On Intentional Living…

                                                    Adelina meeting Luna the horse. They were fast friends.

While I haven’t written much here, the path my life has taken since October 2014 and January of this year has been a remarkable one. I lost my only sister to addiction (she is alive, but no one knows where or in what condition, and it’s not for lack of searching), I struggled through the hardest and darkest period of depression I have ever known, and I have my current doctor to thank for giving me the light at the end of a tunnel I had convinced myself I was destined – and doomed – to inhabit forever. The stigma of mental illness is strong, and it’s tiring. It’s wearying to continue to talk about it, especially when you’re in an upswing. Just surviving it is enough, much less trying to cope with what you’ve been through while you’re not currently going through it. I have a few friends with whom I’ve shared my journey, along with my other half, but beyond that I try not to talk about it. It’s a “downer”, after all, for people to listen to the desperate feelings whilst not having to experience them firsthand. I know this. Which is why I do my best not to center my conversations around that, just as I do my best to not talk about my kid constantly (okay I don’t accomplish that goal very well, obviously.)

But one thing that has emerged from the darkness is this yearning to live in the most authentic way possible. Oh, I know that is everyone’s favorite Instagram tagline: live your authentic life! Live authentically! Be true to yourself! and the feeds are filled with artistically arranged feathers, shots of the California coastline, slim and pretty hands with bright polish encasing white cups filled with dreamy coffee or clutching a vintage handbag. Retro styled skirts in the most modern fabrics, white legs poking out and feet sheathed in honey color leather Mary Jane wedge heels. Artfully arranged peonies and ranunculus on a jewel-toned, expensive textile or farmhouse table with the tag #authentic #modernliving #livethelifeyoulove. I could go on and on. And I subscribe to many of those feeds! Why wouldn’t I? They’re gorgeous, modern, simple, and they offer a glimpse into someone’s world where you stop a moment and say “that’s the world I want to live in.” In a small, high def, square picture, you get to see a world where messy floors and dirty dishes and paralyzing fear of the ever-low bank account and mountains of laundry don’t exist. Instead, you find calm and beauty and serenity and the idea that YOU TOO can live this way, if you procure the same things or move to the same place that these pictures encompass. I think by now you have a pretty good glimpse into my obsession with Instagram. It’s a lovely world of makers, inspirational people, and the beauty of life. And it’s much more. It’s design inspiration, recipe inspiration, comedy, drama, trends, tutorials, and camaraderie. I find myself gravitating there because it’s a happy space. Sometimes I come across an account that brings the “real world” crashing back in, but those always make me feel uncomfortable and sad. It doesn’t belong in this simple and gorgeous world I’ve created with hearts and “follows.” We have enough to deal with right now, what with the nightmare that is our current Presidential race, the powers and terrorists of the world committing unspeakable acts, and the ever-present re- and o- pression of minorities of every caliber. Instagram is an escape. And while I recognize that, most of the time, the pictures that people post are a carefully curated collection of how they want to be represented in the world, it has also made me stop and be more aware of the things around me. I am lucky enough to live in one of the most beautiful natural areas in the country (if I do say so myself!!) and Instagram played this funny trick on me. Now, when I see my enormous Rhodie in amazing and wonderous bloom, I just stop for a moment because I am staring at the “perfect” IG picture. In. Real. Life. And I take note of how the sky looks through the frame of my kitchen window when it’s raining and gray out. Because that’s something that might get 3,000 likes on Instagram, but I am experiencing it in the present, and not via the amazing handheld device that I am never without. And I try hard to commit that little square picture to memory, because someday I will be old, and maybe blind or maybe deaf or maybe senile, and I won’t be able to stop and watch the sky. So I damned well better have something locked away in my brain to remind me of the beauty of the world.

