Monday, October 23, 2006

Hey!! I'm still here, just not knitting much in my last year of grad school. I did just start back up again though - something about fall brings the knitting itch out in me :) I tried out a new baby hat pattern, and am working on the second one! I really wanted to do Miss Dashwood (It's ssooo cute!!), but being as it's "piquant" I'm thinking I'll need to work up to that... So I modified Lilly's Hat to have ear flaps like Dashwood and I'm pretty happy with the result :) Pictures soon to come!

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Andrea frees a butterfly *
at |12:12 PM|
Wednesday, April 26, 2006

Hey all! (If any of you are still out there) I hope I didn't lose you! ;) The semester is almost over (just 2 papers to do!) and I'm getting the knitting itch back. It's been rather depressing not being able to work on anything. But I have this problem of starting something and working around the clock til it's done, otherwise I lose interest - so I smartly decided not to begin any projects for the past few months... BUT- I just bought this gorgeous recycled sari silk yarn from eBay!



Any recommendations for patterns? I think I might make a bag out of it (is 600 yards enough for that though?) b/c I'm going to be studying "abroad" in Cuernavaca, Mexico (!!) in June and it looks festive and fun for the occasion! :) I'll be going through this program, living with a host family for 2 1/2 weeks and attending this University. I'm SO geeked! Hope all is well with you all, and you should be hearing more from me now!

P.S. Are any of you signed up for The Global Night Commute??? I'm guessing you may not have heard about the Invisible Children project, but if you see Oprah today you'll be clued in! Check it out!! You know you wanna sleep downtown with hundreds of your closest strangers ;)

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Andrea frees a butterfly *
at |12:01 PM|
Monday, February 20, 2006

Wow, I suck... The last knitting project I worked on was in January, up in the Sault, while Isi was in the ICU (btw, thanks for the prayers - he's doing well in the rehab hospital - hopefully coming home soon!! :) I made a red scarf for my buddy Daniel (he's 3, so it was a nice short project) - But he was MIA when I finished it, so I had to use his mom's old doll for a model...





As for why I haven't been able to knit, my graduate program has taken over my life... between my internship, work, classes, & carting myself back & forth across Southeast Michigan all week long, reading/studying/paper writing takes up whatever time I have left... it's rather sad. I have been randomly adding things to my MySpace page, though - it's a guilty pleasure! Check it out if you like, but I'm warning you, those quizzes can be addicting!

Here's a photo of me feigning excitement about the 57 more days of this semester I have left to endure....

(P.S. - that's a tanktop, not my bra!! ;) I hope you're all having a much better February than me! until next time....

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Andrea frees a butterfly *
at |2:11 AM|
Friday, January 13, 2006

Hey everybody...
I'm up in Canada with Mark's family, and I am writing to ask for your prayers. Mark's dad (Pertti Heimonen) suffered a heart attack Monday night and is still in ICU. We're praying for a complete recovery, even if it doesn't happen as quick as we'd like it to. Isi (that means "dad" in Finnish) is an amazing man who is loved by many, and we want to keep him around for a long time! We appreciate your prayers & hope you're having a safe & happy New Year.
Love, Mark & Andrea


Isi at Christmas this year


Isi & Aiti - 35th wedding anniversary


Isi at Lake Mijin, Ontario, Aug '05 - camping w/ Mark & me

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Andrea frees a butterfly *
at |1:01 PM|
Tuesday, December 27, 2005

Merry Christmas! I hope all of you enjoyed a happy holiday filled with good food and fun memories w/ friends & family! Mark and I had a nice time visiting his family up in Canada this year, and we took a bunch of photos - something we've forgotten to do in the past year or 2... (with the exception of cat photos - we're never short on those ;) We really enjoyed playing with his nieces Mikayla & Miia, & nephew Daniel, who cracked us all up w/ his excitement about Santa's visit on Christmas. It was especially cool to be there while Miia got to enjoy her first Christmas ever! She's just 4 months old, and very adorable :)

Here's the most recent photo of me & my DH :)


This Christmas I knit some gifts for my sisters-in-law, Marie & Sara :)


(Close-ups)


During our visit I also made a fun TuTu scarf for Mikayla (in her favorite colors ;) & a baby scarf for Miia to match her mommy's! :)


Aiti got me some great yarn for Christmas (along with some really fun scrapbooking supplies :) Photos will appear here very soon!

Sara & Vesa got us this really fun game called Quip It...

...and I got adorable PJ's from Marie, Gary, Daniel & Mikayla, who picked out the shirt herself :) Photo to come soon...

Sadly, we had to leave the kitties at home, but my friend Mary Ellen was kind enough to check in on them and give them some cuddles!

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Andrea frees a butterfly *
at |2:02 PM|
Wednesday, December 21, 2005

An open letter to my fellow knitters, friends, family, and everyone:

AKA - Andrea gets up on her soapbox...
I know it isn't pretty, but I challenge you to read on! And I promise my next post will be about knitting :)

Please don't use Merino Wool from Australia!

Warning - this video is graphic!
I just watched this horrifying video about the Merino Wool industry in Australia, who produces 50% of the world's supply. I've almost always used purely synthetic yarns not by choice, but because I can't afford the expense of "higher quality" wool. Of course, there have been some times I've gotten wool as a gift, and a little under a handful of skeins I purchased myself. But after seeing this I'm happy to stick to synthetics, and I encourage you all to please do the same!!! :)

Please don't buy Iams pet food for your furry friends!

Expose on Iams Testing Labs

Buy organic & free-range turkeys for the holidays!
(or enjoy a vegetarian Christmas like me! :)

Turkey Farm Cruelty

... and organic meats & poultry the rest of the year!

Meet your Meat

Finally, please don't buy ANYthing made w/ real fur!
You may be wearing someone's pet!

Cat and Dog fur trade in China(!!)

Thank you for being conscious of the effects of our mass consumption in the United States... It's easy to say "Oh, that's terrible, but that doesn't affect me," but I challenge you to recognize that your consumption DOES contribute to the mistreatment of these animals. If there wasn't such a large demand, it wouldn't be this way...

PetaTV has numerous other videos exposing the cruel treatment of animals all over the world - even right here in the US - i.e. University of North Carolina, among others. Please spread the word, so more people can become educated about these issues!

Ok, I'm getting off the soapbox now ;) Hope you have a very Merry Christmas/Holiday season!! :)

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Andrea frees a butterfly *
at |9:49 AM|
Monday, December 12, 2005

This year was full of many blessings! Andrea started on her Masters in Social Work at Wayne State University, Mark reunited with his former Adia co-workers at NetSmart Technologies & we celebrated our first wedding anniversary, just to name a few! Teeger had his first birthday, and Neo turned 2! We feel so lucky to have such wonderful friends and family around us, and hope the coming year will bring many more happy memories to all!

God Bless & Lots of Love!
Andrea & Mark Heimonen

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Andrea frees a butterfly *
at |9:33 PM|
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Congrats - you do what you like!
You make your own rules, not follow the flock!

Which flock do you follow?
this quiz was made by alanna -----------------------------------------------------------




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