Tooosday

Back at work for a few days, filling in. This is not helping the time pass any faster, but at least I'm getting to peruse lots of fun blogs and get knitting done. Plus I'm attempting to work on learning French a little bit to get ready for grad school. My lovely friend Rachel (called Racial by the kids she babysits, which I think is hilarious) lent me her French book, so I'm trying to make good use of it.
I'm also attempting to make good use of my gym membership before it runs out in 3 weeks. And I found this cool thing! Check it out

I'll re-post it every once in a while to keep myself on track...
That's all for now, hopefully pictures soon!

Today I'm loving http://www.flickr.com/photos/kimssuitcase/ - makes me want to go home and draw.

Thinking...

No pictures, but there is a ton of knitting going on, I swear. 3 FOs in the last week, plus a crocheted afghan and 2 sweaters in progress. I'm just lazy :)
Some things that have been on my mind lately -
New sheets:

Cool clocks for my room:

Making one of these for myself, probably in black or a really nice dark plum:

And in terms of the non-material in life, I've been mulling over some words of wisdom, thinking about how to sort out my priorities and getting ready to move out and be truly on my own (aak! alone!) for the first time ever:

This is what we are about.
We PLANT seeds that one day will grow.
We WATER seeds already planted
knowing that they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need future development.
We provide yeast that produces effects far beyond our capabilities.

We cannot do everything, and
there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.
This allows us to do SOMETHING, and to do it very, very well.
--Archbishop Oscar Romero

While I'm looking for answers, I promise to take some time and use the digital camera, to give you all something to look at :)

Time to Stash!

STASHING--

A selection of excuses for why it's okay for me to be increasing my already-substantial yarn stash:

1. If I pack up a huge box of yarn and send it to my new place in Chicago, I'll be guaranteed to have at least one happy thing in my mail right away
2. If I spend the money on crafting supplies, it will keep me from spending it on something I won't be as likely to use. Such as kitchen equipment for my new apartment or new running shoes 3. If I spend all my money on yarn right now, I won't have to bother making up a budget for surviving the fall quarter

Those sounded much better in my head than they look down on paper! So I bought some rather expensive yarn on vacation...

Some out of focus sock yarn in colors that I find strangely appealing, even though I usually really dislike brown, and some beautiful mohair-silk blend that I'll use for a lacy scarf-type thingie. Yay! I won't show the secret pal yarn, because I don't want to risk any surprise-spoiling.

QUILTING --

Jessica's quilt was my very first attempt at quilting anything! I think it turned out pretty well :) In-progress:

and completely finished:

and the personalized corner -

Lauren's quilt was the second attempt, and, though I feel bad admitting this in a forum in which Jessica might read it, I think I got better at actually lining things up the second time around. I would show you right now, but she took it on a sleepover with her (aww, I feel loved!), so I'll try to get pictures tomorrow.

Now back to knitting!

I'm Ba-ack :)

And first, I want you to meet this cute little guy that I copied from my brother's blog:


Adopt-a-Spot at
RandomBanana.com!

How cute is that?!

So - vacation update: Tahoe was fantastic. Beautiful weather, in the 90s the whole time! We got to go rafting down the Truckee River, lounge on the beach at Sand Harbor, visit with family in South Tahoe, go down the river again (yay!), read books by the pool, play mini golf, eat ice cream, eat at good restaurants, go to Circus Circus casino in Reno (my first time gambling in an over 21 place! my mom and I had lots of fun), and get incredibly tan/sunburnt. I love going to Tahoe in the summer :)

My siblings and I also goofed around a lot, because that is what you're supposed to do in summer!

Me

Jessica

Lauren

Joe

Needless to say, we had a ton of fun!

KNITTING NEWS - - -

Yesterday afternoon, I got another AMAZING package from my secret pal. I just love love love this beautiful yarn, and it's perfect because I am really enjoying lace knitting, now that I can read from charts more easily.

Delicious yarn donuts

and an unwound skein (you can see the color changes better)

And lovely notecards with my initial on them and shiny plant-patterned greeting cards with cool quotes on the outside. Hooray for stationery!

There is so much more to post about, including my secret vacation stash enhancement. Because I had a free afternoon and zero self control, and plus I needed to buy something for my own secret pal, so I really did HAVE to go to the yarn store, heehee. I will also post pictures of the Jessica and Lauren birthday quilts, which turned out really well. But that's all for now, because the hammock in my sunny backyard is calling me and my book!