                                                                       I have dubbed thee thy epiphany rhodie 

Whew. That was a very long way to get around to what I’m trying to say: The journey of the last 18 months has opened my eyes to the importance of being present. The importance of being intent. The importance of every moment passing, never to be repeated again. I think this renewed zeal for being present in every moment can be directly traced back to feeling like I’ve been living in a void for the last couple years. I feel like I have this duty to make up my absence from life to my family, mostly my daughter. And there’s still laundry, and dirty dishes, and the bank account that somehow always stretches enough to pay the bills, put food on the table, and buy me a few new pieces of fabric (but damned if it’s not a question every single time, ha) but there’s also the giant Rhodie and the rainy skies, or my kid in a too-short dress from last year, band aids on her knees because she got her grace from me, dirty rain boots on her feet, running wild through the backyard with whatever stuffie is the current love of her life. There’s the 12 year old dog staring at me with eyes that are slowly degenerating and half a mouth of teeth so his lip sticks out funny, asking for lazy pets in the early spring sunshine. There’s the power of staring in my partner’s eyes and seeing the foundation we’ve built (with intent) and the questions we still have and the fatigue we both feel from living and knowing that we have each other’s back in this. The way a line in a song can give me goosebumps, even if I’ve heard it 100 times already (“mom, are we listening to this guy AGAIN…”)

Intent. You don’t even know that it’s missing until you realize that everything is better once you start paying attention. Putting in the work. DOING. Being present. Really listening. Coming out of this depression has been more like waking up from a long and dark and lonely sleep than anything else I’ve ever experienced. I’m not all the way there yet. My soul is healing, but it’s done a number on its physical vessel. My body is heavy, unwieldy, sore, and broken. My physical presence does not match my soul, my heart, and my thoughts. I am still in discord, but the difference is that now I care. I don’t know what the next year will bring, but whatever happens, I will be present for it and I will appreciate it. I am finally reclaiming my journey, and for the first time in maybe forever, that doesn’t scare me. Because if there’s anything that Instagram has taught me, it’s that everyone’s journey is worth documenting. Just as long as it’s yours. Finding the best square pictures of you that you possibly can. Committing the memories of your life to your mind and not to a page in the ever-elusive cloud. Intent. 

And lest anyone accuse me of taking myself too seriously, here’s the picture I sent to the other half when he accused me of not wearing my glasses during the day (I don’t. I should. I know.)

I keep saying I’m going to bring it back to the creativity. And I am. But I think I have some other stuff to get out before I get there. I’m working on great things, beautiful things, and real things. The most important of those things, I think, learning who I am. After 33 years of life, maybe I’m finally getting there. As with everything else in my life, I seem to be a little late for that. Better late than never, though. Or at least I keep telling myself that 🙂 xo 

A Blog Update and the Future of my Writings

Well, it’s been nearly a year since I last updated my blog. I started this blog with the idea that I would find some like-minded people with which to share my newly discovered passion for the fiber arts. The second being that I’d have a place to share my thoughts about the world and my place in it. And my last post on this little space was about the passing of one of my crochet inspirations, who lost her battle to depression and committed suicide. I guess I’ll offer a quick recap of what I’ve been up to and then we’ll get back to it a bit, I think.

Shortly after I wrote my last blog post, things came to a head with some members of my family that I’d been at odds with for a long time. Some very cruel and hurtful words were spoken and as I sat sobbing in the Costco gas station parking lot with my child sitting quietly in the backseat with her tiny hand on my shoulder, trying to give me her stuffie for comfort and reading the barrage of texts that were being sent to me, I had a lightbulb moment: if I continued to allow these people presence in my life, someday it would be my daughter enduring these texts from the same people, crying as she read hurtful words designed to shame and slice, perhaps wondering why people who claimed to love her would say such awful things and then later try to pretend that it never happened. So I drove home and cried on my partner’s shoulder in the driveway and spoke the words that ultimately started me on my path to healing: “I don’t ever want them in my house again. And it will be over my dead body that they are ever allowed to speak to our daughter that way.”

