Random Stuff

I haven't been a very good blogger lately. I haven't crocheted much either, or sewed at all. It's been a crazy week. What I have done is run around in circles a lot and surf the Internet. I'm getting so many ideas I think my brain might explode, but very little motivation. Here are some things I found this week that I thought were interesting.

Crazy Aunt Purl's Tips for Decluttering - This actually did motivate me. Long enough to clean out the filing cabinet, anyway, and then I lost it.

The Yarn Harlot's recent entry Breakout - I love everything the Yarn Harlot does, and I really love the way she explains her design process for Joe's gansey. Inspirational!

Arm knitting - This could be cool, but what do you do if you have to answer the phone or something?

Yahoo's Weblog Directory List - How come crafts, crocheting, knitting, or sewing is not listed as a category? Check it out anyway, there are some cool blogs on the list.

An article on Yahoo about Katrina survivors and their life a year after the hurricane - This one really made me think about all the people still struggling daily in New Orleans and surrounding areas. I should donate some squares or something. Please leave any suggestions for which bloggers I could send squares to for Katrina in the comments.

Around and Around

Thanks for the compliments on the pillows. I love the them and the girls do, too. I definitely see more and more pillows in the near future, they are soooo easy. Sue, I wish I could convince people to take more candid shots of me, but then they aren't candid, right? This one actually was, though.

Since I took my break on Sunday, I've went back to the other projects I was avoiding. I sewed a little on the afghan, and I've been going around and around (and around) on the BB sweater. The body is almost finished, but it's just so monotonous. This is taking serious willpower, people. I'm exhausted from the going in circles. I think I might be starting to crack from the pressure. I'm afraid I may see circles of blue yarn floating in my dreams.

Psychedelic Sunday Pillows

I spent Sunday evening trying to clear my head, and not focus on all the WIP's that are calling my name. Hopefully, the mini-break has given me renewed motivation to finish them up and move on to other projects and ideas. For my mini-break, I made matching pillows to go on Kassi and Laynie's beds. They were very easy, a mindless project, so the evening really did relax me, and I finished them both well before I was ready to go to bed. Instant gratification is the best. I love this fabric, it's so vibrant.

.

This is just a little bonus pic my boyfriend took while I was cutting out the pieces for the pillows. I was concentrating so hard that I didn't even know he took it until I heard the beep from the camera. I like it, though. It's truly a candid picture of me doing what I do, in my own wacky way.


P. S. The girls have put their stamp of approval on the pillows. They laid down with them as soon as their dad brought them home to me this morning.

Holdin' Out

I'm doing pretty good at not starting the new mystery project. I'm not doing so well at the finishing old projects thing. So I guess I'm stuck somewhere in between old and new.
I sketched out my idea for the mystery project. And then I found an e-mail sent to Crazy Aunt Purl, which she in turn posted to her blog. The sketch looks so good, and I'm so excited about this one that I think I might submit it for the Crochet Pattern-a-Day calendar. I just have to get going on it soon. If you are interested in submitting your own pattern, go to www.knittingpatternaday.com .

Not Quite Procrastination

I know myself much, much too well. At the end of my last post I predicted that I would find a new project to work on and distract myself. I was right, of course. I must have really good willpower, though, because I have managed to convince myself that I can avoid said new project until my other current projects are finished. OK, until at least one of the old projects is done.
So what is the new project? It's a secret. :) Let's just say that I found a ton of RH SuperSaver on clearance, and it was screaming Christmas present for a certain someone. So I can't tell what it is or who it's for. But I may flash a pic of the yarn that I scored. Stay tuned!

I CANNOT Finish Something Before Starting Something Else!

