KnitPony

Daily Kitty

Mel has left for college.  She's very happy.  Every day I send her a photo of her cat, Kitty Purry - it's the Daily Kitty.  Here is a mosiac of the last 16 Daily Kitties. 

New Family Member

For weeks (or months?) Mel has been pestering AB for a pet of her own, someone who belongs to her alone, that she can tell her secrets too and comfort her when high school and life get tough.  She finally wore him down.  A couple of weeks ago she picked out her new kitten.  Last Saturday we brought her home.  She's an Abyssian/Burmese cross and her name is Victoria.  I've forgotten how much fun it is to have a kitten in the house. 

Happy New Year

It’s a new year and I’m trying to get organized.  Working and using what I have around.  I had fun New Year’s weekend by pulling out my beading stuff and making a few necklaces and some earrings.  It reminded to play more.  I bought some more findings and will be playing with my beads again soon.  I may set up an Esty shop. 

I also realized, courtesy of Bailey’s Bliss (I bought one of her books), that I could sell my old books on Amazon.  I listed Paint It Black and it sold within an hour.  Yesterday evening, I went through my bookshelves pulling out books that I don’t see the need to keep.  I listed 10 more books, 3 of them are sold overnight.  I’ve found a way to ease my guilt over all the craft books I’ve bought that I don’t use.  I will be listing them over the next few days.   

AB bought me a new TV for my sewing room, so my old TV will go into Mel’s playroom, I’m going to give away her really old huge TV to anyone who wants it at work and then take the TV armoire to a consignment place.  I have an unfinished desk in the garage that I’m going to put together for her and that will open up her playroom.  I’m hoping to get the big stuff moved this weekend, AFTER;  Mel and I get back from a Pony Club clinic in Southern California.  We’re driving down Friday afternoon after she finishes her finals and will come home Saturday night. Of course this will probably be one of the windiest and coldest weekends in many years and I am a bit worried about driving.   Las Vegas does have it’s cold weather but it generally does not dip below freezing too often.  There are supposed to be snow showers on Friday afternoon, I’m hope not while we are driving!   

Because I feel the need to include a picture with my post, here's my tiny forest at Christmas time.  My trees are tucked away until next year but I really enjoyed them this year.

Time Slips Away

I am supposed to be posting every day in November.  So far it hasn’t worked out so well.  I think about posting, I come up with topics – I just don’t get the computer time in.  My mind is bouncing all over the place like a ping pong ball.  Do I talk about crafting, what I want to do, what inspires me, the book I just finished, Christmas presents I want to make?   

I sometimes get so frustrated trying to fit in any crafting or sewing.  Knitting is rarely a problem, I usually eat lunch at my desk and then knit while reading a book or some blogs.  I can also always knit while Mel rides but sewing is a bit more difficult.  I like to have a chunk of time and really prefer daylight.  By the time I get home in the evening, there’s usually an errand to run, then dinner to figure out.  I can squeeze a bit in while dinner is cooking but it’s tough.

Trying to do anything crafty that requires pulling out equipment is something I have to save for days off.  I use my kitchen island for my craft area, so I really don’t like to clutter it up for extended periods of time since it is my kitchen island that I also use to prepare food on, fold clothes on, etc. 

I am trying to figure out how to block out time for myself and really make good use of that time.  I am thinking that I can assign myself tasks each evening so that time doesn’t slip away doing little fiddly things.   I also think that I have to organize the week’s dinners so that I don’t have to take time to figure out what the heck I am going to make each night. 

But what is it that I want to do?  Make some more exciting clothes.   Make things out of my Japanese craft books, purses, wallets and some little animal toys.  Make more quilts – I have tons of material.  Try soldering jewelry like Sally Jean’s and Ullabenulla.   Make Christmas decorations. 

Luckily, I have Friday off and should be done with horse stuff and home by 11 am.  That would give me hours to play and maybe even some time to post a few pictures. 

So here are some of the tasks I will attempt tonight:

Put together my “Give Thanks” banner

Felt Bilou’s Kitty Pi

Do some ironing – I know it’s boring but it’s taking up room in my studio and driving me crazy

Finished

I haven't been writting because I've been frustrated because an old conflict has surfaced from the deep.  I guess it was never settled, but I thought feelings had mellowed.  I found out they have not.  It has affected my mood and my actions for many days.  Now I’m tired of dealing with it, tiptoeing around it and will just live my life again, going about my own business.  If someone wants to sully their life hanging on to a grudge, it’s their deal, I’m not going to be sucked into that.  And I feel much better for saying that.

My friend, Shari, has finished working on my bedroom wall.  She actually finished a couple of weeks ago but I’ve finally gotten around to taking photographs and noting it here.  My bedroom redo has been a couple of years in the making; I suddenly realized I did not like my bedroom, it felt unfinished.  I keep looking at magazines trying to figure out what I wanted.  Nothing felt right.  Suddenly one day I realized I wanted a brown and blue bedroom.  I started by covering a Pottery Barn headboard with brown ultrasuede, finding the right material for my duvet cover (it’s not finished – I never found the right lining fabric), then I found the pale silk pillows and matching sheet set, made more pillows.  Shari helped me pick the right shade for the walls and AB painted in March.   Shari then used the pattern on the duvet material to create a stencil and spent hours and hours pouncing the walls.  I love it.  Mel says it’s like being inside a box of chocolates. 

