2012 Wrapup

In preparation for 2013, I have been thinking about the direction that I want to move myself in. What do I want Brittany to look like one year?  But before I get into all that, I would like to take a look into the past year. 

A lot of great things have happened this year.  This has been a really great year for us!  Last year, I had a New Years post, and I knew that I would have to answer to it this year.  I thought it was going to be bad.  Really bad.  But I don’t think I did too shabby.

Let’s review.

2012 resolutions

1.      To stop biting my nails Again. – I have done this.  I am typing this with painted nails that are on the short side, but that is because I had one break. Ugh. 

2.      To learn new knitting techniques – I did learn how to fair isle, but that is about it.  I wanted to make a sweater, but I didn’t.  I will definitely have to revisit this 2013.

3.      To figure out a direction for Yarn Fairies. – Umm, I am still working on this one as well.   I have gotten a great deal of special orders this year.  But that balance between doing orders, preparing for a booth, learning new skills, and charity knitting, is really hard to find.  This will have to be redefined in 2013.

4.      To be more organized. – This is a progress.  Yes, Kacee helped me organized my master closet in Feb.  Does it look as bad as when she first saw it? No.  Does it look like it did when she left that Saturday? No.  Rome wasn’t built in day.

5.      To learn to sew – I am learning to sew.  I have taken a few classes.  Found a great seamstress to help me on the side.   I made a beautiful apron for my sister for Christmas.  I should have gotten some pics, maybe she will send some.   I am really proud of that apron.  I know it is something that Becky can use and keep forever. Check!

6.      To be healthier -  I have done this as well.  I have started drinking green smoothies.   I joined a gym that I go to sometimes.  I am also training for a half marathon.  Check!

7.      To Say Yes- Some days I am in the mood for this.  Some days, I am not.  But I would consider myself greatly improved in this area.  

I thought I was ready to give you a list of my 2013 resolutions, but I think I need more time to reflect.  I will get back to you. 

Have yourself a merry little Christmas

It is that time of year again!  And oh, how I love this time of year! 

Things I love most about Christmas!

-Christmas Lights

-Warm Holiday Beverages

-The Ornaments on our tree

-Our lopsided tree (it suffered a cat attack last year)

-Our new tree that Justin found in the Garbage

-Christmas Movies

-Christmas TV

-Sugar Cookies with Icing

-Christmas Carols

-Mistletoe (wink, wink)

What I love about this Christmas is that Justin seems to finally have gotten bit by the Christmas spirit.  I don’t know if it has been by choice or by force.  Let me explain, I was out of pocket last week.  That was two weeks before Christmas.   As every crafter, shopper, baker knows, that is the week where you are supposed to get the most done.   The week before Christmas is reserved for last minute baking and shopping.  It is reserved for last minute touches and holiday parties.  It is reserved road trips and arrivals.  

I was afraid that with me out of town for a week, that I would not be able to make “Christmas” happen.  I would just be too far behind.  ENTER – my knight is shining armor, Justin.  He has been amazing this Christmas.  He has done so much shopping and wrapping.  He has kept the house as clean as he can with me still on the loose!  I don’t know what I would do without Justin.  He has bought several Secret Santa gifts for parties that we will attend, and already has them wrapped and under the tree.   So either by choice or by force, Justin has been filled with the Christmas spirit!  And I could not be happier.

But because it is the week before Christmas, there is baking, last minute touches, holiday travel plans, and some last minute crocheting to do.  And no matter how much Christmas spirit Justin has, he refuses to learn to crochet.  Yes, I have tried to talk him into it!  Anyways, I still have a lot to do. 

I was getting ready for work on Monday, and realizing that I was getting really stressed worrying about how it will all get done.  I ask Justin to help me prioritize the things on my list, and cross off some things that don’t really matter.

So I looked at my list, and I crossed a couple things off.  And I feel good about it.  I will still have a busy week.  But I am going to make time for the things that I want this year.   I want to watch Christmas Vacation with my husband.  I want to meet my girlfriends for cookies on Thursday. I want to have sushi with my sister on Saturday.  I want to go to Bro. Lloyds’ church on Sunday.  I want to spend Christmas Eve with my parents!  

So yes I am skipping some things this year, but that’s okay.  I am making sure that I make the most out of this Christmas by spending time with family, friends, and Justin.

Our Anniversary

November 26, 2012 marked nine years that Justin and I have been together, it is also our 2^nd marriage anniversary.   I can/will speak for Justin, we had an amazing anniversary. 

I don’t like to think gift giving it a contest, BUT if it was.  Justin would have certainly taken the prize on this year.

Now, Justin usually waits until the last minute to shop, and I mean the very last minute.  So you can imagine my surprise, when he told me weeks before that my present was already in the works.  But due to it being custom, it may not be ready in time to take on our trip to the cabin.

I am nosey.  People know that.  So I badgered Justin with questions, and he gave me the following clues.  Don’t scroll down, See if you can guess what my gift was...