And that was it. I think that was in the days right after July 4th, and save a few texts sent in their direction to inform them of my intent, I have not spoken to either of them since. The female half of that equation has sent an endless barrage of texts, emails, phone calls, Facebook messages (once she convinced someone on my friends list to link her my profile because I have it set private…); even going so far as to invite our mutual friends to dinner, only to then try to convince them that she’s in the right and I’m in the wrong and so on, blah blah blah. Even now, almost a year later, it’s still going on, albeit much less frequently. But I’ve held strong and communication has not resumed. It was a damaging and draining relationship, and one I am not sorry to have ended. My mind and heart are happier for it.

The other major thing I had to pass through was a crippling bout of depression and unceasing anxiety and paranoia. Mental illness is strong, stronger than the brain and stronger than the heart. And I was so deep in its trenches that I had lost sight of how bad it had become. It was my new normal, the crying and constant shaking, the inability to make a decision or care if I did anything at all that day. Not a good place to be when you’re trying to be a good mommy and take care of a household!! So finally in November I was able to see a new doctor and she has started me on a road to recovery that I previously didn’t even know existed. And about Christmas time, I woke up and realized that the darkness had been beaten back. In its place was a calm that I haven’t felt in years, and an optimism that I assumed was long dead.

Whew. All this to say the real thing, to say what I’ve been trying to say for weeks: I’m back. Er, more accurately, I’m here. And I’m better. And hopefully in a much better configuration of awesome! And along the way, I’ve discovered that I not only love crochet, but I also love sewing, quilting, applique, and embroidery. I’ve diversified my skills to a huge degree, including doll making and beginning patternmaking!! The name of my blog is not quite apt anymore, so I’m looking into changing that. I might redirect this one to an entirely new site, or I might try to continue to build this space (which is what I’d prefer. Roots and all that.)

So expect more in this space in the coming months. I have a renewed vigor for life, for creativity, for my daughter and family, and for myself. I’m beginning the process of finally moving on from everything that happened at the end of 2014 and all the way through 2015 and I’m determined to make 2016 a year of personal wellness, growth, and  – dare I say it – happiness. I have a lot of work to do, but I’m finally feeling strong enough for the challenge, and I hope that I will be able to take this blog along for the ride!!

So that’s that. There is so much more, but I’ve rambled on enough for one post so I stop now. If you’ve read this, thank you. I promise this space won’t be centered around the serious all the time. But I wanted to get it out there as the foundation for moving forward, for all the fun stuff to come!!

Take care,

Meg

You Are Worth the Space Your Body Occupies

I hate to come back after so long with sad news, but I felt the need to say a few words about someone who inspired me in this craft I’ve come to love so much.

They say those who smile the brightest, are often the saddest. I only recently re-learned to crochet, and it instantly became a passion for me. It’s calming, fun, and insanely gratifying to “turn string into things.” As is my MO, when I become obsessed with something, I seek out a ton of different things related to my obsession, and one of those happened to be Wink from A Creative Being. She was so funny, sweet, and inspiring in her writings, and I have a ton of her pages and patterns saved. I am heartbroken about her sister’s post, and as someone who walks the line, fights the battle, and knows the darkness quite well, I can’t help but be frustrated and angry that depression took another one. She’s at peace now, but her spirit lives on in her work, and I am inspired to take up a project of her creation in memoriam of someone who has brought me more than one smile and “Oooh, I gotta make that” moment. Rest in peace, Wink.

I would love it if my tiny reader base would head to her blog and spend a few moments there. Wink was loved by a lot of people, and her kind spirit will be missed by so many. And I cannot end a post about taking one’s own life without encouraging anyone who may have the same thoughts to seek help. Even if you call the National Suicide Hotline (in the US: (800) 273-8255) and say “if I don’t talk to you, I may kill myself tonight.”, they won’t judge and they won’t ask any questions, they will just talk to you. So don’t suffer alone. Reach out, people who care are out there.

I Haven’t Disappeared!

