In the airport now, with

In the airport now, with a cappucino and my feet up. The sun is out, my plane is on time, and all is right with the world.

Christmas Ornament Exchange Received

Today in the mail I received my ornament from Gillian in The Gift of Stitching Christmas Ornament Exchange. It was just the thing to get me in a good mood today. She also sent a nice card with hollyberries and a skein of silk floss. I believe the color is called Blue Lagoon. I'll have to find a biscornu chart for it.
I like this style of stitching more and more, and I'm glad someone else used over-one stitching. I have been working on an ornament for the past month that is have over-two and half over-one, and it's been driving me batty. None of my friends cross stitch and they all think I'm crazy for pursuing these tiny stitches.


Check out my first successful toe-up start. I did this Monday night with LOTS of help from Cassandra. At this point the stitches for this sock are parked on pens and spare needles while I use the size 11s to start the second sock. For some reason I couldn't finish off the sock. I want to make sure it is long enough in the cuff for my dad, so I want to see how long I can make them, and make sure they end up the same.

Last but not least, here's a view of Harry parked for the day on my bed in the middle of the Christmas wrapping mess.

Super fast socks

It's 9:30 am Wednesday morning and I already have half a sock! I finished turning the heel on the bus this morning. I started these slipper socks Monday night with lots of guidance from Cassandra. Another intense knitting session last night, and I was almost finished wtih the heel. Now I can knit the ribbed cuff on my bus ride home tonight, and maybe knit the second sock toe tonight while watching TV.

Why don't normal socks work up this fast?

Stitching plans

A lot of my friends are making gifts this year both as Christmas presents and for selling at craft fairs and a sci-fi convention that's happening in January. They flurry of actvity is high - with yarn, beads, thread, origami paper, and more being turned into beautiful wearable art. I myself have been stitching teeny tiny stitches on cross stitch ornaments. One was for an exchange I took part in (see earlier post). I have stitched one more and am trying to wrap up the tiny lettering on a third. Can't post pictures just yet as there is the chance that the recipients might see them here.

Oh, and I've just decided to add a knitting project into the mix as a Christmas present too. What am I thinking??? I don't even have the yarn yet. Tonight after work I am dashing to Windsor Button to get the yarn and needles, and meeting my friend Cassandra so she can show me the pattern. Nevermind that before I went away for Thanksgiving she wrote the pattern down for me and demonstrated the difficult bits on one she was making. Nevermind that I already made a gauge swatch, I have no memory of the pattern!

Craft fairs in Harvard Square

Saturday I met three friends in Harvard Square despite it being 18 degrees and went to two craft fairs. Right now I'm waiting for the subway to meet two more friends in Harvard Square to do thesme thing again and go for coffee and visit shops and such. Isn't life fun?
I am a little late in getting to the T because I got a call from a friend of mine who is pregnant. Can you believe I have FOUR pregnant friends right now? One is due in January and the other three are due in June. Congratulations to all my blessed friends.

Guess I had better find some cute patterns and start knitting...

Christmas Ornament Exchange 2008

This year I participated in my first exchange. This was a Christmas ornament exchange on the group of The Gift of Stitching Magazine.

Here is the front and back of the ornament I made for Jane in West Virginia. The pattern is from The Prairie Schooler Pamphlet "December". I stitched the pattern on 14 count white aida with 3 strands to make sure the stitches covered and gave it a plump look. I wasn't quite sure how to do the finishing, so I just did it like a normal sewed item would be, inside out, then reversed it and stuffed it. I made my own cord this time, but I feel like it should have been tighter.

This is also the first stitched ornament I've ever made. I was kind of sad to see it go, but I have the pattern still and can make one for myself if I feel like it. I don't usually go in for this style, simple country sampler sort of stuff, but it's growing on me.

Make your own glass from Corning Glass Studio

It'S here! Smaller than it was in my head, and a bit lighter in color than I wanted but still pretty and made by me. Did your pumpkin come yet?

Crafting Efforts

Lately I've been bouncing from one project to the next,

Prairie Schooler pamphlet December - Just started 11/13
TGOS Magazine Winter Wishes - Started 11/10. set of 4 ornaments. I've started one of them and already messed up the colors. It's one over one for all the wording and I'm NOT picking that out.

Snowed - In: Stitching complete, now I have to pick fabric for the back and sew it up. Is this a gift? for an exchange? For me?

