Be Kinder Than Necessary...

Hello, friends! I haven't posted in so long I'm not even sure anyone visits me over here anymore! In all honesty, I just haven't known what to write in so long. But that isn't a bad thing. Life just seems to have so many twists and turns. I feel a bit like my road brought me in and out of the desert, but I finally found some water even if I'm still coughing up sand and feeling the effects of the sunburn still.

Crafting has slowed down these days. As has baking. But it's hard to spend the time on those things I did when I was spending my time pretty much revolving around my schedule and not letting anyone else impose. Much to my surprise, I've found myself dipping my toes in roles I never really saw myself in. Back in January I did the whole online dating thing (that was a bit of a dive in the deep-end for me). As I've mentioned, I did it out of boredom. But I found something I never thought I'd let myself find ever again. Someone I not only love, but trust enough to let love me. It's a weird mix of scary and scared I'm not more scared for me. One of those everything I never knew I was looking for things. And being in an adult relationship is very new for me. But I'm doing it. I'm also learning things like getting kids out of bed, timing traffic to get to practice on time, and all of the lines to Spongebob. It's a different kind of life for me. But the irony is even though there are more people I still get to be a person in it all.

"The Plan" has been teasing at my heart and mind a lot lately. There was a plan. I'm a small town girl and I had the plan that is carved into our lives as much as knowing to look for deers on the highway in the fall and respect your parents. You get married, you have some babies, and you live happily ever after. I know that isn't my plan anymore. But I don't know what the plan is. I'm sorting through some things that seem to just be too messy to go on a blog.

I'd love to say I have that whole thing about my faith figured out. (But do any of us really ever get that figured out?) The reality is that I don't. Most days I just pray to God how grateful I am that I know He still loves me even if most days I have a hard time acting like I love Him. It's not that I feel like my way is better than His. That's not it at all. I'm not really sure what it is. But there is such peace in knowing that He still loves me and I pray that He will put the desire in my heart to want to want to act like I love Him again.

One day at a time.

I do have one thought I'd like to put out there. Especially to my Christian friends. It's actually best said in a quote.

"Be kinder than necessary for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle."

This isn't just for my Christian friends, but a good reminder for all of us who want to love others. It's very easy to be on the outside and judge someone's choices. I spent a good amount of my adult life doing just that. But I think the biggest lesson I've taken away from it all is that it's a lot easier to be on the outside and judging than it is on the inside and surviving. What I don't think we often realize is how much we do this through the little things we say. But can we be intentional about being sensitive in our words? For instance talking about "those people" that divorce. Even if you think you're doing it in a loving way, you can still do so much damage. I used to be just like you. Please don't make me feel like a leper or a mission project. Please don't make blanket statements. I'm not asking you to agree with what I did or the choices I made to survive. I'm asking you to love me anyway. But I'm not a project for you. I'm who you could be. I know it's hard to believe that. I know I didn't three years ago.

One day at a time.

I'll throw some craftng in here, albeit a fuzzy phone pic. I have started some Christmas crafting. One request, this scarf is for a 10 year old that has come to be a big part of my life over the last few months.



Olatz

I'll just be honest. I'm going to complain about the weather. Again. It's been a cold week here for the season and I've had to revive some winter UFO's I set aside in favor of warm weather projects to be ready for spring. My Olatz was one of these. Started while on break for the Christmas/New Year's holidays, it was cast aside in favor of smaller projects. But it's helping me to not revert back to a sweater today as I'm stubbornly trying to break out my spring warbrobe.

Project Name: Olatz [Rav Link]  by Swallows Return
Yarn: Malabrigo Merino Worsted (2 Skeins)
Colorway: Glazed Carrot
Needle Size: US8
Ravelry Project Page

This yarn was actually the very first Malabrigo I purchased ever and it's sat in my stash for a year and a half or so. Yarns are like wine, sometimes they need to breathe before their full potential can be realized, right? It was a particuarly smooshy knit, but I do worry about the pilling potential.

This pattern is well written and a good knit. The lace columns give some interest in a mindless knitting sort of way to the body of the shawl. I may go back and reblock to try to the get the scallops. This was a battle in which I lost in my first attempt.

So, maybe if I finish up my lingering winter UFO's spring will come...?

To Infinity and Beyond...!