I’m not gone! I’ve been pursuing a couple projects that will hopefully end up generating income from my writing, so that has been taking up the majority of my time. My poor, newling blog is suffering and it makes me so sad, but as soon as I can finish these initial projects, I will hopefully be dividing my time between further monetary writing and this little space here. I still have so many things I want to write about.

Just a quick update so my poor page doesn’t look so abandoned. Stay tuned – I’ll hopefully have some new posts up next week!

Meg

Sunflower Preview (pattern coming!!)

I’m finally almost done with this bag. Just little details to finish now. I made up the pattern for the sunflower, so I’ll be sharing that here later. Happy Saturday, everyone!

Pattern Roundup – Flowers! (and a life update)

Hey, I’m back!! We had the Memorial Day holiday here in the states, so it was a loooooong (and gray!!) weekend for us. We didn’t really do anything too out of the ordinary, but it was nice to have the mister home with us for 3 whole days. He worked really hard last week to finish his homework by Thursday night so he could have 3 uninterrupted days with us to spend as a family, which is super rare and was really nice. We sort of vegged out on Friday night, and then Saturday morning we got up early and ushered ourselves out of the house to a local cycling shop so I could test-ride some bikes!! We’ve been talking about getting bikes for a while now, but it had been around 16 years since I had set butt in bike seat, so I was suuuper nervous and unsure of what style bike I would like. Turns out, grown-up-lady bikes are wayyyyy different from Huffy Puppy Love kids’ bikes – whodathunkit, right??? Anyway, I subjected the bored (and I’m sure tired/hungover/still slightly stoned/any combo of those things) employee that was unfortunate enough to greet us with a billion and one questions and then tested a grand total of TWO bikes. Really, I’m not the most fit person in the world, I have a bad knee (the cartilege in my right knee is nearly gone from a lifetime of stress and injuries… I’m 32… yay, my knee future should be AMAZING!!), and I know next to nothing about cycling or cycling culture, so it’s not like I was out to try the hardest-core mountain bikes or anything that cost 9 bajillion dollars (they had bikes there that cost more than my FIRST CAR…srsbzns, people.) Really, he was very nice and patient and while we didn’t buy anything Saturday morning, we spent the rest of the day looking at the bike I liked best online, comparing prices, and checking it out on resale sites to see if we could find a used one. The overall impression we came away with was that the bike priced competitively at the shop we visited, it holds its resale value VERY well – always a good thing – and it comes in a cheeky coral color that is much cuter than the black one I rode at the shop. I was not set on any one color, being more concerned with the way the bike performed and the value for our money, but knowing I could get an adorable color was really just cake. So we ended up trekking back out there on Sunday morning to order the coral (they didn’t have it on hand and it will take ten days…TEN DAYS, to arrive and be assembled) and pick out a helmet. He gave us 50% off on the helmet – I’m not sure whether that’s standard practice, but I asked and he said yes, so we went with it. I am so beyond excited to be getting a bike (and a trailer to pull the kiddo!) so I can be more active during the week, but let me tell you: I feel like a total doofus in that helmet. I always felt goofy wearing a helmet when I was a kid, and things have not changed. I feel so dang goofy. But. I am aware of the need to be safe, and I definitely want to set a good example for the kid, so she can’t call me a hypocrite when I tell her to wear hers someday. So I will wear it and the whole time I will be cringing.

Beyond that, it was a rather lazy weekend, which are always nice to have sometimes. So that’s my news of the day. Crochet-wise, I’m still working on the little project I picked up middle of last week, but that’s only because I haven’t been doing much crochet at all. The finishing touches are the only thing left, and the pattern I planned for didn’t work the way I wanted it to, so I had to look around. I need a few little crochet flowers, and I had a Teri Crews pattern from Craftsy in mind, but I found it was too much trouble for the yarn and hook I’m using. I could not get the center down, and once I did, the petals didn’t come out the way I wanted. So it was back to the drawing board to look around for some new ones. And in the looking around, I came across many more patterns than I would ever need for my dinky project, so I decided to do a pattern roundup here, to share all the wonderful flower motifs I came across!! Here are my faves!! 

