It’s entirely Allison’s fault. No, not Cousin Alison but an Allison who I’ve never met that lives in Austin. Look at her super, duper cute little baby monsters. She even provided a tutorial!
I whipped up one this morning but it’s still got no eyes so just looks like a bright orange, er, blob. I plan to make as many as I can before, let’s be honest, I get bored and go back to working on my cardigan.
One of the joys of being very pale skinned is the fact that I burn rather easily. This time, the burn was mostly on my shoulders and my face. I was wearing sunglasses at the time, so now I’ve got that great “raccoon” look.
[Warning: Broad generalizations coming. My thoughts here apply to the types of projects I'm working on, not the entire crafts of knitting and crochet.]
So, you know how I was going to give up knitting for awhile? Only lasted a month. Crochet is great with it’s ability to stop mid-row, innate structure, and cuteness but, well, it still takes forever to make a blanket using lots of little motifs. I needed to return to knitting, where you can’t create something as quickly, but it just *feels* better. No little bits to sew together, just lots of easy-peasy stockinette.
What do I decide as my first project? It took me what seemed like an eternity to decide but was really only four hours of swatching some of the Berroco Weekend I got via Dizzy Sheep just before we left on vacation. The yarn is great crocheted, but it just called out “Make me into a sweater.” This sweater, I eventually decided.
I’m a whopping four inches in thus far. Not bad with the only real knitting time I have anymore being on the way to and from work. Well, no that’s a lie. I have more time than that but I just haven’t felt much like knitting during my at-home hours. I feel like I have no time to sit and hang out with Matt lately so knitting has taken a back seat.
Anyway, here’s the sweater thus far. Not real exciting yet though I’m about to start the waist shaping (if I can ever figure out what x[x,x,ptog] means). Hoping to finish by the end of July, which is a totally appropriate goal considering the little bits of time I choose to knit.
Merritt Island is, well, an island located just off the East Coast of Florida from approximately Melbourne to Tittusville. On the very northern part of the island, you’ll find the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. Although I grew up pretty close by, I’d never even heard of the refuge. Thankfully, my parents knew all about it and took us there our second full day in town.
We chose to do the wildlife drive which takes about 30 minutes if you don’t stop. We, of course, made lots of stops so it took about an hour overall. You see all sorts of different habitats and animals, guided along by a free guide available at the trail head.
I’m back from vacation and, hopefully, back to daily blogging. I’m feeling really overwhelmed. I hate when you get back a vacation, you are still thinking about the trip but you have all that unpacking to do and have to get adjusted to, you know, waking up early and feeding the cats and all that.
I won’t bore you all with a detailed description of every little thing we did, but I’ll bore you with some details:
- Beach: Lots of going to the beach though thankfully only two or so hours at a time. I get sunburned really easy and am paniced just about every moment I’m outdoors. I was a little sad we didn’t get to go to Bathtub beach, the beach I grew up going to as a little kid, but my mom said it’s not nearly as nice as it once was. Stupid hurricanes.
- Wedding: My long-time friend, Katie, got married last Saturday in the same church and by the same pastor who did her parents wedding. It was a sweet, simple ceremony that fit her perfectly. Of course, I did not remember to get a single photo of her or the wedding or the reception. I am a horrible friend.
- Norton Art Museum: I had wanted to go as a little kid and finally made it down there. It’s the perfect size for a museum, about two hours to see everything housed in its three floors.
- Food: I really miss good Cuban food but, thankfully, I got it twice on this trip. Also lots of good seafood and garlic knots from Luna’s in downtown.
- Wildlife Sanctuary: There’s a huge wildlife sanctuary near Tittusville, in full view of NASA’s Vehicle Assembly Building. You drive along a little path with plenty of places to stop and a few neat trails. Tons of photos of that visit will come later.
- Keys: I’ve never been to the Keys, despite growing up in South Florida. Finally made it down. Spent two nights in the very hot and very humidity and slightly weird city of Key West. Glad I finally visited, but don’t think I ever need to go back.
So, yeah, I’m back and hoping to get used to my life again shortly.