 I have been meaning to post this quilt for some time, but yeah, I didn't. My nephew turned 2 a little over a month ago! Wow, he is getting to be such a big boy and will be a big brother any day now. May the force be with my sister-in-law.

My nephew LOVES and I mean LOVES Toy Story. More specifically Buzz. He knows his Buzz. And what could a crafty aunty do but give in to the hype? I swear the Pixar marketing department would have beamed from head to toe if they could have seen this kid's birthday party. Toy Story plates & napkins, a Toy Story cake with Toy Story figures on top, 90% of gifts Toy Story (even the handmade one!), and the kid even had a Toy Story shirt on!

Forgive some of the rough pics. I was really pushing the deadline of getting this done before we hit the road to head to my homeland for the birthday party and forgot to take pics, so I had to rely on a mix of UFO pics and some from my sister-in-law's camera.

I worked out the pattern for this quilt from a pic I saw on flickr. Which I apparently didn't save, so I apologize for not linking to the inspiration.

And in the end this picture, this one right here, made all of the fussy cutting and extra runs to the fabric store worth it.

Yep, that's a Woody doll (I mean "action figure") under his arm and a Toy Story plate beside him.

A Message From the Basket

Dear April,

I know you love the Shaelyn shawl. I know it would be a great summer shawl in the Rowan Purelife Revive and especially gorgeous in the Pink Granite colorway you have in your stash.

But you need to finish your Olatz.

And your 22.5 Degrees.

And those are just the shawls.

No, you can't even buy the needles. Or the pattern. I know you already bought that third skein of yarn you need for the project.

We don't want to end up like the naughty corner basket.

This is for your own good. You know what you've got to do.

Love,

The Unfinished Project Basket.

Spring, Fly!

I am SO READY for this dreariness to lift and for spring to show her bright and beautiful face. But since I have no control over the weather, I resorted to a bright and beautiful yarn to make a shawl ready for warmer days that glows like sunshine.

Yep, I'm feeling desperate.

Project Name: Spring, Fly!
Pattern: Summer Flies by Holly and Ella Knits [Rav Link]
Yarn: Mirasol Yarn Tupa (3 skeins)
Colorway: 801
Needle Size: US8
Ravelry Project Page

You may have noticed I'm a bit partial to this shawl pattern. I especially love it in this yarn! My last two were both in silk and bamboo blends, but I do like the sturdier feel of the silk and merino, even in the DK weight versus the worsted weight the pattern calls for. And seriously, this Mirasol Tupa. Simply freaking luscious. However, I am a bit worried about the pilling potential. It's already looking a bit rough and I haven't even worn it, just wear and tear of knitting and blocking.

Okay, spring. I'm ready for you. Now.

This shawl was also pushed to finish a bit by an upcoming roadtrip to Wisconsin to meet the bf's family for the first time. Because what Mom can't think favorably of a girl in handknits, right...and I may have some homemade sourdough in hand to win over Dad. A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.

Owl Baby Newborn Set

I'll admit it, I jumped on the owl bandwagon. I love all the little owl stuff out there. And I have a new nephew coming in just a few weeks. Ever crafted for little boys? Search babies and there seems to be all this adorable pink and lace and ribbons. But boys, meh. Not a lot.

But the coming home set I made for this new nephew just happens to be holding the status of some of my favorite items I've EVER knit.

Stinkin' adorable.

The set was made from Cascade Cherub DK. Hat and booties didn't use up even 190 yd one skein. I had originally planned to make a set using the Owl Tuque pattern, but decided since this bebe will be sporting these are the weather gets warmer it would probably be better to make the set in a dk weight rather than a bulky. I'm sure a friend will reproduce at a more bulky weight yarn appropriate time in the future for this hat! This yarn was great for a baby set, it's a nylon and acrylic blend, but I had some SERIOUS issues winding it into a ball. It took me two hours and I ended up with multiple little balls because the tangles were so bad. Not sure if I just had a bad ball, but I'd buy it again. Maybe even this week...

Owl Baby Booties

Project Name:  Owl Baby Bootees (Rav Link)
Yarn: Cascade Cherub DK (One skein)
Colorway: 013
Needle Size: US2 & US3
Ravelry Project Page

I saw these show up as a fave on my Ravelry friend feed a few months and knew I REALLY wanted to make them. They were designed by gingergooseberry on Ravelry, but the notes are just on her project page. I added the eyes and beak with embroidery thread. There are more detailed pics on my project page, but they aren't wanting to post right on here. I followed her directions to the letter and was pleased with the results.

