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something new

I bought a new pair of glasses. 

The prescription is so strong that I feel like I am in a fishbowl and everything is in 3D. It's so strong that I actually can't really see all that well, which kind of defeats the whole purpose of wearing glasses.

Happiness is...

Getting to use my umbrella.

Wordless Wednesday: Cat in a Box

more forgotten photos

My art for today was editing some of those old forgotten 2010 Project 365 photos.

I guess in a way it is kind of cheating in that the pictures weren't taken today, but editing them was the only creative thing I did all day.

October 20, 2010: Quilted

October 21, 2010

Hello November

Some days it seems like there are just not enough hours in the day. Actually, I don't think there are. It's dark when I leave work and there are just a few hours left in the day to do stuff. Any stuff. Like creative stuff. Or clean my house stuff.

It's pretty much my own fault. I get to work later than I used to and so I then have to stay later. I am so not a morning person. Even if I get up early I somehow still manage to get to work around the same time every day. Give or take an hour. Working late means I miss the sunset. I hate missing the sunset.

Today I arrived at work a little earlier and so I got to leave work a little earlier than usual and the sun still had already set. I guess I missed it by 15 minutes or so.

Yesterday, I learned that November is Art Every Day Month. Did you know that? This is a challenge started by Leah over at Creative Every Day. I like the idea of being creative every day. Being creative makes me happy.

Today's creative endeavor is my crochet ripple blanket. It is growing slowly. Very slowly. For some reason I keep messing up. 

Currently...

Eating... Pumpkin Pie Pop-Tarts. I have to say that these are my new favorite. They actually taste like real pumpkin and are not too sweet and fake tasting. It's a good thing that they are a limited edition or else I would be eating them all the time.

Have you tried a Pumpkin Pie Pop-Tart? Holy Cow! These things are awesome!
— Stefani (@dreamsofnyssa) October 8, 2013

Shampooing.... the carpets. I spent the last two weekends (both Saturday and Sunday) shampooing all the carpet in the main rooms of my house. Seriously, this shampooing stuff is hard work. I hate that it takes so long. You have to move the machine so very slowly. I miss having hard floors, where all it took was a quick sweep and mop to keep it clean. I pity the person who is the first to get this carpet dirty.

Listening... to Lana Del Rey.

Watching... the 5th season of Sons of Anarchy. It's finally streaming on Netflix. I have never been able to watch this show in real time. I am always a year behind. The ability to watch any show that I want days, weeks or even years later is quite the awesome invention.

The Christmas countdown

The countdown to Christmas has begun.

The yarn I ordered and have been waiting for arrived days before it's expected delivery date. Yay!

So, I was able to start crocheting this year's ripple blanket a day or two sooner than I had expected.

This is my first time using KnitPicks Brava Worsted. I love this yarn! It is so soft. I think I found my new go-to yarn to use for blankets. There are so many colors to choose from and the amount of yarn you get for the price is actually better than the local stores. At least the local stores around here. My only fear is running out of a color too close to my Christmas deadline and having to order it and wait.

I really like how all these colors look together. The colors are definitely more 'boy' than 'baby'. Now all that's left is to figure out what to name it.

It's that time again

It's that time of year. Time to be working on those yarny Christmas presents. But here it is the middle of October and I haven't even started.

I have always wanted to make my nephews and nieces something special just for them. I decided crochet blankets would be the best thing for me to make.

My Grandmother used to make us all Christmas presents and there is just something about that memory that has stuck with me. My brother still has the quilt she made for him from when he was a teenager. Listening to the way he still talks about it, all these years later, I think it is probably one of his prized possessions. So, I decided to start with his family.

But there are just so many of them! So, I decided to spread out the yarny love and choose only one child per year to make a gift for.

This year I am going to crochet a ripple blanket. I have crocheted a ripple blanket for the past two years and this year is not going to be any different. 

First, Nephew 1.0 got the Brownie {ripple}. 

Then, Nephew 2.0 got the Blueberry {ripple}.

And now, Nephew 3.0 will be getting a ripple blanket of his very own.