I have a thousand things on my mind, all of which should disappear as soon as we get on the plane. Or, so I hope..
Will try to blog while I’m gone, but no guarantees. Will have lots of photos of our trip, at some point.
Let me start out by saying that everyone is fine. Matt, the other drivers, everyone. Perfectly okay.
Matt and I were going to go out to dinner last night. I was just waiting at work for his call that he was leaving to meet up with me.
The phone call wasn’t what I expected.
“Go home. Everyone’s okay. I got hit.”
Of course, my brain totally skipped the “Everyone’s okay.” part and focused on the “hit.”
Two blocks from home, someone (Light Runner, we’ll call him) decided to run a red light. Another car (she’ll be known as Forward Mover) was already coming from the other direction. Light Runner hit Forward Mover and then hit Matt, head-on.
Low speed accident, Matt already at stop.
Light Runner’s car is totaled, as is Forward Mover’s, most likely. Matt has only minor damage to his car. One-hundred percent drive-able but my worry-wort self wouldn’t let him take it to work today.
His car gets dropped off at the repair shop right after we get back from our trip.
Maybe I’ll finally be calmed down about the whole thing by then.
(I ran to the Metro from work then ran home from the Metro. Decided that counts as a weekly run and skipped my run this morning.)
I have a confession: I watch a ton of Flickr photo streams in search of crafty inspiration. I’m not someone inspired by nature or materials but by other peoples’ work. I actively seek out fun color combinations, new patterns to knit/crochet/attempt to sew, settings for finished object photos, and photos that embody what it is I like about crafts.
I’ve been lucky to get to know a group of woman via Flickr who constantly keep me inspired by showing off their amazing work (or detailing their attempts at greatness that go awry). They are witty, creative, honest, and amazing. I just hope maybe, in some little way, I can push them to keep going, as they have pushed me. They are the reason I continue to create, even when I don’t feel like it.
Chawne (cauchycomplete)
What craft does this woman *not* have her hands in? Quilting, crochet, knitting, embroidery – she does it all. A math professor by day and extraordinary crafter by night. If there was a Queen of Craft, it would be her.
(Abe Lincoln is her secret boyfriend. This picture has nothing to do with craft, per say, but her willingness to be cooky in photos does inspire my photos.)
She also does this hilarious illustrated embroidery of spam emails she and friends have received. I won’t post a photo or link from here as, well, my mother reads this, but you can search them out yourself in her photo stream.
Maggie (wwcutie)
Maggie is one of the most persistantly cheerful people out there. Even when things get difficult, she’s happy – no, thrilled – to be alive. She works in the International Studies office at a major university and shoots wedding photography on weekends. Between all of this, she manages to quilt, embroider, and sew.
Jocelyn (Jocelyn_)
Jocelyn tells it like it is. When things are going her way, she’ll tell you. When she’s super excited, you don’t have to guess. Although her crafting attempts sometimes go awry, she isn’t shy in sharing them. Her primary crafts are knitting and quilting.
(I never said yesterday that my photo post would be *my* photos, so I’m not technically breaking a promise here. I will try, however, to have some photos to post that I have taken before we head to Florida next week.)
Skipping three days of blogging meant there a few leftover bits I haven’t mentioned. Nothing earth-shattering, just some things rattling around in my head.
1. Our house is officially falling apart. After several days (weeks?) of wondering why our kitchen floor would be mysteriously soaking wet first thing in the morning, we finally figured it out. The hot water line that feeds the kitchen sink was leaking. Of course, we checked the sink before but somehow missed it. Plumber Willie (our new best friend, it seems) is coming out today to fix it. No more having to wash dishes that require hot water in the upstairs sink – though, it’s not nearly as hard to do as one would think.
2. Shortly after I woke up yesterday, Alison called out to me asking where cleaning supplies are. A bottle of wine had mysteriously lost its cork in the middle of the night, leaking wine all over the basement. Thankfully, it was a small bottle of wine and didn’t get on much other than the floor and a set of plastic bins that can be easily washed off. Alison had heard the noise in the night and smelled the spilled wine but believed the cats were making the noise and that the smell was just a result of her dreaming about fruit salad. Mess is now cleaned up and we’ve emailed the wine makers in an attempt to find out what in the world would have caused the non-sparkling bottle of wine to suddenly open.
