it was short.

...yeah, that break? it lasted until just after lunch on saturday. turns out venezia dries quickly. which is good, because I got one sleeve finished and the second one started. I'm sure sara would agree. to say I'm obsessed with finishing this would be an understatement!

and thank you for all the comments and support on my last post. andrea's right, it was a breeze picking up the armhole stitches!

we're on a break.

...alexandria and I. while she dries from her mid-point blocking. part of me wishes I'd read ahead in the directions to know I had to block before I could start the sleeves - I might've pushed through the last bit of the left front yesterday so she could dry overnight. but honestly, most of me is looking forward to this mini-break. kind of like a deep breath of knitting whatever I want (and not worrying about taking notes and making it all as perfect as I try to do for a class sample) before I dive deep into the sleeves and the yoke.

because I am very much looking forward to having her finished - she's so pretty!

dear summer.

...I'm so glad the date is finally confirming you're here - the incredibly hot days these past few weeks really made it seem like you'd arrived early! yesterday, I decided to stop complaining about the heat for just a bit and took my camera on my morning walk to the park. you certainly didn't disappoint! the colors, the sparkling sunshine, even a rainbow...made it all worthwhile.

1. bumblebee, 2. the fountain, 3. pear tree in summer, 4. the pond, 5. shades of green, 6. rainbow

and this one really makes me smile! (my photography practice paid off, I think!)


I'm looking forward to a nice long visit. and if you could cool off just a little, even a few degrees, I'd really appreciate it!

xxoo - m.

to someone special.

...wishing my dad a very happy father's day.

daddy, looking forward to a good phone call next weekend, once you're back from your trip!  xxoo - m.

there has been knitting.

...so focused here about showing that there is more to my life than knitting, that I've kind of neglected documenting all that I have been doing. really, I haven't writtin a blog post about knitting since may 7. of course anyone who knows me knows there has been knitting. and this morning, I spent time photographing projects, and updating ravelry.

I am really pleased that much of what was in process the last time I had a big catchup (back in april) has been finished. the four projects that are still lingering (three scarves and a beret) are not completely lost causes (the ulmus was my nyc project), but who needs scarves or a beret when it's 95 degrees outside? but more surprising is what's been started and finished since then! three pairs of socks, a lace shawl and a sweater.

and in store for today? more knitting!

(more) starbucks love.

...it's no secret that I love love starbucks (and knitting! I do have a few starbucks photos without it, but even I was surprised how often I've photographed my knitting there!).

my gold customer card says I've been a loyal customer since 2003 (it's actually more like 1995 or so, but I don't think they had cards back then!). they've changed their loyalty program from offering discounts on every purchase to offering a free drink of your choice after 10 purchases. and yesterday I used my latest free drink coupon to treat myself to my favorite - grande, non-fat, triple shot, extra hot latte. how cool to get that $4.44 beverage for free!

creativity bootcamp.

...yes, I'm still in! I just uploaded my entry for day 4 (all of my entries are here) and am completely in love with this project.

and nearly a third of the way through, I wanted to document a few of my thoughts and learnings:

• the daily prompt format - thoughts, journal prompt and random word prompt - has really jumpstarted my journaling and I love love having a word to focus my photos.
• I spent a long time agonizing over the format (5x7 page, with 5x5 photo and journaling on the side) and almost changed to a simple 5x5 photo with the word/day, until I read the gracious comments on the first 3 pages I uploaded.
• lack of time and talent are my two biggest creativity buzzkills. I am going to start spending an hour less on the internet each week - instead I want to use that time to learn how to use my camera.
• I am good about noticing small details. I am pretty good about capturing those in a photo. I have a hard time capturing "the big picture" in a photo.
• sara is my biggest fans. she's asked me about this project daily and encouraged me to keep it up. I am so grateful for her support and ideas!

I'm in.

...kylie mentioned this last week, and it sounded wonderful, but I didn't decide until this morning to commit. the timing is really perfect - the start of summer (no more school, longer days), marc's out of the country this week, and I have three sweaters and two pairs of socks to finish. I need something "creative" to keep my sanity!

the prompts actually started yesterday, but I'm starting today, and I'm not thinking I'm "behind" - I'm just following a different timeline! the first part of day one's assignment was to write a letter to myself - the self who's completed the course. done (and very fun). and now I'm pondering the prompt - ivory. I'm planning to use photography, a bit of photoshop and maybe some digital elements as my medium for the class. feeling good that I have a few ideas in my head already for this first day.

not knitting.

...that's right - not knitting (well, except for about an inch on a sock wednesday evening, but that really doesn't count, does it?). nope, amazing I know! instead, I...

...finished reading a book - shadow of the wind by carlos ruiz safon. It was amazing. A great story, beautifully written, and now I think I need to visit barcelona (I'm sure I could get katie to come with me!)

...finished my nyc journal - I am so pleased with how it turned out.

it's not quite as full as the one from paris (shown on the bottom), but for a week, I think I did fine. I also uploaded over 70 photos to costco so I can get them into an album. and I did all the laundry, cleaned up the house, bought yarn for my next project and worked a bit.

so now I'm really anxious for some knitting time - but that will have to wait til later - off now to meet my mom & dad for some shopping and lunch. we've got lots to do to prepare for sara's last bit of celebration tomorrow!