Irish Hiking Scarf: This is really only knitting project I have going right now. I was initially hoping to finish it by Christmas, but I don't know who I would give it to. Apparently all the men on my list (dad, brother-in-law, future brother-in-law) don't really wear scarves. I will still keep working on it becuase it's a beautiful scarf.

Currently reading The Gurnsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. November 7 - I'm on page 17 of The Guernsey Literary and.... I'm really hoping I like it. I love the title, and made a mental note of it back in June. I love reading other people's letters!

November 14 - I keep reading this book on the bus during my commute to work. What I really need to do is settle down with the book at home tonight and read. I stumble on passages that are so touching they make me tear up, and I don't really want to cry on the bus, especially on my way to work, when I want to show up and look professional, not bedraggled.

Time to vote!

Riding the bus to work this morning we passed my polling place. The line of voters wrapped around the block and went on for two more blocks! I'd better bring some snacks when i vote tonight.

Halloween fun

This year Halloween was fun! I went to a party with some friends and before we went out, they dressed me up as Red Riding Hood. More pictures to follow of the crew, but here is the main part of my costume. Yay!

Every year I take my birthday of from work, because really it should be a national holiday! Today I am sitting around at home, uploading photos, reorganizing my closet and blasting some great tunes. Imagine my surprise when the doorbell rings and I'm sitting at my computer still in my pjs. I scrambled to put on jeans and shoes, and when I got down to the door there was a delivery person with an Edible Arrangement bouquet from my friend Amy! Fantastic! Pretty fruit that I can eat - I don't think this will last long. Thanks Amy! What a great surprise.

This week did not start out well. Monday morning I was about to leave for work when I realized that I didn't have my subway pass. It's a plastic card that I can reload each month, so in losing it I lost $2.00, my October pass AND my November pass that I bought last week for $59.00. Man!

Shirt sleeves

It's funny how one little thing can make your day. This morning I decided to dress better for work and wear an actual shirt - button down, not a t-shirt or made of t-shirt jersey. Amazing. I have a short sleeve button down emerald green shirt in my closet. It has little pearl buttons that make the sleeves like french cuffs. I bought this shirt last October (11 months ago) along with the same shirt in maroon to go with a jacket - in that fall spurt of I-have-to-shop-and-buy-all -nice-professional-clothes-and-stop-dressing-like-a-shlub insanity. Imagine my surprise when I went to put on the green shirt this morning and the price tag was still attached to the label. I'm sure I've worn this shirt before...or at least thought about it quite a lot. I know I've worn the maroon shirt because I wore it with the jacket I bought to a work conference (the event that set off the shopping spree last year). I liked the shirt but was a bit uncomfortable with the sleeves, cute as they are. That little french cuff detail doesn't lie flat under a sleeve when the shirt sleeve is already as tight as it can get on your arm. Last fall wearing that shirt it was bunching up, a little too tight for my body, definitely too tight for my liking on the arms.

Pleasant surprise of the morning - putting on said green shirt and realizing that it fits just fine. The sleeves do not dig into my arms. I can raise my arms over my head! No puckering anywhere - bust, stomach, shoulders...in fact now it might be a little big in the bust.

On September 1st I stepped on the scale to see where I stand, and according to the scale I've lost 7 pounds this summer. I didn't believe it, but I weighed myself again on the 7th, and still the same lower number. I haven't been working out or being a control freak about food. Now that I can see the difference in a tangible way - this shirt fitting better, I'm starting to believe the loss is real. Hooray!

I got sushi for lunch in an attempt to stop my bad day from getting any worse. I just opened the container and there is no ginger or wasabi, and my chopsticks are from 7 11! Come on!

3 repeats to go

IMG_1540
Originally uploaded by ilembach

Last night I took the shawl I'm making off the needles (held together instead by my red yarn lifeline) and spread it out on the futon to see what the shape will really look like. I think Jimmy's right - it might take more repeats to make this thing long enough. When I held it up against myself, the bottom point was at my waist, and I couldn't really hold on to the wide points. I'd like it so that my friend can wrap it around herself a little, you know? She's much slimmer than me, so I know it will fit her a bit different, but I'd still like it to be bigger and cozy.

Priscilla Ahn

Last Friday I stumbled on to Priscilla Ahn's video featured on Please Be Still.

This song Dream has been stuck in my head ever since. I had to find it on Amazon and download the album. Lilting, haunting, makes me want to curl up in a chair with a long-sleeved sweater andd gaze dreamily out the window at falling leaves snow. Sort of like the first time I heard All Mixed Up by Red House Painters.