Owl Baby Beanie

Project Name: Owl Baby Beanie
Pattern: Modified Coming Home Baby Hat by Shweta Shankar Khatri  [Rav Link]
Yarn: Cascade Cherub DK (One skein)
Colorway: 013
Needle Size: US3 (I considered switching to US4 after the ribbing, but couldn't find my DPN's! So maybe next time...)
Ravelry Project Page

I made some mods to the Coming Home Baby Hat pattern, so I’ll just repost it all, but the majority of this is the Coming Home Baby Hat, so I don't take the credit for the pattern! :) This pattern is reworked for the DK weight yarn and incorporates the owl cable.

Main Body of Hat

Row 1: Cast on 64 stitches using DK weight yarn
Row 2 - 10 : K2 P2 around
Row 11: K all around, inc two stitches in R11

Owl Cable pattern:

(multiple of 11 sts)

Rounds 1-2: p3, k8, repeat from to end
Round 3: p3, C4B, C4f, repeat from to end
Rounds 4-10: same as round 1
Round 11: same as round 4
Round 12: same as round 1
Rounds 13-14: p3, k1, p2, k2, p2, k1. repeat from to end
Round 15-17: same as round 1
Round 18: same as round 3
Round 19: same as round 1

(Decrease for crown at 3 ½ in)

Crown Shaping for DK Weight Yarn

Row 1: K8, K2tog
Row 2: K around
Row 3: K7, K2tog
Row 4: K around
Row 5: K6, K2tog
Row 6: K around
Row 7: K5, K2tog
Row 8: K around
Row 9: K4, K2tog
R10: K3, K2tog
R11: K2, Ktog


Finishing

Cut the working yarn leaving a 6 inch tail. Thread this through a tapestry needle and sew through the remaining stitches on the needles while taking them off the needle. Pull through and secure top
.

I don’t have a baby hanging around to try this on, so I’m hoping it will fit. Not on a head, it ended up being apx 7in in circumferance and 5in tall. This seems small, but not being a mom I’m always in a bit of shock how small newborn bebe heads are, so always seem to make my hats too big…

Just a few more weeks until I get to test the fit. And meet my new nephew, of course!

The View from 29

Hello, friends! Today is my birthday!

I start today on my last year as a 20-something. (Making me 29 for those who haven't had their coffee.) 28 was an interesting year for me. But looking back I'm happy to say I'm a much healthier person. I started this blog just a few weeks before my 28th birthday. So how is the view different at 29?

Well, I'm happy to say I'm doing emotionally better.

I was a bit of a mess over the last few years. The year of this blog really only caught some snippets of the tail end of it. I finally made the move to end a very unhealthy relationship this year and pick up the pieces of my life. It was hard to let go, but looking back at the chaos my life was, the waiting for the bottom to fall out that became a part of the fabric of who I was, the pain, I know it was for the best. I accepted myself for who I am (corny as that sounds) and learned to smile and laugh again. I've worked through God's love for me a bit and while I still really struggle with this I thank Him daily that He loves me even though I still feel far away. I've learned to embrace the Chaordic.

I'm also taking my physical health much more seriously.

While I'm having a bit of a crazy hair moment in the pic for this year I'm happy to say the 29 year old on the right is 30 lbs lighter than the overweight and unhappy 28 year old on the left. I'm still working on my weight and looking forward to the opportunity to start exercising outside, but I'm proud of the progress. For so long I felt like it just didn't matter. But as I got more healthy emotionally I wanted to feel better about myself physically. I finally felt ready to take care of myself again. I knew I needed to stop hiding behind food and self-loathing and allow myself to love me. And then maybe I could allow someone outside to love me. I know that sounds so damn cliche, but it's true. I didn't lose the weight to find love, I lost the weight to learn what it was like to be taken care of and I needed to do that for myself before I let someone else in.

And, I'm doing better relationally as well.

I've been with someone for a couple of months now and it's really taken me by surprise. I didn't think I'd want to let anyone in again.Ever. I started dating out of boredom more than to find anyone that would actually mean something to me. But he surprised me. I've never known what it's like to just have the walls down. To not constantly hold my breath and wait to clean up a mess I didn't make while my own heart was being broke over and over again. It freaks me out a bit from time to time and I'm still afraid to use a certain "l" word, but the fear hasn't made me put the walls back up, and that in itself is a big jump for me. I'm hopeful for what happens next and it's a great feeling.

