This week.

This week has been a productive one I think...I have:

• Gotten info about a home loan: scary...but marvelously exciting. Even visited several homes..one of which we may be making an offer on...even scarier!
• Barely worked on any crafts at all! I feel as though they probably miss me. I have been doing a little more designed on my embroidery patterns. I have one that is drawn out and I think I've picked out colors. I can't wait to do a test run with it and make a few adjustments I'm sure. I'm in love with it. The quote and font design is from here. You must check her blog out. I was highly impressed.
• I took a small leap into getting a little more organized. Been doing a little mind mapping...more on that one soon I think.
• Continued to be overly obsessed with Pinterest. I just love looking at the pictures and learning new things...and obviously procrastinating about things that need doing!

Hope all of you are doing well. Be sure and check out my instagram where I am at least trying to keep up with FMSphotoaday. I tend to forget until lighting is just horrible...but I am trying. Also, I am always active on Pinterest. Come obsess with me.

-Allie

Lately...

So to keep up with my goal of weekly posts, I thought I would write a little note. This comes to you from my handy little cell phone so it may look a little different than normal.
I've been sketching a little bit lately. Trying to get a few embroidery patterns out of my head and onto paper. So far, it hasn't been going too well. I'm far too perfectionistic and I can't seem to get things the way I want them. But I'm trudging on and making a go of it. Hopefully things can improve a little soon. I'm going to read for a little while and relax tonight to get ready to go talk to loan officers tomorrow about buying a house! Nervous!!!

Current Projects

Like most completely insane people that I know, I have WAY too many projects currently on the needles...and I want to add more (read: going even more insane). I just love working on things and I had a small stint there where I went through a finishing crap phase and I just went to town with it. I was casting off like crazy and I loved every minute of it. But then...I got the itch. The itch for more and for new. It were a bad itch I tell you.

I plan to post some pics of these as I am working on them and trying to finish them up. Check back here and on instagram (alliegirl4224) for progress. Without further ado, I am currently alternating between working on...

1. The Reversely Cabled Scarf from Econesting. I absolutely adore it honestly. The pattern is simple, but interesting and the yarn is lusciously soft. I'm using a Bernat Baby yarn and while I know that it's mostly just acrylic, it's still very soft. It's a mix of soft grey and white. I already want to make another one in a very bright, solid color for next year.

2. Jaywalker Socks by Grumperina. I found the pattern for free on Ravelry one day and I really liked it. I didn't have a pair of socks on the needles anymore so I dashed through the stash and found some yarn that I hope will work with this pattern. I'm only about an inch into the ribbed border so far, but I am looking forward to getting to the pattern.

3. Ribbed Hand Warmers from the Purl Bee. A coworker and I started talking about hand warmers not so long ago and I gave these a try with some yarn I had in the stash. I don't think I'm crazy about the color and I think I prefer my hand warmers to have just a little bit of thumb. I finished one hand warmer and carried it around in the bottom of my knitting bag forever before deciding to just go ahead and make a second one. They are very quick and very easy. I think I want to make them in something close to the purple seen on Purl Bee, but next time add a little thumb to it.

4. The "Be Joyful" embroidery pattern from NanaCompany. Another pattern I fell in love with from her post pics. The embroidery looks so detailed and perfect. Mine is most certainly not as perfect as I find hers to be, but I'm practicing on getting better and not being perfect. I'll be sure and do a full post on this one when I am finished because I've been taking pics as I go along. So far, I've only completed the words and a couple of the flowers, but her instructions are fabulous and the pattern was so easy to transfer (Thank you Frixion pens!!)

These are the main four projects that have been taking up my time...not to mention dishes, laundry and general house work that is supposed to be getting done. Apparently, you can't eat a scarf for supper.

-Allie

April Goals...

1. At least once a week, post a dang blog post...good goal.
2. Finish a project. Large or small...at this point any accomplishment will be huge.
3. Apply for a home loan. Scary as hell.
4. Participate in #fmsphotoaday on Instagram. Tried so many times and failed horribly. Watch it happen.
5. Participate in She Reads Truth bible study on YouVersion. Please join us! Find out how at SheReadsTruth.

