Tulip Meets Daffodil

Moving and My New Crochet Rug Project

I wanted to check in before any more time went by...

I am still here, and still crocheting. Mostly on my new afghan - I'm probably 1/3 done now? Perhaps that's an optimistic estimate but I actually am making some progress.

And I do have a good excuse for my absence... (besides work, which I am also using as an excuse :)

We are moving. And my life looks like this right now:

Yes, my entire house is packed up in boxes until we actually move next Monday, (except for our bed, TV, couches, and my desk). We are only moving across town, but this really does feel just as inconvenient as if we were moving (again) across the country. Argh.

(Okay, maybe not as inconvenient, but still a pain.)

So we are in limbo' til next Monday - but life goes on don'tcha know.

Crochet is keeping me sane, though - and I am excited about another new project (yes, another). My sister just bought a beautiful new house and has asked me to crochet a small rug for in front of her kitchen sink. I really am super excited about it. I bought this yarn last night... it's Lily Sugar n' Cream 100% cotton. Yay cotton!

I found this lovely striping color in greens and blues, and some white skeins. Not 100% convinced yet that this is what I want to use, though. The color(s) are not what I pictured using, and I'm not sure that the striping yarn will look okay if I use multiple strands... but we'll see. Worst comes to worst, I'll stash it away for another project and start over.

(BTW, have I mentioned how much yarn I have to move across town? No? Well, never mind then... It's only, umm, a little. ;)

Also, please excuse the poor quality of these pics... I took them with my phone as my camera has also been packed away.

Ugh. :)

♥

My Current Work In Progress - yep, another afghan

I wanted to share my current work in progress.

Well, *one* of my works in progress.

I am still working on my ripple blanket, and I am still in love with it. I just needed a break from it. Just for a little while. (Love-you-miss-you-it's-not-you-it's-me, ripple!)

My aunt had made an afghan for my sister a few years ago - which turned out beautifully (and so comfy). I asked her for the pattern and I am really loving it - so pretty, and pretty easy. One of those "sit on the couch and zone out in front of the tv for hours but it's okay 'cause I'm crocheting" projects.

I am using Red Heart yarn, but not the Super Saver suggested in the pattern. I decided to use Red Heart Soft yarn, in a lovely Seafoam color. And while I've been a total yarn snob lately, and really, really into cotton yarns - I am really, really loving this Red Heart Soft. It's very similar to Caron Simply Soft yarn, which I've used before quite a bit, but I think I like the Red Heart better. I compared the two side by side in Michael's and I think the Red Heart Soft just feels better to the touch. More like a natural fiber than the Caron Simply Soft. 

Here's the start of my yarn stash for this project. I will need more. (Luckily, it's a no dye lot yarn so no stressing that I don't have enough! Love that.)

I'm also not following the sizing in this pattern either. You know me, I like my afghans big - like, really big. Lap throw? Not in this house. So it's at least twice as big as a lap throw. ...Sigh... Not sure why I do this to myself but I think it will be beautiful when done.

Here's a peek:

That's a J hook if you're wondering, and it's folded up so you can't really tell how big it is. But it's pretty darn big. :)

I'm trying my best to finish this in record time so that I don't have too many projects going on at once. We'll see... best intentions and all that.

Six Months and an Early Evening Walk with Patrick

It's kind of a special day...

Six months ago today I started this blog. OK - not exactly momentous... but I did want to mark the day in some way. I've truly enjoyed working on this blog. It's opened up (or should I say... kept open) a creative side of me which is important, and which I sometimes feel is lacking in my day-to-day life.

I used to make candles for a living. Yes, you read that correctly. For four years I was a full-time candlemaker. Hand-poured pillar candles were my specialty. I sold them online, at arts & craft festivals, and in some shops and spas. I was living in South Florida at the time, so my biggest account was actually a customer in the Bahamas. I would drop off approximately 1,400 pounds of hand-poured pillar candles at the port of Miami each time he ordered, my hands bruised and dyed blue, completely and utterly exhausted after weeks of work. And it was a lot of work. A lot. But I was able to use my imagination and creativity (almost) every day. For a living.

Eventually though, I became completely burned out by it. I ended up going back to the "business" world about five years ago, and I now spend my days at my computer working on PowerPoint, Excel and Word - instead of stirring melted wax all day, and playing with colors and scent.

Don't get me wrong, I really do love my life now. I work with some amazing clients, and I learn something new every single day. I am very fulfilled both personally and professionally.

And honestly, I don't miss candlemaking a bit - the stress of getting orders out, and the frustration I felt when a candle didn't come out perfectly after hours of work... it was all a bit much after a while. (In hindsight, I've come to the realization that my perfectionism did not meld well with that type of work. I was nearly driven insane. :)

But - I DO miss being creative, and making beautiful things with my own two hands on a daily basis.

So that's why this blog has become important to me. It's a great reminder that I need to stay creative - find interesting projects to do and actually finish them. (Easier said than done!) Also that I need to stop and appreciate the beautiful things around me... be it some pretty flowers, a sunset, or just a long walk with Patrick.

Speaking of Patrick... I wanted to share this snap my hubby took on Sunday. We went for a long, early evening walk with him. We kind of had a lazy weekend, so the poor pup was going a bit stir crazy. He was so excited to be out and about.

I just love how the shot turned out... so much movement - like you can actually see Patrick trotting along with a smile on his face and his tail wagging. :)

Dinner on the Patio

My hubby and I are moving to a new house at the end of the month. Argh. Yuck. Boo. Wah. Ugh.

Believe me, our new house is so gorgeous, I can't believe I actually get to live there, (the kitchen has an island, people - an island! I've never had one before!) I am just dreading the move itself.

But, we will get through it, as we always do. Everything will be fine. (No, really, it will.) (I keep telling myself.)

So we are trying to take advantage of some pre-move down-time. Living "normal" and calm lives before everything is thrown into boxes and chaos. Tonight I made the hubby hamburgers on the grill. And I had a salad. And we also had beer, wine, and mini croissants. On the patio. With our pup nearby in the grass.

Doesn't get much better after a long day...