Happy Halloween!

Feels more like winter, to me.  SO freakin cold here, you have no idea.  And, I'm cheap, so not turning on the heat until mid-November!  My roommate hates me...

As I sit here, not-so-slowly putting myself into a diabetic coma with all these Halloween treats, I'm staring at these super cute pumpkins my roommate, boyfriend and I made the other day, and I realize how much I love them.  Pumpkins are like.. the best vegetable.  Or fruit, or whatever it is.  It is the best.  I'm currently making some pumpkin spice CHOCOLATE DIPPED cookies to surprise my roommate. (We've been on not-so-nice terms lately, I figured, let's break the ice with cookies! And who doesn't love cookies??!!)

Things I've completed lately:

I knitted a little owlie baby toy for our good friend Matt's soon to come new addition.  It's a puppy!  No, it's not.  

I finished the surprise present I can't say exists yet until I give it to him because I think he reads this sometimes when he's bored and I don't want to ruin it yet.  Unless I already have and forgot.  Which, you know, happens sometimes.

I've been trying to knit up these socks for holiday presents coming up, because socks are relatively easy, comfy, and awesome to knit up, but I can't find the right yarn, or maybe the pattern, or needles... sock knitting just isn't coming together for me yet.  So I'm hoping I can get on it soon, since most of my holiday gifts this year will be of the sock variety.  In fact, everyone on my list gets socks.  Minus like.. one person. Ha.  I hate myself for being so damn creative. 

I'm in the process of finishing the paper mache Halloween spectacular costume for my roommate.  I plan on sitting on my porch wrapped in a blanket, going, of course, as someone who is sick, you know, because I am sick, and he'll be out partyin down the streets in a ridiculous costume that I've so lovingly made for him.  South Park, Coon and Friends, he's going as Mint Berry Crunch.  So, still have some sewing to do, still have some gluing, painting, and the like, but, it'll be complete before 8pm.  So I should probably get working now instead of whatever the hell I'm doing now....

Whaaaaaaaaaat

I'm going to write my own pattern!  I am in the process of designing and working on this super awesome present for ze boyfrann for his birthday (In like 3 weeks!) and I've never seen anything like it on ravelry or anywhere else!  I'm going to be double checking and making sure... but I definitely didn't follow any set pattern while making this potentially awesome thing! :)

Also, I have 3 hats completed for charity, so I'm feeling pretty accomplished.  They both only took two or three evenings to complete, so I"m definitely looking forward to finishing more, especially since most of my projects are quicker knits than I'm used to.  I've always had this idea that knitting takes a ton of time, but maybe because I haven't been so good at it until now.  Practice makes perfect!  I've finally figured out how to do increases and decreases pretty cleanly, and I've learned a few new techniques that I'm super excited about every time I use them (Uuuh, why did it take me so long to cable cast on, really?!)

I'm also going to take this coming weekend to work on some really sweet crafty things with the materials I brought back from the beach.  Maybe I'll actually post some things on etsy, like I've been planning.  I've got a decent pile of things adding up that just need to be photographed and posted, but I've been putting it off until I fixed my camera, then got more than 3 or 4.  I should have closer to 10 or 12 by the weekend's passing.  I'd love to make some extra cash for the coming holiday season, and I have an ever-growing list of things I want for myself that I can't afford at the moment!  (I do so love Amazon!)

And the Crafting Begins!

Ah, I'll start out by saying... What a wonderful vacation!  Very refreshing, indeed.  But, I have lots to catch up on! So many ideas flowed through my  head and I was not smart enough to bring a notebook to write anything down.  Plus, with allergy attack in full swing, my brain has been quite confuddled with mucous and the like, so crafting hasn't been on the immediate agenda, but I'm still off work for another day and a half, so I'll make the most of it for resting and writing.  I'm starting to prioritize my Christmas/Birthday knitting list, and I'm super excited to get working on it. I'm planning to challenge myself by establishing early finish deadlines (with room for error, of course) and new techniques to work with along the way.  I'm excited to start the shopping process for the yarns and things, but I'm also excited to get some new things to start making more jewelry with too.

My next project is decorating a cute little box to put the now finished scarf in for boyfriend's mom.  I haven't uploaded pictures from vacation yet, (Camera batteries died) but I'll get that done, along with pictures of the box once I finish it, and the scarf inside!

I got my special edition of Every Day with Rachael Ray magazine while I was away, so I spent most of my resting day looking over that and thinking about Thanksgiving!!  I re-read through the Halloween issue, and realized how adorable Halloween can be!!  I'm still debating a costume for this year, something inexpensive.  I've almost settled, but I'm not 100% decided yet.  I'll throw something together soon!