Rapid Fire Picture Post Time

Hey guys! I hope all is well. Things are good here, studying has taken over my life, etc etc.

PICTURE TIME.

So I’ve been able to work on my Little Box of Crochet March project…I have one mug cozy completed. I just have to block it, which I’ve been too lazy to do. Blocking and gauge swatches – who has time for that? (I know, I know, these are important elements, just let me ask my rhetorical questions.)

I’m now working on the second cozy, which has pretty flowers:

I’ve also been working on my embroidery project from Studio MME:

But most importantly, I can confirm that, yes, I did order the Scheepjes Hygge CAL kit in Jewel because it arrived today! Look, look, look:

Squeeeeee!

Ok, I’m going to unwind by working on my projects! I hope you had a great Monday. Let me know what you’ve been working on!

Pretty Things

Good morning friends!

I can hardly believe it is already Wednesday, which means my test is a little over three weeks away.

::hyperventilates into paper bag::

Apollo has been a dependable study buddy, but as you can see, he’s getting a little tired of it.

Pup pup

As promised, here are some beautiful things I’ve been working on lately or that have been inspiring me.

I received my package from Hawthorn Handmade this week! This packaging is so lovely!

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I bought this cute set of cacti and succulent journals this weekend at Book People:

I’ve been working on this pretty floral theme from Studio MME’s Super Stitchers’ Club:

And also on last month’s Little Box of Crochet…it was designed by Attic24, which means lots of beautiful colors!

Those colors are so scrumptious!

Speaking of scrumptious, I may or may not have used pay day as an opportunity to purchase the Scheepjes CAL Hygge kit.

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ALLEGEDLY. ALLEGEDLY I purchased this kit in the Jewel colorway because I’ve been eyeing it for months and I probably won’t finish it until December but. BUT. All this studying has put me in treat myself mode.

Okay, I need to work! Have a great day!

This Post is Brought to You By Caffeine and Lots of Pictures

Today’s post is brought to you by the copious amounts of caffeine I will be consuming to get through today. My body just could not get to sleep before midnight, but at 5:30 this morning it was like, “I FEEL ALIVE. LET’S GET UP!”

I’ve been thinking a lot about motivation lately and goal-setting. I’ve set some ambitious goals for myself lately, whereas a couple of years ago I may not have had the motivation (nor courage) to set them. It’s one thing to dream big – it is another to have the persistence and discipline to achieve your dreams. And having persistence and discipline is the toughest part of the journey, I think. We all like the reward of doing something big and bold – but the persistence and discipline portion is often tedious, tiresome work.

What I’m saying is, I wish I could be lazy and pass my test without studying for it, but alas, I was not blessed with a photographic memory for material I learned over a decade ago. For the next five weeks my posts are probably going to be picture-heavy as I enter into crunch mode for my test. I just need to think positive happy thoughts like, “YOU’RE SO SMART JENNY! BELIEVE IN THE POWER OF YOUR DREAMS!” and not, “You’re gonna fail,” which I currently have on a loop in my mind. (Said in the voice of Kristen Wiig from Walk Hard, of course.)

YAY PICTURE TIME!

First off, I received my Wool and the Gang package in the mail yesterday. Wow, that was fast.

I said in the last post that I was geeking out over using Scheepjes yarn…I do that too with Wool and the Gang. I really want to try their Crazy Sexy Wool but that’s probably going to be too warm to work with for the next ten months.

It is so squishy!!!!!

I’ve also been making progress with my Little Box of Crochet project…but not as much, since I’m studying in the evenings and don’t start my crafting until the Daily Show. I promise not to be posting incremental pictures of the same project for the next five weeks.

More pictures, you say? SURE!

I am really loving the way this is working up! And the colors are just gorgeous.

Finally, I received my ipsy bag in the mail yesterday…I really am loving the color palette from this month’s bag.

The earrings didn’t come with the bag…I just thought they would be a pretty addition to this soft spring palette! I wish I could make a dress out of this print:

And of course, this is such a cute little card.

