Finished Object: Beaded Purse

 

Pattern: Exploring Waves by Laurie Lee 

I made this as part of the group Mystery 220 on Ravelry.  Each week the moderators of the group would post a "clue" that we would knit and then wait eagerly for the next installment of the pattern.  This was the mystery from January (as embarrassed as I am to admit it).

Yarn: Dale of Norway Baby Ull in a nice heather grey

I'm not usually big on neutral yarns.  I'll go for bright colors, fun variegates, or stripes but I rarely go for black, grey or brown.  I decided since we were putting beads on this one that I didn't want anything too crazy.  Oh, and there's a little bit of blue variegated Yarn Bee Snowflake yarn in the cord which I used to double the yarn so I could crochet the cord instead of making an i-cord as the i-cord was getting on my nerves!

What I'll remember from this project: Beads! I was slightly intimidated by the beads but after working with them a little bit they weren't nearly as hard as I thought they would be.  I used the pre-strung method and hope some day to try the other method that uses a crochet hook. 

This project really shouldn't have taken me this long but I kept getting distracted, then I brought it home for break and left the yarn and needles when I returned to school.   I am glad that I finally finished it and that it turned out nicely!

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Update on 5K goal:

It has been really warm here so I haven't been great about running but I'm trying to make myself go out for a run no matter what, even if its a short run, hoping it will get me used to running in the heat.  I'm not sure the 5K on the 24th will be the goal maker but I'm going to do everything I possibly can to make it the best run possible!

Things Sassy Cat Likes

Moxie has always been a very picky cat loving tuna, cat food and cat treats and pretty much nothing else.  Sarsparilla on the other hand will eat (or at least taste) anything and everything my parents or I eat but won't touch the kitten treats unless accidentally digested by them being in her food dish.  Here's a sampling of some of the strange (and not so strange) things she just goes crazy for.

1. Greek Yogurt 

Mango preferably, but I don't think she's too picky.

2. Homemade Mac and Cheese

I haven't tried Kraft but I fear once she has tried the real stuff Kraft just won't cut it

3. Pepperoni

My aunt cut some pepperoni up for her dog... but Sassy got to it first.  Now she gets really excited whenever pizza comes through the door.

4. Tuna

We had a small single serving size of this tuna in the house and my mom dished it out to the cats as a little treat.   Moxie turned her nose up (usually Moxie goes crazy for tuna, I'm not sure if it was the brand or what it was that made her dislike it) and Sassy pretty much ate her weight in it... and then went searching for more.  While not surprising in itself, it's a good example of how picky Moxie is compared to Sassy.

 5. Fried Eggs 

Sassy goes absolutely nuts for eggs.  I find this very strange.  My dad and I both have had to eat our egg breakfasts standing in order to keep Sassy from absconding with the eggs.  We're wondering if she had been introduced to them before she came to our home because of how enthusiastic she is about them.

6. Raspberry vinaigrette salad dressing

Sassy licked a plate clean of raspberry vinaigrette dressing after dinner ... I swear, we feed her. 

DISCLAIMER: we don't make a habit of feeding our cats "people food".  We have just noticed how much Sassy tries to get "people food" and thought some of her preferences were a bit strange.

Goal: Run 5K in 30 minutes or less

I know I can do this. I've run an 8K at a slightly under 10 minute/mile pace so I know it's possible to run a 5K at a less than 10 minute/mile pace. I need to get out running more often, get used to the heat and not let it become an excuse not to run.

What I need to achieve this goal? 

Motivation!

If When I reach my goal, I will:

Purchase yarn to start a sweater of my choice

How I plan to do it:

Go to the YMCA if I don't get up early enough to run in the morning

Run 5 days a week, even if only for 15 minutes

Workout in some way every day

4th of July Weekend

A weekend full of work, friends and fun.

1. Gardening

My dad has been itching to get our gardens tended to so when both my brother and I were home and both he and my mom were off of work he jumped at the opportunity to get something yardwork done. 

I tended to hostas on the side street.

Nate painted the steps with help from Mom.

Dad tended to the garden out back.

 I hadn't ever really helped my dad out in the garden but I was pleasantly surprised how enjoyable it was to be out in the fresh air with a pair of gloves, some newspapers and mulch.  It felt good to get my hands dirty (well, my gloves dirty) and work in the garden.

Gardening had many qualities that I enjoy in crafts: solitude yet social activity, end result which is visible and easy to measure, creativity/ability to put your own style into the finished product. 

2. Dinner and Baking
I made dinner on Saturday while everyone else finished up their chores. I made chicken with Lea and Perrin's Marinade for Chicken as well as tortellini with homemade Garlic Scape Pesto using the garlic scape from our organic farm share.  The pesto turned out tasty but the consistency was a bit off. I plan to try again with either more olive oil or less scape. I read another recipe that seemed to think you should cut the top of the scape off, so maybe that is where I ran into trouble.  I really liked the chicken marinade: light but flavorful.
On Sunday I made banana bread to take to my CI's house for a party before the fireworks.  I should have taken a photo of the bananas I used because they were of the perfect overripeness.  Last time I tried to make banana bread my bananas weren't ripe enough (I eat them slightly green so bananas which are turning brown are plenty ripe to me, unfortunately it just makes flavorless banana bread) and the result was horrible.  I put a bit of extra walnuts in (something about banana bread and carrot cake: the more walnuts the better!) and didn't over cook the bread. It came out quite tasty!