In crafting/making news I've cleared out a few projects.  I finally finished my Colinette Giotto tee, finished a linen blouse, made Mel a cute tee, put charms from last year's Seattle trip on Mel's and my charm bracelets.  I think my bracelet is now done.  I have a charm on every link and it weighs a ton.  Perhaps I should start a new one.  I've also started a new pair of socks to be gifted to someone out of Opal's Ladybug, started a vest for AB, cut out and started sewing a blouse from some pale blue silk from Michael's Fabrics that I've had in the stash for five years.  I spent the major part of yesterday afternoon watching Season 2 of Project Runway while playing in my studio.

A Little Rambling

I sort of feel like I'm cheating by using the word cloud to start a post, I like the idea of the word clouds but I've seen them at other blogs.  I would like to see an Atlas Shrugged word cloud.  I wonder what that would look like. 

I like this quote; "To an engineer, good enough means perfect. With an artist, there's no such thing as perfect."
Alexander Calder

I'm an engineer, I strive to be an artist.  Alexander Calder is the engineer's artist.  I saw an exhibit of his when it was in Las Vegas at the Bellagio.  Yes, Las Vegas does have some art venues.  I loved the toys he made.   I've wanted to make some like his but I never seem to have time.  Isn't that always the story, no time.  I really thought when Mel was much younger that I would have time once she got older and did not depend on me so much.  It's just not true.  She's pretty independent but AB or I have to drive her everywhere.  Then I used to feel comfortable to allow her to be at the barn by herself but things have changed there and unless her friend, K, is there I'm not comfortable with it.  So now I have additional barn time away from home. 

Last weekend was filled up with a horsey trip to California, schooling in Moorpark, showing in Flintridge.  It was cold and wet but a very good trip for Mel.  She came away from the weekend feeling great about herself and her riding.  I came away with a lot of knitting done while Shari drove, finished majority of Mel's Ribby Cardi, a hat for my sister's soon to be born daughter, worked on AB's socks, started a hat, frogged a hat, restarted a hat.  Tomorrow evening Mel's going to a local hunter jumper show.  AB is taking the plunge by getting Whisper and Mel there tonight to set up and school.  I was going to meet them but realized I could get some crafty/sewing time in (and process a couple loads of laundry and make dinner).  So, I'm letting go and letting them handle horse show things and trying to carve out some time for me.  What shall I sew?

Guest Room Plans

AB and I have been wondering what to do with our guest room ever since we moved into our house.  It has a mishmash of furniture, Mel's old trundle bed and nothing felt right.  Last Friday we decided to move the amoire (which held all my printer and office supplies in the old house) into the kitchen and have our friend Shari paint Tucson designs on it.  Sort of like the old California Monterrey furniture from the 20's - 30's.  When Shari and I took the girls to Sandy Valley to ride last week, AB decided to rearrange the guestroom.  He moved the amoire to what will be it's permanent home, in the kitchen.  It looks great there and will be perfect to store our extra plates, glasses and linens.  He also hung my painting by C. Tanner Jensen above it - it's perfect. 

He then moved an old dresser, it's sort of a drift-woody grey, we acquired from his father to in front of one of the windows.  Separated the trundle bed into two twin beds and moved my grandparents side table between them.  The room looks great.  I do have to move a storage piece out of there but for now it's fine.  Then I was puzzled about what to do with the wall color and for the bedspreads.  I looked on the internet and everything seemed too bedroomy, too formal, too kidlike, too wild, too boring for me.  Slowly it dawned on me that I wanted to make quilts for the beds (like I don't have enough projects) and the quilts I wanted to make would be inspired by Denyse Schmidt.  I think I am going to do something along this line.... I want to use Kaffe Fasset's shot cottons for them.  I think that will give the quilts great dimension.  At first I was going for a palette of deep grayish greens with a splash of red or another bright color.   I couldn't decide on the color of the walls.  I took a look at the Pantone Home Furnishings Forecast and slowly I decided that the walls could be a greenish color, maybe a grayish green or a pear green - like a mid century modern color.  The walls right now are a straw/candlelight color with a deeper trim, we don't want to repaint the trim.  I'm hoping that we can nail down the color this weekend because Shari and I are taking the girls to the Flintridge Horse Trials next weekend.  I'm hoping that AB will use that time to paint the room.   

On the knitting front I'm 2/3 of the way through the second sleeve on Mel's Ribbi Cardi and hope to finish it this weekend.  I need to figure out where to order a two way zipper in the correct color for it.

Angst

When I got home from work on Valentine's Day I settled in at my computer, ready to conquer the iPod issue.  I knew there would be downloading involved so I set up my book, Julie & Julia on a book stand and took out my knitting.  I downloaded new versions of iTunes and iPod, I read while the computer took it's time, I knit while I was reading.  Oh wait - maybe I needed to delete the old version of iTunes before I got the new version, delete, restart computer, download, restart computer.  I found myself getting more and more anxious.  At the same time I was reading Julie's trials with Oeufs en Gelee - eggs in aspic.  Oh shit - I made mistakes in my knitting.  Spent more than a few minutes dropping stitches, running them down to the mistake and knitting them back up.  Pour myself a glass of wine, try to fix the iPod problem, try to knit with no mistakes and read.  Finally at 7 pm I realized that the force was not with me, my frustration with the computer was echoed in Julie's frustration with aspic - I ran upstairs to apologize to Mel for being so cranky with her.  I decided to call Apple when I had an hour to spend (maybe next week?) and have them help me.  I stopped reading for the night.  I call AB who was still at work and suggested PF Chang's take out for dinner. 

The evening was saved.  We ate dinner, watched the Olympics and I managed to knit without mistakes.  The funny thing is that the next day I visited Chocolate and Zucchini, which I have not read for a long time.  She had an entry about Oeufs en Gelee.  She said that she wouldn't attempt to make them, they are too readily available in France.