I think I'll stop at five goals. It seems like a good number and just looking at what's on that list makes me wonder if I will even come close to making it happen. I'm in the process of learning a big lesson though:

Sometimes, it's only the effort that really and truly counts. Sometimes, I am going to mess up and fail. And sometimes, that's going to be okay. Just got to let it be.

--Allie

Handmade and Heartfelt.

I was reading a blog post from Untangling Knots several days ago about the difference between Handmade and Homemade. I wholeheartedly agree with much of what she says and I hope you will go read her words...go...now. Are you back yet? Good.

I make things. I love making things. I get such a sense of pride when I finish a thing that I beam with happiness. Then I show it to someone...most often my husband who acknowledges the made thing with an "uh-huh, pretty". It's just not his thing really, but I so often take it to heart. That spark of pride slowly starts to fade and I start to find the flaws in my made thing. It's just not fair to myself to make everyone else's expectations so important. If I am happy with my made thing then I should just be happy with it. It doesn't matter if it can rival the store-bought item or the professional handmade artists. It's mine. I did it.

But it's been the same with this blog. I was so proud when I first started. So happy and excited to put my little voice out there among everyone else's. I had grand plans to find new and wonderful knitting people that I could converse with and learn more about my hobbies...but it didn't happen. Not because knitters are antisocial mean people, but because I never sought them out. I didn't take the time to post here or to write or to even try. I just quit. It became a sore spot. A hurt. A letdown. Like an unfinished object buried in the closet so that no one knows you didn't finish it.

I want to change that. I want to do better. I want to excel at this thing. So just like learning cables or socks or a provisional cast on, I'm just going to have to try. This blog is hand made and heart felt. It's okay if it's not the best and I don't have a ton of beautiful pictures and I don't have sponsors and as many followers and all the cool widgets that everyone else does. I definitely have run on sentences covered...I want this blog to be a testament to me learning about life, marriage, knitting, stitching and all the million other things I do. I want it to be me. That's the best anyone can ask for.

So, if you're here...I'm glad. I'm enthused! Please stay, read a while and come back often.

-Allie

You know when it happens...

If you have ever knitted, or crocheted or sewn, or let's face it...glued something together sometimes there comes a moment. It's a sneaky little moment that happens that second right before you slab on the superglue, right before you turn a corner in your crocheted item. It's the moment when you inexplicably know that something is wrong. You know that you've dropped a stitch, you've sewn the fronts together or you've mismeasured. So, you count, you look, you search for that mistake. You check your pattern, you look your instructions over, you even do the unthinkable and put the project down. Step away and give it time to be alone. You come back and count and search and check and still...nothing. No mistake to be found. No error in judgment, glue or stitching.

You forge on. You knit and purl. You double crochet til the end. You glue and sew and surge forward.

BUT, you still have that feeling. That twinge in the bottom of your stomach that tells you something is off. You tell yourself that you counted. You tell yourself that everything has to be fine and that this Nervous Nelly feeling is just silly. You get done with your project and you take a moment to look at your work and evaluate.

It's at this moment that something just doesn't look right. Did I miss something? you ask. You take one final look at your pattern. One final look at the stitching. This is the moment when you realize you worked the entire hat with the wrong size needles. Instead of a 5mm needle, you used a US #5. If you're a knitter, you know my mistake. You know that these are definitely not the same and you curse the difference with me. I have told myself that I'm not the only one who has made this mistake and that I'll certainly not be the last. Even with all this telling myself this or that, that hat still isn't going to fit right.

There's always Christmas presents to give out though...pictures to come on Wednesday.

-Allie

Friday Finds

Today I give you a few of lovely blogs that have served me well as a source of inspiration or creativity. I hope you enjoy.

Gussy Sews: Maggie is a wonderful seamstress with a big heart. You will love her blog in an instant!

Elise Blaha. enJOY it: Elise gives us an inside peek at her project-filled life. Get ready to be busy, because this girl makes you want to round up the projects for sure.

Yarn Harlot: The very first knitting blog I followed. Stephanie is truly an inspiration to any aspiring knitter or writer. 

The Pleated Poppy: Another small business owner that gives us a peek into her creative atmosphere. 

These are just a few of the blogs I look for updates on. I hope you find something you can enjoy with each of them!