Random Snapshots

It's knit night!

Since I started school in January I haven't been able to attend knit night very often.  I would go once a month on a good month, but most of the time it was even less frequently than that.  I've always liked going to knit night, but I just could seem to give up an entire night away from the homework.  I realize it's been months now since I started, but it really has taken me some time to get used to managing my new schedule. 

Thankfully, about 3 or 4 weeks ago I rearranged a couple of things within my schedule that has allowed me to attend knit night regularly.  Now I get a few things out of the way on Wednesday and I'm gone the entire night, but I get to finish my night off with some time at knit night.  It's been great.  I really needed to have that break in the middle of the week.  Adam thinks is great too because it gives him an entire night of playing XBOX.  :)

I have a great knitting group and I'm glad to see them once a week again.  Besides being great knitters they are all great company.  The conversations are always good and the amount of laughing typically outweighs the amount of knitting. 

A couple of weeks ago the entire group was able to be there and we took a new group shot.  I wanted to share that here today.

I hope all you knitters reading are involved in as great of a group as I am.  Here's to knit night!  And here's to hump day and being that much closer to the weekend.

=)

I got nothin'....

I don't have any pictures to share, but I wanted to post an update anyways.  I'm busy with life, but aren't we all?

• My last statistics class ended yesterday.  Thank gah!  I was about tired of that class.
• My next class started today and it's Computer Information Systems.  Wish me luck!
• I'm almost done with my latest knitting project and hope to share that soon.
• I'm ready to start another project...
• My art studio is almost ready.  I need to go back and pick up 4 more shelves for the workspace that The Container Store was out of on Friday.  Then I can start organizing.
• The futon is in the studio and is shaping up to be a nice little knitting spot.
• I hate the color on the walls still, but Adam won't help me repaint!
• This weekend we're going to see Dave Matthews Band at the Gorge.  I will be in "concert mode" in about 2 days.  It's something, let me tell you!
• I think that's all I've got for tonight!

Hello Monday

Hello to Monday. 

As usual I wasn't ready for the weekend to end last night and certainly still wasn't ready this morning!  I did have a nice weekend though for the most part. 

We had a friend over on Friday night just to hang out.  Talking, wine, beer, laughing, etc.  It was fun.  And the wine helped me sleep straight through the night which was much-needed.

Saturday morning I woke up sick.  I've been having issues with sinus congestion and headaches lately.  Actually I have problems with that stuff pretty much all year round, but last week it was worse than normal.  It's ok though because it gave me the perfect excuse to nap and watch TV in bed for a good part of the afternoon.  Even Adam came up and napped - he NEVER naps. 

I spent Sunday doing a lot of homework which puts me a little ahead for the week.  You can't beat that!  We also scored a great deal on a futon for the spare room so that my Mom doesn't have to sleep on an air mattress during her October visit.  :)  She'll be here for a week and air mattresses get pretty old after the first few days.  I'm in the process of converting my closet to my workspace for paper crafting with a unit from the Container Store.  More on that later.  I also got some good knitting time in on Sunday. 

Last weekend I was finally able to sit down and spend a little time sewing.  A month ago I bought a new sewing book with really cute, basic, easy patterns and I've been dying to try something ever since.  On Saturday we ended up near Joann's so after a few minutes of picking out fabrics I came home with this:

A few yards of fabric, some scissors and a cutting mat.  I was really happy to get the scisscors for 40% since I didn't have a nice pair of "fabric-only" scissors.  The mat was on sale as well and it makes it a lot easier to cut.  My previous method was cutting on the floor and using a tape measure to measure.  HA - I know...that's pretty ghetto.  I am sure my Mom and my Aunt (master sewers!) are reading this and shaking their heads.  :)

After a few hours of cutting and sewing I ended up with a cute purse:

It's full of uneven, crooked stitching and mistakes, but I like it and I learned something.  I've used it a couple of times already and my only complaint is that it's not stiff enough.  I wish I would have put some type of stiff fabric in between the outside and the lining.  Maybe interfacing - I'm not sure.  The good news is that it only takes a small amount of fabric and time so I'll probably make a few more in the future. 

And the book, if you're interested, is :: Bend the rules sewing by Amy Karol

I really like every single pattern from the book.  They're all do-able in my opinion too...even if you're not a seamstress...and I'm not.  I'm going to make the cute little stuffed turtle toys next.  And maybe when my Mom comes in October I'll be ready to put her to work giving me an advanced sewing lesson.  :)

That's it for today - until next time...have a great week!

Boteh scarf

I finished the Boteh scarf this weekend and got it blocked.  I'm really happy with how it turned out.  I used the sock yarn that I received in the special swap last month and the colors are gorgeous.  I'm still a beginner at crochet, but this was easy enough to follow and I learned a lot along the way.  I found the chart a little confusing, but after trolling blogs and finding other people working on this project I was able to put it together.

Here's a couple of pictures that Adam took on Monday night. 

• Boteh Scarf
• Pattern by Kathy Merrick :: Interweave Crochet Spring 2007
• Handspun sock yarn, F hook
• A couple days to complete

Here's to Wednesday and being one more day closer to the weekend! 

A couple of good reads

I've been catching up on my James Patterson reading over the last 2 months.  JP is one of my favorite authors and before school I would devour each and every one of his new books in a few nights flat.  Lately though it's taken me a little bit to catch up.  It certainly doesn't help that he releases a new book every other month.  The guy is a machine!

So I've read his last 3 books and I wanted to share them here because they were all great.  If you're into suspense/thrillers/crime fiction - you will probably love JP.  I love his style of writing.  His chapters are never more than 3 or 4 pages long and I love that. 

