After obsessively knitting for hours on end, several days in a row, my forearms and wrists informed me that they needed a little break. So, I decided to use up some of my crafting energy on a quilting project that’s been simmering in my imagination for a while.
It’s a project that, while not fully worked […]

When we got home from work today, I plunked down on the sofa — which is currently situated right in front of our currently unusable fireplace — and I heard a strange scratching, rustling sound. It sounded like something was clawing at the metal mesh curtains in front of the fireplace. I jumped up, too […]

I’ve been so excited about my sweater project that I’ve been spending all kinds of time on the couch, working away at it. I’m not the world’s quickest knitter, but I think I’ve made decent progress over the past few days.

This is what I have so far for the back piece. My next class isn’t […]

Dad’s birthday scarf is finished! And after a little trial and error, I managed to get it to lay more or less flat. I was reluctant to use an iron to steam it for fear of melting the acrylic yarn. But I took the chance after letting it air-dry didn’t seem to be making much […]

Well, I’m taking the plunge into the deep end and attempting my first sweater. Luckily, I’m not doing this completely on my own. It’s a project for my beginners knitting class, which started last night!
I’ll bring my camera to class next time and snap a photo of a sample of the finished product. It’s a […]

It always feels good to complete a project that’s been on the back burner for ages. Over the long weekend, I finally covered a piece of foam to make a decent cushion for a cute garage sale chair that we found — gosh — could it be two years ago already? I went out and […]

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Big drum roll for my first completed knitting object……

Woo hoo! I love my fuzzy new scarf! It turned out much longer than I expected, and it has stretched out even a bit more after wearing it for a couple of days. It’s just plain garter stitch (I’m learning the lingo), and I’m feeling very satisfied […]

Jill and I were trying to remember this “bird by bird” story from Anne Lamott’s book of the same name. So, I looked it up last night and was re-inspired by her common sense advice for for coping with those overwhelming moments in life:
“Thirty years ago my older brother, who was ten years old at […]

Full weekend update coming soon. I’ve got pictures to show that haven’t come off the camera yet — mostly because I haven’t wanted to put down the knitting needles long enough to post them!
My knitting has improved by leaps and bounds over the past few days! So far, I’ve just been teaching myself from […]

My first sick day of 2004. Ugh. I’m pretty wimpy, so it’s not like I’m on death’s door or anything — but I have been feeling crummy all day. Especially during the night. I didn’t get much sleep and woke up feeling green, so I spent most of the day sleeping.
I woke up with a […]

A good time was had by all at the J. family Christmas (which took place the weekend before the official holiday) in Monticello. We got to spend some quality time with Karen and Tom and our cutie 1-year-old nephew Jake. We all gathered for Balderdash and pizza and, of course, presents.

In the […]

After scouring my new beginner’s knitting kit for a while, I’m slowly starting to get the hang of it. I think. I can cast on pretty confidently. And I can muddle through basic knitting stitches. And basic purl stitches. So far, I just can’t seem to alternate between the two very well. But what the […]

Well, forming the habit of keeping this journal up to date hasn’t really happened quite yet. But I’m making it a resolution for this year to document my life, and particularly my projects, here at least a few times each month. We’re still trying to shift things around in the house to find a place […]