Hello!
Remember me?
I didn’t fall off the surface of the earth, but I drifted off for a while. A lot longer than I thought I would. A comment to my last post asking me if I was still in the process of making pancakes had me realizing just how long I’d be abscent from my blog. Thank you, Tina! 🙂
1. Creative roller coaster
This spring I have been struggling with going between periods of feeling very creative to stretches of time in which I’ve not wanted to do anything but eat, watch tv and sleep. I’ve felt very scattered and I needed to rest my brain for a bit by staying more focused.
2. Sewing
I have, however, worked my way through finishing that colourful crazy 9-patch quilt I was making for a baby’s name-giving ceremony (blogged here and here). I will show you the finished quilt as soon as the ceremony has taken place. I have also sewn two Jewelry Rolls (pattern from One-Yard Wonders by Rebecca Yaker and Patricia Hoskins) as graduation gifts for friends (posted here on July 2nd, 2011). There’s a Teardrop Bag (from Amy Butler’s Style Stitches) hanging in my craft room waiting to be gifted to a friend on her 40th birthday on Saturday. Posts on these projects will appear here.
3. Knitting
I have also been knitting a bit. You will see posts on my “process” in that area as well. I have managed to mess up a pair of socks by knitting the second one on needles that were too small. And I only realized after I had knitted the toe, the foot, the heel and the leg and was supposed to start the ribbing where the pattern told me to change to smaller needles…
I have started a ribbed sweater that just sucks the energy out of me as one of the sleeves is knitted with horizontal ribs. I knitted forever and it just didn’t grow…
I am currently knitting a Cornflower Shawl (after seeing Anna’s start of one over at garndrommar.se). I started over four times before I found the needle size that produced a shawl I was happy with. And I also changed around the main and contrast colour. Now, I’m loving it!
4. An end
My favourite yarn store is closing down in a couple of weeks. I’m really sad about it, but that’s me being selfish. I know the owner is happy with her decision and I fully understand her. And admire her for her guts!
 5. Photography
My distant ed photography class didn’t go well. I loved the first lesson. And I loved the second one. But it ended with an assignment I couldn’t do at the time. I needed to wait for an order from Amazon.com. And I needed to wait for sunlight… The assignment was about panning moving objects to create pictures that show movement. How easy is that to do in my parts of the world in early February? I left for work int he morning in darkness and came home in darkness. The weekends were snowy and cold. And I couldn’t do it.
And the teachers constantly told us to work through every class and assignment before moving on the next one. So I got stuck.
I still have access to all the classes online and will try to go through them over summer and fall instead.
6. Photo project
I’m still working on my photo project for 2011 (blogged here, here and here) and I’m really enjoying it. I’m way behind on transfering the pictures from my camera to the computer and to actually make the choice of what picture to name “Today’s Picture” but I’m not stressing too much about that one. Promise you’ll see some of the pictures here on the blog.
7. Earrings
During the spring I have pierced my ears. I had them pierced when I about ten but let them overgrow a couple of years later as the started acting up. I would put in earrings and my earlobes would get all red and swollen. This time around I went to a real piercing studio and had them done more professionally than I would’ve had in a beauty salon. I’ve decided to use earrings made out of titanium or sugical steel as they are better for sensitive ears. Wish me luck!
This has led to me being absolutely fascinated by earrings! I don’t think I’ve ever noticed that so many people around me use earrings. And good looking ones too. I love the look of dangling earrings and can’t wait to expand my jewelry wardrobe. I’m currently waiting for an order from silvermason over at Etsy. You will see a post about those earrings when I get them!
8. Health
This spring I decided to deal with the fact that I haven’t felt comfortable in my body and clothes in a long time. I joined Weight Watchers online and have so far lost 9kg/22lbs by eating more, more regularly and healthier; and by increasing my weekly exercise by taking more and longer walks.
I have spent more time preparing and eating food this spring than I have ever done in my life. And I enjoy it! I try new recipies and new ingredients. I have given up cheese sandwiches for dinner and try to cook something instead. Or at least make myself a plate of veggies and cold cuts.
I have signed up for a membership at the gym from July 1st and I’m looking forward to start building muscles. I’m in desperate need of stronger abs and chest muscles to keep my back and hips from acting up all the time. And I’ve proven to myself that working out at home isn’t my thing… The sofa is far more comfortable than the floor. 🙂
9. Writing
I haven’t written anything at home for the pure pleasure of writing in nearly 6 months now. I think about it a lot though… Strangely enough; that doesn’t produce readable text.
10. Change?
I’ve also concluded that some things never change. And I speak of myself.
I have this feeling, this urge, to start a creative business. I follow blogs on creative entrepreneurship and I dream. And I make plans. I have five options for names. And I sort of know how to brand myself. And how to keep things moving. And where does that take me? Not far. To be honest. ‘Cause I forget to specify what my business should be about and I forget to produce anything…
And that’s sort of the way I am. I know how to write a letter of interest to a publisher for the novel I haven’t written yet. And I know the pros and cons of different marketing strategies for the novel I haven’t written yet. And I also know [fill in the gap] for the [fill in the gap] I haven’t made yet.
There are more random stuff I could share. But why do it all in one post after such a long absence? Next time, you’ll get pictures too. Promise!
Alias AnnaJM 