A New Hampshire Knitter

Happy Friday! I've recently decided (recently meaning within the last couple hours) to do a "No Spend Month" Challenge for the month of September. Am I crazy for doing this? I kinda feel a bit crazy. I went onto Pinterest, searching for hints and tips and whatnot, and quickly fell down the rabbit hole. (To be honest though, "Went to Pinterest" and "fell down the rabbit hole" are a bit synonymous.) I suppose the decision to do this started brewing a couple months ago- I created an account with YNAB (You Need A Budget.) They're not paying me to say this, but I seriously love it. It's $50 a year, but I've already saved over that each month. What's cool about it is it is extremely similar to the envelope system, and I can pretty much SEE every dollar I have- which is something a notepad and a pencil can't do all that easily. But it's hard to say exactly HOW MUCH I'm saving- because while the regular, known, expenses a...

I remember growing up, certainly in my elementary and middle school years, where summer vacation was like a long, lazy pause in time. Not so much by the time I got to high school, when I had band practice and band camp and a part time job cashiering at a local supermarket, but when I was young, the summer days dragged forever, never ending until Labor Day came and suddenly Mom was waking me up at way-too-early-o'clock to catch the bus and another school year was beginning. I miss those days. Now it seems like as soon as summer gets here, we're preparing for it's end. The days go faster and faster until suddenly another whole year's gone by and we're back to where we began. I haven't written in awhile, mostly because I didn't know what to say. More accurately, I felt like I didn't have anything to say. I knew what I was feeling but I didn't know how to express it. Earlier today, I decided to just take out the metaphorical blank piece of paper an...

I've talked before about my kitty, Molly. She's a very sweet tuxedo that usually looks like she's pleading. Or, due to the white patch on her upper lip, sneering. Usually pleading. Normally, she doesn't care all that much about yarn, or fabric. That being said... Today, I was updating photos for two of my etsy listings- a dropstitch scarf and a half circular shawl and then she decides to care. Although, not that she'll show her face. In the year and a half that I've had her in my life, she's very rarely allowed her face to be photographed. Ever.

I recently got the quilt back from the quilters! Wednesday afternoon, I got the call that it was ready and I went and picked it up. And it was GORGEOUS. So today, under the watchful supervision of Molly (above), I attached the binding.  Even though handsewing, in my opinion, looks better, it comes out all sucky when I try. So machine sewing it is.  (Doesn't that quilting look fabulous? I'm really happy with it.)

Orange and blue are not colors I would have instinctively put together. In fact, the (perceived) contrast) was why I bought the fabric- I planned on doing a specific quilt, and I thought the contrast would have looked REALLY good. (and, let's admit it, different than my usual color schemes.) But when I went to print and start the planned quilt, the pattern had disappeared. DRAT! I had to come up with something else to do with all this fabric. Which didn't work with ANYTHING else in my fabric stash (except, of course, the black and gray I bought for the original quilt.) But I had decided I didn't like the gray with the orange and blue. But then I saw this other quilt. To be honest, I'd seen pictures floating around Pinterest before. It was interesting, using half square triangles (which was a new concept/technique for me), and maybe a Someday quilt, but I was seeing it in a different light. I was seeing it in Orange and blue. Keep tuned for the re...

My kitty, Molly. Who is an absolute sweetheart. Don't you want to just rub that belly?

Here in New Hampshire, we were just hit with an average of 30 inches of snow. That was last Tuesday. Today, it was snowing again. Just flurries; enough to be seen, not enough to accumulate. I was leaving my office this afternoon, running some papers to the courthouse, and a guy next to me mused; "It's snowing. That's different." Completely sarcastic, but it still rang a chord. Usually I love winter (usually, winter means I can deck out in handknits), but this year? Totally over it. The snow, the gray skies, the dry skin... I'm done. Just keeping my eye on the prize: which is, a cruise to the Bahamas, leaving May 31. This is only the second time in my 29 years that I've looked forward to leaving winter for warmer climes- the last time being after a week of no electricity. I know I'm not the only one with these feelings. Therefore, I have decided to share with you. From now until May 31, 2015 I am running not one, but two sales. First, my stitch marke...