Aaaaagh!! Am I going to make it?!?!

Pattern Roundup – Market Bags!!

Well, this is a new feature for me. I am planning to do a minimum of one roundup per week, alongside my regular posts. I personally love roundup posts because I am a pattern junkie, and I love getting a good dose of patterns all at once. I thought with Farmer’s Market season kicking into high gear, as well as Garage Sale season, that crochet bags would be a fun way to integrate the craft with our favorite weekend activities!! Some of these are very well-known patterns, and some are from smaller blogs and designers, and one is the Attic24 bag that I just recently completed, which would make not just a great farmer’s market bag, but also big enough to use as an actual grocery bag – it will easily hold a couple cereal boxes or a half gallon of milk and some canned goods. Super versatile!! Anyway, enjoy, and happy marketing!!

1. Market Tote from Darn Good Yarn – I tried to stay away from patterns that require you to go to a site that sells yarn or is a company because I am certainly not an affiliate in any way, but this bag was just way too cute not to link. I love that it’s bulky cotton  – it could be made from old tee shirts or bedsheets torn into yarn strips and that would be awesome. I’m all about upcycling!!

2. Flower Burst Tote from Chocolate Mints in a Jar – This one has been on my project list for a while – I haven’t worked it up, but my mom actually started it and scrapped it because she said it was working up on the smaller side and she wanted something larger at the time. I envisioned this as a cute tote for a tablet or a phablet/sunglasses tote, or an e-reader. I have a very specific and popular color scheme in mind for this one (the cotton is actually sitting out on one of my work tables in my craft room, all ready to go!! If I could just clear out the “must-do” projects from my brain and actually get to it!!) so I’m going to keep mum on my other plans for this one because Murphy’s Law would dictate that I share my idea here and next week I will see them everywhere. But trust, I am making this one soon and I will definitely be sharing when it’s underway 🙂

3. Crocheted Swirling Bag from Knitting Daily – This is a new website for me, so I can’t attest to any other content beyond the pattern page for this bag, but it sure is a gorgeous design and a different take on a normal bag worked in the round. The tighter weave would make for a good garage-sale-ing bag because smaller items wouldn’t poke through or fall out.

4. Farmer’s Market Hexagon Bag aka Grand Ole’ Flag Bag from Jessie at Home – So I love Jessie at Home. I’ll be honest here because this is my space and I don’t feel the need to be totally PC all the time: I am not the overly patriotic type. I do not wear flag tee shirts, I don’t have a flag waving on my property, and I don’t tend to gravitate to events where acting like my country is the greatest thing since sliced bread is the popular thing to do. That being said, Jessie comes up with the most awesome, summer-fun, I’ll say it: PATRIOTIC  projects that I’ve seen so far and I love them. I have several of her red, white, and blue creations in my pattern folder for someday, and I love each and every one of them. They make me want to fire up the grill, pop open a freezing cold beer, and sit on the back deck under the hot sun and dip my feet in the kiddie pool. In other words, perfect for summer.

5. Small String Bag by Gilly Bettney – This is a Ravelry link. It’s free, so I don’t believe you need a Ravelry account to access the pattern, but I’m not sure on that, and if you are not a Rav member and you click here and it doesn’t let you download the pattern, please let me know in the comments and I will replace it with another pattern. I love this bag because of the pocket!! I don’t come across many market bags with a pocket and I love it because you can slip your sunnies or phone into the pocket and it won’t mingle with your produce or other market goodies. Love it!

6. Attic24 Crochet Bag – This is the one I just made that I was on the fence about whether I would like it or not. I DO like it, for the record! It’s another tightly-woven bag and It’s. So. Big. so it would be ideal for the actual grocery store because it will hold larger mass-market boxed or canned items. I did not add the flower embellishments because I’m a sour-puss and I thought it would be too fussy. Instead, I lengthened the straps and tied knots in the ends, and that’s how I hid my attachment stitches. I will add a pic later to demonstrate, but go ahead and add flowers. Add a MILLION flowers. Go for it. Don’t be cranky like me. Because it’s a cute bag and the buttons are adorable.

