Progress

I finally started unpacking some of my craft supplies this week—specifically, I've been working on my yarn stash. Usually my yarn lives in a series of clear plastic bins, but to move I ended up dumping a bunch of it into giant space bags so I could use the bins as packing boxes. Going through and reorganizing the yarn has been a task, but it's coming together. There's a limit to how much of my craft room I can unpack until I get another big bookcase, but it feels good to be making some progress.

One of my biggest hangups right now is getting my art put up. I have a large collection of wall art, and I love having my walls covered, but for some reason I'm stuck and can't quite decide where to start right now. I did take a plunge and hang up these two little wall friends next to the kitchen island this weekend, and I'm pleased with how they look. I've also (mostly) decided on locations for one of my big prints and one of my mirrors, so hopefully I'll get those hung up soon and with any luck that will kick start me into getting the rest of my art set up. 

I also had a major success this week—longtime readers of the blog might remember this sock, which I initially cast on in March of 2012(!!!!). To be fair, I did have some false starts, and I did have to ultimately rework the pattern so it would fit me comfortably, but the sock is DONE, and I am so pleased. Hopefully the second sock won't take as long. I struggle with socks—when I first started knitting I knit socks constantly, but over time I've had more and more trouble with my hands, and socks and other small-gauge projects really do a number on them, so I have to limit myself to short knitting sessions.

Books (upon books)

 I'm still catching up on rest from moving weekend, but my bookcases are finally coming together! I unpacked most of my books before going back to South Dakota so I'd have room in the craft room (Box Land) for the rest of my stuff, but only over the weekend have my shelves started to feel organized. There's still some work to do—I need some more shelves, but I don't know what form they'll take, and I'm working on figuring out how all my tchotchkes and collectibles will fit in, but having the Book Wall set up and taking shape really makes the place feel homey.

My craft room/home office is still a disaster, of course, and hopefully in a couple weeks I can source some more storage for in there. My bedroom is also a bit of a tip, but my plan for this weekend is to putter around in there and make it feel more settled.

I'm getting the itch to pick up a knitting project—it's been a while, between moving stress and an accident with a can lid that left my left hand pretty much unusable for several weeks (it's healed now, and I just have a gnarly scar and some minor nerve damage that hopefully will keep clearing up)—so I'll probably need to brave the craft boxes at some point to pull out a project.

Moving Weekend, Part 2

On Friday afternoon I dropped Lee Lee at the kennel, packed up my backpack, grabbed my trusty unicorn, and boarded a train to Chicago. My flight to South Dakota was at 9:15 on Saturday morning, so I planned to spend the night at the airport hotel, which was great planning on my part. Due to a couple of train delays and some less-than-clear directions, I didn't make it to my hotel room until almost one in the morning, and I only just managed to wake up in time to leave for my terminal as planned. 

Fortunately, my flight went much more smoothly, and we landed earlier than expected. I got to spend Saturday with my mum, and it was so nice to see her again. We ended up going to two different locations to pick up my U-Haul—the website wasn't entirely clear on which location my truck was at—but that was ultimately a very small hiccup. 

Sunday morning I got up early again to drive the truck down to my old town and load up everything from my storage unit as well as a few things I'd left with my brother. My mum and I grabbed lunch together at the cafe, and then I hit the road. The drive was less stressful than the first time I made it, but it was still a long day, and I didn't make it back to my new apartment until about 8:30. 

I'm tired and sore, and Lee Lee isn't pleased with having been left all weekend, and there are boxes everywhere and I hardly know where to start with unpacking, but the move itself is finally done. All my things are back in one place, and I can get back to settling in (as soon as I've caught up on rest).

Making a Home

I got a call two and a half hours into my Ikea delivery window on Friday letting me know that my order was delayed and would be delivered on Monday instead. Instead of spending the weekend building shelves and unpacking books, I watched some YouTube, watched a movie, and read a lot. It was a nice little rest, and when my Ikea order finally did come on Monday afternoon, I was raring to go. I built the two Kallax units that I got for my bedroom and two of the Billys for the living room on Monday, and then I built the last two living room Billys last night.

Now, I know that there's no such thing as a level floor or a straight wall. However, I didn't realize exactly how uneven my floors and walls are here until I tried lining my Billys up along the wall. I'd initially planned for them to all be flush against each other, but that wasn't going to happen. I'm okay with the placement now (I don't love having little gaps in between them, but there's no other safe option), and I think they'll look fine once they're filled with books and treasures. I'm hoping to get a bunch of books unpacked this week and start organizing the shelves, because I need to make space in the craft room (where all the full boxes live) for the rest of my stuff that's coming from South Dakota this weekend.