But this year I wanted something different and something softer than what is available at the local chain stores. Plus, it was a better value to order my yarn online. So I did. Let me tell you.... ordering yarn online is hard! I am worried that the colors I chose are more 'baby' than 'boy'. 

I am trying not too worry too much about the super late start. This is the first year that I don't have to worry about studying at the same time so I should have a lot more free time available to work on it.

Now if only that yarn would hurry up and get here!

So what do you think? Is this yarn more 'baby' or 'boy'?

[Things I ♥ Thursday] Vintage cars

I really love the look of old cars. There is just something about them.

1. 219. Deluxe, 2. 633 - Thunderbird, 3. October 18, 2010, 4. Day 250

All photos in this mosaic © their respective owners.

 

As comfy as can be

Someone sure does look comfy. I don't think she could get any flatter.

Currently...

Pondering... future yarn purchases. There are just so many things that I want to make. I always feel like I am running out of time. I really want to knit a cowl before it gets cold and I need to get started on crocheting a Christmas blanket for the next nephew in line.

Watching... the series finale of Breaking Bad. How was that for an ending. I personally think it ended perfectly.

Being... lazy, like EXTREMELY lazy. This past week the husband and I were both on vacation. I had so many plans. But they all flew out the window the moment the car broke down. Which just happened to be the first week day of my vacation. So no new haircut, no new glasses and no dentist. Plus, I am $637.00 poorer. Good thing we didn't have any solid plans to go anywhere.

Hoping... that everything hasn't exploded at work while I have been gone. Things were pretty crazy when I left and I have a feeling they will be even more so when I show up tomorrow.

Wondering... just how many more weeks of crop pants weather are left. I think there is still plenty of time before things start cooling down around here. It's supposed to be in the 90's all next week, so I think we're good.

forgotten photos

I have been wanting to upload the rest of my Project 365:2010 photos for quite awhile now but I kept getting distracted with things like school and other crafty projects. 

Lately, I have gone days and even weeks without turning on the computer. So tonight I spent some time editing some of those photos, but in the end I only ended up uploading two.

It's always nice when one co-worker buys a coffee for another co-worker and that co-worker doesn't want it. Yummy coffee for me!

Study time.
I am so happy I don't have to study or take classes for my certification anymore.

The August Break 2013

 How it works: Each day, for the whole of August, take a photo and share it on your blog. You can add words if you want — or not. You can use any camera. You could share a series of photos, or miss a day out, or just post on weekends. There are no real rules, basically. This is all about being present and enjoying taking photos just for the hell of it. And perhaps reinvigorating your love for blogging, and/or taking a break from writing. ~ Susannah Conway

August is over and with that comes the end of The August Break. I didn't end up taking very many photos this past month but that is perfectly okay. This year I only used the camera on my iPod Touch. I am still learning how to use it but I think I may be getting the hang of it.

Thursday's clouds

Thursday evening's clouds were amazing! There is so much that is missed when you spend all day in a room with no windows.

Working it

I started knitting a new sock.

I have had this Felici yarn from KnitPicks in my stash for so long and I am excited that I am finally making something with it. I almost changed my mind though. This yarn is so pretty and I didn't know if I should use it to make socks. I enjoyed knitting my first pair of socks but I have yet to have the opportunity to actually wear them. So I don't really know if I even like wearing hand knitted socks.

I thought that maybe hand warmers would be a better choice but it doesn't really get that cold here for me to wear them all that often. So, I just kept knitting and now I have turned the heel and I'm ready to start picking up stitches for the gusset.

Working the leg...or maybe the arm. This yarn may be too pretty for socks. I am so confused...

Kitteh

Getting ready to start...

It's time to start knitting a new pair of socks.

It took me forever to knit a swatch. I even ended up buying a new set of size 1 (2.25 mm) ChiaoGoo metal needles (yeah, me the person who hates metal needles). I actually kind of liked them. But wouldn't you know it, the all mighty swatch says I can't use them.

