When will winter and sick season end?

I'm sick again! I have been more sick this winter than for the last 5 years combined. I guess it has to do with Layton being sick all the time and me taking care of him but sheesh, enough is enough. At least I don't have any plans this weekend except to knit and crochet, and that can be done while I'm sick.

I'm making great progress on my Herbology and Potions OWLs. Charms is probably a lost cause to finish by the end of the month and we will see about Arithmancy. I have way to many things in my queue and now I am itching to start new projects. I have to finish some of my WIPs first though, they are starting to get out of hand!

Yesterday I stopped at my LYS and picked up some new yarn :) Five skeins of yummy Malabrigo Merino Worsted and 5 balls of this really fun Jojoland Melody Superwash.



Now I just have to get some darn WIPs out of the way so that I can play with my new pretties :)

New Month=New Projects

Well, first of all...I got into the Vamp yarn club!!!!!!! ::squee:: As you can tell, I am super excited. I already have patterns picked out for some of the yarn...too bad I don't get any until May.

As far as the House Cup goes here are the projects I will be working on:

Herbology: baby things for my boss and coworkers' new babies
DADA: Patons Cabled Bag
Charms: Elf Hats - Tea Cozy Hat (I will learn how to and only use continental knitting!)
CoMC: Paw print bookmark
Arithmancy: Unsure as of yet

I also have to finish my 4 OWLs....this will be a busy month :)

TGIM (Thank Goodness its March)

I did not have a very good February and I'm so glad it is over. Nothing really bad or major happened, it was just a rough month. I'm pretty sure I suffer from seasonal depression and I just had no energy to do anything...I didn't even feel like knitting or crocheting!!

Luckily I got some oompf back towards the end of the month and I was able to finish projects for all my House Cup classes except for History of Magic. I even reached the 25% mark on all four of my OWLs...that was a challenge. March classes should be posted in about 2 hours. I'm really excited again and I hope that the Bella's Mittens will count for a class because I have to make them. I bought some KnitPicks Wool of the Andes Bulky yarn that is so soft and squishy and I really need some nice mittens.

It is winter again here in the north. Thursday and Friday it snowed like crazy and we got about 6-7 inches. A lot of the snow was gone before this latest storm, it just had to tease us :(

Well, I was sucked into the Twilight hype and I decided to read the books. I read all 4 of them within 5 days!! I couldn't put them down. Stephanie Meyer is an awesome author and now I want to be a vampire, lol! There is a new yarn club starting that I really want to do. It is the Vamp yarn club by Squibstitcher on Ravelry (Jen). She dyes yarn in the vampire colorways and they are absolutely gorgeous, I have to have them! She is limiting the signups to the first 50 people so I have been hitting refresh on my computer all morning so I don't miss the thread. The hard part is going to be deciding which 12 I want, I already have some picked out :)

I woke up at 6:30 this morning and couldn't fall back asleep so I am working on my OWLs until the new classes are posted. I will have to be a knitting and crochet fiend this month to finish everything I want to!

Cauldron Pattern

I switched to blogger from LiveJournal and I wanted to post this over here so I wouldn't lose it.

This is the first time I have ever written a pattern so I apologize if there are any mistakes. This cauldron ends up being 6 in. wide and 4.5 in. tall.

Materials:
4.5mm hook
4 oz worsted weight black yarn (I used Red Heart)
Yarn needle
Stitch marker

Instructions:
Use a stitch marker to mark the first stitch of every row.
Make a magic loop

R1 – 6sc in loop (pull loop tight)

R2 – 2sc in each st (12 sc)

R3 – *sc in next st, 2sc in next st* continue around (18 sts)

R4 – *sc in next 2 sts, 2sc in next st* continue around (24 sts)

R5 – *sc in next 3 sts, 2sc in next st* continue around (30 sts)

R6 – *sc in next 4 sts, 2sc in next st* continue around (36 sts)