I didn't really bring much furniture with me from South Dakota—most of what I had was cheap, or had been picked up for free, so aside from my armchair and my papasan and a few small pieces with sentimental value, I've been looking for and picking up all new furniture. A couple weeks ago I found this adorable little dining set on Facebook Marketplace—I knew I wanted a small dining set, and I really wanted something with a drop leaf that could seat at least four people (I dream of making friends here and hosting brunch). This little table is perfect. I love the formica top, and the chairs it came with are great. My plan is to get a couple of folding chairs from Ikea to have enough seating for my future brunch parties, but that can wait. 

The rug is a vintage wool rug from Turkey, and I adore it. I really wanted a rug to define the dining nook, and I'm so pleased with how it ties the space together. Eventually there will be another little buffet for more storage along that back wall (currently it's acting as my dresser, but eventually I'll get a proper, larger dresser for my clothes) and I'll be able to properly display my vintage pyrex and my antique punch bowl. (The bike is also not living in the dining nook full-time; there will eventually be a rack to stand it up in the craft room, once everything is unpacked and there's room for me to get/set up a rack for it.)

This weekend is going to be busy—I fly out to South Dakota early Saturday morning, and on Sunday we'll start early getting the Uhaul loaded so I can make the drive back. Back when I made my initial drive out here, it took me almost exactly eleven hours from getting in the car to parking at my new apartment, but that was just with my (very full) car, so I'm anticipating the drive on Sunday to take a little bit longer. It will be so nice to have the rest of my stuff here, though. Most of my craft supplies are still in South Dakota, as well as my entire liquor collection and my tv, and it will feel really good to have everything moved.

It's Really Been a Year

Hi, friends. It's been a while, hasn't it? 

The past year was a bit of a doozy. Since we've last visited, I finished library school, spent many months trying to recover from working and going to grad school at the same time, and spent almost a year to the day applying for jobs. 

2022 was rough, y'all. It was all I could do to just keep going. I didn't write much, I didn't knit much, and since we last met I managed to release just one pattern (Ravelry Link) (Payhip Link). At the beginning of last year, I had big aspirations: I was going to recover from grad school quickly, dive back into writing and designing and making full-throttle, I was going to get a fantastic new job and move to Minnesota to be near my bestie. And then none of that really happened.

In November I applied for a job on a whim. I was burnt out on job hunting, and this job was outside of my search parameters, and I was so tired and frustrated that I decided to just send in my resume. And then six days later I was offered the job. 

Almost one month ago to the day I packed up my car and drove myself, Lee Lee, the goldfish, and all 57 of my plants to Illinois to start this new adventure. It's been a wild couple of months, and it's still really stressful—I'm surrounded by boxes and piles of stuff, I need to make one more trip back to South Dakota to get the rest of my stuff, I'm learning a brand-new job and a brand-new city and getting used to living in a new apartment that feels so very different from anywhere I've lived before. 

It's been an adventure (and will continue to be one as I continue settling in!) and sometimes I still can't quite believe that I did it. Bit by bit, my new apartment is starting to feel like home—I have a bed, finally, and this week I'll get the first batch of bookcases so I can start unpacking some of the book and tchotchke boxes, and I'm slowly getting used to navigating the new kitchen. I've gone on little adventures to the winter farmer's market, the public library, and some thrift stores to start learning the area, and I'm starting to get a feel for my job. 

It's good to be back, friends, and I hope that in 2023 we'll have lots to share with each other here. 

Checking In

Hello, friends! I'm here with my promised monthly check-in, and I can't believe January's gone and we're almost halfway through February already.

I released two patterns that I worked on throughout last year, and I currently don't have any designs in progress. I'm not sure how I feel about that—on the one hand, it's nice to have that pressure taken off me, but on the other hand, I've been working on some design or other straight through since 2014, so it's definitely a change.

Classes have started, and I think it's going to be a good semester. It doesn't look like any of my classes will be too too difficult or onerous, which is a relief—I don't have major projects in two of my three classes, and so far my reading load is about half of what it's been in past semesters. I have to do my graduation portfolio this semester, too, which I'm not really looking forward to, but I've come this far, so I'm sure I'll get through it just fine.

One thing I finally did this month, after putting it off for years was sandwich my vintage quilt top. I got this at a church bazaar back in 2014 (I think?) and I've been seriously meaning to sandwich it since I moved into my apartment. For whatever reason, it just never was a priority when I had the time to do it, but a couple weeks ago I decided to go for it. I haven't been knitting as much during my classes as I thought I would before I started library school, and it's really good for my mental health for me to make things with my hands. 

