Happy Post-Zombie Jesus Day!

This is what I get to see everyday that I take Dragon to work. See? Mountains:D

So not much going on in our household this weekend (or for the past few weeks rather) thus the lack of updates. HOWEVER!!! I have completed some projects, started some new ones, taken a SLEW of pictures and I am here to inflict all of this information upon you.

Behold ye, and tremble in fear.

Purple Jade and Sterling Silver...so pretty!

This is a purple jade pendant with a silver dragon on it, courtesy of Uwajimaya Market in downtown Seattle. I also got some Puchi miniature meals...and they are made of awesome and cute!

Puchi Mini Meals...dangerously addictive.

It was amazing and we will definitely be going again sometime soon. It's so refreshing to finally have a place to go to get the awesome Japanese food that I remember from Japan:)

Now, on to the completed works! First up the infamous crochet orange scarf and knitted hat out of the Orange Slices Merino yarn from Andrea :

Finally completed. Very warm and very bright, they help to keep the dreary Seattle chill away. My favorite part (aside from the yarn) is the edging. It's a crochet braid stitch that looks to be much more complicated than it really is.

Then I splurged a little bit (a whole $6) and bought the Applejack hat pattern from Croshay Designs and proceeded to make two of them. The first is out of the amazing BFL in the ColdSteel colorway from the faboo Andrea .

And what's more, I had so much left over that I decided it needed a scarf to go with it, so I'm currently using the Magic Scarf pattern by Crazy Aunt Purl and still working on it:

Then I used a combo of the Dexter colorway in Merino/Silk blend from Cosmic Fibers Yarn on Etsy and some of the Obsidian Merino/Tencel from Andrea :
I didn't have enough of the Dexter to do more than the hat, so I'm thinking that if I knit a scarf for this one I'll do it strictly out of the Obsidian. And I'm thinking cables:D

Then we have the latest Calorimetry that I'm making for my BFF Dawn down in Alabama out of the most AMAZING chunky baby alpaca yarn! I picked it up from Yarnzilla for a steal and I will definitely be getting more of it because oh...it's so lush! I believe the colorway is called Ember Melange and the photos just do NOT do it justice!

That's my little purple skull cupcake stitch marker from Scary Merry over on Etsy. I adore them:)

And last, but certainly not least, I'm working on yet another scarf, this time using the incredibly gorgeous Her Eyes tencel from Andrea . Again....photos cannot capture how truly beautiful this yarn is, folks.

Those are the new bamboo needles I picked up on Amazon for a steal! I now have no excuse because I now have every size from 0 - 13 in 9" straights and DPNs.

I'm using the Old Shale Pattern, found on Ravelry, and so far, it may not look like much, but I swear, when it's blocked? It's going to be utterly fabulous!

So that's it for now:) I swear it's taken me entirely too long to get this update on here. But I'm sure that after viewing such beautiful yarns, you'll need a rest.

The battle for the water box is on. First Blade...

Then Kratos;)

Until next time;)

XOXO
~Bella

Cold and snowy.

It was a snowy day yesterday, apparently. I woke up to huge fat flakes falling from the sky in that dizzying whirl that can hypnotize you if you stare at it for too long. It didn't last for too long, and it didn't stick, because it was gone by about 2pm, but it was pretty while it lasted.

We're coming up on the rainy season around here, apparently, with forecasts stating that it should be raining all week long. I actually rather like the overcast days with random sun breaks.

As Dragon said, it's a good thing we hit the Uwajimaya market downtown on Saturday. Oh, I was in absolute HEAVEN!! I've been yearning for Japanese culture since I've been back stateside these 11 or 12 years now, and I believe I've found everything I could possibly want at U market. It's definitely somewhere I'm going to be taking my parents when they come to visit:)

I'm still working on the orange scarf that never ends. I suppose it might go faster if I actually put in long stretches of time crocheting it. I really should get it finished before, say, spring, so I have a chance to wear it. *laughs* I think right now, it's approaching the length I want, I'm just noodling with various ideas of how to edge the thing. I think I might do just a simple picot edge because it just seems to cry out for something easy.

I received two WONDERFUL skeins from my yarn pimptress this past week. I am utterly enamored with these two yarns. They both satisfy my "dark yarn" sweet tooth while being utterly soft and fabulous. I don't know what to do with them yet, but I do want it to be something I can wear regularly because I really adore the colors! Here...let me show you:

On Cat's Paws (Merino/Bamboo)
Coldsteel (BFL)

I adore both of these yarns. SO pretty. So addictive. And I am totally on the hunt for something fantastic to turn them into!