AND...since I've been off the last few days...I have finished projects to share! So, more to come...

Hello, 29!

The Who? Hat

No, not that (the) Who?

This one-

So, yeah. I'm alive! I've been in the realm of "new relationship" land. You know, that world you enter when you've met a new someone special and even though you always hate "those people" in that world, you willing cross over to the mushy side. Yep, I'm mushy. Which is seriously crimping on my crafting. But I'm cool with that. :) And I'm not apologizing for the mushy. I'm happy and I don't care if I'm one of "those people". And this hat was actually done before I went to the mushy side (like for the last two months!), the mushiness just kept me distracted from sewing the eyes on, so here it finally is! A post AND a finished project!

Project: Who? by Penguin Purls [Rav Link]
Yarn: Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Worsted
Colorway: Brown Bear
Needle Size: US6
Ravelry Project Page


Nothing amazingly earth shattering to report about this project. It was part of the "don't trust a cold knitter" phase when I realized it was cold and I had no hats to wear.  I did a slight mod as I tend to do with hats and made it a bit longer. I have a big head. I'm a bit sensitive about it, so let's not press the details. So, I knit to 6.25 inches before starting the decrease section.

Crafting hasn't been totally dead to me while I've been in mushy new relationship land. I finished a cute little Buzz Lightyear quilt for my nephew's second birthday. I just kinda finished it last minute and forgot that whole taking a pic part. A request is in to my sister-in-law to please send pics. I'm halfway through an ADORABLE little hat and bootie set for my newest nephew due to show his (assumingly) cute little mug to the world at the end of April. And...it has owls!

So, I'm here. :)

A Red Velvet Valentine

I'll jump on the bandwagon-Happy Valentine's Day!

I feel it's within my full rights to be an obnoxious pro-Valentiner this year. The last three years of Valentine's have kind of sucked. Well, last year was kind of fun making supper with my friends, drinking too much wine, and watching "The Hangover" and "Forgetting Sarah Marshall". And smoking far too many cigarettes. But I haven't done the cigarettes part since September. Really.

And what says Valentine's better than Red Velvet Cupcakes*? (Well, besides chocolate, diamonds, and flowers.)

Because if a recipe calls for 2 ounces of red food coloring, it must convey something, right? If nothing else, it matched the box. It's all about coordination, people.  (The red food coloring need may have led me to explore the world of paste coloring and may have led me to send a text to my friend along the lines of "They're all f*ing pots" after I had a meltdown in Michael's trying to figure out the difference between food color paste and food color gel, and she told me to get the pot.)

And with these ADORABLE Wilton boxes, they are oh so giftable. And what boy doesn't love cupcakes**?

*I used the recipe from bestcupcakerecipes.blogspot.com for Red Velvet Cupcakes. Unfortunately, I have no idea how these taste. A) All of the cupcakes were spoken for. That's all I'll say on that. B) One cupcake has the amount of fat I'm allowed for a WHOLE meal.

**Any boy(s) who do(es) not love cupcakes should probably NOT be in a position to be receiving Valentine's boxes from me anyway.

Hello, Love

After over two years of diligently searching I've finally found the perfect...

...blueberry muffin.

I mean, check out the batter alone.

What's not to love. Now I realize that blueberry muffins are totally a matter of preference. Like that whole wheat recipe I tried. Blah! I think I only put the leftover batter in the freezer due to the price of blueberries.

But this recipe. It could totally be my life partner and I would gladly have it's babies and bring it coffee or beer or slippers or whatever blueberry muffin husbands desire. I mean, to quote King Arthur Flour "They're a good example of "cake-like" muffins, containing high amounts of both sugar and fat." How could you not fall in love after a sentence like that? If they were on match.com, that would totally be my ideal tagline. (Yes, at 13g of fat ONE muffin pretty much fills up my limit of fat grams in a meal under the Alli plan.) It feels so gratifying to find my blueberry muffin true love. I love the fluffy rich muffins our local grocery strore chain makes. I tolerated many eyerolls from the ex when I would bemoan how my muffins did not taste like theirs and get the inevitable "Than go BUY them from there!". He did not get me.

Well, there were a couple of modifications I'll do next time. I guess my love isn't totally blind. I would use a more stuesely top and I believe I will add an additional 1/4 c of sugar. I like my love sweet.