This quilt top isn't perfect—there are crooked bits, and the fabrics are all different weights, so some have stretched out more than others—and that gives me a lot of freedom to not worry about quilting it perfectly. I can just enjoy the process of stitching and not think at all about how even or straight my stitches are. I've really been enjoying being able to just make something without putting any pressure on myself to make it perfect, or even good. No matter how messily it's stitched, as I'm sitting in class or watching YouTube, it will be functional, and I'm sure Lee Lee will fight me for possession of it when it's done. 

There's probably something there about the freedom of doing things badly—even intentionally doing things badly. Sure, there's a lot of satisfaction surrounding a perfectly executed project, but right now I'm really loving the process of stitching without any pressure to make it look nice. 

Jasper Beach

Jasper Beach is a quick knit with a big payoff. Super bulky yarn coupled with bobble stripes creates a thick, cozy cowl sure to keep all kinds of winds and chills off your neck. Perfect for cold-weather foraging, beachcombing, and just walking around your neighborhood.

Jasper Beach is worked in the round from the bottom up.

Jasper Beach is available on Ravelry and Payhip, and you can use code PEBBLES for 20% off through Wednesday, January 26!

This is the last pattern I have lined up for release for a while—since it's my last semester of library school, I'm taking even more of a break, and I currently don't have any designs in progress! It feels weird, but I'm letting myself focus on finishing my degree, working out my next steps, and taking care of myself. Maybe something new will sneak into my sketchbook or onto my needles, but I've taken that pressure off myself for the next six-ish months. 

Scrounger

Scrounger is a cozy, textured shawl worked sideways from one point to the opposite side. Featuring garter stitch and a simple lace repeat, Scrounger is both comforting to knit and easy to wear.

Perfect for wandering around in the woods or downtown, Scrounger is the ideal shawl for uncovering hidden treasures.

Scrounger is currently available on Ravelry and Payhip, and it's 20% off through Friday, January 21 with code FIND.

Changes, and My Word for 2022

Well, hi, friends. It's been a while, hasn't it?

I made it through my third semester of library school, all the winter holidays, and a quick ER vet trip (Lee Lee busted her eyelid on the coffee table, she's fine) and I'm looking kind of trepidatiously at the next six months. 

In two weeks I'll start my final semester of library school, and sixteen weeks after that I'll be done. I'll have my master's degree. That's...huge. I don't know what job I'll have this summer, or where I'll be living, and it's a very intimidating feeling. 

I've never really liked change, but I'm at this transitional period in my life where I need to go through some major changes to get where I want to be. My therapist says that this is a "growing time," and that it will be healthy for me. I'm trying to believe her. (I'm sure she's right, that's why she gets the big bucks, but it doesn't mean I have to be happy about it.)

I've toyed with choosing a word the past couple years, but this year it came really easy to me: Growth. A bit on the nose, perhaps, but I've spent a lot of energy over the past two years working on my education and my mental and physical health, and I've done a lot of that "invisible" growth—strengthening my roots and building up momentum—and soon I'll be ready to shoot out some new leaves and flowers. It's weird to know that I'm coming up on the end of a project that's taken most of my energy for almost two years

As afraid as I am of the changes facing me this next year, I'm also hugely excited to see where I end up and what this next stage of my life will look like. 

I can say that I feel more at home in myself now than I ever have before, and that makes me hopeful

In an effort to not put too much extra pressure on myself, I think I'm going to commit myself to checking in here monthly for now. I'm also not committing to designing right now, but have two patterns with my tech editor right now, and I'll pop in to announce those here when they go live. I have some sketches in my notebook, and I've mentally assigned yarn to them, but we'll see when they get started. At the beginning of library school, I had high hopes for how much sample knitting I'd do in class, but it turns out that grad school is mentally exhausting, and I'm finally accepting that and taking all the pressure off. 

I suppose you'd like a picture of something knitterly. This is my mother's xmas sweater, which I started mid-October and finished three days before xmas. She had bought the yarn a couple years ago, and approached me in October about knitting her a sweater with it for her gift. It's the Natural Cardigan (Ravelry Link) by Christina Körber-Reith, and it really was a pleasant knit. 

-Along Time 2021

 Hi Friends!

Yes, I have been INCREDIBLY absent from the blog. I'm blaming school. (Things are going great. My grades are good, I got into all my first-choice classes for next semester, the finish line is so close I can taste it.)

We are coming up on two of my favorite events of the year:

-The Ravelry Indie Gift-A-Long, beginning November 23, 2021

-The Off-Ravelry Fasten Off Yarn-A-Long, beginning November 30, 2021

I'm so excited to be a participating designer in both of these events again, and I hope to see you hanging around one of them!