Is it wrong that I miss fall? I want it to be fall so badly. The change in weather, new beginnings, the change to change my life's direction.

Here's another video by Priscilla Ahn - the boob song. I like this song too but it must be one of her newer ones as I can't find it anywhere but in clips from concerts on YouTube.

My new purr-se

Cable crazy? Me?

In the past 24 hours I've gone from thinking "one day I'll get to try making cables - when I have more time, not a big project going on, some really nice yarn, and already know how to do cables!!!" to "when I get home tonight I have to pull all my knitting books and thumb through to find the perfect beginner cable pattern. Or maybe a quick how-to piece in my instructional book. I'm intimidated" I want to start right now! Last weekend I went galavanting around the cape with friends and we ended up at the Ladybug Knitting Shop to get one of them reenergized about yarn and knitting. To make a long story short, everyone but me bought the same cabled wristlet pattern and they've been knitting like crazy on it, so excited about the yarn and the pattern.

Today I checked my email and found out the yarn shop near my house is having a SALE, and now I plan to go and buy my first Debbie Bliss cashmerino yarn. Since I started knitting last fall I've wanted that yarn. Yay! Now I need to figure out what to make. I'm pretty sure I'm going to start with the Irish Hiking Scarf pattern. My friend Jimmy has been working on this one, and to me it looks super complex, but people in my group keep telling me it's a lot easier than it looks. There is even a whole blog about knitting this scarf pattern. Crazy!

I think I might end up using this weekend to:

- finish the knitted cell phone case (90% done)
- try to finish the shawl I'm making (30% done)
- practice cabling using good old red heart
- finish the socks I started way back in March (90% done)

Maybe that last one is a bit extreme...

SANTA BARBARA

SANTA BARBARA
Originally uploaded by rimljancek

Look at this funky postcard! Is it a cat doing yoga, or the hustle. Who can tell?

Last week at the library I found a copy of Yarn Harlot: The Secret Life of a Knitter by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee on the new reads shelf and snapped it up. Yesterday I started reading the stories about knitting, stashing yarn around the house, and working on old unfinished projects. I know I've talked about UFOs before, but the story about Stephanie's pile of works in progress that threatened to take over her bedrooom when assembled caused me to wonder - how many porojects do I have in my apartment?

Two apartments ago I invited my sister Gretchen for a visit and we launched an attack on stuff. One of the things she had a hard time with was my amount of art/crafting/hobby stuff. Gretchen does not really have hobbies that accumulate stuff, as expecially craft activities require. I can imagine what she would say if she saw the sheer volume I now have in my space, just from adding knitting to my list of likes.

At least with my knitting/crochet projects, Ravelry allows me to keep the 'in progress' stuff in check. All the project shown in the top row are unfinished. I can enter all the stats of a project - needle size, yarn, progress, problems, and pics.



I wish I had a similar system for tracking my cross stitch projects, as though take much longer to complete. I try and post about them here on the blog, but as you can see I've had a hard time posting frequently.


In the past week I've been working on:
Love My Cat by Lizzie Kate (cross stitch)
Historic Countries Mystery Sampler in The Gift of Stitching Magazine (cross stitch)
Babette Blanket from Interweave Knits Magazine (crochet)
Basketweave Scarf from Lion Brand website (knitting)

Summer Revels

Yesterday I went to Summer Solstice Revels at the waterfront. Free live music, great food, a beautiful day.

Bunnies!

Bunnies that bake cupcakes, that is! OH MY GOD!

Office 2007 site interview

www.bunnyblab.com

Last night I started a new cross stitch project, Love My Cat, on 32 count natural linen. I don't seem to have the right size hoop for this project so I'm just holding it in my hand. I haven't done a project this way in a long time.

I've also been thinking a lot about plastic lately. How nearly everything has some component made of plastic. It's funny, when I first went vegetarian I was staying away from all things leather, but now I would rather wear leather shoes so that least the origin of the materials is natural, not oil or synthesized in a lab. I guess what I'm trying to do really is to reduce waste, not necesarily plastic, though plastic contributes greatly to the waste problem. Maybe I've been reading too many Eco blogs. Lately one of my faves is Fake Plastic Fish where Beth blogs about her crusade against all plastic and keeps a chart of her own plastic consumption. There's also Living Plastic Free that has tips about how to reduce your own plastic use.