7. Inga’s Häkelbeutel by Inga Joana Mertens – this is another free Ravelry pattern. It is available in Dutch and English and the download button will go directly to a PDF, so make sure you choose the English version (or Dutch, if that floats your boat, who am I to judge?) This is a beautiful and fun take on a Granny Square bag that uses color for its detail rather than embellishments or a million and one double crochets in little clusters. In other words, a granny square bag I actually like 😉

8. Starling Bag from FutureGirl – Apparently, FutureGirl is kind of a big deal. I didn’t know this, but this bag is a good example of why. Simple, but charming and omg the possibilities for customization and and embellishment, yarn choice, size, are endless. The pattern is available in four languages, and the only drawback to this one is that you will need to enter an email address to access the pattern. She states that she won’t spam you, and entering the email address assures her that bots won’t overwhelm her bandwidth – as crafters, frugal people, and generally cool homies, we should support this practice because it is beneficial for us and keeps those patterns free! I understand if you don’t like this, sometimes I don’t either (depends on my mood and how caffeinated I am on any given day…) but I’ve created a “throwaway” email address that I use just for stuff like this – an email address that I won’t care too much about if I have to scrap. So I can access content without sacrificing my “main” (hell, or my backup or my backup to my backup…yeh…) email address.

Well, I hope you like this new idea for the blog. I love that you all, my very first readers, are here with me while I learn what works and I find my voice on the internet. If there is something you don’t like (or something you DO!!), please don’t hesitate to let me know. I’m not fooling myself that I am the next Moogly or B.Hooked, but I’d like to find a group of smaller bloggers, a closer-knit fam, where we can share ideas, and I’d love to be one of the people bringing fresh ideas to the table!! So please, feedback away, I promise I won’t get my feelings hurt and you would be helping me in a massive way!!

Also, legal note here. All photos are the property of the pattern holders, bloggers, and Ravelry members from which they came. Please do not use any content from this roundup without sourcing the creators. This hurts the community and makes these creative people less willing to share with us. Please give credit where credit is due, do not mass-produce any content from any of these links, and please include a link back to the pattern page should you make any of these bags to sell. Selling is generally accepted on a grass-roots, local market, or charity level, but please contact pattern authors before doing so to ensure you are not in copyright violation. Thank you!!

Yarrrrrn!!

It’s not what you think. Well, it is, but it’s also something else. So a couple weeks back, I saw someone’s tee shirt on Reddit and it had the cutest design on it, so naturally I set out to Google it and find out where it came from. After a couple near-brushes with some spammy mass-clothing websites and some generally shoddy work in general, I came upon an archived sale page on Etsy. The listing was for an iron-on patch, but that is actually better than a tee shirt, because I really only wear tees around the house and with a patch I could display my love of this thing ALL OVER!! Being the internet sleuth I am (ha. ha. hahahaha…ahem), I immediately and impulsively sent the shop owner a message asking if she had ever thought about making more, and if she had I was interested in buying one should that day ever arrive. She answered almost immediately and said she would be happy to make one just for me. Well, of course I was!! I perused the rest of her wares and figured it would run me about $11 plus shipping, so that was okay (She ended up charging me $13.50 plus shipping, which was more than I probably would’ve paid if I had known the price up front, but given that I had already expressed intent to purchase, I didn’t think it would be very cool to quibble…) And it turns out it was totally worth it, because Gerri does incredibly quality work and I am just thrilled with my new (and first!!) patch. So without further ado, I present to you my current favorite thing:

So yeah, there I am, haha. Forgive that weird monster hand I have, too. Eeeew… All that aside, the patch is the cutest and I 100% recommend Gerri for all of your patchy needs. She’s got a really cute yin-yang cat patch, too, in case you find yourself in need of that in your life – and really, who isn’t in need of a patch like that?

