Breakin' Up is Hard to Do

Engaged in a little re-organizing tonight I came across these gems ... they don't look like "gems" anymore, they've definitely seen better days, but I never had the heart to throw them out.  Tonight, however, I found the courage to finally tell them it's over.

I'd say after 14 years it's well past expiration, granted I probably haven't worn them in the last ten, making it even sillier that I've hung onto them for so long, lugging them from place to place, ensuring safe lodgings in the back of closets.  It was time, my poor dust covered flower shoes with their broken buckles, worn soles, and scuffed toes - they're so deliciously 90s though, aren't they?  No, no I can't ... I have to end it for real this time, I can't take this yo-yo relationship anymore - taking each other for granted, it's just too much ...

... Though, I find myself hanging onto an old love letter or two.  What can I say?  So here I'm sat with peppermint tea, graham crackers, and a late night viewing of Gidget (one of my all time favorite movies) licking my wounds.  But it's nothing a wholesome movie with a wonderful lesson can't cure, you know, if you can get past the antiquated quips on gender roles to see that you always win when you have the courage to be yourself.  Little Gidg's fatal flaw?  Going with Moondoggie when Big Kahuna is the clear choice, but I won't hold it against her.  Now if only surf lessons came with a swingin' pipeline soundtrack!

xoxo

Sweater Song

Two-ish weeks in, and here's what we've got ... me standing on a coffee table, oh yeah and a nearly finished sweater, the back view anyway.  So I'm following the Lionbrand pattern #L0613, if you're a knitter or interested in following along or trying it out yourself.  It's slated to be knit with wool yarn, which totally was not going to work for me, instead I swapped it out for 9 skeins of this (color: oatmeal) which turned out to be a perfect trade off gauge wise. 

I'm not exactly sure why I fell in love with this pattern, or wanted it to be my first sweater, but there was just something about it that made it a bit timeless to me anyway - a little bit now, a little bit '70s, a little kimono-ish like a shrunken down Poiret opera coat all in one, so I thought I'd give it a shot.  And I'm not disappointed I did, I've learned a lot of things I didn't know before to tuck into my repertoire so I can move on to making garments of my own design, and that's never a bad thing!

The sweater bug first bit me back in 2009 when this was gracing news stands everywhere I looked.  You'll notice what I'm knitting now is nothing like it, BUT it is a sweater, and once I'm finished I think I'll be able to step it up and figure out how to create my very own variation of that hot-pink dream come true!  We'll see, but before that day comes I've got one collar, and two front ribbed bands to finish on this guy ... stay tuned!

What Are You Doing?

I'm knitting a sweater.  Best line from a mediocre film with great dancing, and terrible writing
otherwise known as Center Stage.  Anyway it's what I'm doing right now ... or attempting, at least. 

This is my first ever sweater, from a real life pattern, not just something I've made up in my head and try to force into existence even though I don't know what I'm doing.  I thought I'd try one pattern before going and doing all that this time.  Day one (Monday) I was already confused by the pattern instructions and went ahead emailing the company for clarification after googling around like a maniac unable to find an answer.  The response I received was very cordial, but to cut to the chase, it basically told me to read the front page of the instructions, and I'd find my answer leaving me shocked and amazed that I had just, in fact, asked the dumbest question ever.  A pretty strong statement considering I don't believe ANY question is stupid ... that is, unless the answer can be found on the FIRST page of the instruction sheet, and you just emailed the company for an in-depth explanation that, you guessed it, is perfectly illustrated ON THE FRONT PAGE of the pattern instructions. 

If nothing else I gave myself a good laugh, and I'd like to imagine the customer service rep responsible for emailing the response to me won some kind of office pool for dumbest question ever answered and she was, in turn, the recipient of a free round of drinks after work.  At least that's how it goes in my head. 

By day two the back panel was finished ... I get a little obsessive like that when I start something new.  Wednesday I found myself resting what is best described as my knitting "claw" ... I couldn't hold out for a classic seventh day rest, but I'm convinced God was never a knitter, however late in the evening I found myself casting on 50 new stitches to start one of the front panels.  I know, I know, I'm taking it easy this time though.  I figure by the time you have to drag out the minty scented sports cream for your knuckles you're over doing it just a bit!

So far so good though, I'm a bit excited, maybe a little too excited for something the color of oatmeal, but I believe there's no such thing as boring neutrals, only boring people.  Hopefully I still believe that when this is finished!

xoxo 

Still Waiting for the Out Like a Lamb Part...

*Looks outside* 

Well here we are in April (already?) and for all you faithful readers I regret to inform you I'm still waiting for my monthly prank call from my mother - she didn't even leave me any instant messenger bombs!- if nothing happens in the next couple of hours I'll have to file a missing persons report. 

I figure today's as good as any to share a couple of recipes.  Yay you!  Ok, so you're looking at the picture and asking, "Girl, do you really drink your breakfast from a champagne flute with a heart shaped fun-straw, and eat strawberries from a crystal bowl all served on a little silver platter?"  Not every breakfast.  Thing is, my 7/11 big gulp cup with a female wrestler on it didn't exactly visually translate.  I do, however, make a fruit smoothie most days for my breakfast, and not one of those icky ones with wacky junk that tastes like it should be served in a feed bag.  No dear, mine taste like they could be served at a beach resort, and if you close your eyes you can almost make out the faint tinkling of a friendly little steel drum.  The point, while it may not be drink your breakfast from a champagne flute, is most definitely to take a moment to spoil yourself, and do special things to make your day a little more magical.  Besides, who doesn't want an excuse to sing about putting limes in coconuts?  So, get out your blender - here we go!

