midweek crafting update

The sock is coming along nicely. I've turned the heel and am now working the gusset. Knitting socks is not nearly as intimidating or challenging as I previously thought, although it does take some time. I'm glad I've challenged myself to try something new, though.

Slowly but surely I'm getting myself out of the creative rut known as Deep Winter. I've been buying quite a bit of fabric (much to my husband's chagrin), and making plans for a quilt in addition to working on the Boxy Bags. Now, this quilt will take a while. It's a baby quilt for a friend who is not yet expecting, but I've got the perfect idea for it, so I obviously need to plan it out NOW. I've got a few other baby-related projects for a different friend in the works, too.

My darling niece turns one in just a few short weeks. {insert typical comment about how time flies here} She's so adorable, and living so far away is hard. Thank goodness for photos! I've got some exciting things ready for her birthday package, just need to get them all wrapped up and put in the mail. I hope she enjoys them, although I'm sure she'll enjoy the wrapping paper more at this point. :)

Meanwhile, I've added some adorable little girl headbands to my Etsy shop, The Caffeinated Sheep. Check them out! Also available in black/white, purple/black, and brown/white (with a blue headband!).

an adventure in sock knitting

Our knitting group is doing a sock knit-a-long during February. We're having lots of fun with this adventure, and are excited to see how they all turn out. From a knitting perspective, socks have intimidated me for a long time, but they're not as challenging as I thought! Tonight I got through turning the heel. We'll see if I'm feeling adventurous enough to conquer the gusset this week, or if I'll just wait until next week's gathering.

In other (non-shocking) news, I am so done with winter and ready for spring. The weather today was sunny and in the 40s... it was glorious. I almost didn't need a coat when I left knit night. They're predicting 60s later this week... yippee!

A New Year, and Some New Goals...

Hard to believe January is almost over. Every year I always seem optimistic that things will magically become new, and we can start over with a clean slate on January 1. Problems, stresses, issues, and drama from 2013 will magically disappear when the clock strikes midnight, right?? Oh, how I wish this was true!

I am, and always have been, a very emotional person. I rejoice with others, I mourn with them. When life throws my friends challenges, I empathize and sympathize with them. I pray for them.

But I'm not always such a great friend to myself. And that's a pretty hard truth to swallow. I would rather blame myself for what goes wrong, and beat myself up about it. I always have. Not an easy habit to break, is it?

2013 was a year full of new beginnings, challenges, leaps of faith, disappointments, and intense stress. Trust me when I say I'm not sorry to leave it behind.

Yet 2014 has started out with its fair share of problems. Lingering drama and stress from the previous year has carried over, health issues have manifested (no doubt in part from the lingering drama and stress), and I'm not sure how much longer I can tread water like this.

Let's be realistic. There is no such thing as a perfect year. I may not have a "good" year this year, but that doesn't mean I can't try. Now, I'm not one to normally make New Years Resolutions. But in light of how much the drama and stress has begun to affect me in negative ways, I'm making a few goals this year. Fairly open-ended and broad, I'm not going to tell myself I have to reach them in any specific way. They're just things I'm going to focus on and keep in mind as we take the bull by the horns.

- Destress (Kind of speaks for itself, don't you think?)
- Declutter (living in a tiny apartment means clutter is a constant. ugh)
- Organize (this goes along with decluttering. whether it's re-organizing my kitchen cabinets or a new method for filing paperwork, little things count.)
- Focus on the positives (THIS. Perhaps it's the hardest for me to do, especially when things are very stressful and uncertain. How often do the negatives waaay overshadow the positives? Looking for the positives is so important.)

This year, I also want to challenge myself outside my comfort zone a little more. I've got a few ideas already, and I'm currently pursuing some of them.

Of course, I'm sure crafting will play a significant role in many of these goals, and potentially contribute to the roots of their problems (craft rooms, or lack thereof, can get so disorganized, can't they?). Here's to a better, healthier, new year!

Tomorrow's baking adventures

Tomorrow is Christmas baking day. I've got two gifts to bake, plus a recipe I'm intrigued to try myself...

Here's the plan (all courtesy of pinterest, of course!):

Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti
Earl Grey Tea Cookies
Salted Chocolate Caramel Bark

Oh, delicious. Hopefully these will all turn out perfect the first time! But then again, it wouldn't be an adventure if they did...

