Lazy Sunday

Today has been a lazy, lazy Sunday.  The sum total of my activities for the day include: knitting, drinking coffee, eating, reading a magazine, emailing a few friends, taking the dog to the dog park, going to the grocery store and joining Facebook.  Several of those activities have appeared repeatedly through the day though.  Mostly the knitting and coffee drinking.  If you'd excuse me, I must get back to my busy schedule of knitting now.  :)

Wow it feels great to get some rest.

Dreams Deferred

I have so many sewing projects swimming around in my imagination.  

There's the adorable kimono-inspired outfit for the new baby who will be joining us in Octoberish.  After all, my friends were kind enough to give me the girl I requested.  I have to make some adorable clothes for her.  (I love their little boy, but boys just aren't as much fun to sew clothes for.)

I've also been planning a gym bag for myself.  Something that will keep my shoes separate from my clothes, contain my card and lock so I can actually find them without fishing around the bottom of the bag and hopefully look a whole lot cuter than the conference freebie I am currently using.

And last night, as I was hunting through a messy drawer for the right size knitting needle, I was dreaming of a simple circular needle holder.

Oh, and I bought fabric for a quilt for my aunt way back in the Spring.  I'm just now feeling like I may have the courage to try my hand at the pattern.  (Curved seams.  Scary.)

Yep, lots of big plans for me and my sewing machine.  And with just a few short weeks before we leave on vacation, what am I doing with my only evening at home for the week?  Not sewing, that's for sure.  My leg, my right leg - my sewing machine pedal leg - is still hurting.  Really hurting.  There's no way I can run the machine tonight hurting.

So, while I dream of sewing, I'm knitting.  Knitting swatches.  Still.   

How did she do?

Wednesday*: cardio, strength building, light yoga
Sunday: 1/2 light gardening, cardio**

* After a stressful morning at work, my reaction was "I need to go to the gym at lunch." I'm excited that the gym is finally getting to be a default for stress management.

** My first time on the elliptical machine. Oh, mama.

Impatient is my middle name.

Startitis: the compulsive desire to cast on new knitting projects. 

I seem to have the opposite of startitis.  My least favorite part of a knitting project is the getting started.  I hate the endless knitting of gauge swatches while I figure out which size needles I need to use.  And pointing out to myself that this is indeed knitting, the exact activity I want to be doing, doesn't seem to change that feeling.  I don't particularly like the first rows of a project either.  I don't like the fiddliness of getting it established.  What I like is the body of the knitting, after the pattern is well established and before all the finishing and weaving in of ends. 

Unfortunately, I also like to complete projects.  It takes me 9 months to finish a sweater, and quite frankly that's enough of a test of my patience.  My enthusiasm for the project definitely begins to wane if it doesn't keep changing, and if there is no end in sight.  You will not see me casting on for an afghan any time soon.  Which means that I do finish my projects and so, if I want to keep knitting, I eventually have to start new ones.

That's where I'm at today.  I've finished all my projects.  So, last week I ordered yarn to make a tank top from Knitting in the Sun and sock yarn for a purse project.  I really like having a small, portable project in addition to my primary project, so I want to get started with both.  But, both are new yarns to me and that means figuring out gauge is taking awhile.  I'm very impatient with this.  I just want to be knitting the projects now.  I'm actually tempted to just cast on for the tank, having come pretty close to gauge with my last try, and I probably would except that I don't own needles in the size I'll need for the ribbing.  Of course.  

So, I'll be starting another episode of Kyle XY and knitting swatches tonight.

How Did She Do?

Monday: cardio, strength building and yoga (on my own at the gym)
Wednesday: Wii yoga
Thursday: Cardio
Sunday: Yoga (on my own in the bedroom)

I'll take it.

Carnival Tumblers

A lazy Saturday turned out to be the inspiration I needed to get back to work on Carnival Tumblers. The top is now fully pieced, and I'm somewhat surprised to find its a baby quilt. The odd shaped pieces gave me some trouble with my math. Its fun, though, and I think the bright colors will make a lovely play quilt for a little girl. I don't think its done, though. It looks like canvas for appliqué to me. But what? Maybe something from the carnival theme. I think I'll set it aside until inspiration hits.

Making Laundry Pretty

Last week, after a frustrating day at work, I indulged in fabric therapy.  In a little less than three hours, I whipped up this bag (very) loosely based on this tutorial I found on-line.  It's a laundry bag for a young lady who grew up in foster care and is now headed to college as an honors student.  The quiet time with my sewing machine and pretty fabric, a reminder of why I do my job, and the satisfaction of a finished project at the end of a day where I felt I was spinning my wheels - this little project packed alot of punch.

How did she do?

Thursday: Wii Yoga

My work week unexpectedly fractured in to a dozen meetings of varying sizes, spread out all over central Florida and spilling in to several of the evenings. I was doing my best to keep up, and getting to the gym wasn't in the cards. By the time the weekend came, I wanted a nap much more than a work out.

I'm paying for it, though. My muscles feel so tight that my entire body aches. I managed to pull a muscle in my back during a nap Sunday. Yes, that's what a said - I pulled a muscle napping. You'll have to excuse me now. I need to go to the gym. Obviously.

How did she do?

Monday: 30 minutes cardio, stretching

Thursday: 20 minutes cardio, stretching

I'm keeping my workouts light, in deference to serious lobbying from my right leg and its friends.  

Just Us

This week Alex suggested a date and took me to a lovely restaurant.  We sat by the lake with our drinks while we waited for a table, talking about our day, the weekend to come and nothing in particular.  The sun was setting and we could watch a storm blowing up from across the lake.  It was a great night.