Saturday, January 10, 2015

Blowing Off the Dust

It's been over two years.  More than two years since I have written here and still I can't get this place off my mind.  Lately, I think about it a lot and feel a deep desire to write again.  So here I am.  Rusty and out of practice but with so many words swirling around in my mind, trying to find a place to flow and sort themselves out into sentences that have meaning and make sense.

I love January 1 and clean slates and new beginnings.  I love the prospect of new mercies every morning!  I love fresh starts and lists of goals.  So what better time to re-start writing in my blog?  I have lists and goals and ideas I want to put into words so here goes!

Christmas this year was busy and crazy and as our family continues to grow my house seems to continue to grow smaller.  I am working hard at being content with what I have but I must admit, a bigger house would be a wonderful thing.  Not a very probable thing as we are not that far away from retirement - but a wonderful thing none the less.  It is good for life to get back into a routine but I have been busy planning out the goals I hope to achieve this year.  I am not a fan of the "resolution" however, several years ago my good blogging friend, The Butler's Wife (how I miss her blog), challenged me to find a Word for each year.  What a journey it has been!  Last year my word was Anticipate.  I thought of all kinds of good things that I could be anticipating.  What happened was that I needed to relearn what the word meant.  I learned to anticipate Jesus in every situation, good or bad.  I began the year looking for an answer to a very deep and hard question in my life.  Today, I still don't have any clarity, but I do trust that Jesus knows and I anticipate that at just the right time the right answer will come.

My 2015 Word is Abide.  I re-read the book Shepherd's Abiding by Jan Karon as my Christmas book this year and the word stuck in my mind.  I began hearing it everywhere.  Old hymns containing the word started singing themselves in my mind.  It's not a very common word so I began to realize that God was speaking.  In many ways Abide seems like a continuation of the word Anticipate.  As I abide in Him I can anticipate so much.  I am going to find every hymn I can with abide in it and use them in my devotions.  Abide.  It is a lovely word.

I have set some fun goals for this year as well.  Being an avid knitter, my sewing has gone a bit by the wayside.  But for Christmas this year I made three of my grandsons Quiet Books for gifts.  Whew!  What a fun and exhausting project.  Trying to work in my disaster of a sewing room was challenging and in the midst of sewing I started organizing my room which contains materials for every single craft I have ever done.  I began realizing just how much "stuff" I have and I came up with an idea.  For 2015 every single thing I sew or knit has to come from my "stash".  I will have to buy buttons and zippers and maybe some thread to complete projects but I am not going to buy anything new to sew or knit.  What a fun challenge.  Already I made a new table runner for my dining room table using fabric and things I already had.  I didn't have to buy anything! Gray is my new favorite color and I especially love it with the reds!
As soon as I finished the table runner I pulled out some fabrics to make a baby quilt for my three year old grandson, Ryan.  I make a baby quilt for every grandchild and I am two behind.  So Ryan will get his quilt, soon I think, and it is browns and teals and full of bears.  I can't wait!

Another fun goal I have set this year is a reading challenge.  My husband told me the other day he loves to see me reading.  I used to read much more than I do these days and I miss it.  So when I found this fun reading challenge the other day on facebook I decided to take it on.  It should get me out of my box I think.  One of the suggestions that bothered me was "read a graphic novel".  I don't read graphic stuff.  But then I remembered I want to read the book Unbroken and after seeing the movie I realized it is very graphic - but in a way that is historical and truthful and necessary to the story.  So I will be okay.

I have always wanted to learn how to do calligraphy.  The other day I was in a Hastings Bookstore and I saw a calligraphy kit on sale.  It ended up in my hands so fast I didn't know what happened!  I decided then and there that 2015 was the year to learn calligraphy.  I haven't started yet - it seems a bit intimidating - but it will happen!

