The theme for this summer, I’m finding, is definitely patience.  Patience isn’t something that comes to me naturally, but it’s a skill I am working on honing.  Sometimes it’s difficult to live in the moment and let things unfold naturally.  I want my PE certification already, I want to level up with skills at work, I want to continue making original pieces…the list goes on.  It’s easy to overwhelm yourself with goals if you don’t take a step back and take a critical look at what you want and why.

With social media, it’s all too easy to compare yourself to others.  I’d love to have a part-time crafting business.  But with the certifications I’m trying to get for my job, it’s just not feasible right now.  I wish I were a more skilled crafter and worked faster so I wouldn’t have to be all, “HERE’S THE SAME GODDAMN PROJECT GUYS, THREE WEEKS LATER!” on Instagram.

It helps me when I take a step back and stop comparing myself to other people, and only to myself.  When I compare myself to others, I feel like I’m constantly a late bloomer or hitting a critical metric too late. But when I compare myself to past Jenny, I see a lot of growth.

So I’m trying to take all these hints that I’ve received this summer to slow down, to take one day at a time, with grace.  To live more in the moment. As we have already established, as an impatient (and naturally anxious) person, it’s not always easy, but I’m doing it.  I’m trying to remember that it won’t always be just me and my husband, that we won’t always be able to count the length of our marriage in mere months.  With everything else going on, those are the moments I’m reveling in.

Yesterday was my birthday. I am now 34.  I’ve found that birthdays as an adult are less about the presents you receive and more about reaching the ages you once considered old.  I know 34 isn’t old, but I once thought it was, so joke’s on me.  I’ve certainly had some missteps along the way, but overall I’m proud of the person I am at 34 and hope I can continue growing with each year.

And I’ve been feeling so much better since my last post now that I can run and do yoga again.  It’s amazing what a little movement can do for the soul.

Let’s see some crafty things, shall we?

Hey, remember that post I made last year about Hawthorn Handmade?  Guess what? I’m finally working on one of the pieces!

I’m working it up exactly like the cover on the box, because #basic, but I’ve been really enjoying this little piece.

I also got a ton of yarn for my Speckled Blanket! I know I was trying Lion Brand in my last post, but I found Homespun to be a little challenging for the pattern.  So I went all out and took advantage of the 4th of July sales, along with a generous donation from my husband. Happy birthday to meeeeeee.

I just have to give a shoutout to my husband – not only did he buy me some yarn during my birthday spree, but he got me a gift card for my birthday to one of my favorite local yarn shops, Hill Country Weavers.  He’s the best (the best! the best!)*

Here’s the first little square:

This was worked up using Teeny Button Studio’s the Owlery colorway, which is the CUTEST.  (She has a bunch of Harry Potter-themed colorways and I am all for it).  This is fingering weight; I was a little torn because the pattern uses DK-weight, buuuuut I really don’t want to have to buy more yarn for DK weight, especially since I got most of the fingering weight yarn on sale.  I’ve seen other people on Ravelry use fingering weight AND the pattern does say you can use whatever weight you want…I think I just need to work up another square.

Oh wow, I guess I should stop blogging because I have a job that I should probably show up for today.  Have a great weekend everyone!

*Foo Fighters reference? No?