Unexpected sadness

Our family has had a tough day today. This morning, our beloved cat Buddy had a stroke. We took him to the Purdue Animal Hospital emergency clinic, but ultimately made the decision to have him put down. One of the hardest decisions I've made. We took the kids out of school so they could say goodbye. Buddy was part of our family for 13 years. We got him when Tori turned 2. Aaron is 11, so he's never known a home without Buddy. One of our friends always referred to him as "America's Favorite Kitty." 

He was a huge cat, tipping the scales at 25 pounds. But that didn't keep him from wanting to snuggle on your lap every chance he got.

If you were home sick, he was a constant companion.

The only thing he maybe loved more than a warm lap was laying in the sunshine streaming through the patio door.

He was also quite fond of laying wherever you didn't want him to:
on projects,

on the bed while you we're tying to make it,

on newspapers, magazines, books, or even your face, especially if you were trying to read.

He also loved snuggling with Diego, another of our cats, who I fear is really going to miss Buddy a lot.

Rest in peace, Buddy. You will be sorely missed.

And, we're back

September is a blur. The first 11 days of October are too. Several highlights:

I did not paint my kitchen cabinets Labor Day weekend. Instead, I knit and cooked and slept in every morning. I can't complain. It was fun. I managed to put away some 20 freezer meals, so that was nice.

September 16 was my mom's 59th birthday. I made her this:

Pattern: Haruni. Yarn: Malabrigo Sock in the colorway Piedras. She absolutely LOVED it!


September 22 was my hubby's 20th class reunion. Here we are:

Yes, I made my little shrug. More on that another day. :)

Many Friday evenings this fall have been spent at the high school because Tori is in marching band.

On October 6, the Harrison Militia Marching Band went to ISSMA (Indiana State School Music Association) band contest where they took Gold with Double Distinction (for music AND visuals). It's the first time in school history they have accomplished that feat! AND, the band is 45% freshmen! Go Band!!!

Saturdays this fall have been filled with College Football. Boiler Up! Miss Tori also enjoyed Band Day at Purdue, which is a fun event where Purdue hosts numerous high school bands, and they all get to play at halftime. This year was the largest one in more than a decade. It was a blast.

As for crafting/knitting/organizing, I have to admit that I haven't done a ton of it so far this fall. Life has just been too busy. I mean, I have been knitting because I can carry it around with me and sneak in a few stitches here and there, and I knit a LOT during football games. But it's all been pretty mindless stuff. Mostly socks.

That said, I do have plans for this weekend. I know I said I was going to wait to paint the wall in the dining area until AFTER I painted my cabinets, but I can't wait any longer. I have to paint something. And that wall will be an easy, quick project that will make a huge difference and make me feel like I've really accomplished something. So, Wednesday, I took my curtain fabric to Menards and started looking at colors. I came home with a few swatches, and made a decision within about 10 minutes.

Some of you are bound to wonder what's wrong with the lovely, soft sage green that's on the wall now. Well, as you may recall, I painted the living room this summer. It used to be that soft sage green as well. Our kitchen, dining area, and living room are really just one long, big great room. And this remaining vestige of the old color choice has been driving me batty. It looks terrible with the new, much more vibrant green. So, it's definitely time for a change!

I took the picture above with my phone, so it doesn't reproduce the colors quite perfectly. The top color (Wool Tweed) is too green and looks really awful with the Amanda Signature Green in the living room. The bottom color is too peachy; not at all the look I'm going for. The second from the bottom (Warm Wassail) is quite nice, but too red. The second from the top (Ginger) is just perfect! Brown with just a hint of orange, the perfect warm compliment to my favorite vibrant green.

So that's what I'll be doing Saturday morning. What are your weekend plans?

The best-laid plans

In May, I had some big plans. I was going to paint my kitchen cabinets on Memorial Day weekend. Three days, I figured, would at least get me a good start. But, no. Family plans arose, and we ended up spending the weekend out of town with my in-laws. No problem, I thought. There's always Labor Day weekend. As the summer progressed, the promise of freshly painted cabinets became more appealing. Every time I walked into or looked over at my kitchen, I'd envision the final product. I couldn't wait for Labor Day!

Last weekend, I reminded everyone of my plans. I don't care what YOU do with your Labor Day weekend, but I'm not leaving the house! You can go to the football game, visit family, go out to eat....whatever. But I AM painting the kitchen cabinets. All week this week, every evening, I have reiterated my intentions.

Then, last night, my husband, very calmly and kindly said, "Have you looked at the forecast for this weekend?"

