Strengths, Challenges, Instagram and Rope Baskets

It really is a balance, you know. In my life and I am sure in yours too, there never seems to be enough time to fit it all in so you have to prioritize your responsibilities and do what you can to sprinkle in the lighter stuff whenever possible. For me, that means that lately this space isn't getting quite as much attention from me. I have wanted to be here. I have wanted to take more photos with my big camera. I have missed creating a record of the all of the great things (and some of the challenging things) that happen in my days. 

As I get older, I have become more aware of how far I can push myself, of how much I can ask of myself. I have also become aware of what the consequences will be if and when I push too hard or pack too much in (Spoiler: I get sick and cranky). Time and time again, it has also been made clear to me how linked creativity (by this, I mean the act of creating something) is to my happiness, to my sense of balance and to what makes me feel like myself. 

A few years ago, I took a Strengthsfinder assessment at work that put a frame around parts of myself I had never really pinpointed but that are at the core of who I am. I am not usually one to put much stock in inventories or assessments but this one really hit home for me! This assessment identifies your top 5 themes/strengths. My themes were: Achiever, Learner, Input, Responsibility, and Individualization. I've linked to the full explanation but let me do a little synopsis of the most relevant parts of these themes.

Achiever - You measure yourself by what you accomplish every single day of your life. 

Learner - You are curious and have a strong desire to continually learn new things and skills.

Input - You like learning so much, you apparently had to get it on your list twice

Responsibility - You are only as good as your word. No excuses.

Individualization - You believe in individuals rather than generalizations and spend a lot of energy observing in attempts to understand each person. 

Since the Achiever theme was the real lightbulb one for me, let me share their full explanation:

Your Achiever theme helps explain your drive. Achiever describes a constant need for achievement. You feel as if every day starts at zero. By the end of the day you must achieve something tangible in order to feel good about yourself. And by "every day" you mean every single day -- workdays, weekends, vacations. No matter how much you may feel you deserve a day of rest, if the day passes without some form of achievement, no matter how small, you will feel dissatisfied. You have an internal fire burning inside you. It pushes you to do more, to achieve more. After each accomplishment is reached, the fire dwindles for a moment, but very soon it rekindles itself, forcing you toward the next accomplishment. Your relentless need for achievement might not be logical. It might not even be focused. But it will always be with you. As an Achiever you must learn to live with this whisper of discontent. It does have its benefits. It brings you the energy you need to work long hours without burning out. It is the jolt you can always count on to get you started on new tasks, new challenges. It is the power supply that causes you to set the pace and define the levels of productivity for your work group. It is the theme that keeps you moving. 

Does this come across braggy? That is not my intention. What I am trying to say here is that my head is FULL to bursting with to do lists and projects and obligations nearly all of my waking hours. A little snippet from inside my head for you: I need to make sure I email that person that I said I would and do we have enough toilet paper and it really would be great to learn how to weld someday and I wonder if I forgot to do anything that I said I would get done at work today and wow there sure are a lot of weeds in the garden I can't believe I let it get that bad and it has been way too long since I have gotten together with them did I say I would host next and shouldn't I be making my own yogurt instead of buying it since I know how and it isn't too hard to do and by the way I had better write up that list of things to make for Christmas gifts so I am sure to get it done on time and I wonder what she meant when she said that and this article looks interesting and I should learn more about beekeeping and I really wish I was farther along with that dress because I am excited to wear it....and on and on and on. My brain works really hard to make sure I get a lot done and don't drop any balls in the process. It is really helpful but also demanding. Sometimes you just need a little peace and quiet, you know? I have literally told my own brain to SHUT IT! Thankfully, it is able to obey if the circumstances are right.

For someone who wants to learn, make and experience it all, it feels like there is a cost associated with choices. When you chose one road, there is another road not taken. This makes me a bit sad because it really would be great to feel like one person can do it all. But, well, that is just not possible. On the other hand, you can choose to focus on the joys of what you do get to do! I try to train myself to think that way.

So, in that spirit, I am finding myself migrating towards a new balance when it comes to sharing images and tidbits from my life online. I have been finding that I can use my slivers of time left after I work and take care of my family, my house and myself to learn and make things (and try to relax!) or I can blog. And, well, the other stuff is winning out. That is, except for in one area.

