new beginnings

wow i really can't believe that it's practically march already. how insane is that? and my resolution to blog more hasn't really been working that well, but that's ok. sometimes life happens which is a good thing. i've still been in a bit of a funk but am trying to will myself out of it. hopefully with good friends and good food things will be a little more optimistic soon. i have been knitting more though. i got a new laptop and have been able to watch some hulu streaming. so far i am into alcatraz, the voice and once upon a time. i still have tons to catch up on, but it's a start.

this is a wee baby cupcake hat a recently made for my soon to be niece. these things are kind of addictive and, even though i hate making bobbles, the results are great.

ravelry link

made from a mix of wool scraps like lamb's bride and malabrigo, this hat is a tiny ball of fun. seriously it's so cute and needs a baby heat in it - stat! they're so easy that i've started another one already. this one will be chocolate. :) 

what's new with you?

on life

This isn't a real post but this is how I feel today. Some days it just feels like your best really isn't good enough no matter what you do and how hard you try. I know it's just a bad day but I feel like there have been more of them lately.

But I still try to find small pleasures in life. A good book, a delicious pastry, all help remind me that I am lucky to be living in this crazy world. I got my new laptop this week, which is a million times faster than my old one. I am also looking forward to a book signing and a yarn sale this weekend. See, I feel better already.

fun finds: all knitwear

i am in the midst of crazy holiday shopping and haven't had any time to update. instead i will distract you with this. i just found this fun line called all knitwear. it's machine knitting in all shapes, sizes and colors. i am in love with these hat!. and the sweaters are ridiculously bright and fun. i don't know if i could actually wear any of them but they're beautiful.  have you found any fun and inspiring things you'd like to share?

persimmon love

to me, fall means cooler weather, changing leaves, and PERSIMMONS! these lovely, strange fruits only come around once a year and only for a very short time. mid to late october are usually the best times for them. growing up we had a large persimmon tree in the backyard which would bear hundreds of persimmons. we gave plenty away but i also ate my fair share. unfortunately my family no longer lives at that house but, my parents are friends with the new owners. this means that i still get my annual persimmon fix (the store selection is never as good and i am always disappointed). we have both the hard variety and the soft variety of persimmon at our old place. i actually only eat the hard ones (peeled) and give the soft ones away. i did take a few this year though to see if maybe i could make some persimmon bread or something from them. here are some pics from our fruit picking adventure to the old house.

pretty leaves in front of the house

big basket of the hard variety of persimmons

unripe soft variety persimmons

soft persimmons on the tree

tell me, do you like persimmons? what is your favorite seasonal fruit?

i'll wake up for yarn

it's that time of year again. it's black friday - time to shop in the wee hours of the morning or the middle of the night now that stores are opening late on thanskgiving day.  i don't usually participate in the huge black friday sales. however, there is one sale that i've been going to for the last few years. that's the purlescence pajama jammy jam. pjj is a wonderful yarn-y sale over at purlesence yarns in sunnyvale, ca, only a hop, skip and a jump away from my parents' place. discounts are all day but if you get there from 6am - 7am you get a 40% off coupon. i am so down with that. so mom and i work up early as usual and headed down to yarnland. 

the store actually wasn't too crowded at this point. they recently relocated into a bigger space in the same lot and it's much roomier, which may also account for the uncrowded look.

that back table was 75% off. i went back there many time.

samples from creepy, cute crochet

 all in all i had a great time and managed not to spend too much money. i don't have pics of my haul but, needless to say, everything was lovely.  i also got to talk a bit with someone there about spinning wheels. i really want one now. unfortunately they're a bit out of my price range right now. but i might go back at christmas just to try a few out.

that was my black friday fun. did you brave the mall? 

happy thanksgiving

happy thanksgiving, everyone! i am thankful for all of my friends and family. i have the best friends and a wonderful family and i just wanted to say thank you for being you and for being a part of my life. this was a great year and i had 3 new babies born into my extended family. i love them all to bits and am looking forward to watching them grow into regular size human beings. i hope you all have a safe and happy holiday. i'll be back soon!

in love with pom poms!

i find myself with a slightly unhealthy obsession with pom poms as of late. i even bought one of those fancy clover pom pom makers and it makes me ridiculously happy to think about all of the pom poms i can make with it. it all started because of the picture below that i found on tumbr.

photo found on tumblr but originally from weareyouneak

how cute is that hat (and the girl, too). i immediately wanted on and thank goodness i actually had a couple of balls of the stitch n bitch full o sheep yarn at home in a bright orange. my yarn was worsted and this definitely looks like a bulky weight hat so i held my yarn double and cast on for a 1x1 rib hat. i think you could get away with using just one skein of yarn on this. i had to use a little bit of a second skein because i didn't start with a full skein. but if you were careful, i think you could do it with just one skein. that means this hat could only cost you $4.99 (plus tax)! the original costs about 25 pounds which probably adds up to about $40. i am quite happy with it but, looking at these pics, does my pom pom look small? hm, i might make a bigger on next time. i don't have a picture of me wearing because, well it's awkward taking pics of yourself wearing a hat. if you want to see full project details, visit the ravelry page here.

 

what do you think? are you in love with pom poms, too? what else can i put a pom pom on?