December already?!

I know, I know, it's been awhile. I've been knitting, honest! And to prove it, here's a tidbit of a sock I'm giving as a present, soooo, shhhhhh. I'm working on washcloths too for gifts and will take a pic of all together when I'm done. They are very pretty and all are from free patterns that designers generously share on the internet.

I've also been busy training for running races. This past October 19th I clocked my best time ever for a 5k, 27min 4sec. This coming weekend, I will be in the Santa Jingle 5k race in Burlington, Ontario. I highly doubt my time will be as fast, the catch is, we all have to wear Santa Suits. Can you imagine 1500 Santas racing through the streets? I'm looking forward to the fun.

Run & Knit, Knit & Run

I've promised more pics of my latest projects, here's the back and a bit of the collar of Autumn Asters, a Michelle Rose-Orne design, in which I used Elann's Peruvian Highland wool. Love the colours and love Michelle's design. I just have to attach the other sleeve, figure out button bands and then embroider little asters (daisies) all over the shawl collar. When it's finished, I will take a proper pic of me wearing it, can't wait, it's a pretty sweater.

Besides knitting, I've also been running. Here's pics of my bib numbers from the Beamsville Bench (August 9th) and the Laurier Loop (September 21st), weird how they're both numbered 301...

I ran 5k in both, Beamsville I clocked 27 min 55 secs and in the Laurier Loop, 27 min 21 secs. I'm getting better. For my efforts this past weekend I won 1st place female in the Overall Masters category. I'm stoked!

Receiving that silly medal with a purple ribbon makes it all worth it. You know how they say runners have a love/hate relationship with their sport, well, I can certainly attest to that, especially when it's freezing outside or way too hot. But at the end of my run, I'm really happy that I made the effort. It always feels great.

Birthday Bash

It was my birthday this past Sunday, and I was the lucky recipient of love from family and friends along with tasty meals and gifts. I can't quite decide which gift is my favourite, surprisingly no knitting tools or fibery gifts were involved, but that's okay. I can live without knitting, really,...okay, maybe not, but it's still okay. My new Garmin Forerunner 405 keeps me in check with my running pace whenever I train (4x per week), and then my other gifts are pure enjoyment, not that running isn't enjoyable, sometimes it hurts, or it rains, or there's a hill. :)

I know I promised to show you my latest knitting projects, they are coming along. I've been working on 3 sweaters altogether, one from Vogue, one from Interweave Knits (Michelle Rose Orne's Autumn Asters) and my own creation which I plan to call White Water Rapids. Plus, I've added a new sock design to the mix too, and I haven't figured out yet what to call it. With so many projects on the go, I haven't had time to scan anything and will make up for that in the next few days. A blog without pics is just way too boring and I don't want you to fall asleep.

So, here are some more pics of the birthday goodies. I am a huge Tomb Raider fan and the following games have been added to my collection, as well as a new Seafood book for my cook book collection and a boxed set of Extras for my dvd collection. I suppose I have a lot of collections, at least they keep me busy and out of trouble.

Finish Line

I couldn't resist, here's a finishing photo of my running buddies after the Nissan 5k & 10mile race. Photographers were snapping pics and our group was chosen for a finish finale. See, we really do like running. :)

Autumn Asters

As promised, here is a photo of my Autumn Asters cardigan, I'm still working on the shawl collar. I ordered the Highland Chunky from Elann and started running out of some colours after starting the body when the sleeves were done. I expected that and started substituting. I'm so glad I did, I will have little yarn left over and still a great looking sweater. I'll show you the body next week, stay tuned.

Nissan 5k

This past weekend I was in the Nissan 5k race down in the distillery district in Toronto. I've been training since March to get my running back up to par as I did take quite an unwanted break this past winter. Well, for the second race I've ever entered, it was quite exciting to run and pass people at the same time. Pictured is the bib I wore, time 28:04 min, I was 4th out of 12 women in my age group and 69th out of 237 women. I'm rather pleased and although I didn't get a medal, I got the free t-shirt and had fun hearing my name over loud speaker when I crossed the finish line. Now, as you can see, this is what has been keeping me so busy besides my designing. Next week I promise to show photos of a cardigan I've been working on. I've recently discovered Michelle Rose-Orne and am working on her Autumn Asters.

3 is most definitely better than 1

Okay, I finally did it! All 3 new patterns, Elvenwood Stole, Autumn, and Milk & Honey are finally up for pre-orders. "The stole" which really wasn't a supposed to be a secret has kept me occupied for over 2 months, I simply couldn't put it down to take a pic.