I guess I feel like I've really slipped on living my environmental ideals in the past few years. Maybe so much of it has been part of mainstream thinking, or part of my everyday life, that I forget I'm doing it.

Here's a list of tips for being more eco-friendly that I've absorbed from various tv shows, magazines, blogs, etc:
Things I do-
-RECYCLE
-stop using plastic bags/bring your own bag
-use a water filter instead of buying bottled water
-take short showers/time your showers
-use public transportation

Things I don't do yet-
-compost your waste
-turn off the faucet when you brush your teeth
-only buy products in recyclable/reusable packaging
-unplug electronics when not in use

New grocery baskets

Kristin, I thought you would get a kick out of this-

I went grocery shopping for the first time in a month(!) and discovered that there are new hand baskets. These have two kinds of handles, the standard middle basket handle, but they have this new long handle, and wheels at one end of the basket, so you can drag the basket behind you at the store. Too cute! I think kids would have fun with these, and I'm sure it helps the elderly while they are shopping.

My friend Andrea (featured in the horrible photo above taken wtih my cell phone) commented that these new baskets are double the size of the old, so her old gauge of when to stop buying won't work anymore.

Shopping crazy

This time of year always sends me into a shopping rage, wanting to buy new clothes to endure the hot summer, fun cheap shoes because hey, it's summer, and my financies surely know that I need to spend some extra cash. Last weke I bought 3 pairs of shoes at Payless. Yesterday I tried on cropped pants, capris, and was desperately searching for a fun but okay for work skirt. Do I need more clothes? I probably have enough cropped pants and things from last year left over that I don't need any more. But I don't think I even own a skirt, so I'd like to purchase and actually wear one this summer.

Why stop at clothes and shoes? I ordered a messenger bag from ebags.com that should arrive next week, and I have a whole list of books and music that I want to get. Most of those can wait though. Books never go out of style. :)

I did buy a book yesterday for a book club I joined through Meetup.com that discusses classic books. The book for this Sunday is Narcissus and Goldmund by Herman Hesse. I've never read his work but he has this reputation of being a deep thinker. I am only on chapter 4 so I doubt I'll finish the book by Sunday, but I have to try. This will be my first book club meeting ever, and I'm not sure how things work. Are there set topics? Do people talk in turn about the book? I'm hoping that it's not like some of the grad courses I took as an undergrad, where I felt like I was the only person in the room who wasn't up to speed. Ah, the pressure! I need to relax about it, go expecting only to meet new people, maybe get a good cup of coffee. And who knows, maybe I'll like the book! I haven't joined up with a group in the past becuase I had absolutely no interetest in what they were reading. This time, I figured I had to take the plunge.

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Hubba-Bubba Nightmare

It's a beautful Saturday outside. The heatwave has gone, the sun is out, lots of fun and free things to do outside, and where am I? Sitting in my apartment at my messy desk, sorting through receipts as far back as January 2007. Thing is, I feel like organizing my receipts - going through the drawer full of them, sniffing them out in the various piles in my apartment, used as bookmarks in books I haven't finished reading, still in plastic bags with purchases, all those online purchases I've made and not written down, TODAY is the DAY!

I used to be very good about keeping track of my expenses, how much I'd spent on eating out, extra things, household expenses, ect, thanks to sitting down and entering things into Quicken on my computer. Well, this year I haven't really done this at all. I vowed to clean it all up and enter things and get a clearer picture of my finances before I moved in March, but that didn't happen, what with um, moving and all. Now here I am, almost 3 months in to living in my new fab place, and receipts are just a small part of the paper disaster that is my apartment. It's rare that one gets the movitavation to tackle an enormous project like this, and today I have that strength. Some might say, why not just throw it all out? It's not like keeping hold of your ATM receipts is going to do you any good. True, true. I no longer keep ATM receipts, or ones from places such as Starbucks, places where I would refuse a receipt if I could, but they force them on you.

SO, now that I've procrastinated a bit and written on my blog *yay* I will dive into my desk and hope I come out the other side without any papercuts.

Incidentally, if you wondering what the title is about, then you clearly haven't discovered The Mighty Boosh!

Stupidity

Tonight while making dinner I cut my thumb on the edge of a tin can. I wasn't looking while I dumped water from the can over the kidney beans in the strainer, and I stuck it right into my thumb. It's amazing how something so small can hurt so much. That thought that maybe the cut is deeper than I think passes through, but there isn't that much blood, I have to be rational, wash it out, apply pressure to stop the bleeding, and deal. It seems to have stopped bleeding, but I just feel stupid. Ugh.

