One By One

Resurfacing

Yep, I'm still here. It's been a very busy couple of months.

In a nutshell...

    I attended Sock Summit in Portland...

        opened an Etsy Store...

            had a major, but not surprising, death in the family...

                been embroidering for DH's work...

                    keeping busy with a now toddler...

                        trying to sew as often as I can.

I hope to not neglected the blog in the future. Sorry blog, I didn't mean to. 

I'm going to bow out of a SS09 post. Please see Kris' posts here here here and here - she did a great job of blogging it! It was a really wonderful trip, and I was so glad to have had the opportunity to attend. It was a seriously life-changing trip for me. And it was so great to spend time with Kris!

I am super excited about my Etsy store. Please visit it if you get a chance, and maybe add me to your favorites, hint hint hint! I have had three sales thus far - not groundbreaking, but exciting to me :)

My paternal grandmother passed away mid-August, after her seven year battle with ovarian cancer. It was something we were all expecting, but it is never possible to be completely prepared for it. It was a very busy couple of weeks during that time for us. 

Jake is growing so fast - currently 15 months old! He is doing something new everyday. He seems to be finally conquering walking, making it his means of mobility about 50% of the time. I should have a video of him up in a couple of days. He now has 11 teeth, and working on another molar as we speak. 

And sewing! I have been getting time in here and there. I have been currently obsessed with t-shirt re-fashioning and circle shirts from recycled materials. I have also been working tirelessly on my first pattern! My plan is to put it up for sale in my Etsy Store. All in all, I hope to get caught up with pictures soon!

Thank you for stopping by and reading!

What a mess!

I've really done it this time. I had the brilliant idea of re-vamping my sewing and crafty room. It used to look something like this, but now it is in absolute shambles:

 

 

What on earth have I gotten myself into?!

Well, after much deliberation I decided that the layout and storage situation was no longer working for me. I want to "see" everything I have on a whim, not have to dig through storage boxes to find what I am looking for. Not only that, but for some reason I was feeling very claustrophobic and uninspired in the space.

The underlying problem is that we are cat owners (um, yeah, three of them). They just love to climb on the bookcase shelves to play and sleep. Not much of an issue except that they knock things to the ground and leave hair everywhere. So at the time, storage boxes were the only solution.

But after spending some time flipping through my Ikea catalog, I discovered that I can get doors for the bookcases without having to replace the unit entirely, and not have to spend a fortune for the cabinet option. I was extremely ecstatic!

Until I discovered a couple of days ago that Ikea no longer carries the deepest side filling units, the ones necessary for the bookcases we have... Something that is absolutely needed to enclose the bookcases and protect its contents from the fuzzy-faces we share our living space with. Quite a speed bump, and a project halter.

But after some brainstorming with DH and mom, as well as paint and fabric discussion with E, I think I'm back on track.

It's going to take longer than anticipated, but I think I will be very happy with the final results! Stay tuned!!

A new chapter begins...

I'm having a hard time posting this one.

Reality has yet to set in.

I have to remember that as one chapter closes another one opens. It's hard to let someone go, even if it's for the best; and you envy them, really, for being so brave; for moving forward, planning for the future. And it's not like I won't ever get emails, or phone calls, or have visits; it's just the weekly things that are taken for granted, that will be terribly missed with one of us gone.

Kris and Miyon came over last night. Yep, our weekly knit-night-three-some changed locales for the evening as Kris's house was packed up and prepared for their cross-country move.

I tried out a couple new recipes that I learned last week during a cooking class at Great News! BBQ'd tri-tip and chipolte orange baked beans - yum! It was a hit :)

We settled into our evening - knitting, chatting, watching a dvr'd show. The evening flew by way to quickly.

One last shot before our knitting-group good-byes:

No tears yet, though, I'm refusing. I will see Kris again tomorrow and on Sunday.

What was three, is now two. But we will go on - a bi-coastal knit group -  and let's not forget that there are grand plans for Rhinebeck and Stitches West (and maybe East too?) - where the three of us will definitely knit-on.

