(A) List

Thanks for all your sweet comments about my last post ~ every time a new photo pops up on my family's instagram or FB pages, we're all smiles again!  I think this feeling is going to last for months and months...

But now to this weekend ~ I'm a serious, die-hard, dedicated, and committed list maker, and I am chomping at the bit to tackle my Saturday to-do list.  Having worked the first two Saturdays in September followed by the wedding of the decade, this is the first weekend where I can devote an entire day to my crafting.

Now that I'm living split between two places, I don't have spontaneous access to my yarn stash any longer.  I know, I can feel your anxiety growing at the thought.  So, the first thing I plan to do tomorrow morning is sit with a big mug of coffee and get re-acquainted with my stash.  I already have two sweater quantities of yarn in one of my baskets assigned to two patterns: the Beaubourg pullover and the Reverb cardigan.  I'll see if I stay true to my original plan to knit the Beaubourg in Manos Maxima and the Reverb in Malabrigo Rios.  I'm really going to try and not get swayed by other patterns but you know how this works, right?  Some shiny new pattern pops up on my feed and I get fickle.

I think I have a few more sweater quantities of yarn in Rowan Calmer, Rowan Lima, and Rowan Kidsilk Haze,  but other than that, I'll be making lists of shawl, cowl, sock, and hat patterns for all the rest.  Can you tell that I'm trying to knit down my stash?  Share your favorite in any or all of these categories ~ I'm completely open to being inspired!

Happy weekend, everyone.

A New Happy Place

I can't explain why or how this happened, but clearly 2014 has become the year of trying new things. Knitting is still my go to happy place but after making my first scrapbook last month, I felt the crafty part of myself expand a little. I had a ton of fun scrapbooking, but I already know that I'll only work on a scrapbook intermittently.  BUT after trying another new craft recently, I can absolutely tell that I've found a new happy place.

Remember when I fell down the Instagram rabbit hole?  Well, I stumbled upon this amazing artist, and when she announced that she would be teaching a basic weaving class, I jumped at the chance and secured a spot.  My class, which was held in a coffee bar in Brooklyn, was filled with an incredibly warm group of women.  The excitement was palpable and I loved how open everyone was to learning something new.

Maryanne is one of the most generous, patient, and passionate teachers I've ever studied with ~ her instructions, both verbal and visual, are clear, concise, and encouraging.  The atmosphere was truly one of sharing, and I think we all wished the class could have gone on for hours and hours.  Another big bonus was getting to work with Tanis' hand-dyed yarns in a completely different form.  I've knit with TFA yarns before and love Tanis' amazing color sensibility so to experiment with her yarns on a loom was fantastic. 

My first project is going very slowly (mainly because I haven't had much time to work on it this week), but I'm enjoying weaving so much and am so excited for all the projects I want to start.  As I'm sharing this with you, I'm finding that I'm having a hard time expressing what this new craft means to me but I hope, over time, I'll be able to articulate better how weaving is becoming my new very happy place.

Me and Maryanne