Resolved!

I've had a good long think with this one and I came up with my resolution for the year. I'm a little late with it (obviously) but late should be the new on-time anyway, since 30 is the new 20 and all that unrelated jazz... Usually I commit to the impossible - lose x amount of pounds, stop cursing, and other rot like that. But THIS year I have a resolution I can live with.

Slow down. That's my resolution. To slow it down. To be in the moment and not several steps ahead of myself.  I found myself at several points last year whining to someone that I felt so overwhelmed with orders, and things I wanted to do/learn, that I would literally lie awake at night with my mind racing in a gazillion directions over something I do for enjoyment. Is that silly, or what? So this year I am going to take it down a notch. No more rushing through things. No more racing on to the next project, even if it's still to be determined. I'm going to work on projects as they come and not worry about just how quickly they get done. Because seriously? Who's counting anyway? Just me. And it's a completely arbitrary number, just like one's age. In the grand scheme of things it means naught.

So I resolve to stop stressing. During the week I'll work on orders if I have them (and not until the almost wee hours), but weekends are for me. For selfish sewing, for reading, for rippling, for whatever my heart desires. Stress doesn't exactly lead to successful projects and joyful hobby time, so I'm going to try to avoid it. Feel free to virtually slap me if I forget and go all hysterical female on you at some point.

This all may or may not be inspired by the fact that my dentist recommended a night guard since I have a teeth-clenching-in-my-sleep issue that has fairly recently surfaced and won't go away. Did you ever wake up and weren't able to open your mouth because your jaw was locked up so tight? It's kind of panic inducing. My dad said he finds this preferable (not the panic part, the other part) because I'd talk much less.... I didn't really have a response for that. I DO talk a lot.

Since I did manage to sew up this week's quilt block I'll be back to show you as soon as I can find my camera.

Getting started on my rainbow

It's been an interesting week. In "helping" my sister with a crochet baby blankie she was working on, I somehow got her yarn knotted beyond comprehension. The whole thing. It was awful. This was the same day that the heater broke. It was the coldest day thus far, highs in the twenties, and we were sitting around a space heater in the living room. Very fun. Ummm...I found out I was allergic to the Christmas tree, which hopefully explains why I felt like crap for most of December, but it's gone now and I feel better. I was crap-awful on my diet, but I lost two pounds, which only tells me I ate a monumental amount of cookies at Christmas. I straightened out my fabrics and realized I may have some kind of problem. And I received my "ship confirmation" email for a gift I bought myself that I can't wait to show you (though it was a completely unnecessary splurge and I feel quite wasteful but it's been on my mind for months soooooooo......).

I've made a good amount of headway on my rainbow ripple. When I laid it out to take a picture I realized just how far I have to go with it, but I'm enjoying each row and each color. It's more of a thinker than I thought it would be, and I have probably ripped out just as many rows as I've stitched (I even started the whole thing over). But, unlike most of my projects, I aim for this to be a long-term adventure, so it doesn't matter to me a bit just how long it takes. I don't have all of the colors involved yet, so I don't know what the full repeat will look like, but here I am so far:

It looks much bigger than it actually is....

The red is my favorite. If it's not already it should be called Perfect Red. Because it is.

This section looks better in my head. Right now it reminds me of some neon-'80s toy I used to have. It looks much better in the grand scheme of the blanket, though.

This section reminds me of twilight in winter. You know the kind--the sun is down, there's snow on the ground, and the light is soft and purple. I'm working on that hot-pink stripe now.

I like the interlocking stripe pattern of it all. It feels like I have been stitching for a million years, and I suppose I have been. I'd probably have a huge amount more done if I'd stop ripping it out, but oh well.

I'm trying not to think about the ends....

It's a sport-weight/dk yarn so it's nice and light, but it has a lot of warmth to it when it's draped across my lap. I have a few more colors to place and then I'll be on to the second repeat. Maybe by Christmas the whole thing will be done. I've got to pull myself away from this to sew, which is quite unusual for me.