I have totally become a fan of the show Fixer Upper.  I love, love, love Chip and Jo Jo Gaines.  I became acquainted with her from reading the blog Mundane Faithfulness.  When Kara told of how JoJo flew to her home in Colorado Springs to decorate her home for Christmas it touched my heart and I knew she was a Christian who walked her talk.  I had never heard of the show before but I set my dvr to record all the episodes and my goodness - both my husband and I are hooked!  And now we are inspired to work on our house.  Our home is 15 years old and it is time to do some updates.  So we have made a list of renovations and have already begun!  The first thing was to complete a cupalo and weather vane for our barn.   I love it!
Next on our list is a laundry room update - we are removing an old cabinet and installing "floating" shelves.  We also have an old heavy piece of wood covering a cubby hole storage area under the stairs.  The door has never been attached or functional so we are going to make a sliding barn-style door.  Our main bathroom needs some paint and the "kid's room" needs a makeover as well.  We are excited to see what we can come up with.

2015 looms on the horizon as being an exciting and fulfilling year.  I am excited to learn new ways I can Abide with Him.  I am looking forward to working down my fabric and yarn stash and turning it all into beautiful things.  I look forward to learning new things and reading new books.  And it feels so good to be back in this familiar place.  Oh how I have missed it!



Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Episode 15 - January 2014

 Thanks for listening!  I am hoping to get into a monthly podcast routine and hope this works better and more consistently.  I'm so glad you stopped by the Nest today - here are the links to all the things I talked about:

Off My Needles:
Vanilla Latte Socks knit with Knit Picks Felici yarn in the Stream Bed colorway. 
Dad Socks knit with Knit Picks Stroll in the Midnight Heather colorway.
Climb and Swirl Cowl - free Ravelry download!  I really recommend this pattern.  I used Lana Vida Hannah along with a strand of Rowan Kidsilk Haze on a size 11 needle.
Rocky Coast Cardigan knit with Cascade 220 superwash.
ZuZu's Petals (LOVE IT) knit with Twisted Fiber Art Catnip yarn in the Bookworm colorway.
For my new little grandson I knit Cooper's Sweater set using the Socketta Baby Cardigan pattern - a free Ravelry download.  I used Paton's Kroy yarn in the gray brown red Marl colorway.
For my 2 year old grandson I knit Ryan's Fox Sweater using Willy the Wily Fox pattern.  I used an inexpensive acrylic yarn and it turned out okay.
Ava's hat was next off the needles.
My Easy Folded Poncho by Churchmouse Yarns and Teas using Knit Picks City Tweed DK in the Orca colorway.  Thank you Barb for hosting the Bringing Back the Poncho KAL!
Finally I knit THREE sweaters and matching hats for my three grandsons who are brothers.  I used three grays from the Knit Picks Swish yarn.  I used the Gramps Cardigan pattern by TinCan Knits although I thought I was using the Gramps Cardigan by Kate Oates.

I promised to share a link for the Magic Knot.

My Happy Place:
If a picture paints 1000 words, then here is 2000!





Monday, September 9, 2013

Episode 14 - Summer's End

On My Needles:
     Vanilla Latte Socks
     My Vanilla Latte Socks
     Dad Socks
     My Dad Socks

Off My Needles:
     Freesia
     (My Freesia ) I Hate Cancer Prayer Shawl
     Dream in Color Smooshy with Cashmere
     Wispy Cardi by Hannah Fettig
     Andrea's Wispy
Qued Up: 
     Backshore by Alicia Plummer
     Bunny Girl in a Dotted Dress
     Little Cotton Rabbits
     Climb and Swirl Cowl
   Loop Knits

Technique:  I store my yarn in plastic ziplock bags inside plastic totes.  How about you?

My Happy Place: 
     XXX spinning wheel
     Football with my beloved Boise State Broncos!!
    

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Episode 13 - Three Bags Full!


Off My Needles -

Waikiki Wedding Shawl
Tanis Fiber Arts Silver Label - Natural Colorway
 Low Tide Cardigan by TinCanKnits

On My Needles -
Andrea's Wispy Cardi - Hannah Fettig
Rocky Coast Cardigan - Hannah Fettig

Qued Up
Freesia shawl
Bonny - TinCanKnits
Vanilla Latte Socks

On The Farm

Moseying on in - no idea what is about to happen!
Ivy


Skirting
Washing
Carding
Beautiful, beautiful yarn