simpletruths

Progress and improvements

Knitting is very much unlike crocheting, but I think I'm getting the hang of it. Being new to knit, I have realized that I need to pay much more attention to gauge - the cowl I thought I was making has turned out to be a hat for my 8 month old son - oops. 

Of course being proficient (albeit at a beginner level) with knitting has old added to my list of projects I want to complete. 

 

Here's how far I've gotten in a month

 

Orange buttoned neck warmer*  finished

Spring scarves (3)*

Buttoned neck warmers

Funky, chunky cowl  infant hat?

Adult brimmed beanies  *

Kids brimmed beanie *

Baby bonnet didn't' turn out how I wanted, boo

Toddler shell beanie* finished, adorable

Slippers/house shoes  WIP

Green stripped scarf finished

Flower Headbands finished one, more to come

Market bags

slouchy beret

wrist warmers

bell sleeved dance shrug

bun cover finished

knit cowl - attempt #2 WIP

4 infant shell beanies finished

 

For the love of paper

I'm ready to admit it.

 

 

I love notebooks...a lot - I think it's becoming a problem.

 

I like handmade ones, ones made from recycled paper, sleek minimalist types, kind of silly, huge, tiny.  This is just some of the notebooks I have. There are another 3 in my nightstand, 2 in the car, at least 2 stashed away in a purse somewhere.  There's one on the bookshelf too - it's camouflaged. 

 

My notebook compulsion started back in high school when I used to write a lot - poetry, short stories mostly.  I found that having a notebook around was quite handy, and being in school - it really wasn't that difficult. I did have 2 notebooks that were dedicated to my writings - one for the initial scribbling and the fervent writing down of thoughts, phrases and ideas before they escaped...they other was for the polished, 'final draft' version.  Painstakingly rewritten as neatly as I could bring myself to write (I have a tendency to write very quickly, even when I'm not in a hurry, which doesn't lend itself to neatness.)

 

Sometime in college - when I apparently decided I was no longer anti-purse, I  started buying a few more, smaller notebooks to carry around. Of course I was still in school so backpack tethered and classroom bound I always had a notebook somewhere.

 

The craziness started to seep out after graduation. I bought a smallish notebook for jotting down things on the bus or during breaks at my (very isolated and lonely) job at Mills College in the conference center. But it would occasionally get left at home - so I made sure I had one in my desk at work. At this point it was all still manageable - we're talking about a few spiral bound small to medium sized notebooks I bought at Walgreen's while I was picking up chapstick.

 

At some point (and I'm not entirely sure when this happened) I started paying attention to what the  notebooks looked like, what they felt like, whether or not it was a local designer, what it would be used for.  I had notebooks for budgeting, for poems, for sketching, for business ideas...and now?  Now I have a dozen or so notebooks who's use is "to be determined"

 

  

Finished projects

I've been working very hard at actually finished the projects that I start.  The accountablility here is a big motivator. Here are a few projects I've recently completed. 

   

flowerheadband from this pattern: http://creativeyarn.blogspot.com/2008/05/headband-with-flower.html

 

 

 chain link necklace

 

 

A couple of scarves for a couple of guys

 A pair of my fingerless gloves in action (and at the Fashion Institute of Technology no less)

Thank you to morgan and lauren - you have officially become my product models.

Baby girl crochet

I finally finished a few things I've been working quite diligently on. Among the completed creations are three gifts for a good friend's baby shower coming up next month. 

 I don't want to spoil the surprise.

BUT, I'm so excited that they're done that I wanted to post something. so, here's a little peek.

 

Pictures of some other finished projects to come soon.

Homemade yumminess

I ran into a friend of mine on my/our way to work this morning (we work in the same building). 

Now, when I say I ran into her, I really mean that I breezed past here in my commute - must get to Starbucks- stupor; I typically work from home on Fridays so I was a bit out of sorts. Anyway, Alex (the a mentioned friend), pulls out this adorable jar of goodness from what must be a magical purse and said that is was for me:

That's right, homemade lemon-ginger marmalade, for me.  On a day that I don't even usually come to work. Right before day-two of meetings. From someone who probably doesn't know that lemon and ginger are two of my favorite things.

Thank you Alex, for my little jar of delicious, lemony sunshine.

 

What's for dinner?

 

carmelized onion, wilted chard, and goat cheese on garlic flat bread