That's about all I've got for now. I'm hoping as January progresses my motivation increases--I've got nil right now. Have a pleasant week - see you soon!

The Dog Ate My Quilt Block

Guys? I have a confession to make. I did not do well on my diet this week. I spent way too much money on things I don't need. I drove entirely too fast, everywhere. And, maybe the worst, I said "No way, Jose!" to this week's quilt block. I know! I know!! Straight to the fiery pits is where I'm headed!

I've been very diligent about getting my blocks done as they're presented. I don't want to fall behind, and I don't want to just stop when I've already done so many. And I don't intend to. But this week....ugh. We were tasked with finding an applique pattern and working it out. I found lots of cute patterns, had ideas for the fabrics, even cut the things out (the good thing about applique is it doesn't take much fabric). I got started, and then I stopped. I said "{Naughty word} this, I'm not doing it!" And here's why. I hate it. I've tried all the methods I could find: freezer paper, needle-turn, fusible interfacing--I hate them all. They just don't work out for me one bit. They're too fiddly, even with pressed edges they get misshapen, no matter how much I pin it ends up over there when I pinned it over here. It's just not worth it to me to spend all that time for something that won't look that good, that I won't be happy with, and so on. I don't have unlimited time and, more importantly, unlimited patience. So I'm using a homework pass on this one.

Posts should have a pic, so here's an old one of me sitting on the toilet with my sewing machine.

No, I didn't just do this for no reason. It was for a contest where you take a picture of yourself sewing in a weird place (the prize was a new sewing machine). I wasn't dropping my drawers so it's just an awkward pose and some questionable fabric. I didn't win, by the way--the winner was randomly chosen. And here I bet you thought it was an "ugly bathroom tile" contest...

Have an excellent Friday! I'm off to get my "Big Bang Theory" on!

Busier than I thought...

I wasn't going to do any year-end review/round-up stuff, but I've really been enjoying looking at them on other blogs so I figured I'd give it a go. Until I did this I had completely forgotten about a lot of the things I had made, so it was nice to look back and see just how busy I've been. Here is most of everything I've made in the past year (some things I made so many of it got a little redundant).

Bags and Purses

Quilts

Yarny Bits

(I needed a 6th picture - but that box of yarn is currently a blanket in progress, though it's not technically a finished project...yet)

Crafts and Seasonal

I'm off to spend some time with my good friend the 'H' hook. See you soon!

Thanks, Jane, for posting a link for this super-easy mosaic maker!

FINALLY--Baby Blanket Reveal

There is no better way to give a gift than by prefacing it with "When are you stopping by so I can get this thing out of my house?" Tee-hee. Just kidding. Sort of. No, seriously. I'm kidding.

One lonely present has sat beneath the Christmas tree (which we are taking down tomorrow, by the way, not that I suspect you care much) for a few weeks, waiting for my sister's friend to stop by. She's having a wee one in a few months, and I wanted to make her a blanket for the little lad. But I wanted to make one that was a little...unconventional.

I've made blankies for friends before, and I sat there at the baby shower and watched blanket after blanket in all sorts of baby colors being unwrapped. It kind of deflates you because you made it with such love and it's going to get lost in the mix. So this time I thought a little further along the timeline. That baby is going to grow. And wee little blankies in blue and white aren't going to cut it anymore. So I made a blanket that would be better for an older little boy. One who will drag it behind him, spill apple juice on it, wipe his snotty nose on it, and cry for it when it's being washed (I hope--that would be super-flattering to future me).

So here's my reveal -

My inspiration came from this project over at the Purl Bee. I was not spending that much money for yarn, so I tried to find comparable colors, which was really hard to do (so thanks to my sister Alicia for helping me with the choosing). I started knitting it up, but it was going to be so thick and stiff I wasn't sure if the baby was supposed to be wrapped in it or use it for karate practice. So I frogged and decided to crochet the ripples instead.