Will I share my path to true love? Of course.

The Perfect Blueberry Muffins (aka "Fancy Department Store Muffins")
Slightly adapted from King Arthur Flour 

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups fresh blueberries
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter or margarine
1 cup sugar (or add 1/4c if you want to be like me)
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk

STREUSEL:
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup cold butter

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Combine flour, baking powder, salt, berries and nuts. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter or margarine with sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla, and beat well.

Blend dry ingredients into wet alternately with milk.

Because these muffins will rise up and over the edge of your muffin tin, you'll want to grease the top of the pan as well as the cups. Fill the cups almost full, and sprinkle with the streusel topping.

Bake muffins 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove muffins from oven and cool completely on a wire rack. (Although I can tell you that if you can wait long enough for the blueberries to cool enough to not scorch your mouth, they rock after about 10 minutes out.)

Nutrional information per serving (1 muffin, 106 g): 307 cal, 13 g fat,  21 g complex carbohydrates

King Arthur Flour suggests the following:

These muffins are wonderful made with tiny fresh blueberries, chopped, toasted almonds, and almond extract substituted for the vanilla extract.



I think that sounds like a fantastic idea, King Arthur Flour. Thank you.

I shared mine with the neighbors. Mainly due to that pesky high fat content. But feel free to lock your doors and hoard these lovelies. I won't judge you. Promise.

Bella Mittens

Don't you love when it takes you a day and a half to finish one mitten? And then four months to finish the other? There is a long list in no particular order of the why. But let's be honest. They're pretty much the excuses of an easily distracted knitter.

But my Bella Mittens. Are. Done.

Don't be confused, thesea aren't the knits of a Twilight groupie with like, Edward Cullen sheets, who has a picture of the half naked jail bait Jacob hanging above her bed who lays there hoping the tape will give. While I will admit to watching (and liking, yes liking) the movies, I was never able to get into the whole angst whiney Bella in the books. And I largely rebelled against the hype. AND, while I know I've made some bad men decisions in my life, I mean seriously. While both are justifiably hot, a girl whose only love interests have been a vampire and a werewolf really needs to sit down and half a long think about what she is looking for in a man. But I don't judge you for your love of Twilight. We all have our weaknesses. I mean seriously, me and butter? I miss butter.

Anyway, about these mittens. I just really loved the pattern. And I'm loving this yarn, even if the yarn snob in me is sulking over the increased use of Lion Brand. She'll get over it.

Project: Bella's Mittens by subliminalrabbit (Rav Link)
Yarn: Lion Brand Alpine Wool  Cinnamon, 2 skeins
Needles: US8
Ravelry Project Page

A not so secret Twilight-like weakness of mine is roving yarn. Okay, the merchandising hype isn't as big, but it ranks high for me. And I love the cushiness (totally a word) of these mittens.

I did make some modifications. Very minor. I have these freakishly long fingers, so in the decrease section I added a row before each of the cables, total of  two extra rows. (I apparently use the word "totally" far too much for anyone living outside of the 80's since I orginally typed "totally of two extra rows" and failied to even notice it at first.) Perfect. The joys of being a knitter for me include having mittens and gloves that fit. And of course, the massive sex appeal it gives me.

I liked how the palms of these were done versus some others I saw on Ravelry. I thought I'd be able to link to a couple, but there are a number if you just search "Bella Mittens". These have a 1x1 rib on the inside and then switch to stockinette when you get up to the palm section and I think it gives it a nice clean look.

So I guess now I'm ready for my own vampire to arrive? Okay, so I think Jacob is hotter.

Insanity is...

...doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

As a counselor I told my clients this. As a patient my *cough*therapist*cough* can almost tell me this (repeatedly) without a knowing smirk. Almost.

So I guess I should just suck it up and admit insanity.

While anyone who has known me for more than a day may be jumping up and down right now with eager examples of how this sort of insanity manifests itself in my life, let's stick to the knitting today, kids.

Last night I cast on for another shawl that (almost) never ends. 570 fingering weight yards of garter stitch on size 3 needles. But I love my last 22.5 Degrees shawl. Even if it did make me want to stab myself in the eye, I wear the hell out of that thing.

And look at this Noro Silk Garden Sock...