Now that we’re full of positive and happy vibes, I’ve got to go wake Fiancé up. My car decided to overheat yesterday so he’s got to drive me to work. Have a great day, everyone!

GUYS I RAN OUT OF YARN

The other day I was thinking that I hadn’t posted my February makes. I looked through my pictures and…realized I had only completed these:

Now to be fair, I had been in the field for two weeks last month…but still! This is hardly anything. It was a good reminder to me that staying focused on projects is important. It’s completely normal to feel burned out by a project – and when that happens, I think it’s necessary to move on to a little side project to take a mental break. But my problem last month was trying to start too many new projects at once. It doesn’t give me the chance to sit down and focus on completing a project.

I have a frustrating update to my Calvin Top project. I focused on this project ALL WEEK and didn’t work on any other projects. I am so close to being finished with the second body piece! But, as I feared, I ran out of yarn. Hence the overly dramatic post title.

I actually did the tension swatch prior to starting the project, and remember thinking that my stitches were too dense. But I decided to plow ahead with the project anyway. Lesson learned! I ordered another skein from Wool and the Gang. And since it is pay day, I ordered this project too:

Brooding model not included.

I’ve been interested in making and wearing my own clothes lately, and this seems like a fun project to try my hand with. It says EASY and it looks like it’s all just stockinette stitch? Which I can do. Knit, purl, knit, purl. I got this. But the Calvin Top was supposed to be easy too, and I suppose it was, but it’s still going to look like a circus tent when I’m done with it. In my humble opinion.

I also ordered this from Sublime Stitching because pay day, I have no children so my disposable income is all mine, life is short, etc etc.

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The saying on the pillow is “Vita Brevis Est” which translates to “Life is brief.” It’s so morbid. I love it.

What else is going on? I’m keeping busy at work, which makes me happy. Consulting is so stressful when there aren’t any projects to work on. I have a lot of projects right now so I feel like I have a purpose yay. OR SOMETHING. I had a very quick trip to Houston this week to sample one well, which was fun. I wish all my sites just required sampling one well. My test is in six weeks and I’m freaking out.

I also enrolled in a garment making class. I mentioned I’m interested in making my own clothes, but it’s been hard to find the motivation to teach myself. Fiancé has band practice on Saturdays so I thought it would be good to find a class during that time. Every once in awhile I need to get myself out of my default reclusive loner introvert mode and actually socialize with people. And learn to make something. I am taking a class in April where we are learning how to make Grainline Studio Willow tanks!

Source: Grainline Studio

I’ve been following Grainline Studio for while on Instagram, so I’m excited to try my hand at sewing one of their patterns! Again, it’s supposed to be a beginner’s level class, but we’ll see.

Okay. I need to go be a productive member of society and show up to work and stuff. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! If you are stitching up something crafty this weekend, I’d love to hear about it!

Pretty Spring Things

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I don’t care if the Groundhog saw his shadow, Spring has already been making its way to Texas.* We’ve been getting weather in the 80s (yes, the 80s). We’ve been having more sunny days than dreary ones, and it’s been getting darker just a little bit later every day. During the past several weeks, I’ve been making some beautiful crafty spring-inspired purchases. A lot of it is probably attributable to what Fiancé and I call “all the things mode,” based off the wonderful Hyperbole and a Half comic. But I like acquiring pretty things to get me in the mood for spring.

Stitch Lab had a closing sale (sob), and I was able to buy some pretty fabrics using the gift certificate Fiancé had gotten me for my birthday last year.

I bought a book called Hoop-La! at Stitch Lab, along with the newest issues of Flow and Womankind.

I bought some pretty watercolors and watercolor crayons.

And some pretty paper.

I can’t wait to create something using these pretty tools. How are you getting inspired by spring?

*That sentence originally read “I don’t care what the Groundhog said.” You can tell I am writing this while drinking my morning coffee.

The Cozy Bird

Crafting Happiness, One Day at a Time

Category Archives: Craft Haul

Rapid Fire Picture Post Time

Pretty Things

This Post is Brought to You By Caffeine and Lots of Pictures

GUYS I RAN OUT OF YARN

Pretty Spring Things