Awesome Thursday: May 31, 2012

This past week has had it's ups and downs, but I am still happy. This one is going to be short and sweet.

• We have just over half the money for Winston's surgery. I made a few sales in the Etsy shop, we had a little bit of money saved, and we were given a gift from a friend to help defray the costs. We are incredibly grateful for all the help from everyone.
• I got a job! Knitting alone isn't paying the bills currently, so I have found a job to fill in during the leaner times.
• I have a job interview tomorrow! I am really excited for this one, as it's somewhere I've wanted to work for a while.
• I'm in the midst of taking a class online (literally, it's open in another internet window) and it's going very well. It's set up by the local health unit for people in food service. I have the test next Thursday.
• My workouts have been going quite well. I haven't been doing as much as I could be, but I am definitely doing something.

How are all of you doing?

Just When Things Start Looking Up...

...We get knocked back on our asses.
My entire life has been like this; I get ahead a little bit, and then knocked back twice as far.
Rick took our 2 year old pup Winston to the vet today to have his ears looked at. Since he was about 8 months old, Winston has had ear issues. According to the vet, he has the narrowest ear canals he's ever seen. This means he is susceptible to ear infections. Anything from getting a coupe drops of water in there when I bathe him, to being out in the wind or rain, to just getting too excited and his body temperature getting too high can cause the infection to flare up. This is a problem that some breeds are more likely to develop, shar peis being one of them.
Rick is in a constant battle, putting cortisone cream and Polysporin in and around Winstons ears to keep the infection down. Lately, Rick has been losing ground against the grossness that develops in there. It's smelly, infected, and just disgusting, and it makes both Rick and myself feel like bad puppy parents because we can't make him feel better.
At the appointment today, the vet said surgery was inevitable. Either do it now, while he can still hear, or wait until he goes deaf. Basically, what they are going to do is drill his ear canals open. I don't know all the details, because I wasn't at the appointment. All I know is that they are going to have our dog at their office for about a week for him to heal up. After that, he will have to take it easy for up to 6 weeks so he can finish healing.

This surgery is expensive, between $800 and $1200 and we just don't have the funds to cover it all right now. If you would like to help us cover his surgery, I will be eternally grateful. If you use the code ForWinston in my Etsy shop, you will get 25% off your entire purchase, including the winter wear I recently marked down. Every penny from my shop will go towards paying for this surgery for the next month, or until his surgery is fully paid for.
If there isn't anything in the shop that you like, please just share this with anyone you can. He's such a good dog, we can't let him suffer anymore than he already has. His wrinkly face is just too adorable.

Monday Magic: May 28, 2012, A Little of This, A Little Of That Edition

Happy Monday everyone, and happy Memorial Day to my American readers. This Monday Magic post doesn't have a theme, like many of my others have. The items here are just three of the coolest things I have found this past week.

I came across this gorgeous yarn through a treasury on Etsy. I love tonal yarns, and this one is no exception. The steely grey is just beautiful. This is a sock yarn, but I could see it knit up into a slouchy hat, a lacy stole, or my favourite, a triangle shawl. This yarn is just so pretty I think I would just hold it for a while before doing anything with it.

Normally, I don't include items that have already sold in my Monday Magic posts, but I had to make an exception for these gorgeous earrings. I really like forget-me-nots, and the way they are preserved here is amazing. I really hope they become available in the shop again, because I will probably snatch them up! Everything in this shop is wonderful, you definitely need to take a look.

This madebymaru bracelet is so simple, but so pretty. Everything in the shop is sort of dainty and petite and feminine. Many of the pieces could be worn for just about any occasion. Some of them would even look great on a bride for her wedding day.

If you want one of your items, tutorials, blog posts or anything featured in my Monday Magic posts, feel free to leave a link in the comments and you might see it here soon!