In cooking news, I made a fantastic White Cheese Chicken Lasagna on Friday night. The only change I can think of making would be to season the chicken a bit more and add a tiny smidge more spinach, but overall, it was quite tasty.

Other than that, I've been busy busy with work. I'm thinking of dropping back down to one company as opposed to the two I'm working now. I feel like I'm burning the candle at both ends, but due to some financial obligations, I won't be ditching the first job until the middle of April, most likely. I'm anxious to get there and who knows? I might be able to manage it earlier rather than later.

Also, the months of June, July, and August apparently are going to be quite full for us! In June, we've been invited to join a bunch of coworkers in Las Vegas. Considering everyone in my family has been without me, this will be my first excursion and I'm quite excited! My mom will apparently be joining us there, as will my good friend Dawn from Alabama. It's about time I get to meet her!!

In July, my folks, my grandmother, and my aunt/uncle are apparently coming to visit for a week. It's shaping up to be quite a large group. Hopefully, I'll be able to come up with plenty of things to keep everyone occupied! Dragon might have to work a few of the days but that's fine...it saves him from having to deal with my relatives;)

And then in August, Dawn and Jeff might be coming to spend some time here! *bounces about* We're thinking of going to Hempfest because Dragon and I missed out last year, so it'll be 1000xs more fun with them along;)

So that's it, for updates right now. If I think of anything else, you'll be the first (or...second) to know;) And now? Some updated pics of our furbabies:

Kratos sits pretty for the camera.

Blade, showing off his pretty face.

Mumbles, interested in "other" things.

About as close to a group shot as I'm going to get. Kratos is the only one missing (and yes, the area is a disaster, but it's cleaner now!)

Shadow decided that one day this past week was "take your kitty to work day" and proceeded to firmy entrench himself in Dragon's work satchel.

Could you really resist this face? This face is the only reason he's still with us and not out in the snow. LOL!

That's all for now!

XOXO
Bella

Foggy days, crisp nights.

The last few days have been full o' fog around here and I've been enjoying every minute of it. To my macabre mind, I suppose it's just spooky enough to make it feel more surreal than it might to the average Pacific Northwesterner.

But then, I'm still newly transplanted.

It's a new year, therefore new goals, hassles, irritations and triumphs. We've been getting out and seeing the city more, slowly but surely, and I'm currently dying to get tickets for Cinematic Titanic's first show here in March. In case you don't already know, and I'm sure most of you don't, I'm a huge fan of MST3K. So when CT announced tour dates, you know I'll be in attendance:) See, this is one of the big reasons we moved here in the first place. The opportunities are crazy! Combine that with another Abney Park show next month and you've got a me that's just squirming in her pants to get out and get on with it!

I've been working on a new scarf. I'm using the lovely orange merino I got earlier this month and after searching high and low, I settled on a scarf that's similar to the Circle Crochet Scarf pattern and I fully intended on using that particular pattern. But then, while perusing through my Encyclopedia of Crochet the other day and found the perfect stitch pattern for it.

See, I envisioned this scarf, because of the yarn, looking like little slices of mandarin oranges, so I went with Catherine's Wheel. And yes, it's crochet:

See that gorgeous color? Believe me when I say that the camera does NOT do justice to how lusciously beautiful it is.

And my favorite dyer/spinner extraordinaire is at it again. Look at this: (picture totally taken by Andrea, by the way)

Now, I will admit my ignorance, because I don't know what Black BFL is (the fiber she used for this yarn) but is that not one of the most gorgeous red colorways you've ever seen? Can you imagine a deep violet color? OMG! So pretty!

So naturally, I want some. *laughs* We'll see what happens;) What with working two jobs now, I might be able to keep up my yarn-whore habit! (As it is, I'm totally tempted to have her add the Purple Haze merino she has in her shop. I keep lusting after it. Darn her!!)

Oh! And I haven't forgotten the backlog of stitch patterns of the day. I'm still doing them, I've just gotten caught up in other things. Hopefully over the next week, I'll get them all photo'd and uploaded and let you all know what I'm doing!

Game's on, have to run:)

XOXO
Bella

First stitch pattern of the day: Twisted Stockinette

So here's a picture:
I'm going to try to keep these all along the same lines, 26 stitches across, 26 rows high. I'm using just plain ol' size 8 (5.0mm) Boye aluminum needles. Initially, I thought about each one getting it's own swatch, but then it occurred to me, how interesting would it look to just keep knitting different stitch patterns along a single skein?

