Checking In

I'm here. There's been lots of work travel and lots of wedding planning but very little crafting.

No worries - it's all still there and waiting for me when things calm down.

Some pics from my recent travels to Thailand and East Timor.

30

Today I am 30. Whoa! 

Here's to starting a great decade. :-)

2013

Here's to a fabulous year ahead!

* turning 30 (in 8 days!) * getting married * going to Hawaii * new job (same company) * more yoga * running and toning * quilting * knitting * ski lessons in Denver * sister blog * 365 project * more cooking and baking * more pictures * getting my shop up and running again * blogging! * thailand * east timor * seeing more friends * maybe a new craft? (cross stitch, crochet, embroidery, fabric design) * biking and more outdoors activities * French * planning a trip to Kenya for 2014 * house hunting (!) * canning * love, patience, kindness, compassion, honesty, determination, enthusiasm, creativity *

Happy New Year and thanks for visiting, always :-) xoxo

Flying by

I have no idea how it was so long ago that I was in this space. Everything is fine - super busy! We are almost to December already. Seriously.

There has been lots of knitting, wedding planning, stuff at work, etc. So much going on but like I said, all good.

Rather than bore you with a narrative, here are some images since I've last been in this space.

 Fall

Herbivore shawl progress

Odin and Louie

Handknit socks for my sweetie

 Baby quilt

Westies

 Forward

Less than 8 months 'til we get hitched!

 (Engagement pic by Tammy Swales)

Addicted

We may have a problem.

I'm now addicted to knitting shawls. I'm on number 3.

This might not actually be a problem because a) I am a scarf/cowl/shawl/wrap person the minute the slightest hint of fall settles in and b) I'm only allowing myself to use my stash or buy wool for one project at a time (and fortunately, shawls don't need that much wool).

Seriously folks. It's not even cold out and I'm on #3. (Evidence on Ravelry).

Who wants a shawl for the holidays? I'll start taking orders now...

 Ferrous

Ishbel

Wool, now on the needles for Traveling Woman

Hot

DC has ridiculous summers. Seriously. I'm done. It's TOO HOT. Though I must say, today is the first day in a while that I would actually not pout about. I'm sitting here with the windows open... and it only hit 89 today (ONLY?!).

Even more hilarious: I'm the crazy girl who is knitting in this heat. Sitting here in shorts/tee shirt, happy knitting and purling away on cowls and shawls. Totally nuts, I know.

I go through these phases with knitting but I think I'm officially back into it. It really was only one phase and that's because quilting has sort of taken over for the past few years...but now that I'm comfortable with my quilting, it's like I finally have room for both again! Heehee.

Come follow along with my knitting and stashing madness on Ravelry.

Inspiration

I love finding inspiration in unexpected places. My sweetie is a HUGE Olympics enthusiast (we have been staying up late every night to watch - especially the amazing Michael Phelps) and the determination, commitment, and passion that I see in the athletes definitely gives me a source of inspiration for my own passions.

I've been knitting for almost 15 years and while for the past few years quilting has taken the lead over yarn, I've recently picked up my needles again. I consider myself a solid knitter and always found it comforting as well as productive. I usually didn't knit in the summer but when we went to Maine last month, I decided to bring along some projects. I'm really glad I did because it totally kickstarted my knitting mojo. I'm determined to finish projects that have been hanging out on the needles for years, not to mention have added a few new ones. Knitting for me has - and probably always will - be an incredible comforting, fun activity. There's something so amazing about the feel of yarn, especially with so many beautiful hand-painted skeins out there. Not to mention, DC has a fantastic LYS: Looped, which is only 2 Metro stops from my apartment!

In addition to a number of knitting projects (check out my Ravelry page), I've been quilting away, mainly focusing on a baby quilt for a colleague, who is expecting her first nephew in about 2 weeks. Her brother and SIL chose a robot theme for the nursery so I made a quilt to match!

Robot quilt - all ready for quilting. Going to do simple lines so that the softness of the fabric and the fun prints are the main focus.

 Some delicious Tosh DK (purchased here - and all discontinued colors are on sale! So dangerous!)

Enjoy Sunday everyone - my sweetie is off, helping his bro move (to Colorado!) so Louie and I have the apartment to ourselves and are definitely making a mess. :-)