3. Fireworks!

Photo courtesy of JCW 

Fireworks at our local park :) I forgot to bring my camera, but my dad got some great shots with his new camera we got him for Father's Day!

4. Buffalo Zoo

We hadn't been in years so Monday Dad, Nate and I trekked off to the zoo.  They had a few new exhibist: sealions, sea otters (who slept the whole time we were there) and a rainforest!  The armadillos in the rainforest exhibit were my favorite of the day.
While Moxie is our tiger kitten:

we decided Sassy...

looked much more like an ocelot!

Book Review: Juliet, Naked (audiobook)

I finally finished Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby.  I say finally not because I didn't like it and was itching to finish, but because I was listening to it at 15 minute increments on my way to and from work through the last month or so.  This story really hit home for me.  Having just gotten out of a relationship in which I had "gotten comfortable" and had not allowed myself to see that there were better things out there hearing the thoughts of the main character, Annie, on her 15 year relationship with a man who doesn't appreciate her made me look back at my relationship with different eyes.   I really felt like Nick Hornby had plugged into my mind in the past few months and wrote down and expanded upon the many fleeting thoughts of confusion and hurt that passed through my brain.  One specific part talks about wasted time and Tucker Crowe tries to calculate how much time Annie had wasted, but comes to the conclusion that though she felt that the past 15 years were wasted, there were many things she had to have enjoyed making the time not a waste. This was a fun book to listen to.  There are three readers who read in turn depending on who the narrator is focusing on at the moment.  I definitely plan to read more books by Nick Hornby, I've actually already picked up my next one from the library: A Long Way Down.

What I Want to Do This Summer (well, the rest of it anyways)

As I was putting away the "Cryocuff" at my internship this morning I realized today was the 30th of June, which meant not only do I only have 3 weeks left at my internship, but the summer will soon come to an end.   So what do I want to do with this last month?

1. Make a hula hoop

My roommate this past year made hula hoops and on a warm sunny day would turn on some Moe., go into the back patio and hula hoop.  She did more than just your regular old "circle your hips" hula-hooping.  She did all sorts of tricks that were kind of fun to just watch.  When I was stuck with homework, unfocused or didn't want to run in the rain, I would grab one of her hoops and hula for 20 minutes as a way to let off steam. I kept meaning to ask her to show me how to make one, but I never found the time.  I found a website that shows how to do it, so my first goal is to make a hula hoop to have as a stress-reliever this coming school year.

2.  Run a 5K in 30 minutes or less

I enjoy being active but it is still sometimes a real chore to get myself out the door.  My best time for a 5K is 32 minutes and some seconds, even though I know I can do better than that because I've done 8K in 49 minutes. I think my biggest problem is that I look at the 8K as a real challenge, while a 5K doesn't seem like such a big challenge anymore because I've done a bunch of them. Then I show up at the starting line out of shape because I "got busy" and hadn't found time to run and start thinking that it was all a big mistake. I've registered for the Lindsay Matthews Memorial 5K on July 24th. I've printed out schedule and plan to place a sticker (yes, a sticker, just like in kindergarten) everytime I complete a planned run.  I hope to show up at the race in good shape, ready to run my best and set my PR.  Visit this site to register for the race!

3. Finish the books I've been reading all summer

I tend to start numerous books in a time frame and then read snippets of each one until I really get hooked into one and then I finish it and abandon the others for a while.  Currently I'm reading:

• Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery
• Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
• A is for Alibi by Sue Grafton
• Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby (Audiobook)

I listen to Juliet, Naked on my way to my internship, it's only a 15 minute drive but its still nice to have instead of having to listen to the radio.  The other 3 I have been essentially reading all summer and am at various points of each book.  I'd like to finish them and hopefully start and finish another book or two.

4. Finish 3 knitting projects

I have more than a few knitting projects that I have started but have yet to finish.  I hope to finish three of them this summer so maybe this fall I can justify starting a sweater!  I have a few choices as far as which I will finish (Sheldon, Gloves, Smittens, or Socks)  we'll have to see what I'm in the mood for when I get a chance to knit.  

I got my photos from these websites:

www.newsdaylaura.com

http://www.eclipsemultisport.com/

www.lindseypollak.com

Finished Object: Little Blue Hippo

It has been a while since I've had the time to finish a knitting project.  I still haven't finished a knitting project, but I started and finished my first crochet project! I'm really happy with the way it turned out, though he is a little bit lopsided.

Pattern: Hippo by Tami Snow

From the book: Tiny Yarn Animals by Tami Snow

Yarn: I used some old Red Heart yarn I bought at Vidler's way back in middle school when I first decided I was going to learn to knit.  I've been dragging that yarn to and from school for the past 4 years and finally used it! Unfortunately I'll have to make many a more hippos before I use up that yarn.

What I'll remember about this project: It's my first crochet project I've finished, it's also the first project I've finished within a month in a long time ... if ever.  It felt really nice to finish off the animal and have something to show for the time and effort I put into it.  I really enjoyed crocheting and though I struggled with counting stitches and rows at first, I finally figured out how to keep track of where I was in the pattern.  I had fun taking him outside on a sunny morning to catch a cute photo that makes him look as if he is on the banks of the Shalimar!

I enjoyed making the hippo so much that I have started the Octopus from the same book.  I'll post photos when I've finished.

Slightly off-topic:

The newest edition to the family:

Sarsparilla aka "Sassy"

Born: May 2, 2011

Moxie is not pleased, but every day she seems to tolerate her a little bit more, though I could be imagining it...