I'm currently destashing with this project, so I'm using some Caron Super Soft in vibrant purple (naturally *grin*) and plan on making my way through whatever else acrylic yarn I have back there that isn't chenille or boucle.

So there you go. Tomorrow? Moss stitch!

XOXO
~Bella

Knit-geek, ahoy!

I received a $100 gift card to Barnes and Noble for Christmas from my employer and I've been sitting on it, patiently plotting, trying to decide what I want to use it on.

I've had my eye on Victorian Lace Today by Jane Sowerby for a while, but kept hem-hawing around picking it up because I couldn't justify buying it when I was still a n00b to the knitting scene. Well, I finally decided to get it and it's just gorgeous. I adore Victorian lace and have wanted to try it for myself. I'm still intimidated all to hell, but there is such a variation of different types of lace patterns that I really can't see myself NOT using it. I'll definitely be starting small, though. *laughs*

I also picked up The Big Book of Knitting Stitch Patterns by Sterling Publishing Co. from the bargain bin. At a little over $14, it was a steal! It is chock full of fabulous stitch patterns that I can already see myself making use of! So, so happy with it:)

As for the other books, they're not knitting related, but for anyone who's interested in how eclectic I can be:

Death, A Life by George Pendle,

and three of the The Element Encyclopedias:

Secret Signs & Symbols,

Ghosts and Hauntings,

and Birthdays.

I finished up the two Calorimetry scarves for the baristas, already given Dinah's to her tonight! She was quite excited that I hadn't forgotten:) Good. Girl needs something bright to wear because she's such a perky person anyway. Thursday we're going to swing by and give the other one to my punk-girl. She should love it too.

I've discovered that as much as I love buying yarn and knitting for myself, I also really seem to enjoy knitting for others too, if for no other reason than to see the joy on their faces when they get that hand-knit item. They truly appreciate it.

I'm still knitting away on the kitten paw scarf and I've been toying with the idea of making a skull motif scarf or shawl out of the "After the Fire" yarn I got from Andrea. It's such a darkly beautiful yarn....I dunno! Suggestions are welcome on what I should make of it! If I knew how, I'd make a pair of stockings, honestly, but I don't trust myself to make them look right. *laughs* I'd love to make it into a pair of the skull stockings over on the Victorian free patterns website I saw earlier today.

In any event, I'm going to go back to watching The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning. Why yes, I watch Disney movies. My brother works there. I'm...er...supporting him;)

XOXO
Bella

*Insert gratiuitous whining here*

How can one stand it when you have a picture like this teasing you?

Those are the beautiful bits of lovely waiting on me to play with! Andrea, in her awesomeness, has not only spun these sexy strings, but she's wound them into balls for me because she is made of complete awesome and win.

Let's see if I can remember what the colors are. Clockwise from the top: Her Eyes, Lemon Drop, Obsidian, After the Fire, and Hawk's Eye (I believe).

*whine whine whine* Ahem.

So come payday this Friday, I will ship off for these most craved for yarns and will soon hold them in my greedy paws!

In other knitting news, I will upload pics of my mom's present after she's had a chance to see it (because I know she looks at this blog *waves* Hi Mom!) so I don't want to spoil the suprise:)

We were out for coffee yesterday and I was wearing my latest Calorimetry head scarf. Side note: I am seriously addicted to making these. They take up very little yarn, so they're great stashbusters, plus, they're ridiculously quick to knit. They keep your head and ears warm and...well...I'll just let a picture speak for itself. This one was knit in Cosmic Fiber's Moonlight series Josef colorway, 100% Leicester wool!

Anyway, the one I was wearing is done in a lovely skein of black Noro Cash Iroha yarn which is a cashmere/silk/lambswool blend and OH so warm!


As she was handing me my coffee (because I adore Terravida, just sayin') she said she loved my hat.

This is where my Dragon pipes up with, "She knit it herself!" Bless him. She looked shocked and then when I asked if she wanted one, she asked how much I'd charge. I told her it's Christmas...so it'd be all for her. She said she liked the black, but, oh noes, I don't have anymore black, BUT! I do have a beautiful deep garnet and a vibrant purple, both in the same yarn...so I think I'm going to follow Jack's advice and make one of each, and let her pick:)

She's such a sweetie, so perky and upbeat (and adorable as hell), and she makes me smile. So it's nothing major for me to make her a little something to keep her adorable head warm:)

I'm also working on turning the Silver Lining bamboo into a pair of glovelets, but it reminds me, working with the DPNs, how much I detest the DPNs. I seriously need more circular needles because man...I feel like I'm wrestling a hedgehog. It's slow going, but that's mostly because I have very little experience with them.