A Weekend of Organization and Homework

...but first it was a little fun at Knitting in La Jolla on Saturday morning:

I picked up some Rowan Cashsoft Aran in Oatmeal for Stitches Homework and some learning in the continental style, and the most recent issue of Family Circle Easy Knitting. I know, I know, 'Family Circle Easy Knitting'? Not my typical magazine purchase, but I just feel in love with:

 

Way cute - Couldn't pass it up!

Then it was onto organization - of my craft / sewing / computer room. I guess I shouldn't complain about having to make it a workable area.... it's where I get to store yarn, patterns, books, fabric and everything else sewing...

Before:

After:

Much better! I still have a mini-tower of boxes to go through, but they contain items that belong elsewhere in the house. Our bedroom will be next - but that requires the purchase of a wardrobe unit :)

Then it was onto the swatches needed for the finishing class I'm signed up for during Stitches West... here they are, blocking away:

I need to pick up some true stitch holders, my waste yarn just isn't going to do :) They look a bit on the pink side in the picture, but they are a more wintery white. I. Love. This. Yarn. It is so soft and luxurious. I used this same yarn, in it's DK weight, in knitting Cassie's bolero, and it was a joy to work with. I look forward to teaching myself (and practicing) the continental style of knitting. I think a scarf is in order!

Talk about a strange week...

In my entire existence (okay a whole twenty-something years) I have never had such a weird week...

Exhibit One - My car. Randomly it decided to semi-overheat (loud hissing noise, temp needle in the red) while I was driving on the freeway Tuesday. Now, I've had some major issues with my car (um, like replacing an engine), so needless to say I was a bit peev'd. Andy came to my rescue at the side of the freeway, and everything under the hood looked fine. We decided to drive it home, only two miles, and it was fine. Since we've had some not-so-great experiences with the car, we took it to a mechanic. Eight miles later, it was fine. The diagnosis from the mechanic - um, we're not sure what happened, all tests are good, except that there are hydrocarbons in the coolant which could mean that there is something wrong with a casket (insert some mechanic terms that I don't understand), we think if we pull out said casket and test it then we might find that this is the problem. Price tag - $1700! WHAT?!?

We decide to take it to the mechanic that installed the engine. They determine after a full day of tests (the other mechanic only tested it for an hour), that they don't know what happened either. They did test said casket without having to remove it, and they said it was fine. So, a new radiator cap and coolant flush later - only $115. Much better. But so weird that the car over-heated on me and that no one else could get it to happen. Typical, very typical.

Exhibit Two - CoWorker. Okay, Friday... It's 10AM, a co-worker has not been to the office yet. I'm worried. No one has seen her or heard from her. I'm more worried. I call her cell phone - no answer. Hmm, how weird... this is so unlike her. Fifteen minutes later, a call from her roommate... um, "said coworker" told me to call you... she just called me, she didn't come home last night and she called me from... jail. WHAT?!? This can't be true... it is so unlike the coworker. An hour later, she calls me, obviously tired and emotion... I told her to stay home and sleep - we could survive the day without her - and if she needed anything, anything at all, to give me a call.

Exhibit Three - My Cat Can't Pee. Funny, but really not. Andy and I did not go home on Friday after work because my company had their annual Christmas party in Orange County. It's pretty cool because those that go to the party from out of town are hosted to a hotel room, on the company. Sweet. So, just like we do every year, we go. We met Erika for breakfast on Saturday morning (again, a typical annual thing), and start heading home. When we get home, Spike is having some MAJOR problems. I will spare the mental graphics. Anyway, we pack him up and take him to the only vet open - an Animal ER (so let's just say the money that we saved on the car is no more). They whisked him away immediately. Diagnosis - blocked urethra. Don't know what has caused the blockage to occur yet, but as of late last night he was doing well. The vet said we were lucky, we caught it just in time... it had not caused backflow to Spike's kidneys, therefore not effecting his blood (Thank God!). The vet is concerned because the blockage was pretty far up (again sparing graphics) and that is very unusual. We may have to have them do an ultrasound just to make sure there isn't a bigger problem. Today will be all about flushing Spike's system, and if everything is okay, he will be able to come home tonight. Keep your fingers crossed... we miss him.

So, here's to staying home all day, watching football, and organizing my sewing area.... and hoping for a more mellow upcoming week!