WIP Wednesday: 2 FOs and Blanket Progress!

Happy Wednesday!

Feeling like I've been quite productive on the crafting front recently! It's been nice to get some of those WIPs off the needles and onto the finished pile. Although there are plenty more WIPs where they came from! I can't seem to help but have a few projects here and there to flit between :-)

So, what are these finished items? SOCKS!

First were these simple ribbed pink ones...

These were a simple project which kept me going through all my essay and dissertation writing - seems fitting that they got finished just as I finished university. I think these will forever hold a special significance because of it :-)

Next were these Rose City Rollers by Mara Catherine Bryner...

 Yes, I know I only have one sock-modelling pose!! 

I loved  knitting these! Is it possible to have a crush on a sock pattern? :-P
They were quick, they were easy, and they are oh so comfy to wear! I love ankle socks, but they don't always stay on my feet nicely, but these ones do! I can definitely see myself making more of these in the future :-)

The next WIP to try and finish is my pink charity blanket. For those of you who follow me on Instagram, you'll realise I've been working on it for quite a while!

I'm about 4 rows in, and still only on the first ball of grey! I bought quite a bit of grey, so I can see myself having more than enough for some borders.

It's moving quite slowly, slower than join as you go squares (but then again, there are more sides!). Luckily, Wimbledon is on and keeping me amused! :-)

As always, full project information can be found on Ravelry.

I went to Canada! (Part 1)

At the end of May, I was lucky enough to go on my graduation trip to a city very special to me - Montreal, in Canada! Having spent my early childhood here, it had been a hope of mine for a while to get to know the city a bit better. This year seemed to be a good year for it, so my boyfriend and I hopped on a plane and made the trip!

I'm so glad we went! Being able to walk down memory lane and show Chris (the boyfriend) things I remembered, and introduce him to fun foods (poutine and maple taffy - yum!) was wonderful. In addition to remembering my own history, I was able to explore the history of the city. The dude in the photo above is Maisonneuve, one of the founders of Montreal. Apparently he was a bit of a character!!

In fact, the big cross on the top of Mount Royal? It harks back to when he made a deal with God, saying he'd put up a big cross so long as the city didn't get flooded. It didn't, obviously :-P
This is actually the third version of the cross - each one more high tech than the last. Interesting, eh?

We really did the tourist thing around Montreal - although we stayed on the West Island, most days we travelled downtown to explore the sights :-)
One particular sight which caught our attention was Notre Dame. I've seen the Parisian one, so it was really cool to be able to see its Montreal counterpart!

Isn't it pretty? They were getting ready for a graduation ceremony, and so coloured lighting made it even more spectacular. What a wonderful setting for a graduation!

Beautiful details everywhere! According to our guide, all the gold was real gold leaf - to see such attention to detail was incredible!

So many lovely things to see! Just one of many wonderful sights visited on our trip! Join me next Saturday, when I'll have some things to show you from a side trip to Quebec City!

Friday Link Love: June 2015

Hello!
Did you have a good June? I've decided to make some of the features on here a bit more regular - I'm hoping to have a bit of an overhaul to make this blog a better experience for everyone! I'm thinking I'll share links on the last Friday of every month - gives me a chance to get lots of lovely things for you to read and be inspired by.
So, what are this month's links?

I loved this article on finding the WONDER of everyday life.

These interpretations of art make me laugh!

Thought Point: A Day in the Life of Pinterest.

I've set myself a challenge to read 30 books this year, and this list is providing inspiration!

Glenna gives some great advice on how to knit more.

I've not done much sewing recently, but compiling this board is making me want to!

Hope you've had a fantastic June!!

WIP Wednesday: All I see is PINK!

Phew! What a busy month! I finished my presidency of Knit-A-Soc (my local yarnaholics group), took a 2 week trip to Canada (many photos to follow) and found out that I had achieved a top final grade for all my university work (to my surprise and delight!).

All this busy-ness has meant that I have been turning to creating more than ever, picking up my latest project whenever I have a spare moment. That project, if you've been following on Instagram, is a pink dream! What started out as playing with some scraps has turned into a full blanket project. It's a wild one, this project, and started to get out of hand the moment I let those pink scraps loose!

I've spent several weeks making 50-odd pink circles... Each one different from the others, and all blindingly PINK!

This has been so fun to work on! But to stop the pink being so loud, I've decided to tone it down by joining them with grey, forming hexagons...

(Sorry for the quality - that last one was snapped with my phone)

I'm so quickly falling in love with this project that I may have to make another one afterwards for me! (This one is for the hospice...)

What are you working on? Link your blog or Instagram in the comments so I can see!

WIP Wednesday: Sock Edition

Hello all!
I hope you've had a wonderful week so far!

My knitting needles have hardly been out of my hands in the past few days - it's really wonderful to be able to get back to doing what I love. There is something very soothing about being able to spend whole days creating... seeing progress being made on these long-neglected projects is really making me happy!

So, what have I been up to? Several different projects are on the go... a blanket for the hospice (another one!) which I will share pictures of when a bit more progress has been made... and of course, socks!

My socks have been my main focus over the past few days... I've finished the leg and have turned the heel on my simple ribbed pink ones! Yay! Slow progress on these lovelies, but are nice and simple to knit during my local Knit and Knatter evenings.

(More project details HERE.)

A new sock project has also been cast on! After seeing Mara's awesome ankle socks, I really wanted to try making some (Hello, summer socks!) and luckily she's just released the pattern for them HERE!

Several of us are knitting them as part of the #RoseCityRollersKAL on Instagram. It's such fun being able to see everyone else's progress and yarn choices as I've been working on mine!

The heel has been turned on these too, so just feet and heels to knit on both, which is lovely and simple. I've found myself leaning towards simplicity in my knitting and crocheting projects - back to basics :-)

Have you noticed any trends in your projects?

Friday Link Love...

Hello!
Just a small post for you today, but should hopefully get back into the swing of blogging now that I've finished all my essays! :D
It's very surreal to think that its all pretty much done now - and whilst I get my head around this newfound freedom from theory and complex academic debate, I will let you enjoy some interesting links! :)

Have you heard of DJ Earworm? He does the most amazing medleys of songs, and I particularly love this Carrie Underwood one!

Speaking of videos - this one is great. I'm a firm believer in the power of craft, and how it can help in stressful times :)

Can knitting save lives?

Something to make you laugh :)

My new favourite instagram - a daily dose of positivity!

Food for thought - more experiences, less stuff? Yes!

10 Things - Habits for Happiness :-)

As you can see, lots of stressbusting and positivity here - can you tell what's been keeping me motivated recently? :P
For those of you who follow my instagram, you'll see I've been working on lots of things whilst away from blogging - I will share more detailed pictures soon, I promise!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

FO: Granny Square Blanket

Blankets seem to be my go-to projects these days - I think it's because they are something lovely and quick to work on. I can see progress quickly, which is particularly nice at the moment!

I'm pleased with this one - so simple, but very cozy, and quite effective I think!
(Yes, those are sheep stuffed animals on the bed... consequences of being a knitter - lots of sheep gifts!)

The greens, golds and coppers don't show up very well in the photograph, but the marbled yarn changing colours whilst working on it was very comforting...

Yarn: James C Brett Marble DK
Hook: 6.5mm
Pattern: Just a simple granny square...

Just under 2 weeks to go until my last ever assignments are in! I can't believe it, but am very much looking forward to having some time to work on personal projects - I have another blanket on the go, as well as a growing reading list, and I have a trip to plan and learn the language for! Lots of exciting things to look forward to!

What have you been working on recently? I'd love to hear!