Hey all! I decided to stop overthinking this whole blog thing. So, I’ll start here. Which, I’m told, is a very good place to start. Cue laughing by other Julie Andrews nerds.

I don’t do resolutions, because why oh WHY would I build in failure? We all have enough of that in our lives. I feel this EVERY time I start a new craft project while I have too many others: well more than 5 anyway. For the love, give yourself the gift of assuming 5 works in progress (WIPs) because you basically need one for every different situation in life to feel good about yourself, amiright??

Instead, I am choosing a guiding principle/mantra. My new phrase for this year is “Just Do It” (come @me, Nike).

Whenever I feel like I’m spinning in stuckness, I will slap myself proverbially and repeat said mantra. And then get to it. Because absolutely nothing happens while I think on it.

To that end, this blog. I love writing, and I love fiber. Now that I have all this time on my hands (see previous How I Got Here post), why not combine and share what I’m doing. I hope this will turn into a community where folks will interact and share their works and experiments too. Why not try new things? What’s the worst that could happen?? It’s 2022 and in the glow of the new year, even with all our obstacles, I am determined that this year is different and better than the last two fucking disasters.

I’ll be checking in every day or two to share what I’m working on and experimenting with. I’ll start by showing you something new I tried!

So I sewed! I’ve been meaning to try forever. And then, I found this steal of a vintage sewing machine/desk combo for $25 on our neighborhood online swap. I was drooling. I got it home, and the husband tested it out and it worked! So, after the predictable pause…cue the overthinking for two weeks…I finally just sat down and tried it. I got some different types of fabric at THE JOANN, which is just a veritable playground for sewing things, and flipped through some books. I found some pattern and proceeded to throw it out halfway and do what I wanted. I made this…thing! It’s lined. It’s uneven. But go me! Also, learned so much in the process that it was worth the time investment just to get comfortable with a finicky old school machine. SO FUN. Go try it. Just do it.

Here’s my catch up of projects over the last week or two. I have been working on this #flaxsweater for ages. I’m on sleeve island and gave up hope for awhile. Now I’m back at it and thinking it’ll be done TONIGHT. Cue singing angels.

I also decided to make a ballband dishcloth, asyoudo, and it was new to me, so I documented it. It was fun, I learned I don’t really love the feel of cotton while knitting it. But it’s useful and that’s cool. I feel like I just have to try everything at least once. I’m one of those tactile learners, and it seems I need to feel it to remember it. I am not solely experiential in my learning, but when I do it myself, I have strong feelings about it and my memory holds on to that. This brought feelings of rage on the scratchy factor, and ick on the monotony. So, I did it. Here it is. Probably the only one I’ll make.

And then I decided to try double knitting because why not. So I found a headband pattern and I was thinking of gifting to my sister in law. Until I realized that I wouldn’t finish in time and so here it sits, in it’s shallow grave. I will never wear a headband, because I am not a headband girl. My head is tiny. And I like to think that just means my brain is more efficient and not microcephalic but you never know. I just know I won’t be able to use this, so it’s destined for a rip-out and re-start on double knitting something I will wear. Suggestions? Put them in the comments, pretty please. Would love something interesting and maybe just one color to start.

Ok, so that means I have just a hat and one other sweater as WIPs, so clearly I had to order a boatload of yarn at the end of year sales and now I’m overwhelmed at my choices and forgot which patterns I bought the yarn for. Anyoneelse?? Lordt. I’m a hot mess.

I am considering starting one of those scarves where you document something daily, like the temperature. I thought I could do a mood one, but then I just don’t feel one way every day so that’s too hard. Maybe it will be easier to just use the number of works in progress I have on any given day. But then I’m afraid it will all be the same color for 5 all year round. Any other ideas?

What are you guys working on?

I also want to introduce you to my dogs, Mabel and Lester. They are the best and have very distinct personalities. Here they are salivating over the bulgogi I was heating up last night.

Mabel has a potty mouth and Lester is a southern gent. Lester is allergic to pretty much everything and was on immunotherapy and now just cytopoint for that, and was on a prescription diet of rabbit (dried doggie version) for years until recently when we adopted Mabel and found he could handle over the counter limited-ingredient fish based food. Mabel is also itchy and now on cytopoint. Both were rescues and both had lyme disease when we adopted them. They are kinda medically complex, but they are the best high maintenance dogs ever.

So, knowing they never get people food, this pic is more pathetic. This is Mabel’s “maybe if I sit real still, big mama will finally give me some of that fuckin sweet sweet dead animal, yummmmm meat. I need food. FEED ME, I’M STARVING “. After she realizes it isn’t to be, she huffs and saunters away petulantly. Lester is a giant teddy bear, and he just stares at you pathetically the entire time you are cooking. And he wags his tail constantly. And lays on your feet. But the whole time, you can hear him going “Mother dearest, could you spare a bit now please? please? What about now, please? Mayhaps? I do declare that I would appreciate any teeeeensy tiny little bit you could spare….”

I also have human babies, but I will introduce them when they allow me to. The 12 year old girl child is like a skittish wild animal these days. And the 9 year old boy child is usually face-first in minecraft. I’ll wait till they do interesting things…

That’s it for now. Happy crafting! Would love to get to know whoever is reading this, so shoot me a message or comment below.

-Eileen