I know I'm supposed to be finishing up the afghan project, and the pants (and the kajillion unfinished projects in a Rubbermaid tote in my closet) but I started something new. It's the Bronze Beauty top from Lion Brand. I bought a bunch of TLC Heathers last year, and somewhere along the way I set aside 3 skeins of #2470 Teal to use specifically for the sweater. I'm not sure when I downloaded the pattern, but I printed it out and tucked it in a plasic sleeve in my binder of patterns a long time ago.
I like the way it's coming along. I'm crocheting the size small, and with the recommended I hook and my substituted yarn, my guage came out perfectly. I've completed the yoke and 5 rows of the body in spare minutes over the last two days, so it's pretty quick going. I could probably finish it in the next week.
However, I'm sure I'll find something else to start on that I absolutely must make, and I'll be distracted all over again. :)

Update on THE pants

OK, so the girls played really well by themselves tonight so I had some time to work with my tee. I'm on Step 7, and so far, it works GREAT. I had to try them on, of course, and there is just enough fabric to go around me, but they are wide at the bottom. The tute recommends using a size Large or bigger t-shirt, mine is a medium, but I'm skinny and it worked out perfect. So the only part I'm worried about now is the waistband. I think I can do it. Positive thinking. I know I can do it.

Little Progress

I had a busy weekend, so I didn't get much accomplished. A few stitches here, a few there. I didn't start on my t-shirt pants, but I did acquire the softest black tee to make them with. I think it'll be perfect if I can keep from mucking it up and hopefully I can sew some straight lines!
The majority of the weekend was spent working, and I got to go to the beach with some friends. It was a nice chance to spread out and relax, since the girls were at their dad's for the weekend. Sunny and peaceful.
Hopefully there will be some progress to show off throughout the week. At least one or two projects are almost done, now I just have to get motivated to finish them!

Another Good Idea

The girls came home SUPER early this morning, and I couldn't get either of them to lay back down in bed, so I've been cruising the 'net looking for inspiration. Mission, accomplished! Check out this tutorial for making old t-shirts into pants. Wow! I would have never thought about something like this, but I think making my own pair would be good sewing practice. If I mess up, oh well, it's just an old t-shirt, right? I love that people are coming up with great new ways to make old things into something completely new, and way cool. Recycling at it's best. Now I just have to find an old t-shirt to try this out on.

Sneak a Peek

Here's a little preview of what I'm working on right now.


I'm in the finishing stage (which I hate), but hopefully I'll be done soon. I couldn't wait to show off (just a lil bit). This blanket has a place of honor waiting for it, and I can't wait to hang it up and brag about how good I think it looks. Conceited? Maybe.

One year Ago Today...

I found this post this morning while I was browsing the Internet: Crochet by Faye: One year Ago Today... . It got me thinking. What was I doing one year ago today?
Let's see, August 7, 2005. I was jumping around between my mom's house and a friend's house, trying to keep track of my stuff, my kids, my job, and the mess I called a life after my breakup with the ex. Things were really tough then. I was scrambling to find a place for the girls and I to live, and I didn't get to see them a lot because we were unsure of where we were staying from night to night. They spent a lot of time with their dad, and I spent a lot of time missing them and trying to figure out what to do.
Thinking back to a year ago makes me so grateful for the place I am in now. Even though I have rough days and I'm bored to death sometimes, our lives are so much more calm, centered, and stable than they were a year ago. Thanks for posting this, Robyn, and making me think about how grateful I am to be a year away from where I was one year ago today.

Lazy Day

I have nothing to write about, not really. It's been kind of a lazy day around here. I went to work for a couple hours, did some grocery shopping, got the girls off to stay the night with their dad. Now I'm just bored.
I'm so bored I don't even feel like working on anything crafty. I've been working on some projects, one in particular, but I'm not making enough headway to post any pics. The one project I've been paying attention to is a granny square blanket, with a twist. I would say it's my own design, but I'm not sure if arranging granny squares in a different way can be considered designing. I'll put pics up when I'm done.
Guess I'm gonna spend the rest of the night laying on the couch, soaking up television and being lazy. I don't get much of a chance to do that, so I should stop complaining, huh?