1.      Had to have sex to use it.

2.      Some assembly required

3.      It was small but could be large

4.      It was made of natural material

I had no idea what my gift was.  No idea.  I am going to talk about something else to give you time to guess.

We went the Bear Creek Log Cabin for a couple of days.  It was so relaxing and so much fun.  We took this picture.

 In this pic, he is wearing his anniversary present.  I got him a CM Punk shirt.  After all, it was our cotton anniversary.

When we got home, there was a package that awaited me, my anniversary present.  From the above clues, I had no idea what would be in this box.  So imagine my surprise, when this comes out of the box.  This pic does not do this yarn justice.  The yarn is so soft, and the color so rich.

I asked Justin why this particular color choice.  He said that this yarn was hand painted based on the color pallet of this picture, a picture of our family.

Then I replied, Justin this is very sweet.  But why did you get so much of it.  The box contained 5 skeins of yarn totaling 1370 yards.  That is quite a bit of yarn.

That is when Justin told me what the yarn was for.  He had the yarn custom made, inspired by a picture of our family, and he had bought enough for a baby blanket.   As you might have guess, I promptly burst into tears. 

The idea the one day, when Justin and I are ready for that next step, I will be knitting our first baby’s blanket with a yarn that represents our family.  And better yet, that my husband was thoughtful and creative enough to have made the yarn made.  It was too much for me.  It was a great gift. 

Did you guess it?  

He is going to have a really hard time topping this next year.  He should probably get started now.

I am Thankful

It is that time of year again; it is time for my Thanksgiving post.   I see the posts on Facebook with people breaking down what they are thankful for day by day, but that doesn’t work for me.  So I will do it my way.

I looked at my 30 days of thanksgiving from last year, and everything on that list I am still thankful.   If I were to do a new list, it would be essentially the same with the addition of my friend Chris and my new friend, Lizzy.  But I don’t want to do a list.  Actually, I am going to step outside of the box and do things a little differently this year.

I am thankful for me. Conceited much?

In all seriousness, I feel like this has been the year that I have really accepted who I am and everything that entails. I love this quote.

“Nothing of me is original.  I am the combined effort of everybody I’ve ever known.” Chuck Palahniuk

When I think about particular aspects in my life, I can directly relate that to a person that I know or have known.   For instance, my love of knitting, directly related to Jill, the person who taught me to knit.   My ability to make homemade biscuits, that came from watching my dad make biscuits every morning.  Me being the colorguard captain in high school reminds me of Melissa, my colorguard captain that I thought was so cool, still do.  My adventure into green smoothies is linked to Lizzy who first introduced them to me.   My love for big cities was imparted on me by Dr. Jordan.  My interest in marine insurance was stirred by an underwriter named Brett.  I think my sister inspired my desire to be a great cook.  I wish I could say that my loyalty is entirely my own, but I see so much of the same reflected in my mom.  If I have a sense of style, it is a direct inspiration of Megan, Kacee, and Holly.   I could go on and on with all the good things I have gleamed from people, but that is only half of it.

I have known some people in my life that haven’t been as great, and they have left parts of themselves with me as well.   I can be a jealous person, and I can become bitter about certain things.  I have been known to worry excessively. Certain people have left me with a feeling of insecurity and distrust.  I am afraid that these things can’t be avoided, have to take the good with the bad. 

You see?  I am not me at all.  I am a mix of everyone I have met. 

Our lives are filled with all kinds of people and experiences; some of the life changing, some of them pretty mundane.  But they all have a piece, however small, in the puzzle of our life.  Good news!  If you are reading this, your puzzle isn’t completed.  There are still pieces left to be added. 

I am thankful that our lives are fluid and ever-changing.  I am thankful for all the people whom I have met, and I thankful for the person that they made me.  I can honestly say, I wouldn’t be the person I am without you.

Happy Thanksgiving, Friends.  

Me and Myrna Hitting the Town

So I have been taking Myrna on some dates.  We’ve been spotted hob-knobbing at JoAnns.

From previous posts, you know that my sewing machine is named Myrna.  We have had a hate/love relationship but I think I can safely say that the hate half of that is definitely in the past. 

A little trivia for you, September is National Sewing Month. So Lizzy and I signed up for two sewing classes at Joann’s at half price. We signed up for a Basics Class and a Lazy Pants class.

The Basics class was full, and I quickly realized that Myrna and I had made it a lot further than some of the other people in the class.   But still I learned quite a bit that day.  All about pattern envelopes, how to correctly set my machine, different stitches, etc.  I felt like Myrna and I bonded a little that day.

The Lazy Pants class was this past Saturday.  To say I was nervous was a bit of an understatement.  I had tried to work on a pattern before, and I ended up confused. Very confused.  After the money I had spent on the class, fabric, and pattern, I really needed a wearable finished product.  I needed something to show for my efforts.

Our teacher was Ms. Julia, and I think I love her.  She was the perfect combination of scary and helpful.  Lizzy and I were the only ones in the Lazy pants class, and we were glad because it became very clear that we needed some one-on-one attention. 