The colors are softer in actuality than this photo depicts. I love those center three colors together. It starts with olivey green, then mustard yellow, tan, white, silver blue, navy blue (though it looks black), and brown. Because I switched up the pattern from knit to crochet I wasn't entirely sure how it was going to go. It ended up quite wide and fairly short (perfect for wrapping baby), or, if you turn it, long and narrow (perfect for snuggling under). And that, my friends, is how you turn an "I didn't plan it quite like that" into a design feature. I'm just absolutely in love with the look of those ripples.

This was a pleasure from start to finish to crochet. I knew the pattern, had the colors laid out, and was very excited about it. Those three factors together are the trifecta for fun stitchery.

So, Amanda, I hope you love it. I hope it keeps the kiddo cozy. I hope not one shred of it exists by the time he enters junior high. But I do hope he doesn't puke on it. Because that's just gross.

I have one day left of vacation and two things left to accomplish: take down the tree, and sew up my next quilt block. Oh, and a third--start whining about how I don't want to go back to work. Later, amigos!!

I'm sharing here this week:

Skip to My Lou *** Sumo's Sweet Stuff *** Pinkapotamus *** Ask Anna *** Sew Can Do *** Craftomaniac *** Homemaker on a Dime *** C.R.A.F.T. *** Running With  Glitter *** Sarahndipities *** Sugar Bee Crafts *** All Thingz Related *** Creative Itch Boutique *** Funky Polkadot Giraffe *** Chef in Training *** Tip Junkie *** My Girlish Whims *** Sew Much Ado *** Blue Cricket Design *** Free Pretty Things for You *** Tea Rose Home *** Someday Crafts *** Somewhat Simple *** Fireflies and Jellybeans *** Suzy's Artsy Craftsy Sitcom *** Today's Creative Blog *** Between U and Me *** Creation Corner *** The Shabby Nest *** While He Was Napping *** Tatertots and Jello *** Be Different Act Normal *** To Sew With Love *** Sugar Pink Boutique *** Craftionary

So long, farewell....

I've never liked New Year's Eve. I used to try and enjoy it - I'd get dressed up and go out and drink toasts and all that stuff, but it always felt incredibly forced. I no longer head out for the holiday - I am quite content to sit by the fire with a box of yarn, a cup of tea, and a certain warm white fluffy pup who is content to sleep the evening away. All of the Christmas things have been packed away, Lola is home and resting quietly on my sewing table, and there's not much else to do but relax and reflect.

I could present to you a mosaic of projects for the year. But then I'd have to learn how to do make a mosaic, and I'm still on vacation :) I could present you with a list of top posts for the year, but I don't really care about that sort of thing. I'm happy you visit and chat and email and comment, and that, quite simply, is enough to make this year on the blog absolutely worth it.

One of my favorite Christmas gifts (it's very geeky, of this I am aware) was a beautiful quill pen and a few bottles of ink. And parchment, which is very necessary for edicts and proclamations and that sort of thing that I am going to have to write now, because what else does one write with a quill pen in this day and age?

If I were to name that photograph it would be called 'Potential.' That blank piece of paper, just like the new year, represents new challenges, new projects, new things to learn, new people to meet, and new places to go, all unknown at this moment in time. Quite exciting, eh?

 One of my favorite quotes, but I have no idea of the source - I've only ever seen it as 'Anonymous.'

I hope your new year is pleasant, and that it lets you leave the aches and pains of 2011 behind you. I will see you on the flip side, my dears. Have a safe and happy time ringing in the new!

Winter Brights

How was your Christmas? It was fairly quiet here. I roasted chestnuts on a whim (not really to my taste but it was fun), we played Catchphrase (have you ever? You should--what a fun game!!!), and my nephew played with almost all of his presents (of which my inner child is jealous of most of them--as is my outer adult :) It's been a fair amount of lazing around and taking care of nonsense since.

But today. Today will be my day.

 Because I received a glorious box of candy-colored yum that I cannot wait to dive into.

 
Lola will be returning to my sewing table shortly, and it will be back to work. So I am going to spend some quality time with my hook before I head to my sister's for dinner tonight.

What are you up to today?