 While my house is air conditioned, the garage (where I will be painting the cabinet doors) is not. And I'm really not convinced that doing it in high humidity is a good idea. So, I'm keeping an eye on the weather. If it rains, my plans will once again be foiled.

Which means I need to come up with an alternate plans. If it rains, what should I work on instead? The wall in the dining area needs to be painted, but I don't want to pick a paint color until AFTER I do the kitchen cabinets. The master bedroom needs some serious attention; it tends to be the catch-all in our house. Not sure where to put it? Toss it in the bedroom. It's really getting on my nerves. Victoria has expressed interest in redecorating her room. We could put together a plan for that, along with some organizing solutions she will actually use. She's 14 years old. She says her room is "floorganized."

Ultimately, I really hope the rain doesn't happen! I desperately want to paint my cabinets. But, if it does? Well, I think I can find something else to fill my time.

Where did summer go?

I'll be the first to admit that I don't love summer. I really don't. It's too hot (and boy howdy was it hot this summer!), too sunny, too allergy-inducing, and just too icky. The one and only redeeming quality about summer is its relaxed energy. I work for the Purdue Libraries, and much of what we do revolves around the school year. We are busy from mid-August to early May, and we treasure those few months in between. We have time to work on projects--like repurposing a little-used basement office into a reservable group study space or weeding duplicate books that haven't been used in 10 years or sending older issues of journals to repository storage. We have time for training staff how to use new resources. We have time to take vacations.

But this summer went too fast. Between cramming in a last-minute family vacation in June, my daughter's enrollment in Summer PE in July, and marching band camp the first week of August, our summer was eaten up in a flash.

My daughter started high school and my son started his last year of elementary school last week. This week, all the Purdue students are back. Don't get me wrong! I love fall! I love the energy the returning students bring with them. The sense of possibilities and potential is almost palpable. I love that my kids are back in school, learning and spending time with their friends. It just seemed to get here much more quickly than I was expecting.

I had a list of big things I wanted to accomplish this summer that just didn't get done.

• Paint my kitchen cabinets
• Build a sectional daybed thing for the front room (I know this sounds weird, but trust me: it's going to be way cool)
• Learn how to use my knitting machine
• Paint the dining area (really just an extension of the kitchen)

I'm hoping all of those things will be done by Christmas, in addition to my list of fall projects. We'll see.

So, sayonara summer. I hope when you return in May your stay will be more pleasant.

Hello, fall! Even though you're here sooner than I expected, your cooler temps and wonderful smells will be a welcome change!

In closing, check out the adorableness we discovered in our front shrubs Friday afternoon:

Claire

This morning, I was surprised to find that Diana Gabaldon, the author of the amazing Outlander series of books, tweeted about MY Claire's Shawl!!!

Currently, the pattern can be purchased through the River Knits Yarns website. However, I'm hoping to have it available for sale through Ravelry very soon!

Ah! I'm so floored!

Crafty weekend fun

We had a good time at my house last weekend. All week, I had planned on taking the day Saturday to figure out my new-to-me knitting machine. I got it free from a lady who said, "I just want it out of my house." Okay. It's a Brother ElectroKnit KH-910. I'm very intimidated by this thing. It didn't have a manual, but I found one online.

Even so, I let the intimidation get the best of me. I told myself (and those around me) that the lack of sleep Thursday night was really affecting me on Saturday and my brain was too tired to learn something new. You see, my daughter and I went to the midnight premier of "The Dark Knight Rises." Learning something new just wasn't possible in my sleep-deprived state. In my heart, though, I know it was intimidation. I won't let the knitting machine get the best of me. As soon as Ravellenics (formerly Knitting Olympics) is over, it's going down! I'm going to conquer that thing!

My avoidance did have some productive results, though. I made a few draw-string project bags to go with my purse. Yes, I had some small drawstring project bags already, but they were quite small and didn't match my bag. So, I did some thinking and looking around at other project bags. I knew the bags I already had were great for socks or other very small projects. But for a shawl, scarf, or larger project, I needed something a little bigger. Maybe just taller. I also didn't like that I had to guess what was inside the bag, or open it first. An excellent solution can be found in Tom Bihn's Yarn Stuff Sack. Clear vinyl bottom? I can do that! At least, I think I can....I've never sewn with vinyl before. Let's try it out!

Look at that! I CAN sew with vinyl! So, I decided to try my luck with zippers too.

That's the Boxy Little Pouch from Three Bears. It measures about 5" x 3" x 3." Perfect for my little knitting implements--like scissors, stitch markers, tape measure, and sewing-up needles.And this method for sewing in a zipper is super easy!

