Category: Personal

WIP Wednesday: Lipstick Granny RippleĀ 

Published on by kountingsheep

For this weeks installment of work in progress Wednesday, I’m featuring my Lipstick Granny Ripple blanket. I started crocheting this blanket last year as a side project for myself to work on between my shop orders. With the rush of Christmas and birth of my second daughter in February, it got pushed aside into a closet. But as April 20 approaches, I wanted to finally finish this blanket that’s been 9 years in the making. 

The reason why April 20 is significant to me is because that is the day my sister Heather died 8 years ago. I had originally started knitting a blanket for her with this yarn to give her for what would end up being her last Christmas, but unfortunately I never finished it in time. The project sat in a bag for many years and several moves before last year I finally decided to repurpose the yarn into a different blanket for myself. The original pattern I picked wasn’t a good fit for this yarn, but for 6 years I didn’t have the heart to undo my work, even if it never made it to my sister. 

Now as the 8th anniversary approaches, I have a strong desire to finally finish this blanket so I can wrap it around my two babies. It’s sad they never got to meet their Aunt Missy, but there are traces of her everywhere in our house. 

The Lipstick Granny Ripple will be just one more memory to add to our family and remember the one who isn’t here. Working on a yarn project has always been a way for me to cope with hard things in my life, so it seemed appropriate to work on such a special blanket this time of year. Someday I hope to tell my girls about the story behind this blanket as they pull it out to play with and cuddle under year after year. We love you Heather, forever in our hearts! 

Photo Friday: A Late 30

Published on by kountingsheep

 I forgot to post a few weeks ago that I officially turned 30. It’s weird to think that this is my actual age, when sometimes I feel like I am still 23. It’s amazing how much my life has changed and how much has happened in the last decade. The morning of my birthday I was awake early before my daughter got up, and I decided to start the day with some Bible journaling. Psalm 30:5 “…weeping may tarry for the night but JOY comes with the morning.” It would be easy to dwell on all the bad things that happened in my twenties and be fearful about the future, but this verse was a great reminder that with God there is always joy to be found. Only He can bring the type of joy that “turns mourning into dancing.” God has brought me a long way, and He is always there for me, so I am happy to say I have lived 30 years of life!

OmbrƩ watercolor in purple, owl stamps, flower washi tape, and heart tab. All my favorite sort of things.

A Book and Some Mittens

Published on by kountingsheep

I have another pair of finished mittens to show off. These ones should look familiar because I’ve made them before, but this time they went to my mom for her birthday. So far, I’ve been giving away Christmas gifts for the intended recipients’ birthdays instead, so I have to come up with a new plan for Christmas gifts.

 
{Strawberry Mittens by Spilly Jane
US Size 1 needles
Scrap fingering weight yarns
Mods include changing thumb pattern}

My mom has several out of state trips planned this fall and winter, so I figured she could put these to good use now rather than waiting until Christmas. When I made this pattern for myself awhile back, my mom wanted them immediately. Unfortunately, it only took me a year and a half to make her a pair for herself. Better late than never, I guess!

Leaves

Published on by kountingsheep

The mornings are chilly when I leave my apartment for work. I keep a cardigan with me all the time now, but sadly not quite cool enough for a hand-knit one (new goal: knit a lighter-weight cardigan). The Christmas stockings I’m knitting are coming along nicely; I just wish there were more hours in the day to knit. Yesterday I was enjoying being outdoors on my lunch break, and I noticed the different green shades of the leaves on a nearby tree. Seeing the variations of color made me miss living somewhere that the leaves truly do change color; it also inspired me and now I want to make a graduating green something out of yarn. I love this time of year.

Home-Making

Published on by kountingsheep

My roommate and I are settled into our new apartment now, and it is truly starting to feel like home, now that all the boxes are unpacked and the furniture arranged and things are actually hanging up on the walls. Since we wanted to entertain right away, it was definitely great incentive to get everything set up as quickly as possible. We haven’t even been in our apartment two weeks yet, and already we’ve had people over 3 times. I love having a place to extend hospitality and just hang out with friends.

Our spacious apartment (read: over 1200 sq feet! no joke!) is great for having people over, and great for accommodating two adult roommates (with lots of stuff, since we are well passed the teenage years). I’ve also enjoyed my opportunity to use the kitchen and bake yummy things.

 

It’s also nice to live closer to each of our workplaces. Our church (where I work as a full-time secretary) is literally less than 2 miles away, so I’m able to come home for lunch. It’s great having the flexibility to do a load of laundry or empty the dishwasher or just watch a little television (while knitting, of course) on my lunch break. And now that I’ve cut down my commute time from almost an hour a day to about 10 minutes, I’m able to squeeze in more time for yarn, even with the added task of making dinner every night.

 

And I truly underestimated how nice it would be to have 2 separate closets in my room. Clothes, etc in one, yarn in the other. My stash has never been so organized, or all in one place, and it makes me ridiculously happy.

Another thing I love about my room is that since I downsized to a twin bed, I’m able to use a quilt that my grandma and great-grandma made by hand. Growing up, my house was always very homey, so I’ve always wanted my place to feel the same way. Having plenty of handmade touches definitely does the trick.