BEFORE! Obviously once I finish it I will get my lovely Mark to take some nice pictures of me! :) I mean of it! haha.... I am not entirely sure if Im going to have enough for a big floppy turtleneck collar but we will see once I finish the sleeves and I suppose Ill knit until I cant knit anymore... I should have enough for the sleeves... :)
Speaking of which I am going to go start those now while listening to loads of lovely christmas songs!! :)
Now I know I shouldnt complain but please MTV and VH1 and The Box or whatever that music channel is called can you lot please play PROPER christmas songs and not whats the christmas number 1 becuase most of them arent even freaking christmas songs!!! I suppose Ive been spoiled by listening to loads of artist remaking known christmas carols and only those tending to be played on the radio growing up over here it is different.... Thankfully I got me loads (well 250) christmas songs... Jenn is a happy christmas knitter now! hahaha....

Tis the season to be jolly.....

Secret Pal, we stayed in South Bend Indiana. I think I was like 11? I cant remember how old I was I just remember I had a broken nose and two BIG black eyes and looked like a racoon that summer! HAHAHA :) But a friend of the family moved out there and we went to go visit them spent a week or two? out there with them, it was great! And we went and seen Notre Dame, my dad being a HUGE (american) football nut that was his highlight of the trip he was like a kid in a candy store. I thought it was pretty cool myself. :) You know specially with THIS (for those of you not into american college football you can see this from the endzone of the football stadium it is rather stunning!).... We went we say we took pictures (of course I have none here in England dads got them all back in Ohio...
Anna the sweater sat there for so long that after thinking about it for ages I finallly got the never to rip it to bits (or well balls) trust me I had a sinking feeling the whole time thinking OMG AM I DOING THE WRONG THING!! STOP NOW BEFORE ITS TO LATE! But of course I didnt... I just kept on going, as you said it looks great now and well will (in my mind) look great when I finally finish it! I cant wait. :)

Now on to some christmas fun.....
Whats your favorite christmas treats to eat? Mine are all the yummie cookies and pies! Chocoalte chip cookies are my fav to make and I just use the recipe from Nestle Tollhouse its never failed me yet! :) Of course I delete the chopped nuts, not that they arent good I just find them a pain if I dont use the whole bag and find it a bit of a waste of money as well... So whats your favorite snack to eat and how do you make it?? (can you tell I want to make some new stuff this holiday season!)

Our tree, okay so its short I think its like only 5foot..... But its our tree and I like it.. Next year I want to not be so lazy and actually knit some ornaments for it considering the tree has ALWAYS looked the same I havent bought new ornaments for it since we first got it. :) but its our tree and it makes me happy! :)

I rolled this into balls today and look how pretty it is!! and OMG is it soft!! I cant wait to cast on with it. :) I got (or rather should have) some free needles in the size the pattern calls for (2.75mm) US2.... I mean come on whats another pair of socks and a sweater? I normally only knit one thing at a time but those colours really have me drooling... I swear it was an actual pleasure to wind those skeins up by hand and seeing the colours change slowly from the pink to the purple. Well I say pink but its a pinky purple more then pink... :) SO PRETTY!! I cant wait to have them as socks.. Maybe just MAYBE I can knit them quick enough along with my sweater and have a new sweater and pair of socks to wear, who cares if I dont have pants I got a new sweater and socks! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Right I better get off of here and go KNIT!! :)

Secret Pals ROCK!

So on Saturday just after I woke up I went down and checked the mail and I had a card waiting for me to say I missed my mail like a fool and had to wait until MONDAY! to pick it up. How could I wait all saturday and sunday knowing there was a goodie waiting to be picked up from the postoffice that was from my secret pal???? But I behaved and I waited and I slept in this morning. OOPS! I had plans of going down at 7am to pick it up but couldnt until 9 when I woke up. haha.. Actually turned out to be 10 by the time I got it becuase I had to run to the store first... :)
Anyways.... I went in the pouring rain becuase I wanted to know what was there so bad and I picked it up!! :)

There is what was waiting for me!! Two BEAUTIFUL skeins of Zebrato II handdyed 100% superwash wool.. sock yarn! and its so pretty!!!