I also cut out all the pieces for a fall version of my purse. I assembled most of the pieces, but realized I only had one magnetic snap. So, the lining and the outside are done, just waiting on the snap so I can put it all together. Maybe I'll have time one evening this week.

Then, last night, I whipped this together:

It's a little pouch for my earbuds. Tutorial available from Dog Under My Desk. Mine is far from perfect. Sewing a curve is tough. I need to practice.


Seriously? I never knew sewing was this fun! If you had told me six months ago that I would enjoy sewing, I'd have called you crazy. I blame Pinterest. And not in a bad way! It's just piqued my interest in things I probably wouldn't have tried otherwise.

Speaking of which, my daughter, Tori, who is 14 went into a Pinterest-induced cooking and crafting frenzy last weekend too! She made Chicken Taquitos (delicious!),Cheddar Bacon Ranch Pulls (potentially delicious with a few tweaks), Nutella Chip Cookies (om nom nom), and some string art for her bedroom wall (which I will have HER tell you about in a future post).

All in all, a very productive weekend at the Gill household!

Beginning tomorrow: Ravellenics (formerly Ravelympics or Knitting Olympics). I have my projects ready to cast on at 4pm EDT, at the moment Opening Ceremonies begin in London. Details tomorrow.

Baby, it's hot outside!

Wow! What a week! Record breaking temps here in Indiana made it really miserable. I was so thankful to have air conditioning--at work, at home, in my car. Even so, that kind of heat sort of seeps into your soul and wipes out all motivation to do anything except sit. I guess that's why they're called the lazy days of summer.

While my week, as a whole, was pretty lazy, my weekend was filled with activity. But first, I need to rewind and tell you a little story.

As I stated in my previous post, we went to TNNA a couple of weeks ago. I believe I also expressed my disappointment in what we saw. That disappointment extended a little further than what I let on. Every time we go to TNNA, we see a bag that we fall in love with. For me, it's usually something new from Namaste, though I've crushed on many a knitting bag. And my closet shows it. I am to bags as many women are to shoes. I love them. This year, however, nothing really struck my fancy. It was kind of sad. As the weekend progressed, I resolved to design my own bag. The Perfect Bag (for me).

So, as the idea percolated in the back of my mind, I started putting together a list of all the things I feel like I need to carry with me. There were the obvious things: phone, wallet, sunglasses, keys. Then the things I can't live without: nail clippers and file, migraine meds, chapstick, a little mirror, mints, earbuds, thumb drive, etc., etc. Then the luxuries: iPad, Kindle, chargers for both, at least one knitting project.  Keep in mind, this is not a run-to-the-store bag. This is a bag I can carry every day to work, where I'm not always in my own office.

Once I had a pretty thorough list, it was time to measure and plan. I measured my stuff, but I also measured bags I already own that I knew were a good size for me. Then I drew some pictures of how it could all work together, did a lot of math, and cut pattern pieces out of newspaper. I spent most of the day Saturday sewing, and ended up with this fully reversible, perfect for me bag:

That's the front, with a pocket for my iPad and a pocket for my Kindle, with one strap to hold both closed.

Side view. See the elasticized pocket on the side? Well, there are 4 of those on the purse--one on each side, both outside and inside. Perfect for sunglasses, phone, keys and wallet. In this photo, you also get a better idea of what the iPad/Kindle pockets look like. 

This is the back. It has a nice, big, flat pocket--perfect for a magazine or files/papers for work.

 This is the inside. Lots of pockets and a big open space for knitting projects. One side has a row of 4 pockets, each about 4" wide. The other side has four 2" pockets and two 4" pockets. And, of course, the sides have those wonderful elasticized pockets.

And, finally, this is what it looks like reversed. I don't foresee myself carrying it this way very often, but it's nice to know I can if I want to.

Today is my first day carrying it, and so far, so good. It's not too heavy, and holds everything I need. Oh! I also sprayed it with Scotch Guard to help keep it clean. If I find that it really is the perfect bag, I might make one in a darker fabric for fall and winter.

And, really quick, I'm going to show you the knitting I cast on Sunday morning.

Not that you can tell yet, but the pattern is Jo's Pride by Sivia Harding. Yarn: Zauberball 1966Ombre. Beads: Japanese foil-lined glass 6/0 seed beads; black with silver foil (even though it looks gold in the photo).  My daughter, who is in love with all things Avengers, informed me that those are Loki colors, so I have to call it "Loki's Pride" instead of Jo's.

What projects have you been working on this summer?