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By the way I’m on bloglovin.com now!!! So keep an eye out please 🙂 🙂

 

Thanks lovely people who read this!!!

Catching Up?

Recently I have become slightly overwhelmed at all I need to do, but mostly what I haven’t done. I’m probably going to be traveling overseas sometime soon, and there’s just so much to do! My dresser broke about a week ago…I mean, it’s been broken for a while and I just kept nailing the drawers back together (the bottoms kept falling out) or gorilla glueing them together. It worked for a while but this time they just all broke at once. It’s time to get a new dresser. I need to sort and clean and straighten and this and that. You know how it goes.

One thing I have managed to get done is laundry. I love doing laundry. It’s so fulfilling. I had put off a month or two’s worth of laundry because laundry in New York will cost you an arm and a leg and I hate hauling a huge 30 lb bag of laundry down the street. But guess what?! I found out my building has laundry in the basement. I’ve done almost 6 loads of laundry since. YUS.

You know you’re an adult when you get excited over laundry.

Lately there has also been a huge knitting/crochet guilt laid upon me. I feel extremely guilty when I don’t make people things for birthdays/holidays/justbecause. I just don’t have time. I’m already slow and a huge procrastinator. But the things I do make for people are ALWAYS late. I’m frantically trying to finish up some WIP’s (fiber art lingo for ‘work in progress’) before I leave for Europe. I know I won’t get most of them done, and I’ll have to take them along or put them off for another couple months. Ugh. While sorting some yarn I did find one WIP that was easy enough to finish.

I started this bag a few months before Christmas as a carry-all/grocery bag for my sister.I literally made the entire bag and finished about 20 rows short of finishing the handle. Why did I not finish this?! I have the WORST project jumping and I get bored way too easily. And don’t get me on started on the fact that I get into knitting funks where I think I’m terrible and the project will end up being terrible. I have a few of those. I honestly need to get a grip on my WIP’s. Let’s take a pictorial journey through a few:

That last one was going to be a cat..I made half of the head and that’s it. HA! Any of these look familiar? Yeah, thought so.

One WIP I’m am very excited about is the Granny Stripe blanket. I’ve started working on it again, and I have to say it is looking very good.

This picture reminded me of a childhood memory. My dad grew up in a very small town in North Carolina called Dunn. There’s a hotdog joint there called Norris’ Frozen Custard. Growing up, a visit to my grandparents normally meant we would eat lunch there, or if we were on the way to the beach. They had a large freezer full of different ice creams and these colors reminded me so much of them. Not like vanilla or chocolate, or sorbet, but the cotton candy ice-cream or mint chocolate chip, and particularly the bubblegum. I used to love just looking at them and imagining what they all tasted like. Unfortunately I haven’t been to Norris’ (pronounced NAR-ruses not NOR if you’re a local) in a few years, but I still crave their hotdogs and fries. The best in the world if you ask me.

One other project I’ve begun, but not too worried about is the Beekeeper’s Quilt by tinyowlknits. Basically, as a way to use up leftover sock yarn it’s an afghan comprised of hundreds upon hundreds of knitted honeycomb. These honeycomb have lovingly been monikered “hexipuffs” as they are stuffed with fluff. The hexipuffs take about 45 minutes each to make, so it’s not something you can crack out in a few weeks or even months. Many people make a few hexipuffs at a time during their spare time over several years.

So far my hexipuff count is up to five. HA! Patience.

I hope wherever you are in the world today, you are having a most lovely, sunny day. It’s raining and 46 degrees here…but it’s okay because I’m listening to Bill Withers 🙂

I’m on instagram!!! @themenagerie

The Days Are Getting Longer

The days are getting longer and the nights shorter. I’m so glad it’s finally happening. Night is great and all, but a gal needs to feel some sun on her skin. Can I get an AMEN?! As I was doing some spring cleaning I came across all my daisy dukes, ripped up shorts, and adventuring shorts. I can not wait to break these babies out. I’m itching to be outside, be with friends, and make some memories.

I’m making a personal goal for myself: don’t be such a lazy sloth, and get out there and actually do stuff!!!!!! It gets so hot here in the summer, and no one drives, so walking around and going outside can be a drag and a real struggle sometimes. HOWEVER, I just need to do it. I also came across a shoebox filled with polaroids I’ve taken from 2011-onwards. It’s so wonderful to relive great memories with amazing people. I decided to take them out of hiding and put them up on the walls in my room. It’s a great daily reminder of lovely times.

I started a pair of socks for myself this week…no I’m not done with Giorgia’s blue socks yet, BUT I just had to start them. I mean, the yarn is the most beautiful color, and so soft too!

