The Patchwork Butterfly

Well, I've been exceedingly lazy about posting while I've been on vacation, but I couldn't let my three month blog-a-versary pass without a word! So, it's been a fun three months and I'm hoping for many more of blog-a-licious goodness! So, thanks for reading :-) I do this mostly for myself, but feedback is always fun and I've enjoyed interacting with all of you who have seen fit to comment. So, enough mushy-smushiness :-) Onto the fibery goodness. Even though I've been taking a break from most things in life (including blogging) that hasn't kept me from my fiber pursuits. I've been knitting away on Bob and I've already gone through my first ball of yarn! I'm really happy with it so far and I'm very excited about my very first sweater. I can't wait to wear it! But from the speed at which things have proceeded so far, that may be a while. But here is a lovely picture in the meantime:

So far, I'm happy with everything in this project. I really like the Cotton Ease, and I'm already cooking up new sweaters to make from it when Bob is off the needles. Right now I'm envisioning a short sleeve crewneck in the light yellow with an argyle-type design of a single row of white diamonds with pink intersecting lines running across the chest. Maybe with white ribbing at the sleeves, neck and waist. We'll see. Right now I have Sweater Design in Plain English reserved at the local library, so as soon as it is available, maybe I can start designing my own sweater. And of course, Bob isn't all I've been up to! Yesterday I FINALLY got the cabinet I keep all of my quilting fabric in from my mom's house and brought it over here. So the veritable mountain of quilt fabric is finally off of my floor and resting comfortably again in it's home. With that done, I was able to move my loom into its final resting place (until I move one day) and the craft/computer room is finally near to completion. There are a few boxes of stuff that has to find a proper resting place and there are some boxes of books that need a shelf, but it bears a faint resemblence to what I want it to be. Here's a pic:

Before I got my loom, my rocker was going to be by the window with one of my spinning wheels, but buying the loom offset those plans. So, now the rocker is holding a box of office supplies that will be put in my desk when I bring it over, and after that it's fate will be decided. I'm thinking of either keeping it in my bedroom, or maybe leaving it where it is and just setting up the craft room spinning station in front of the "fiber closet" where I keep all of my spinning fibers. That will allow for convenient access while spinning (heehee). Anyway, so at least I feel like I've done one productive thing while vacationing (make that two... I also did my taxes *blah*) I've also been spinning my little heart out working on box office. Now that I've bought the beads and have some concept about how I'm going to do the whole thing, I'm very excited and can't wait to start. Since I'm doing the scarf the "long way" and cutting the yarn at the end of every row to leave fringe, I don't need to have it all as one big ball, so it's very tempting to ply what I have and start knitting while I spin the rest of the roving. But then I'd have two knitting projects and a spinning project, and that would be spreading myself a bit thin, especially with this new job coming up, with the greater number of hours and all. I'm really nervous about going from 28 to 40 hours a week. I already felt crunched for time at my old job, how will I feel working 12 more hours a week. And with me working Monday through Friday 8-5 and Mark working nights and weekends, we'll hardly see each other at all. I thought this week off would give us so much time together, and mostly it has, but it just makes me think of all the time we WON'T be having together very soon. I'm just never happy, am I? But I keep telling myself this is a sacrifice for a greater good. We may miss out on some time now, but this job will help us get a house and will help me to save up for my shop, which will mean I'll eventually be doing what I have such a great passion for, and will be able, to a small extent, to set my own hours and therefor have more time with Mark. But right now that doesn't make the thought of only having a few waking hours with him each week any easier. Oh, well, I should count my blessings, at least we're living together. I have plenty of friends who are separated from their significant other at the moment, either by school or the military or some other circumstance. They'd consider it a great blessing to have as much time together as Mark and I do. I guess it's all in perspective. I just have all these dreams, and all these hopes that these circumstances are fleeting and someday my dreams will come true, but I'm very scared that they won't. I try to enjoy my life as it happens, and to take things one day at a time, but I definitely get ahead of myself. For right now, all I should be doing is enjoying staying up past my work bedtime and getting to spin and knit and watch movies to my heart's content, but here I am prattling on about things that aren't even on the horizon. Sorry abou that! Okay, so this week has been all about Bob, Box Office and rearranging my space. Oh yeah, and having a horror movie "sleep over" with Mark last night. We rented three horror movies and ordered pizza and stayed up late watching the movies and stayed up even later being completely freaked out. And boy, did I have some weird dreams last night. I was SO glad that I had Mark to sleep next to last night. Whenever I freaked myself out laying there in the dark, all I had to do was roll over and snuggle up to him. Very comforting to have a big burly man to protect you from Michael Meyers :-) And I mean from Halloween, not Austin Powers. Though I find him kind of scary as well, but in an entirely different way. Anyway, so happy anniversary and I'm off for more spinning. Goodnight my lovelies!

# posted by Jenni @ 3/25/2003 10:46:00 PM