Catching up on a bit of everything

When I found that this sock didn't really fit over my heel without a lot of struggle, it was frogged last Wednesday. Since that didn't work out and I like to have a good sock project for taking on-the-go with me, I started this yesterday:

Pomatomus:

I started another project at the request of the boyfriend. I was trying to find a pattern on Ravelry and he was standing next to me as I was searching and saw this pattern. He suddenly couldn't live without it and requested I knit it for him with my left over Nanner yarn. I said I'd only knit it if he'd wear it and I can take photographic evidence of him wearing it. He said he'd totally wear it and let me take pictures, so here I am knitting a Banana Hammock!

Progress so far:

I'm actually a bit further along than that, but I don't have a picture yet.

This past weekend, my friend Grace came over so we could go to the Gaiam outlet sale (it's close to my house) that was going on. I was lucky enough to get TWO pairs of Earth shoes for 60% off! Quite a steal, if you ask me. I haven't bought a pair before, but have heard so many good things. I just couldn't ever justify the expense. For the price of one pair of Earth shoes with the Kalso Negative Heel Technology, I got two pairs of Vegan Earth shoes, a yoga mat/block/strap kit with dvd, a t-shirt, yoga flip flops (they separate all your toes, supposed to be good for balance), and a really cool bag (my new purse). I am beyond excited by it! I'm wearing one pair today and I absolutely love them. I can actually feel myself walking taller/straighter.

I have to say that the bag I got excites me as well. It has two separate zippered compartments in it and is very light. I thought it would be perfect for keeping my purse junk on one side and my sock project on the other. I've been wanting a bag that can do this that isn't as big as a suitcase (like it seems most knitting bags are) and this meets all my needs completely! Only thing that I'd like is another small zippered pouch for some of my purse junk that I used to keep in the inside zippered compartment since this bag doesn't have any inside pockets. The bag itself is very light and even with my sock project in it, I'd swear it's lighter than the last purse I had.

The bag:

The inside:

I love this bag! It only cost $15 (regular price $50 with 70% off that price). LOVE.

I know a number of folks got into the Wollemeise sock club recently. Lucky folks! I was going to try and get a spot, but I figured that it was best for my budget not to do that. Speaking of budget… I have paid off my Visa card! Just waiting on the payment to post, but man am I happy about that!

I sold off some of my stash and gave away some to my sister. I just felt the need to get rid of yarn that just wasn't right for me for whatever reason. Anything that I didn't have plans for pretty much went with the exception of most of the sock yarn (there were a few lone skeins that found new homes) and lace yarn. It felt rather liberating to just have yarn that I really wanted to knit with, even if I didn't have a specific pattern for it. My Ravelry queue holds plenty of sock and lace patterns that I like, so that's not a problem! It was the worsted weight stuff, just a skein here or there that I wanted out of my stash. My sister was welcoming to the new yarn (a trash bag full!) and I sold quite a bit on Ravelry. I sent out 11 packages today, all making their way across the states and one making its way to Norway.

Last week I bought a book to learn amigurumi.

There's some cute things in here and once I finish the Banana Hammock, I'm going to be teaching myself how to make things from the book. My crochet skills are limited at best, but my sister crochets and I'm sure if she can't help me, someone at SnB can.

Recently Miss Voiolet (of Lime & Violet fame) started selling soaps and scents. I was able to get in an order in when the shop first went up and got my goodies about two weekends ago:

Soaps: Dirty Jack, Farmgirl, Sinflower, Afternoon Baking, and Plurk Nannerbread
Cupcakes (scents): Dirty Jack, Organza Fills, Afternoon Baking, Lime & Violet, Soda Jerk, and Wednesday's Market

So far I've used the Afternoon Baking soap and scent and the Soda Jerk scent – all are great.  All the soaps and scents smell good and I'm looking forward to using them :o)

I bought this at the Target $1 spot (or former $1 spot because now they have things for $2 and $2.50!) for my desk at work because I thought it was cute:

Recently I've had some ups and downs concerning my health.  My back is in worse condition than I thought (I really did hope physical therapy would help) and I'm waiting to see my neurologist on Sept. 9th. Then I got some news from the VA about the disability claim I filed last year for my back - they approved me for compensation for the back problems at 20% and I'll be receiving a check from them monthly.  They are missing some paperwork, though, so I'll be appealing my claim and maybe receive more.  I was pretty mixed about this decision, but overall it means more good things for me than anything bad.  Now it's all just a waiting game to see where I go from here.

I had started two other posts between the last time I posted and now, but neither made it to completion, so I'm sure there's more that I wanted to write about, but I don't recall (or it feels too old to mention). Til next time!