Besides that, I’ve finished my Attic24 bag, FINALLY. I will have a little instagram photo shoot for her later, but I figured I should put together a quality blog post before then since it had been a while. That’s this post, in case there was a mystery as to where this “quality post” is. So far, we’re doin’ good, huh. So upon finishing the Attic24 bag, I decided it was about time to pick up my Mollie Makes hexagon motif blanket again.

This is actually one of the first projects I started when I picked up the crochet hook again and I think it will be absolutely lovely when it’s finished. The pattern is from the Mollie Makes Crochet book (Amazon link, but not affiliated!!), and while I can’t share the pattern here, there are SO MANY free hexie patterns out there that it would not be difficult to come up with one to emulate it. Here’s a Ravelry search I did in about 15 seconds – you have to be a Ravelry member to see the link, but at this point if you are even a casual fiber artist and don’t have a Ravelry account, I don’t know if we can be friends anymore (That’s how valuable Rav is – if they ever release a mobile app, I’m done for. Cooked.) Anyway, it’s a super simple pattern and like I said, I started it when I was a born-again noob, but now that I have a couple months under my belt (yeh, I know, still a noob compared to some of the vets, but a haaaylll of a lot more experience than I did before!) I have found myself speeding along these little things. I am having trouble, though, because clearly my tension was alllllll over the place the last time I touched these and doing it now it is like 2 different people are completing this project. Sigh… I’m hoping blocking will solve some of the problems, because I’m about 37 hexies in and there is no way in Care-a-lot that I am starting over. The Mollie Makes throw is about 224 hexagons, but since I am making this as a throw for our queen-sized bed, I measured it out be about 330 hexagons, and almost 40 half-hexies for the border. Here are a couple pics of the yarn I’m using (Lion Brand Wool-Ease) and another shot of all the hexagons playing nice together, plus a couple that are in the middle of completion.

It’s funny, I was so damn tired of working on these hexagons when I put them down to do other stuff, and now I have a renewed vigor for them. I’m excited to spend a couple solid weeks on these and see what kind of dent I can put in that big ole’ number up there.

And finally, I will leave you with the bane of the mister’s existence these days. The wisteria has gotten to the point that he absolutely dreads every year:

Flower snow!!!!!!! I won’t lie, I find it annoying as well, and part of my plans this weekend include banishing all the spent blooms to the yard waste bin, to be carted to the curb by a tired (and hopefully sun-drenched) me on Sunday evening. But the glory and gorgeousness of this decades-old shrub far outweighs the nuisance it creates when it is finished with its blooms. Until next time, I hope the weather is as favorable wherever you are as it has been here. It never fails to amaze me how I don’t ever really get tired of our weather. It’s varied and of course I complain, but I do love it, especially at spring and fall. I’ll leave you with the view I have on the rare occasions that I have to sit on the deck with an iced coffee and my yarn…

Life is Exhausting (and a peek into a few things I’m working on, and a few things I’ve learned recently…)

I try not to complain overly much. Life is hard, everyone has difficulties, and the argument is surely true that if everyone tossed their problems into a big pile, we’d each of us look around at what other people have to deal with and hurriedly grab our problems right back. So with this perspective floating around my head every day, several times a day, I feel confident saying: Life. Is. Hard. Someday I may write about exactly why this has been the worst 8 months of my entire life, but I am very cautiously hopeful that we are at the beginning of the other side of “the event” and that things from this point forward may resume more normalcy. That being said, I mentioned last time I blogged that I never did have the best timing for doing things, starting this blog included, so I’ve been lax about posting. But I think about posting all the time, because I’m still very interested in doing this. So that brings us to this post today. Here are a few little things I’ve either learned, enjoyed, or am working on in the craft world, and I will close things up with a particularly gorgeous picture of my backyard at dusk last evening, because I strung twinkly fairy lights all around and it has brought me so much joy to sit out in the chilly Northwest evenings near the oil heater and watch the wisteria play off the lights.