I did some reorganizing of the craft nook as well. Looks a lot better, eh? Even bought some pretty blooms to brighten up the space :

I hope everyone had a lovely Easter! I had a rooftop picnic and egg-dying session with Giorgia. Mr. Sun was out, not a cloud in sight, and the roof all to ourselves! She’s from Italy and apparently egg-dying isn’t a thing there, so it was her first time! Hooray! I love being with someone the first time they do an amazingly fun holiday oriented thing!

 

Happy Easter, Happy Passover, Happy Week and Happy Day!

 

I’m on instagram!!!! @themenagerie

Spring So Far

 

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Finished!!

I finished them! I finished them!!!! The rainbow, colorific, amazing socks, that is. 

I followed the sock pattern on the Colinette yarn label, and to be honest..I’m not so sure I like it. I’m even considering ripping it all out to the heel flaps and redoing. I wanted the socks to fit a size 8 foot, and to me that’s a medium sized foot. So I cast on the med size and the heels are huge and slip off and the ankles are insanely loose..I just don’t like it. But they’re done for now, and I just had to showcase them!

But, oh how I love the yarn and it’s magnificent colors! This yarn was a dream to work with. I just adored seeing how the colors came together and worked up. I will definitely be using this yarn in the future. I want to try out some of the amazing color ways on the website!

 

I just wanted to show them off for now!! I’ll probably be redoing the heels in the near future before I gift them away.

 

Happy Spring!

 

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Oh, Happy Days

New York City has finally gotten into Spring mode. I mean, it was still rainy and cold as the Arctic Tundra yesterday, but today is nothing but sunshine and chirpy birds. I’ve created a little knitting nook in my room near the window, which I keep open as much as possible these days. Want to know one of my favorite smells in the entire Universe? The smell of sun. Sunshine definitely has a smell. You know during those warmer days when you open the window and “that” smell comes through the pane? The smell of fresh air, sunshine, and just general outsideness? THAT is one of my favorite smells. Though, it’s not as strong here in the city, sitting in my little nook i can still get a few wiffs. If I close my eyes it’s almost as if I’m home.

Lately I’ve been missing North Carolina more and more. Probably due to the nice weather. I long for watching thunderstorms on the porch with my dad, sitting in the yard hearing a distant lawnmower, and driving with the windows down. North Carolina, how I miss you. I can’t wait to buy a little homestead in the middle of the country someday.

I’ve been feverishly knitting away on socks for birthdays, past christmases, just because..I’m definitely loving it, but getting a bit drained. I’m not great with deadlines..at all, so creating things in a certain amount of time just spells doom for me. Oh well, at least the people who know and love me expect this. HA!

Perusing at my near and dear yarn shop Downtown Yarns I found the most amazing, beautiful, colorful sock yarn. It’s Colinette, Jitterbug sock yarn in Red Parrot color way. I’m obsessed. The more I knit the more excited I am to see the colors come together. What color’s next? How will those two look next to each other? I love it! Knitting is very, “live on the edge” as you can see.

My camera was out on loan for about a week, so these first photos were taken with my phone, as I couldn’t wait to capture the wonderfulness that is this yarn.

I mean look at that beautiful cuff!!!!! a;lkdja;fldfa;ldkf

I even got some knitting done in Central Park yesterday. I worked through the finger numbness!!!

And here is my day today in the nook:

I made some chia pudding today! It’s dessert AND healthy. HELLLOOOOO I needed this in my life. It’s so tasty. I added 1/3 cup ofchia seeds to about a cup of almond milk, a couple squeezes of honey, and a dash of cinnamon. I love sweet cinnamon things.

I’ve also been working on the green tweed socks for my friend Giorgia. LIke I’ve mentioned before these are my first “toe up, two circs” socks. I like the method, however, I think since I’m making them for a friend I need to just do them cuff down. It’s hard when the pattern says, “when the sock reaches the front of your ankle start your increases”. Well that ankle I need isn’t here right now and we don’t have the same size feet. So I think I will start over doing cuff down.

This week was also baking-heavy. I made two pies: one original pecan, and the other coconut pecan. The original was for a friend, so I didn’t get to try it, but man, oh man, was that coconut pecan pie GEWD.

I highly recommend adding coconut to your pecan pies, people! 

I also got dreads at a shoot this week for Paper magazine. Just wanted to share because when the heck am I ever going to have dreads again?!!!! I think it’s a pretty good look for me, personally. My boyfriend wasn’t so convinced. HA! I’ve been working quite a lot lately. I’m going to Paris and maybe even Germany soon! I’m so excited. I’ll be sure to visit lots of oversea yarn shops. I can’t wait!!!!!!!! I haven’t traveled in a while. I’m going to LA for shoot next week also. It’ll be nice to be around some serious sun.

I hope everyone gets outside and enjoys the weather!!!

Love and snuggles!

 

Join me on instagram for my yarn, bakey goodness!!! @themenagerie