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My Wonderful May Swappers

The Blueberry Jam Shawl

In an attempt to be a good knitting blogger, I am going to show progress photos of my newest shawl. I have named it the Blueberry Jam Shawl, as it is being knit out of Berroco Ultra Alpaca Fine, in the Blueberry colourway. This is the yarn from the failed Colonnade shawl I mentioned in this weeks Awesome Thursday post.
I am mostly making this up as I go along, with a little help from a few different shawl patterns on Ravelry. KFB in the first and last stitch of every row to make that nice, wide triangle shape. Every other row, KFB in the stitches before and after the centre. On all the other shawls I've made, I did YOs, but for this one, I didn't want the column of eyelets running down the centre.
If you look carefully, you can see a row of eyelets just below the needle cable. I am putting these somewhat randomly throughout the shawl to add a little interest, both visually when it's finished, and in the knitting while I am doing it.
I can't wait to see how this develops. I will try to be a good blogger and post about it regularly.
As for the Findley Dappled 3S Shawl, I haven't worked on it since we were in the car on our way to the Apple Store. It's sitting in my purse, waiting to be brought out while on a drive again.

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Awesome Thursday: May 24, 2012

Happy Thursday! Every week, I share some great things going on in my life. Studies have shown that grateful people can increase their overall happiness.

• I received my shoes yesterday! I won a giveaway from The Dainty Squid, and B.A.I.T. They're super cute, and they fit pretty well. Now, I just have to figure out an outfit to wear them with! If you click the image, you will be taken to their website. If you're interested in these, they are the MIKA in bright pink.
• I went to an Apple Store yesterday for the very first time! Rick needed to get his phone fixed, so our friend drove there, and I tagged along. It was pretty neat.
• I had Chipotle for the first time, yesterday. My burrito was almost the size of my head, but it was really, really good.
• I got my bike back from my parents. My mom brought it to work with her, Rick drove me there, and I biked back. My legs were definitely sore/tired after the ride. I can't wait to go back out and ride some more! I think I might go out tonight.
• My Findley Dappled shawl is coming along nicely. I started on another shawl, this one of my own design. I'm using the yarn from my failed Colonnade shawl.
• I have a lot of ideas about the future of my knitwear. I haven't done very well with sales lately, and I am trying to figure out how to remedy that. One idea has been sticking out for a while, and I think I am going to have to take it and run.
• The pool was opened last weekend! I went swimming a couple times already. I am hoping to swim almost daily (more like nightly) this summer. I burn like toast, so I will probably wait until the sun starts going down to swim.

Overall, this past week was wonderful! I am going to watch Deadliest Catch and get some knitting done! I hope all of you are doing fantastic.

A New Project, This Time, For Me!

It's been quite some time since I've knit something for myself. I won some of Juniper Moon's Findley Dappled in the Woodland colourway from Midwest Yarn a while back. I knew it would be turned into something for me, I just had to find the pattern for it.
With almost 800 yards, I have a lot of options. My first thought was a rectangular, somewhat lacy stole. I gave it some thought, and I don't think knitting lace is something I am ready to take on. I have a hard time concentrating on patterns, and I would probably have to tink/frog a few times, and I don't want to ruin the yarn. I searched some more, and decided on a few things: something easily memorized, something that I can knit until I run out of yarn and not have to worry about pattern repeats, something worn around the neck among a few others.
I found the 3S Shawl on Ravelry and it fit the bill perfectly. Plus, being a shawl, I knew that I would love it.
I just cast on, and I am a couple rows in, and this yarn is a dream! Half and half merino and silk, it's super soft, and super sturdy. I can't wait to get back to knitting this!

Awesome Thursday: May 17, 2012

Hello, Thursday! Every week, I post about the great things that have gone on in my life for the week prior. Here goes!

• I won some giveaways! Not sure which of these I've posted about, but I won a print from A Wild Tonic, a pair of hot shorts from BOODWAH, a dog treat jar from Big Horn Signs and a pair of gorgeous shoes from B.A.I.T Footwear.
• My running has been going fairly well. I'm up to week 4 day 1 today, and I'm hoping I can manage it. There's a 5 minute run in there, not sure if I'm ready for that yet.
• I applied for a few jobs this week. All the places I applied are businesses I would really want to work for. Mostly independent restaurants. The busy season is starting up locally, and many of the restaurants are going to be hiring.
• My sale is doing alright. I've made a few sales. Not as many as I'd been hoping for, but still not bad. It's on until tomorrow at 4, and I'm hoping to make a couple more sales before then

How are all of you fine folks doing?