R7 – *sc in next 5 sts, 2sc in next st* continue around (42 sts)

R8 – *sc in next 6 sts, 2sc in next st* continue around (48 sts)

R9 – *sc in next 7 sts, 2sc in next st* continue around (54 sts)

R10 – *sc in next 8 sts, 2sc in next st* continue around (60 sts)

R11-14 – sc around (60 sts)

R15 – *sc in next 9 sts, 2sc in next st* continue around (66 sts)

R16-17 – sc around (66sts)

R18 – *sc in next 10 sts, 2sc in next st* continue around (72 sts)

R19-22 – sc around (72 sts)

R23 – *sc in next 10 sts, sc2tog* continue around (66 sts)

R24 – sc around (66 sts)

R25 – *sc in next 9 sts, sc2tog* continue around (60 sts)

R26 – *sc in next 8 sts, sc2tog* continue around (54 sts)

R27 – *sc in next 7 sts, sc2tog* continue around (48 sts)

R28 – *sc in next 3 sts, 2sc in next st* continue around (60 sts)

R29 – *sc in next 4 sts, 2sc in next st* continue around (72 sts)

R30 – sc around (72sts)

Slst into first sc of previous round. Fasten off. Weave in end. Finished.

Enjoy :)

My Patronus

I took a quiz to find out what my patronus is because I need to know for a House Cup assignment this month. My result:

Your Patronus is the Wolf! The wolf is a symbol of wisdom, loyalty and independence. He is one of history's more revered (and feared) characters.
That your Patronus is a wolf says that you are very wise as a person. You tend to be loyal to your friends, even when they screw up, but you are also independent. Finding that balance is key; finding it will ensure that you will be a wonderful witch or wizard!
The description fits me very well :) The quiz is available here.

As for homework this month...I signed up for everything, again. CoMC is to make an amigurumi animal, DADA is to make my patronus (hence the quiz), Arithmancy is something with a labyrinth (have to think on that one a bit), Charms is the Fidelius charm...so anything that is a secret, and Herbology isn't posted yet but I'm sure I will do that one too :) I still have to think about what I will do for some projects...I'm so glad its the weekend.

First Month Done

Well, January is done...that went by really fast. Tomorrow new classes will be posted for the House Cup. I have a lot of projects I need to do for other people so I really hope they fit in with the class assignments. I'm so excited!! (Yes, I realize I am a dork)

I have been working hard on my OWLs, I signed up for 4 of them! I am doing the Seascape Stole that I mentioned before, 9 mini Weasley Sweaters, a granny square blanket, and Ingenue with added cables to the front and sleeves. I am 16 rows into Seascape...out of 421 :( I have the 5 different squares designed for the granny square blanket. There is a front and back of one sweater done and 2.5 other backs :) As for Ingenue, I have the neck/collar finished...40 rows at 124 sts each is a huge neck!! (it does get folded in half though), now I have to start the cable portions so I need to figure out exactly how I want to do the sleeve cables.

I am determined to finish all 4 of the OWLs because a lot of people don't think it can be done. I also plan to take every class, unless I really can't think of something that fits the assignment...and if you saw my queue you wouldn't believe that is possible :)

I'm sure I will post again tomorrow when I find out the assignments :)

I lost it!

Well, today starts an 8 week weight loss program through my gym (Anytime Fitness) called 'I lost it!' I'm really excited for the one hour a week training sessions with the personal trainer. I really want to get in shape and be ready for the Half-Marathon this year and to look good once bikini season comes 'round again. I must beat my marathon time from last year and hopefully not feel like I will die at the end (like I did last year).
I hate to post this in public but here are my stats:

Weight: 156
Body Fat: 27.6%
BMI: 26.8
Waist: 29.5"
Chest: 35.75"
Hips: 38.75"
Biceps: R-10.25" L-10.5"
Thighs: R-22" L-21"

I may update periodically but I will for sure at the end of the 8 weeks.