My biggest mistake of the class was the fabric buying part.  After my Basics class, I was cocky about reading a pattern envelope.  The pattern envelope said 1 5/8ths yard of fabric, I bought 2 and gloated that I had plenty of fabric, may even make a pillow with the leftovers.   So I show up to class and begin to lay my pattern out, and there is a problem.  I have nowhere near enough fabric.  In fact, Lazy Pants quickly became Lazy Capris since I was so short of fabric.   Do you know what I did?  I bought fabric for the child’s pattern.  The child’s!

Second biggest mistake was the sizing. Check the picture below for confirmation.  You should see me run in these, I look ridiculous.  I am not as thin as I once was, but I am not nearly as big as the pants I made. 

If you are reading this and saying to yourself, It doesn’t sound like that class went very well at all.

You would be wrong.

These are the things that Ms. Julia taught me.

1.      It won’t be perfect, but it will be unique piece that can never be recreated.

2.      Not to be afraid of Myrna.  I did feel as if I developed a comfort level with her, and I think that will lead to only good things.

3.      How to break down a pattern into manageable tasks.

4.      All about grain of fabric and how to ensure my pattern is straight. 

5.      What the hell fold into the fold means. 

6.      How to get the crotch of pants to not look bunchy

So you see, I did actually learn a lot.  And I know that my second pair of lazy pants will actually be pants and maybe even not look so much like parachutes.

I am trying again!  Myrna and I have another date set for Sunday! It is a double date with Lizzy and her machine.

P.S. Find out what Lizzy named her machine...

Yarn Fairies Explosion

I know. I have been non-existent lately.  I apologize.  I have had two different people ask me for another blog update, so I feel inspired to write.  So write I will do.

Yarn Fairies.  If you are a long time reader, you know that this is the name of my yarn art business.  You will also remember that one of my New Year’s Resolutions was to go forward with Yarn Fairies.  I had thought about the possibility of opening a online shop.  There is just one problem with that.

I am SWAMPED!

I personally think that handmade items are coming back.  People are tired of having something that was made commercially by people in other countries who are being paid next to nothing.  People are tired of buying things that are so ordinary and dreadfully boring.   Plus, with all the talented people in the world, if you can buy something unique and you can buy from an artist that personally handcrafted your item.  Why wouldn’t you spend the little extra money?

And that is probably why I am so busy.  Yarn Fairies is participating in the Holiday in SmokeRise Festival again, so I busy working on things to stock the table with.

But I am also busy with personal orders. People have been coming up to me, “hey, can you make this?” And my answer is always the same, “I have no idea, but I am going to try” And I have been trying, and I am not trying to boast.  I have come up with some really cute things.

Here is my current list of just finished, current projects, and to do list

-Elephant hat

-3 Ponchos

-Army Tank Slippers – Size 17 – That is not a typo. It will take 4 balls of yarn to complete.

-Cat costume

-A tiny Dress

-Reindeer Hat

- Snowman Hat

Plus, I need to make more hats to stock our table with.  Most of the above are personal orders that are already sold.

I am trying to remain calm. 

I have a lot of work to do. But if this is a sign that America is turning back to handmade items.  It is a busy that is welcomed.

I haven’t even thought about Christmas presents yet, oh dear.

So you see, I haven’t been ignoring you. I have been busy.

Anna's Blanket

My good friend, Anna, who lives in Florida got married in July. She wanted her wedding gift to be a blanket. Now, Anna is the one of the kindest people I know, especially to animals. So she needed a wonderful blanket! I had this pattern that I have dying to try.

It was intarsia crochet. I had to make 80 squares, sew them together, and then make a border. It took forever. (Think of all the yarn ends I had to sew in and hide) I seriously have 40+ hours into this blanket. And when it was finished, it was amazing..

I tied it with a beautiful bow and packaged it with a sweet card. Telling Anna, that I knew she wouldnt mind all my kitties fur that had made it on the blanket. And shipped it off last Thursday.

I told Anna it would arrive on Saturday.

Monday morning, I checked to make sure the blanket and the pepper jelly that I had mailed off to a friend in IL had both made it to their new homes.

Typed in one tracking number, the package is in Peoria should be delivered today. Perfect. Typed in the other tracking number, the second package is also in Peoria, IL. What?!

i double check. Triple check. to make sure that I hadnt just entered the same number twice. But nope.
I immediately start to feel like I can’t breathe. I wonder if somehow I have written the address on Anna’s blanket incorrectly. What if I have combined the IL and FL addresses, Where will this blanket be sent? The tracking site said, Out for delivery. Will the recipient realize the package was not meant for them, and return to sender? Where in the hell is the blanket that I spent 40+ hours of my life at? Cue hysteria.

According to the USPS website, the package was not delivered and has been marked Missent. I am totally second guessing what address that I actually put on the package.

I am nervous and I am praying that my blanket ends up at Anna’s house in Florida. I would settle for it coming back to me, and I will then hold onto it until I can give it to her myself. At the very least, I hope wherever it ends up. It is with a fellow knitter/crocheter who can recognize the amount of work that went into that blanket and will love it.