I might be on the news tonight!

I was walking to the Davis Square T with a friend and was stopped by a reporter from Channel 7. She wanted to show us a clip of a guy exiting the T (running through the exit and on his way) who dropped something which turned out to be a wad of cash. He didn't look down or anything. She asked us if we had ever dropped/lost anything and how did it make us feel? Then she showed us the clip in slo-mo twice and asked us more questions and our names. I would have kept on going but my friend was nice and stopped to talk to her. I guess we'll see if we're on the 11 o'clock news tonight. At least my hair was nice today!

Craftastic - Sock Wars, Naked Llamas, and New Hampshire

Well, I'm dead. This pretty pair of yellow/blue/green socks was my end. Ikumi from Maryland did a great job and knitted her fingers raw during the first weekend of sock wars III. I knew I wouldn't finish my socks, but I didn't even get halfway down one! On the right is the sock I made for my target in Tennessee, but I mailed to my assassin Ikumi for finishing. May the sock gods be with her! This pattern was really hard. I thought I would have a tough time because I've only been knitting for 6 months but everyone was posting on the forums that the pattern was impossible. At least I picked up some new stitches for my arsenal!


Here's Harry looking at me as I packed up my unfinished sock "maybe now she'll brush me". Isn't he cute? I should make him a little hat and making sweater. Or maybe I should spin his fur into yarn and make myself a sweater!






















Last but not least, on May 10th I went to the New Hampshire Sheep and Llama Festival with my knitting group. What fun! There were vendors selling handmade pieces, yarn, wool, spinning wheels, and even llamas! I bought some nice wool yarn which will look pretty on my shelf until I figure out what to make with it. And here's a picture of some of my nitting crew, loaded up with yarn and kettle corn made on the spot.

Wound Too Tight

This morning while waiting for the bus, I watched as a man unwrapped a Ghiradelli mint chocolate square, put the chocolate in his mouth, and dropped the wrapper on the ground in one smooth motion. Infuriating! He was standing next to the Metro paper box and I wanted something to read on the bus, so I grabbed a paper and bent down and picked up his trash. I walked 15 feet behind where we were standing, and threw the wrapper away.

A few minutes later, he did the same thing. THE SAME THING! INFURIATING! I know both times he consciously dropped the trash. I don't know if he saw me pick up the first wrapper. But after dropping the second he started to walk away. I caught him and asked him to pick up the wrapper. I don't remember what was said now, but we had this weird exchange of me trying to get him to pick it up, him saying that he's keeping that guy who's sweeping employed. I picked up the wrapper and threw it in the trash (which is a big bin next to the entrance of the Davis Square Suway). Then he said something about not seeing the trashcan, etc., and mumbled, and said Thank you! I think I said it's okay, you're welcome, as I tried to turn down my seething anger at a total stranger. Then he walked away down the street.

I take it he wasn't waiting for the bus. He must have been, in fact, standing there and eating his chocolate in order to drop the trash in the path of the person sweeping the ground. AUGH! How does this make sense?

I think I'm a bit stressed out.

Slow but Sure Progress

So, this morning I had my annual physical with my primary care doctor, and she showed me that I've lost 14 pounds since my last physical a year ago yesterday. Amazing! I have felt that I've made no progress, which I know not to be true. I mean, I knew I had lost about 10 pounds, but I wasn't sure what my highest weight was to count down from, and each time I see a change in the scale my mind says, okay now you've reached the 10 pound mark.

I think I will take myself to the movies tonight to celebrate and go see There Will Be Blood. Woohoo!


I have lots of other things to post about, like the fact I moved to a new, nicer, bigger, apartment with big windows on the 15th, I finished 3 knitting projects, and I'm going to start knitting socks next week to prepare for Sock Wars!!! Cassandra in my knitting group mentioned that the next Sock Wars begins in May. *Girly Scream* She is currently knitting two socks at-the-same-time-on-the-same-needles using the magic loop method. She is a knitting goddess.

So, maybe this weekend I'll catch up on my posts while I unpack the rest of my boxes (which means-open them, dump everything on the floor, and flatten the box).

Ta-ta!

Roll Brim Hat

Roll Brim Hat
Originally uploaded by ilembach

My completed hat! It's my first project that's done in the round, and the first wearable thing that I've kept. Watch for many more circular projects.