I'll do my best to remember to photograph them and review them after Christmas!

Christmas Break Plans

Tomorrow marks the fourth week in Advent. Advent. Such a busy time, but one of my favorites for the whole year. A time of preparation, planning, anticipation, and hope. A time for reflection, renewal, and comfort. A time for longing, peace, and joy.

Now that I'm officially on Christmas break (and an extended one at that!), it seems that, in a microcosmic way, much of this preparation, planning, longing, anticipation, and hope has been fulfilled. I now have time to reflect, renew, be filled with peace, comfort, and joy. What a blessing to have this time off and enjoy it with family and friends.

I can't wait to get started on all my crafting plans for the next few weeks...

• I've got plans to meet up with some friends for some quality girlfriend coffee bonding time.
• I've got plans to meet up with some friends for some quality girlfriend crafting bonding time.
• I've got plans for working on inventory for my Etsy shop to finally get it up off the ground!
• I've got Christmas presents to finish knitting and crafting, and need to get those out in the post.
• I've got sewing plans, movie watching plans, copious amounts of coffee and tea drinking plans, and enjoying my Christmas present plans (D and I decided to go in on one big gift to ourselves this year, so I already know what I'm getting and it's on its way!).
• I've got RELAXING plans. Oh, sweet relaxing, I've been waiting all year for these few weeks.

We've got a nasty-sounding wintry mix storm going on this weekend. This morning we woke up to a nice thick layer of ice covering the stairs and car. It should hopefully melt off this afternoon, just in time for more ice and snow tonight. I'm so thankful I don't have to go to work next week so I can just stay inside and work on projects.

Pardon me while I go look for my comfy pants and pour myself another cup of coffee.

A Christmas Carol Cup of Tea Swap

 

This holiday season, I participated in a swap on Ravelry based on the legendary Dickens' classic, "A Christmas Carol." The three categories were (you guessed it!): past, present, future. Our mission was to include tea, yarn/knitting-related, and other goodies based on these three times in our life and our swap partner's life. 

Look at all the wonderful treats waiting for me!

Past:
- a family recipe for Hermits, which are a type of chewy, spicy cookie/bar. Yum! Can't wait to try them.
- Sleepytime tea, which is one of my swap partner's (and my) favorites
- Tea pot stitch markers

Present:
- Earl Grey tea, because seriously, you can't go wrong with it!
- knitted necklace/bracelet. Have a few outfits in mind already, and the button on it is so pretty.
- Embroidered tea towel, so precious. How did she know that was perfect for me?!

Future:
- Vanilla caramel tea- can't wait to try this out, sounds so perfectly mellow and desserty
- Yarn that my swap partner hand dyed. The colors are absolutely gorgeous and remind me of the magical fall season where the leaves are so rich and colorful.

She also included some tea candies, a soap, candy canes, Yule Ale, and a cute Christmas spatula. I'm also getting a pattern of my choosing. An excuse for shopping? Haha, doesn't get much better than that!

I'm so tickled by all the wonderful goodies my swap partner Cait decided to include. Thank you, Cait, and happy swapping!

Finished Object: Chiefs Gear Galore

One of my sweet coworkers is a diehard Chiefs fan. Every year, she puts up this hilarious Chiefs Morgue with rubber chickens dressed like their opponents. (Yes, the chickens even make it to the games!) She asked me to sew some coordinating curtains to complete her office decorations and give her storage cabinet a "door."

She was so excited when I brought in the finished curtains last week, right after the Chiefs became 6-0. What a way to celebrate!

These curtains were super simple to make. I just measured the cabinet dimensions, adjusted my measurements for two panels with some extra width, and gave a 1/2" hem allowance all around, plus a generous casing for the tension rod.

To attempt neat corners, I followed this tutorial I found via Pinterest. It wasn't hard to follow, but I probably should have measured the angle of some of my corners instead of eyeballing it. Next time...!

Once I sat down to work on these, it took about 4 hours from cutting out the fabric on my too-small table, to measuring and pinning the hems, to finishing the casing. Easy peasy, just needed to find that magical window of time where I could pull out my sewing machine and get it done. I love quick and easy projects like this that have such a huge impact on a space.

Stay tuned.... I've got another Chiefs-related project in the works for her, now that they're 7-0!