Don't even get me started on how long it took me to figure out that these stripey socks are NOT going to match up. That's okay. I THINK I can live with that.

dinner

The store was out of plain Feta, so herbed Feta it is!

prickly pear

Picked from a neighbor's yard. Soon they will be made into something yummy to eat.

...and then there were two

That's right! It took me almost 1 1/2 years but I did it...I knit my first pair of socks!

Two weeks ago all I needed to do was close up the toe. 

It has taken me 14 days to finally sit myself down and actually Kitchener stitch that toe.

I don't think it has anything to do with procrastination....more like Fear of Completion syndrome.

a mess of colors

I really love the painting hanging in our living room. It took years for me to find the perfect one we could both be happy with.

Up close, the painted colors look just like a big giant mess.

Soft and Squishy

I really do need to think about finishing one yarny project before starting on another one. But this yarn is just so pretty and it's been stored away for oh so long. It just keeps calling my name.

Weathered

Oh look...here it is August already. 

...and with that, it is time again for The August Break.

Last year, I used my point and shoot camera because it was quick and easy. This year, I plan to use my iPod Touch. I find the iPod a bit awkward and really want to get comfortable using it. I hope that I am able to figure it out and learn how to take much better pictures with it than I have been.

I would love to use my Canon DSLR but here's the thing...Canon doesn't support Windows Vista and won't update their drivers. It's sad really. It literally takes hours for my computer to acknowledge my camera. Since this project is all about the quick and easy (well at least it is for me) then the iPod it is!

Okay... so now that I got all the complaining out of the way. Here is today's photo. 

Three years ago, the husband built a brand new back gate. The desert climate has not been kind to it. I think it may be time to get a new one.

Soon

I am soooo close to finishing! Just need to close up the toe. I can't believe that I am almost done.

Currently...

Melting (still)… if yesterday reached 100 degrees then it would have been 39 days in a row of this icky heat. I have no idea if it actually did reach 100 degrees, but I think maybe it did.

Watching… Fringe. We watched the first season when it first aired but never got any further than that. I love Netflix for letting me watch shows that I didn't have time for when they first aired. It has been so hot that we haven't wanted to do anything else but just sit and watch T.V. And now that monsoon season is here, the humidity is killing us. We don't have A/C, only a swamp cooler and that doesn't really work when the air is humid. Last night the outside temperature at 11:00 pm was 91 degrees, inside it was a muggy 81 degrees. All this heavy air really makes it hard to breathe.

Listening… more like obsessing over Daft Punk's latest album (Random Access Memories). Well, actually only over 3 songs. My favorite is Instant Crush. I also love Lose Yourself to Dance and Get Lucky (which I predict will be The song of the summer). I have to carefully watch my Last.fm stats though to make sure I don't over do it. I don't want to appear too crazy. How many times can you listen to a song on repeat before people start looking at you funny?

Knitting… well, kind of. This past weekend I did pull out my sock to work on. I only have the toe left to knit on the second sock but I just keep putting it off. I don't know why. I worked on it the other night but only did a couple of rows. That's me though, I stop knitting on a project just long enough for me to forget how to knit.

Carpooling… my car has been dead for weeks now so the husband has had to drive me to work. I haven't minded since his truck has A/C (which is awesome by the way) and my car does not. The car got fixed today. It needed a new starter. Honda parts are expensive. I don't know yet how I feel about the car being fixed. I am going to miss riding in comfort. It's too hot to drive without A/C. On the plus side, I can leave the house whenever I want now.

Crafting... I have index cards to share but honestly I have not created any new ones lately. With this humidity nothing dries. I had so many unfinished cards from last year's challenge. They took weeks to dry and those were just the ones that had been sprinkled with water. If I do this project again next year I will probably only participate during June, the only non-humid month.

icad 2013 :: index card no. 8

I really do love the Tim Holtz distress inks. Have you tried them?

I don't know why I never tried them when they first came out years ago. The last couple of years I had thought about trying them but never felt the NEED to have them. Thank goodness for the ICAD challenge. If it hadn't been for last year's challenge, I probably would just still be thinking about them and wouldn't have tried them as soon as I did. That is the only thing about this challenge, there are just too many things that I NEED to have.