Participate!

Thanks to gleek and her impromptu blog, I have discovered Improv Everywhere. I will link straight to the clip that got me hooked.



If I walked in on a scene like this, my mind would jump immediately to that alien invasion/chemical warfare/Armageddon place. Seeing it on YouTube? Fantastic. Check out the main group site too, strange stuff. I've always had a hard time accepting performance art as "true art". Having gone through art school and created my own required performance art pieces, the question for me is whether putting a normal action into the the context of performance art really makes it art? What is the significance? Mission statement? Does it have to be stated to make a point across, or is that cancelling out the performance itself?

Here is another performance art piece done by one of the clients my company has worked with, Liz Lerman Dance Exchange and Bowen McCauley Dance involving construction equipment.

Catching up on posts

I am taking a two-week class called Knitting in the Round to learn, what else, but circular knitting! Last Thursday (yes, it was Valentine's Day, which shows you what my love life is like if I'm living it up in a knitting class) I went to the first class and learned how to gauge my stitches and how to make a piece circular. Pretty easy actually, though I seem to be dropping a lot more stitches than before. Maybe these needles are slipperier than I'm used to....Anyway, I've got to knit in the round for 6 inches by this Thursday. Only 2 inches to go, and then I will learn how to decrease. Yay!

Here is a picture of my last finish, a dishcloth made from Lion Cotton. It looks nice, but after all that work am I really going to use it to scrub pots? Don't think so. Maybe I can give it to someone so they can scrub with it.






Here are shots of my two current cross stitch projects.




Last but not least, I went to DSW this weekend and bought some funky shoes. I'm not sure what to wear the sparkly shoes with other than jeans. When I bought the shoes I was thinking I could wear them to work, but with what? I don't have a sparkly shirt...or do I? I have a white round neck shirt with big glittery stones along the neckline. That would work, right?

Hooray for Dermatology

This morning I had my first dermatology appointment in at least 5 years. it has taken me 6-9 months to book an appointment that was not mysteriously wiped out of the computer system. Repeatedly I asked friends for referral names, called offices, and made appointments. Repeatedly I was told the doctor was:
-not accepting new patients
-on sabbatical
-on maternity leave
-not availble for 6 months, and they couldn't schedule that far out.

AUGH! I finally found an office in Cambridge with Harvard Vanguard, and made an appointment 3 months out. I called to confirm a week before the appointment, and they had no record of me. I tried again. I called to confirm a month before, and no go, no appointment. This time, I somehow managed to secure an appointment with a female dermatologist, and actually see her!

She confirmed my treatment options for rosacea, wrote me a new prescription, and told me that my painful face is most likely because of the harsh weather we are having. Right now as I type, my face feels like it's burning. It's very red. I haven't been outside for two hours, and today is a warm day 43 degrees (wind chill 35 degrees). This week I've also had a lot of break-out effect from the rosacea.

Dr. Noree also removed a bunch of skin tags for me. Hallelujah!

Yay for tax refunds!

I filed my federal and state taxes electronically on Sunday, and today I logged in to my bank account online and already I can see a pending transaction for my $163 MA refund. Yippee!

Books for All

The flow of books in and out of my life is is at tidal wave intensity right now. They are like bunnies, multiplying when my back is turned, appearing in my handbag as if from nowhere. If I manage to give away, donate, or sell a book or two, the very same day I bring a new book into my life. Let's examine the previous 7 days:

2/5 +4
Purchased 1 book at Borders
Received 5 books by mail from this book club I just signed up for (bad!)
Sent away two books requested through BookMooch

2/4 -2
Sent away two books requested through BookMooch

2/3 0
no book flow
Finished reading 1 book, listed it on BookMooch to give away

2/2 +3
Brought 5 bags of stuff to Goodwill Stores (no books in that)
Purchased 3 books at Goodwill Stores

2/1 +2
Received 2 books through BookMooch

In summary, I have 7 more books than I started out with. Bad book purger!

Clear that Clutter!

On Sunday I finally took a load of things to the Goodwill Store down the street. New year's day I began going through all the hidey-holes in my apartment to get rid of the things I don't use/don't like/don't want that would still be useful to someone else. Less than a week after I started the piles, I came down with the flu and missed a week of work. Whoops! It's taken me until now to get motivated and get this stuff out of my apartment.