The Quickie

I finished this one yesterday at lunch.  The night I started reading it, I couldn't stop.  I read 200 pages the first night because it was so intense.  This is probably my favorite JP book (I've read them all so far).  It's a crime fiction and really full of suspense.  It's a quick read and I guarantee you'll have a hard time putting it down.

The 6th Target

This one is the 6th in a series called the Women's Murder Series.  It's not my favorite from the series, but it was good and worth the read.  The series itself is really good - it has a great storyline about 4 best girlfriends who are on various sides of law enforcement.  It follows each of their stories, but is mainly based around the detective.  I really like crime fiction series and I was glad when JP came out with this one.  They're all numbered so it's easy to figure out the order if you want to start the series.

Cross

I read this one several months back, but it was great and worth the mention.  This is actually book 12 in the Alex Cross series.  This series has been around a while and it's really good.  Every ending keeps you waiting for the next book.  This particular series is really popular and it's been around for a while.  One of the books in the series called Kiss the Girls is the book that the move Kiss the Girls was based on.  I would definitely start this series from the beginning if you like crime fiction.  You will be hooked.

And with that I'm going to take a little reading break for the next few weeks to catch up on knitting, crocheting and scrapbooking.  Of course JP has 2 new books coming out soon - one in September and one in November.  I will be ready for the book in September for sure.

Have a great weekend!   :)

Just because...

A couple of weeks ago Adam and I were heading out to go somewhere and it was right around sunset.  As we were driving we noticed that the sky was red, orange and purple and it was reflecting off the snow of Mt Rainier in a very cool way.  It was definitely a Kodak moment, but of course we didn't have our camera.  As we were driving (the town we live in has really great views on Rainier all over the place) we figured out that the top level of the parking structure at the train station would be a great place to set up a tripod and take some photos of the mountain.

One night last week we drove over there and set up.  It wasn't the cool sunset scene that we'd seen before, but it was a great view.  We were losing light fast so I only got a few shots, but I thought I'd share my favorite.

And now we know where to go should we ever see that cool sunset again.  :)

This past weekend was very cool - we got to see the Blue Angels at Seafair and I fired off about 600 shots or so.  I hope to weed through those and get an album online this week.

Until then...

I don't need another hobby...

but I think I might have just picked one up.  You know, for my "spare time."  ;)

Here's the story:

About a month ago Adam and I purchased a pistol.  He's been wanting one forever - in the interest of protecting our home and for target practice.  I've always wanted him to get something so he could keep his military skills sharp.  He's a research type of guy so it took him a while to figure out what he wanted, but the main thing was getting something that was comfortable for me.  He's been dying to teach me to shoot for years, but we've never had our own pistol.  I've always been so-so on it.  I'm not against guns by any means, but I'm also not an enthusiast like him. 

We went out looking a couple of times and after holding several we finally decided on the Glock 19.  It fits in my hand and it's got a very light recoil.  A good fit for both of us.

This past weekend we finally had time to spend at the range and found a new one that's indoor and close to our house.  I was nervous all the way over there because I really didn't know what to expect.  We got there, chose our targets (my favorite part - I'll get to that in a minute), put our ear and eye protection on and entered the range.  There were already a few people in there shooting and right away the noise bothered me.  For a good solid 25 minutes I jumped everytime someone else's gun fired.  I kept thinking that I'd have to leave because I wasn't going to jump like that while I had a gun in my hand.  So we reviewed the basics - safely, loading etc - that he'd been teaching me prior and he went first.  Wow - he's really good.  I mean I've always known, but only from hearing it, not from seeing it. 

Then my turn came around and of course I had no idea what to expect.  I was a little used to the noise by now and the jumpiness had stopped.  I fired one round and it hit the target in some obscure place, but at least it hit it.  Shortly there after I started to get my groove.  I wasn't hitting dead center, but I was making consistent clusters which I guess is pretty good. 

And then it happened...I started to like it.  I shot through about 100 round while Adam watched.  The day ended with me buying my own box of ammunition and firing through that box while Adam was out talking to some guy. 

I've said it here before, but I'm obsessive about anything that I like.  Hobbies are the worst victim - knitting, scrapbooking, crocheting, etc.  And now target shooting.  I'm anxious to go back.  But I don't want to do it unless I'm good, really good.  I'm highly competitive, but mostly just with myself.  I like to do things when I'm good at them and I like that "getting good at something" stage the best.  This means I'll be practicing.  And by the way - my husband could not be happier.  Obviously.

My favorite part really was picking out my target.  I chose the 80's molestor looking guy that looks like Dog the Bounty Hunter.  HA!

And in the interest of keeping this blog honest - the headshots are not mine.  I like to hit the stomach and the crotch more.  :)

Hope you've all got a great weekend planned!  Until next time...

 

Pretty in pink

It's been forever since I posted.  Spare time is rare and I really haven't had much to post about.  Work and school...school and work.  That sums up my life as of late.  I was just telling Adam how I think this has been the lamest summer we've ever had.  My 2 hardest classes hit right in the middle of summer and he's had a new schedule that's really draining so we've just been hanging out. 

I have, however, been able to fit in a little bit of knitting.  A small little project that really just took a couple of sittings.  I like those :)  I love the feeling of finishing a project.  Short and sweet!

This pretty little pink sweater is for our friend's new baby girl, Valentina who was born in early July - isn't that the greatest name?  I love it. 

You can click the picture to enlarge it.  (The digi frame was designed by my ultra-creative friend Erica)  The color is more true in the picture on the right.  The yarn is so pretty in person.  This pattern came from the owner of a LYS in Seattle.  Simple little top down raglan.  The yarn really makes the sweater.  I just love how it turned out.

Details:

• Pattern: Top Down Baby Sweater from So Much Yarn
• Yarn: Dream in Color in Petal Shower colorway
• Top down raglan, no seaming  :)
• Time: About 2 weeks knitting here and there