3. This was the weekend of work parties. First, mine which was at a beautiful park off the GW Parkway. Not as much sports were played this year compared to last due to the heat though we did enjoy ourselves, just sitting and talking and eating BBQ. Saturday afternoon was Matt’s work party, held at the home of a coworker. Lots of games, pool-swimming for the kids, smores, and more BBQ. Finally got to meet more of the people he talks about all the time and put names to faces.
4. After my work party, we headed up to Baltimore to see the Orioles take on the Mets. Being the Orioles, they lost pretty badly but I didn’t care. The game was actually an RIT alumni event, so we had food included in the ticket price. I was expecting hot dogs and soda but it actually included burgers, hot dogs, salad, popcorn, dessert, soda, and beer. Even had our own little room to sit in and hang out beforehand.
5. Although I can’t say I’m really into it, the World Cup does have me at least a little excited. Sunday we watched the Germany/Australia game. Matt rooted for Australia just to annoy Alison who was, rooting for having lived there and still very culturally tied to the country, Germany. I rooted for whoever was doing best at the given moment. The US plays next on Friday against Slovenia (I think) though we’ll both be at work during the game. Hopefully next week my parents don’t mind if we watch a game or two.
6. Running is going decent, I’d say. I haven’t missed a run in a few weeks, after having three straight weeks of missing shorter runs. The Sunday (long) runs haven’t been nearly as hard as I thought though the longest distance we’ve ever done was five miles. Next week, it’s 6. My group will run the bridge that’s at the tail-end of our race while I’ll be in my hometown, hopefully running the big bridge there. I just hope I don’t get really discouraged when the running starts to get truly difficult.
7. Work in a little stressful right now. We have a big meeting tomorrow that we’re getting ready for. The slides are finished but it’s just that last-minute anxiety going on.
So, yeah, there’s the leftover bits. Tomorrow, there should be pictures again. Maybe. Of something.
Missed blogging Friday due to crazy (half) day at work. Missed Saturday because of Matt’s work party. Missed yesterday because I was too busy running, eating crap food while watching the World Cup (go Germany!), and generally being a bum.
But, alas, I am back again to give you all a short crafty update. There are other stories to tell but those will be saved until tomorrow.
1. The hexes: They are driving me nuts. I’ve made 29 and there’s no way I’ll have the tenacy to actually make enough to make a blanket. Too many little pieces. So, I started pulling them out (is it still frogging in crochet?) to make a single motif blanket. I bought a whole book of crochet motifs, it’s about time I used it. [Picture to come later when I actually have progress on the hexagon replacement to show.]
2. Bought yarn for the first time in what feels like forever but has only been a month. Fibre Space was having a sale and even though it was only 10% off I couldn’t help myself. Picked up a skein of Dragonfly Fibers Dragon Sock in “Rocky Top.” [My high school marching band played that song in the stands at football games.] Started a scarf in it yesterday during the Cup game and have a good 8″ already done on it. Pattern is here on Ravelry.
I also picked up one of those nifty Lexis Barnes bags to carry my projects around it. The poor little Della Q drawstring I bought a year and a half ago is about to fall apart so it was time for a replacement. This bag doesn’t provide a way to attach itself to my wrist but, really, I don’t do that much knitting while standing/walking around, anyway.
3. My friend, Steph, is having a baby in September so, of course, I had to make something for her. Got the body of the sweater done and will eventually pick it back up to do the hood. It’s a little fiddly so not a good bus-on-the-way-to-work project. Used Berroco Vintage, my go-to wool blend.
So, yeah, not a whole ton of craftiness going on. Life feels really crazy right now so I’m having trouble relaxing enough to craft (except on the bus where I have to have something to occupy my mind or I’ll just stare at people which is super rude). I do have a feeling being in my hometown next week will help relax me and I’ll be in a much more crafty mood. I may even start knitting again.