I ended up with three trash bags and two brown paper bags full of stuff. After I called the cab to take me the mile to the store, I began moving the bags out to the street so I'd be ready. There was already an office chair out there looking for a home. I took it along with me in the cab and donated it along with the rest.

I didn't escape goodwill with nothing though.
I ended up buying three (3) books:
-The Piano Tuner (my cokworker recommended it)
-Bibliotherapy: The Girl's Guide to Books for Every Phase of Our Lives
-Betty Crocker Slower Cooker Cookbook

Starting SBQ

Now to something new...SBQ

This week's question ~ What was your favorite finish of 2007?
Well, I'm not sure I finished more than one thing - it's hard to remember at the moment, but I have to say the wedding sampler for my sister is my favorite. It's also my biggest finish, and my first framed finish.


Here is the answer to last week's as well - Are you starting something new to celebrate the New Year or participating in “Guilt Free January?” If so, what are you planning on starting?
I am working on the historic countries mystery sampler, featured monthly in The Gift of Stitching. It started in September and I was really excited, but the wedding sampler had to get finished before I could really get going on this big challenge. Now I hope to work on this as my main project. Maybe by the end of January I'll finish the September piece? I doubt it, but it'll be fun trying.

The flu is no fun

Today is the first day in a week that I have:
-checked my email,
-put on clothes that are not pajamas
-done any work
-stayed awake for more than 4 hours at a stretch
-worked on my cross stitch

I've been stuck at home with a really bad case of the flu since last Friday. I went to work Friday morning feeling really tired, and by noon I was sick. My coworkers told me to go home. I was sure I could manage until 3 though, and that was a BAD idea! Monday I went to the doctor and managed to throw up and almost pass out during my vsit. Yay! I've now sort of recovered, but my plumbinng is broken and my landlord is here right now snaking the drain. I'm planning on going to work tomorrow even if I don't feel any better because I'm so sick of being home!

I do feel better. I'm sitting up, checking my work email and chipping away at the easy questions. I've only taken ibuprophen today, no Dayquil. I'm still coughing a lot, and tired, and a little dizzy, so I guess it's good that I didn't go in today. That was the plan, to go to work, but when my shower and toilet backed up with water and soapsuds last night at 7pm, I knew I wasn't going anywhere today. This same problem with the drain has happened at least two other times, the last time being in October. Enough already! Time to move out. As soon as possible.

At last, it's finished

This is a picture of my sister Kristin and her husband Doug. I stitched this wedding sampler for them originally as a wedding present for their wedding on October 20, 2007. When I realized that I wasn't going to finish in time, I got them somemthing else for the wedding, and instead I gave this to them for Christmas. As you can see in the picture, I'm not very good at framing. This is the first time I've framed anything, and I used the sticky mounting board. There must be a technique to it, because it still doesn't look straight within the mat. I hope they like it. I enjoyed stitching it, but there was so much tiny detail it took forever! I think I worked on it every night for a month, but then I would need a break and avoid it for two weeks. I started it in April I think, so it took me 9 months.

January Goals

I am so tempted to post here a super long list of resolutions, such as getting up earlier or learning to knit socks, and participating in the SBQ posting and blogging on a regular basis, but a long list of resolutions tends to intimidate me and I just think about all the things I haven't done. I hope to create a list of things that I'd like to try instead.
Okay, forget it, here's the start of my list. I'll add to it as I go...

- Take medications regularly
- finish three scarves for donation to Rosie's Place (with my knitting group)
- cross stitch some easter cards
- Go to the gym
- Go through my apartment and clear out stuff for donation
- Take donations to Goodwill
- Knit a pair of socks
- Backup all music on computer
- Visit my friend Amy
- Visit my sister Gretchen
- Complete Historic Countries Sampler
Funny, now that I'm writing the list down, I'm blanking. Well, I'll fill this in as I think of things.


Here is how far I've gotten on the Historic Countries Mystery Sampler featured in
The Gift of Stitching Magazine. It's a massive twelve part sampler that started back in September. The January issue just came out with parts four and five and now I am WAY behind. The main reason I haven't made any progress is that I was working on a gift for my sister, which I'll post more on later. I also chose to order natural linen, which is coarse and darker than I had wanted. I was so eager to begin that I cut the fabric, ran the edges through the sewing machine, and got started. I would start over with a new piece of fabric, but the fabric was really expensive. I've never spent $50 on fabric before. I'm hoping that the darker fabric will look nice in the end, but right now I'm wondering if I should just give up. Ugh.