And just in case you haven't had enough yarn porn...behold, the newest additions to my stash that the most lovely Andrea is going to spin and ball for me:

The Morning After, and:

Copper Penny;)

I'll explain why I got one so close to the coppertop colorway a little later on.

Anywho. So there you have it. Current WIPs. Yarn Porn. Awesomeness and Win.

And freakin'-A, it's snowing!!! I'm going to go dance in the snowflakes for a bit!

XOXO
~Bella

Finished!

I have finished one project, the most important one right now, because it's for my mom's Christmas present:)

It's currently blocked and drying in the bedroom, much to the chagrin of the cats. I don't have a blocking board or proper, er, needles? for it, so I'm making do with what I've got. The blocking does, really, open the pattern work so you can see it better and from what I understand, the drape will improve and this particular yarn should hold it's shape much better:)

I just hope she likes it! Last year, my mom gave me a beautiful handmade quilt that serves as my "hug" while I'm up here and she's down in Texas. This year, I'm returning the favor.

And that's all I'm going to say about that, lol! I'm just so damned proud of myself for finally finishing it! And it's beautiful.

So I suppose that I need to add blocking board and pins, and, possibly, blocking wires, to my list of things to get. It joins the ranks of ball winder and Signature Art needles with stiletto points (alllll of them, in all sizes, AND the DPNs).

Oh. And yarn;) Of which the lovely Andrea will be getting her payment and I should be getting my order of the latest yarn porn soon:)

That's all I have right now. The weather outside is frightful. Windy, rainy, and temperatures plummeting to the point they're forecasting snow showers all weekend. I'm excited because, hello, I adore snow! And we don't really have anywhere to be this weekend, so I might get a chance to sit and watch it...and possibly make a tiny snowman. *insert cheesy, child-like grin here*

XOXO
~Bella

December 1st!

I can't believe that the year is almost over! 6 months ago, I was sitting in my living room in Texas wondering where my path would lead...and here we are in Washington!

I'm going to reserve my "thankful for" list until the end of the year, and am, instead focusing on getting my knitting done! There is a NIN concert next Sunday in Portland that we have tickets for, and I am determined to have my coppertop scarf done by then. I also need to make another calorimetry head scarf done before Sunday rolls around (it's supposed to be quite chilly that day!)

Later this month, we're going to celebrate our anniversary by going to see the Pacific Northwest Ballet's 25th anniversary production of The Nutcracker, and later that night, we're going to a Saloon in town (in full Steampunk gear *grins*) for The Steampunk Cabaret show!

I've been playing with ideas for Christmas goodies that I plan on giving out, and I think I've settled on some chocolate dipped cake bites (courtesy of Bakerella at her blog) because they look delicious AND unique enough to give out:)

I have to make some traditional cookies as well this year because my Omi mentioned that she won't be making cookies this year. *sad face* So instead, I'm going to send some to her for a change:) It should be a nice little surprise for her!

I'm currently amused by My Dragon driving himself nuts trying to answer my question of "Who is your favorite James Bond villain?" Poor thing can't decide. *wicked grin*

In other news, we had a relatively successful Thanksgiving with the exception of the cornish hens. They didn't turn out as well as I hoped, but that is partially my fault because I decided to try a new recipe on a holiday. *laughs* So from here on out, no new recipes on a holiay WITHOUT pre-testing them a few days in advance.

Lesson learned.

And because this wouldn't be a proper post without some sort of picture, I present something from another Etsy girl that I am totally addicted to:

This picture doesn't do them justice, so I'm going to borrow the ones directly from her shop!
Voila:


These adorable little confections are by Jillian and can be found at her Etsy shop WeeOnes and she has the most amazing stitchmarkers! If you're looking for something whimsical and new, a little different and a lot amazing, check out her shop! I have to admit, I'm a bit bummed that the sushi stitch markers she had up aren't there anymore *pout* but I wonder if I can cajole her into creating more? I'd looove to have some sushi stitch markers!

In any event, I'm going to step away from the computer for a bit, since I've been tied to it all day! And then....dun dun DUN! It's Heroes Monday:D

XOXO
~Bella