On my screen those colours do look pretty much the same, lovely shades of purple and pinks.
There is a basic toe up pattern to follow as well which I will just do a simple plain sock with these just to show off the beautiful colours on it! :)
THANK YOU SECRET PAL... YOU ROCK!!! :)

And on a side note heres the progress so far on my sweater, planning on getting it finished for xmas. :)

I promise its not that dirty looking!!! HAHAHA Its plain white but I had to play with some settings to try and bring out the cable pattern. The rest of its boring to look at so thats why I just cropped it down. :) But yep Im trying to get it sorted for xmas so that I have something nice and comfy to wear that means I gotta get knitting and quick!! :) Actually its going super quick on its own! I love knitting with big needles sometimes! :D (mind you I do still like small needles but sometimes a big is better)

4 things

I have been tagged by a secret person.....

Four jobs I have had in my life:
1. McDonalds (and every station that was there but manager!)
2. Graters Ice Cream (ever go to Cincinnati GO THERE! scooped icecream, sold baked goods, closed)
3. DSM (machined parts basically was a "grease monkey" loved the job too!)
4. Wal-Mart (developed film, LOVED that job! Nosey people do!)

Four movies I would and or do watch over and over again:
1. Schindlers List
2. Green Mile
3. Shawshank Redemption
4. Pay It Forward

Four places I have lived:
1. Cincinnati Ohio
2. Calgary Alberta
3. Luton England
4.

Four t.v. shows I love to watch:
1. Grey's Anatomy
2. Americas/Britains Next Top Model
3. Desperate Housewives
4. America Choppers OCC

Four places I have been on vacation:
1. Indiana (USA)
2. Calgary (Canada)
3. Banff (Canada)
4. Caister (England)

Four of my favorite foods (meals):
1. Soup
2. Fresh spaghetti and meatballs (made by me!)
3. Fresh tuna
4. Chocolate

Four of my favorite books:
1. Anything so far by Jodi Picoult
2. Anything so far by Dean Koontz
3. Anything so far by John Saul
4. Tale of Two Cities (was forced to read that at school but really enjoyed it!)

Four friends who I want to do this Meme:
1. You there
2. You over there in the corner
3. You there in front of the computer
4. And You there hiding behind the name of SP :)

Updating

So on Wednesday I made myself some cookies.. I say myself only because Mark doesnt tend to eat cookies. I dont know how he can do that but he does! I LOVE COOKIES! okay I just love anything thats bad for you! HAHAHA But I made them Wednesday gave a couple out and I have pretty much ate the rest. YUM! chocolate chip cookies are the best!!!
Yesterday I ripped apart one of my sweaters that I knitted ages ago purely becuase its like 5 sizes to big (I dont know how it should actually be slightly to small!) and its been sitting in the corner for ages I have worn it a couple of times but I really started to hate it and thats why I havent worn it in ages. So anyways yesterday I ripped it all to bits and wrapped it all up into balls and started to knit a different sweater with it. :) I got rather far with the knitting as well! Its going to be another top down sweater with a cowl/turtle neck thingy. Hopefully I finish knitting it by xmas so that I can wear it! I know thats asking alot but I think if I push myself I can do it! And lets not forget to also add that its on 5.5mm needles. I havent given up on the toothpick socks its just I want a cuddly sweater for xmas day to wear and then Ill do the socks promise!
Today I went into town and returned a shirt I got for Mark yesterday that didnt look right on him. While I was down there I made him some business cards on one of those machines that you just pick and type in what you want it to say. Got 20 for 2£, and then when I came home today I played around on the computer and made him one, he liked it, but just wasnt what he really wanted so he looked around and seen a couple and then I had an idea of what he was looking for and spent about an hour making one just right for him. So tomorrow after he wakes up with a killer hangover from his works christmas party then he gets to go to staples and buy some cards and figure out how to print the things up properly! :) I did print it out on a sheet of paper and they look really cool! He used to have some ages ago but of course hes not got any so now he will have more. Im rather proud of my efforts on it as well...