We’ll touch first on that Attic24 stripey bag I’m still plugging away on. I had asked around Reddit a while back (Plug: If you’re on Reddit and you crochet, /r/crochet is one of my favorite places to hang out and see what other people are doing. They’re restructuring too and cracking down on spam posts, so it tends to be quality – at least in my opinon.) – Anyway, I asked around Reddit a while back how to make my starting double crochets look better when working with color changes in the round, and a user pointed me to the all-mighty Tamara from Moogly and her standing double crochet tutorial. Basically, instead of starting the round by joining your new color at the top of the color below when working stripes, and having your tails at the bottom of your new color, you do a funny little take on a double crochet where the tails end up at the top. Not only does the standing DC work almost invisibly into your piece, but crocheting over your tails becomes lickity-split fast. Here’s the video tutorial for those interested:

And here’s the written post if that’s more your jam: Standing Double Crochet by Tamara from Moogly

It’s seriously been a game-changer for me.

The other thing I’m working on these days is a new Crochet-Along (CAL) from Laura over at HappyBerry Crochet – It’s a Road Playmat, like the roll-out carpets you find at Ikea for toy cars!! I was excited about this for a couple reasons. First, it’s a CAL that hadn’t started yet, and I am a new-enough crocheter that a lot of the CALs I like had already begun. There’s not really anything wrong with that, but the time commitment required to “catch up” to everyone is quite daunting. But this!! This I could start with everyone else!! And the other reason is that my kiddo is a lovely mix of girly-girl and tomboy, and she happens to LOVE her Hot Wheels. I asked her dad and my other half if he thought she would like one, and he said he thought she would have fun with it. Of course, then I had to go and think about my nephew who just turned 2 and would LOVE one, so now I’m making twice the squares. But it’ll be worth it in the end, as Laura has plans for expansion squares and all sorts of add-ons. Here are a few pics from her site and a link to the first YouTube tutorial for the CAL (I’ll be doing another standalone post on this CAL, so consider this a preview!!):

The first set of squares for the Road Playmat CAL from HappyBerry

Here’s this week’s set – it’s a 5 week CAL with add-ons to follow, so if you start now, you’ll still be at the beginning!!

Here’s the YouTube Tutorial for the first week – she’s thorough and precise, so they won’t be short videos, but there is no question about anything if you follow along.

And finally, she is hosting a new Facebook group for her CALs – I won’t bother linking it here because it’s a closed group and you will get an error if you follow a link and you’re not signed into Facebook, but if you search ” HappyBerry Crochet-a-longs (CALs)” you should find it – you  can then request to join and she will add you. It’s a great place to show off your progress and talk about the CAL and Laura is super interactive with the community there, too!! (more on that in my next post…)

And lastly on my short list of interesting happenings lately, I have a new coffee toy and I am over the moon (and caffeinated enough to be over the moon, too!!) about it: The Toddy T2N Cold Brew System (Amazon link, but I’m not an affiliate, so this is all unpaid love, ha.) This was originally loaned to us by the Mister’s co-worker because he likes to tell people how I am a completely caffeinated person and would be a total bear without copious amounts of coffee running through my bloodstream at any given moment and she thought I might like to try this. So I did, and I LOVE it, and he came home mid-last week with the news that his co-worker had gifted this to us because she had owned it for several years and only used it once. SCORE!! It’s fairly straighforward to operate, the replacement filters are cheap as are the plugs should you need a new one, and the resulting product is EXCELLENT if you follow proportions properly. That gadget is why my Insta feed is quickly filling up with pictures of delicious, lightly sweetened coldbrew coffee in mason jars. DE-lish!!

Well, I’ve written a short novel here, so I will stop now. But I WILL leave you with my gorgeous back patio area and the promise that my next post will be less all over the place, and a lot sooner than ten days from the date of this one.