Supplies: distress ink, stamps, rub-ons

icad 2013 :: index card no. 7

Index card no. 7 is just a plain old school doodle. No tangles here.

Supplies: marker, black Zig Writer

icad 2013 :: index card no. 6

I have been so anti-creativity for the past couple of weeks. I have no idea why. I haven't even turned on the computer since my last blog post 9-days ago. I have seriously felt like a bump on a log.

I can't believe it is already the 3rd week of June and also the 3rd week of the index-card-a-day challenge. I am still in the middle of sharing my index cards from week one. Actually, this sounds like the norm for me. I am always so late to the uploading and sharing party.

Supplies: distress ink

icad 2013 :: index card no. 5

Index card no. 5 is just a simple card using pen and ink. There really isn't much more to this card than that.

Supplies: pen and ink

icad 2013 :: index card nos. 3 and 4

Here it is day 10 of the index-card-a-day project and I still love it.

I can't believe that it is already day 10 and I have only posted my first 2 index cards. I figure it is about time that I get busy and share some more of them. These little guys are starting to pile up around here.

For these next 2 index cards I decided to use the ICAD weekly prompts over at Daisy Yellow.

When I used gesso to make index card no. 2, I ended up pouring out way too much. So that meant lots of blank index cards got prepped with the left over gesso. Here are 2 of them. I have to say I like the different results that I got from using gesso.

index card no. 3

"Candyland"

I used markers to color in the stripes on this index card. Usually the index card just soaks up the marker but using the gesso really helped the colors to pop. This card is sparkly too. When it was finished I spritzed it with some glimmer mist. You can't see it in the photo but it's there.

Supplies: gesso, markers, acrylic paint, glimmer mist

index card no. 4

"Crown"

It was like this prompt was special made just for me. Since the meaning of my name is Crown, I just knew that I had to use it.

Supplies: gesso, distress ink, black Zig marker, glitter glue, rub-ons

Currently...

Melting... it is now day 400 of over 100 degree temperatures with no end in sight. Actually, I think it is more like 10 days in a row, but it feels like it has been 400 days. It looks like this summer is going to be super hot and it is just getting started. Driving around town in my car with the broken A/C is definitely not going to be fun.

Watching... Games of Thrones. Tonight is the season finale and I cannot wait! Then next week it will be all about True Blood.

Listening... to 30 Seconds to Mars new album, LOVE LUST FAITH + DREAMS. On repeat and often. It helps that work has been strictly medical record review so there has been lots of music listening of late.

Creating... on index cards. It is now 9 days into this project and I still love it. So far I have managed to be creative on an index card every single day. I decided that this year I wasn't going to worry about taking pictures immediately and I think that has helped me not to be stressed about the whole thing. Plus, it takes over an hour for my computer to recognize my camera and download photos. So there's that. Thanks Canon. 

icad 2013 :: index card no. 2

Here it is day 4 of the ICAD index-card-a-day challenge and I am still having fun making them. Well, that is once I finally figure out what I want to do with the card. I have been working on my cards late at night and after working a full day my creativity is a little off.

I finished this card back on day 2 (June 2nd) of the challenge but am just now able to share it.

For such a simple card it was really hard to take a picture of it. I really wanted to show the sparkly of the glitter but then the texture got lost, but then when I tried to show the texture, the sparkly was gone.

This card was all about playing with gesso. I have very limited experience with using gesso and I am looking forward to experimenting more with it.

On this card I used red distress ink to cover the blank index card and then covered the entire card with gesso. I used a stamp to make the circles and then used Stickles glitter to define the circles. In real life the glitter circles are aqua and very very sparkly. 

Supplies: gesso, distress ink, Stickles glitter

icad 2013 :: index card no. 1

It's been so long since I have done anything crafty or creative.

Way too long.

I don't know why but I have been in such a funky blah mood lately that I have not found the energy to do anything.

So, with my first index card I decided to start off small and go simple. I decided to do something familiar. Since it has been a little while since my last doodle, I figured I would start there.

One card down, only 60 left to go!

Supplies: marker & black Zig Writer