ignore the blured bits on it thats his info that Ive blured. But if your looking for an electrician (rewiring, heating, sound systems, just ask he does alot of stuff!) around Luton or a resonable distance from email me at tiggerjenn at gmail dot com and Ill pass your info on to him. :) *I know cheap ploy for the bf!*
But thats what I worked on, looks sorta simple and I suppose it was really but it was getting everything JUST RIGHT for him. :)
Now I am off to knit on the sweater and watch telly while hes out.. Not really sure what to do with myself normally hes here with me. HAHAHAHAHAHA And I dont have any pics of the sweater yet but I really should take some and post Ive just been to lazy to get the camera out during the day....

One Word

One. Word. Meme. No. Exceptions. and. No. Cheating.

Yourself: waking
Your boyfriend/girlfriend (spouse): Mark :)
Your hair: pony-tail
Your mother: bestfriend
Your father: far
Your favorite Item: book
Your dream last night: ??? (I cant remember it)
Your favorite drink: sprite
Your dream car: TRUCK!
The room you are in: bedroom
Your ex: nice
Your fear: BUGS!
What you want to be in 10 years? here
Who you hung out with last night? Mark :)
What you're not: horrible
Muffins: blueberry
One of your wish list items: winter coat
Time: best
The last thing you did: blogs
What you are wearing: pjs
Your favorite weather: sunny
Your favorite book: All
The last thing you ate: cherry drops
Your life: getting there
Your mood: good
Your best friend: canada
What are you thinking about right now? happiness
Your car: reebok express (heheh)
What are you doing at this moment: waking up
Your summer: summer?
Your relationship status: loved
What is on your TV? news
What is the weather like? blah!
When is the last time you laughed? last night
Who do you tag? you

I stole it from Anna and even she said it was a bit hard. And yep I found it slightly hard to get just the right word. Because some I feel like I need to explain oh well! And I stole it from Anna but I have seen them all over only just now decided to do one as Ive got no knitting to post, still working on the toothpick socks but havent done enough to really talk about...

Whats that you say? You love socks?

I finished my secret knit... Its a gift that I will be sending with whatever else I find for my sp. But heres a sneak preview of it. :)

It was a quick and mindless tv knit but I do love the way it turned out and I did want to keep it for myself, but Im being a good girl and gifting it to my sp. I still need to give it a wash and a light hand block but I love it none the less I hope my sp likes it too!! :)
And heres those dang blasted toothpick socks

See only 4.5in so far from the toe, man is it ever going SLOW! Still have another like 3 inches to knit before I can even think of turning the heel.. UGH! I swear these socks WILL get finished and I will LOVE them to bits but I hate them right now because how long they are taking. And to think I want to make my mom and John (step dad) some socks as well.. HA! well okay actually I will do it, but umm I hope they dont hold their breath till they are done and I hope their toes dont get frost bite.... :S
Thats all I gotta show for now, figured some pictures were needed since Ive done posts with none in them at all...
btw, my tooth is feeling SLIGHTLY better, I was able to close my mouth this morning but now I ate my lunch its been aggravated and I cant close it. :( I knew I shouldnt have tempted fate.... Oh well! and I been cleaning like a mad woman and scrubbing things and dusting and now I cant stop sneezing, oh how I love when that happens.. NOT! But it does make everything oh so pretty. :) Been doing lots of laundry as well.. can you tell I been doing everything but knitting?? yeah me too... I did however knit a whole 2 rows yesterday on those socks... Im just that good.. BLAH! off to go fling the sheets over the radiators to dry and throw another load in the wash and try to knit another 2 rows on me socks... the 3 inches will come one day! :)