just keep swimming...

I still haven't found my blogging mojo, or maybe getting close to 30 is taking it's toll on me and I can't stay up late like used to just a couple of months ago. At least for now Ginny's yarn alongs are providing some motivation for me to blog, even if it's just once a week.

one hat down, one more to go (will be changing the pattern some)

I'm not much of a fiction reader. In fact, the only fiction books I had read in the past 5 years or so were the last 2 books of Harry Potter. And I only did it because I love spoilers and don't like waiting for the rest of the movies to come out. Other than Harry Potter, it's non-fiction all the way for me. We usually have at least 3 dozen of books checked out from the library, most of them are for kids. But lately I've been on a library book-reading binge, so this little stack in the photo is not all I'm leafing through these days, it's just a representation of categories that I've been exploring.

(sorry, no links or author names, searching for those would add another 20 minutes to this post, which I don't really have. I just want to make sure this post gets published, and not abandoned, before my kids hijack my hanging-by-the-thread attention again)

A Curious Collection of Cats - I love well illustrated books. in fact, it's one of the reasons why I enjoying looking through kids books so much. Recently I discovered a whole section of fun poetry books in the back of non-fiction room, and couldn't resist taking this one with me. The illustrations are outstanding, and the colors, well, they are truly a feast to my eyes.

just realized that these two pages match the colors in my quilt in the photo above pretty darn well

Glouriously Gluten-Free Cookbook - we're still figuring this gluten-free life out, which involves me checking out lots of gluten free cookbooks and googling lots of recipes online. Finding a perfect GF bread recipe is especially tricky.

150 Knitted Trims - thinking of up-cycling my wardrobe, which has been boring me to tears lately. And clothes shopping these days with 4 kids in tow is pretty much a recipe for disaster.

2-at-a-time Socks - ummm... wish me luck. Magic loop is scary. And I'm kind of embarrassed to admit that after knitting for over 2 years, I still haven't made a single pair of socks. I can't say I'm short on sick yarn either. It's just sitting in the basket and begging to be used.

Free and Easy Stitch Style - love this book. I've always wanted to try free-hand stitching/quilting, and this book is just perfect for getting me started. Especially now, when I have a sweet new addition to my sewing machine family (which I didn't realize I had, until Mark counted my sewing machines for me).

Alive and well (finally)

Coming back after almost 2 months of no blogging is a bit overwhelming. But we're finally settled in (mostly, if you don't count that half of our stuff is still in boxes), and my camera and computer are bursting with untouched photos that I've taken over the past couple of months. So instead of waiting for the perfect night to write a lengthy post with 3 dozen of photos and a long list of happenings (which I've been trying to do for the past couple of weeks), I'll jump back into blogging *right now*, no more excuses to keep putting it off (fighting and whining kids don't count, right?).

I'll save more elaborate and detailed blogging for that time of night when everyone's asleep, so for now I'll be joining Ginny's 'Yarn Along'.

To say that my knitting has been scarce since we started moving would be a huge understatement. My sewing and knitting supplies got packed first, and after moving everything into our new house, I simply couldn't bring myself to pick up one of my projects when there were boxes of stuff everywhere. Besides, for some reason I've been more tired in the evenings than usual and going to bed earlier than I'd normally like to. Considering that evenings (up until 2 a.m.) is when most of knitting and creating used to happen, not much of it was happening after we moved. And knitting during the day is pretty much a joke. I can't make it through one row without being interrupted at least twice.

Then a couple of weeks ago we joined our friends for a Sunday dinner, and sometime during my conversation with Amy we decided it would be fun to start having a weekly knitting night with other friends and neighbours who would be interested in joining us. So for the past couple of weeks we've been getting together on Tuesday nights, and knitting away well into the midnight. I can't put it into words how much I've been enjoying these knitting nights. Talking to grown-ups, making friends, discussing and exploring all kinds of [crazy] ideas and staying up late are all the things that I've been wishing for in these past few months, and maybe even years. And hey, I'm finally getting some knitting done!

In the photo:
Groovy Cable Tuque in Shepherd's Wool
Woodland Shawl in Kauni Effektgarn (EQ colorway)

The Teenage Liberation Handbook: How to Quit School and Get a Real Life and Education
A Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns
Drawing with Children