Springing Ahead!

Though I don't know exactly how much "springing" I'll be doing, at least things look like they're
going to be a little less dismal around here ... even if it is just 5 minutes in between rainstorms.  Spring is actually trying to happen, and for once in my life (entire life, no joke) I am thrilled to the core for Daylight Savings.  I'm a fall back kinda gal, but skipping ahead an hour couldn't have come a moment too soon for me.  La Niña is workin' my last nerve this year, as if I don't have enough to deal with in the middle of March's mood swings!

xoxo

Groundhogs are Liars

Who knew?  I mean, they look trustworthy enough.  I could just be cranky since every cold, crisp yet sunny day seems to bring with it another week of rain, dark skies, and even snow leaving me to wonder will this winter ever end?  Did I just say that?  I LOVE winter ... but even I have limits.  I'm ready for something else.  I've got a terminal case of cabin fever, and I'm itching from the inside out for something other than "sog". 

Everywhere I look, soggy skies, soggy trees, soggy doggy, soggy shopping bags, soggy ... well entirely anyway.  But because once it came off my needles, and directly after that moment of "Oh God, did it work?" when I situated it atop my head I gasped with delight, "Perfect!"  And since then, this little guy's been everywhere with me.  Not too big to stuff into a purse as you're running out the door, and definitely not too cumbersome to throw on even when the temperature isn't tooth rattling.  Goldilocks herself couldn't have seen this one coming, especially if she's a reader 'round these parts. 

actually, I've been staying quite dry thanks to this little gem:  I've adequately dubbed The Perfect Hat - not because of my oh-so-awesome knitting skills, well not

There's something about February, Me, and hats ... probably because I'm bundled up to my eyeballs from now 'til April (and if you're a PNW native then you know that can drag out well into May -- and June, but who's counting?).  This time I've nailed it though, not too bulky, not too wimpy, sleek slim fit, and oversized kitschy upcycled flower made from reclaimed fabrics, and felt derived from post consumer plastic bottles (omgodzorz, it's green too!)

Now if I can stop flapping my gums about it, and get some photos taken they'll be listed here shortly ... stay tuned!

xoxo

A Poison Tree

I was angry with my friend:
I told my wrath, my wrath did end.
I was angry with my foe:
I told it not, my wrath did grow.

And I watered it in fears
Night & morning with my tears;
And I sunned it with smiles,
And with soft deceitful wiles.

And it grew both day and night,
Till it bore an apple bright.
And my foe beheld it shine,
And he knew that it was mine,

And into my garden stole,
When the night had veiled the pole;
In the morning glad I see
My foe outstretched beneath the tree.

William Blake

I've never been accused of being an actual Blake fan.  That's not to say he's not a genius - I could easily be a complete literary, and poetic dullard.  I think it's just a matter of taste, and for whatever reason he's just not serving it piping hot in my kind of cup.  However the man's got a point (several, in fact) and I'm not too proud to have a pretty healthy appreciation for it.  I have a very mediocre knowledge of the guy, and even less about what others have to say about the man or his work, but upon revisiting some of his pieces I'm finding a little spark of renewed interest, and picking up on what I believe is dry wit, a clear disdain for hypocrisy, and phony behavior alike, and a keen eye for irony.  I can't not like him for any of these things, surely!

And I started thinking.

Going Guerrilla

Yes, sometimes the creative process is as rudimentary as scribbling on notebook paper with a Bic pen, using a hot chocolate canister's lid to draw the perfect sized circle, and laying it all out on the coffee table.  Thing is, many times you just have to strike while the iron's hot or you lose the idea, drive, ambition, whatever.  I can't tell you how many times a great idea has vanished forever on me simply because I didn't stop what I was doing and take a note, or make a sketch for later. 

I suppose now is when I'm supposed to mention the new year, clean slates, fresh starts, and dare I say it ... resolutions?  Well, I'm not going to.  I think especially in our society, we're quite in love with this idea of the do-over, possibly even greater my generation raised on video games equipped with reset buttons.  Don't like how things are going, hey, start over!  While I do embrace a little of that "philosophy" it's not exactly how things go, now is it?  I like the idea of not allowing yourself to be stuck in a rut, and if you find yourself in one, you can get yourself out of one, and start along a new path, but it's not so cut and dry as pressing the reset button.  You bring along all of your old ideas, and actions, and behaviors that got you there in the first place unless you resolve to change those as well as your direction.  What's that they say?  You can't run away from yourself.  I believe it to be true.  So with that in mind, no resolutions were made this year, just the continuation of what I believe I should be living everyday, which is to strive to be the best version of myself I can every single day.  It sounds really lovely to say, but means nothing at all if I don't actually put it into practice, as with most things. 

Back to the coffee table with this irregular girl to her fast moving, small scale operation of putting the craft back in Craft, quite possibly the dirtiest of words in the world of creating ... you know, ever since someone decided sugar cubes and glue were meant to be used together, and that popsicle sticks were a legitimate medium.  Viva la Revolución!

Until next time,
xoxo

"Be kind. Everyone you meet is carrying a heavy burden."

-Ian MacLaren