...can't you hear it whispering "C'mon April. I will make a rockstar gorgeous shawl and you'll love my stripes in garter stitch." It must be true. Because hearing your yarn whisper to you would have nothing to do with the aforementioned insanity.

But really. If I'm expecting it to drive me insane but end in a shawl I love to pieces, I'm not really expecting different results, right? So that means I don't fit the insanity definition, right? I'm sure that's it.

The Copy Hat

This is the story of a cheap girl who saw a hat pattern and being an overly confident knitter said she wasn't going to spend the money on a ribbed hat pattern and tried to deconstruct the hat. And failed. Really, just buy the pattern.

Project Name: The Copy Hat

Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted, Black

Needles: US7 & US9

Rav Project Page

I cast on 92 for this hat. Which was pretty much a shot in the dark, but seems about right! Working the 2x2 ribbing to six inches on the smaller needles (US7) and then switching to larger (US9) to work in stockinette stitch to ten inches.

At ten inches I began decreases by k2tog one round, knit one round, and repeating until I got to the number of stitches that seemed like a good idea to thread the yarn through. A number of stitches I’m not remembering.

Things I did wrong. Hmm, where to start?

* I did the ribbing too far I think. It seems 5 inches would have been adequate.
* I should have maybe increased a few stitches when I switched needle size and went to stockinette. It doesn't have that droopy.
* I think I should have knit at least another half an inch before starting to decrease.
* I also should have did one more decrease round. It has this funny outie belly button thing going on.
*And I should have bought.the.damn.pattern!

And what the hell is going on in this pic?

Something about this hat made me feel like a baller. So that was me doing my best baller wink. Instead I look like a bloated constipated pirate. Argh!

The Post That Isn't What It Was Supposed to Be

At the start of the weekend I was wondering how I would decide what to tell you about today. The weekend was full of possibility!

 I had:

* A hat almost done
* Confidence with an overnight volunteer shift at the shelter I would totally finish my Bella Mittens
* Some fun new scrappy mittens I was ready to rock
* All of these ideas for the Buzz Lightyear quilt I was going to start for my nephew on Saturday

Instead:

*While I did finish my hat, my camera died this morning while I was trying to take some pictures for a post. It really is hard to blog without a camera.
* I was distracted by the scrappy mittens, didn't finish the Bella Mittens. Or the scrappy mittens. So I still have cold fingertips since I refuse to wear mittens that don't match the coat/down vest I have on.
* I got as far as drawing out the quilt layout for my nephew's Buzz Lightyear quilt, but didn't even enter the sewing room this weekend except to put the bag of fabric back..
* I started a book (The Case for a Creator if you are just so anxious to know. Which I know you know you totally are.)
* I went out for beers with a boy. But I left the couch of a friend I was knitting with to do this, which I'm not proud of.
* My kitchen got the start of a very needed scrub down. So there was some responsible productivity.

So, this post isn't what it was supposed to be.

Updates....

A few random things.

1) I dug something out of my naughty basket and finished it! I cast on for these slippers a year and a half ago while camping with the fam, than never finished them. It was pretty pathetic. I just really hated the attached i-cord. So I left it off!

Project: Mary Jane Slippers by The Purl Bee
Yarn:  Schoeller+Stahl Big Print (7941) & Moda Dea Washable Wool (Black)
Needles: US10
Ravelry Project Page

I used the Moda Bea on for the soles and strap since I didn't have enough of the super fun retro looking Big Print. Altered to fit a size 10. Added 2 sts to the CO and kept stitch count 2 extra. I also added an extra 3/4 in to the length. Since I didn't do the i-cord they are a bit droopy, but I still like.

2) When Mom visited a couple of weeks ago she decided since I lost 25 lbs of my 40 lb goal I needed new underwear & bras (which I won't show you, no worries) and new mineral makeup and more complicated eye makeup. Since to look more natual I apparently need more makeup and brushes and stuff, I outgrew the little makeup bag I've used.

But I'm a sewer, so you can guess what I did.

New makeup bag and brush burrito! I modeled the brush burrito after a needle roll and sewed on some clasps to close it instead of a tie. While I've been sewing for five years, I have an irrational fear of zippers, but I did it! Both have a layer of batting and the bag is quilted.

3) I signed up for match.com. So freaked out. Dating scares the crap out of me. Never learned the rules and online is an adventure! The new profile pic, which is better:

or

Or do they both suck. Holy crap, this is awful.