Six months ago I joined Instagram on a whim while riding the bus home. I thought I was going to use it to be a lurker and follow a few people. But, since then, I have found it to be a quick, easy and fun way to send out a little contribution to the worldwide web. It ended up being a slow and gentle segue into sharing small snippets more often there and writing big posts less often here. Don't worry, I am not going to stop blogging, but I am really loving the ease and image-based community on Instagram. If you are on Instagram and want to connect, I am @TrinKnitty 

For those that might want to see what I am posting but not join yet another site, I added a little widget to my sidebar. The widget is a slideshow of my pictures. You can click on a picture to see the caption. I am currently only using my camera phone to take and post pictures there so my photography is limited, but you can't beat the ease and seamless nature of that setup.

I should mention, I don't use Twitter, so my social media sphere is pretty targeted (Facebook for friends and family, Goodreads for books, Pinterest for recipes, Ravelry for knitting projects, a Feedly full of favorite bloggers). One of the things that I am loving about Instagram is that it allows me to put my toes in a different stream of content. There are so many beautiful, inspiring, peaceful, exhilarating, clever images coming through my Instagram feed from people that I have no real life connection to. 

For example, a few weeks ago, it seemed that a ton of people from different parts of the country (maybe world?) got taken with the same bug: the rope basket bug. And, not surprisingly, it bit me, too! I made a trip to the hardware store to pick up two bundles of rope to give it a try, playing with the methods of starting it, the length of the stitches, the thread color ending strategies and handles.

True to form for an achiever/learner, after my 2 test baskets, I went back to the store and stocked up on ropes of varying size and thicknesses. These are addictive and satisfying to make and the variations are endless! I am having visions of a rug, placements, coasters, stacking bowls, tote bags with leather handles, painted rope, naturally dyed rope, thread color variations, wall hangings...and more! Why am I bothering to list them all out?! Just go check this guy's work out.

I want to end this post by saying that while this all might add up to sound like I am ditching the blog, I am not. What I am hoping to do is feel less responsible about it. It probably won't feel any different for you, but it makes a big difference to me. I want to feel less like I should blog and more like I can blog. From now on, I will pop in here when the mood strikes, time allows and I've got something to say. I won't feel the need to apologize for being away so long and you'll hopefully be happy to see me. Here's to irresponsible blogging and poor camera phone pictures! Hmm. Perhaps it is obvious that marketing is not one of my strengths!

PS If you want to try your hand at making a rope basket, I like this quick tutorial.


PPS In a bit of serendipity, my blog widget that tracks geographic stats crashed and the data for the entire history of this blog was lost. A fitting time to wipe the slate clean, I guess. You might also notice that I reduced the content on the sidebar. The functionality of the blog lists has long been lackluster, so I nixed it. Let me know if there was anyone there you want to still read but can't find them now that I pulled the links. I'd be happy to point you in their direction.

PPPS Thanks for spending some of your precious time reading my words and giving me a place in your life whether we know each other in person or not. I value your presence.

Paul's Driftwood Sweater

Paul and I just celebrated our 13 year anniversary and, since I learned how to knit shortly before meeting him, it is also my knitting anniversary. Despite many years of knitting and togetherness, I have only made Paul one sweater and that was 7 years ago! There are a variety of reasons for the lack of Paul sweaters, including his specific tastes for how clothes feel, his tendency to run hot and the challenge of finding a pattern that he likes.

Last winter, we spent a good, long while perusing sweater patterns on Ravelry. I was sad to learn that he does not like shawl collars because I think they look quite charming on men. After much discussion and elimination of all shawl collars, we settled on a pattern for him. The chosen pattern was a surprising one to me as it was modeled entirely by women. The winner: Driftwood by Isabell Kraemer. 

Next up on the list of things we needed to navigate prior to sweater knitting: yarn. We wanted to go with 100% wool and needed a line that had a lot of color choices. The winning grey and rust color combination was located in Valley Yarns' Northampton yarn.

What we failed to notice when picking the pattern out was that the neckline is a little low in the front. That fact didn't become apparent until the very last step when I was picking up stitches for the collar. I ended up having to get a little creative with the collar to raise it up in the front. I used short rows to lengthen the front without adding any depth to the back of the neck. I also added an extra button and buttonhole to hold it up. I am not that happy with how it turned out after blocking, but I am hoping it will settle in and look better with more wear. Thankfully, it doesn't bother Paul and he is happy that it has a little more coverage in the collar area after my adjustments.

One last, important decision needed to be made to finish off the project: buttons. Paul is of the opinion that buttons should be there to do their job but not be show offs. He likes it when buttons blend in like wallflowers. Me, not so much. I like it when buttons are a feature or point of contrast, but since I am not the one wearing this sweater, I made a significant effort to find the buttons he wanted. Even after visiting 3 stores, I wasn't able to find any buttons that matched the yarn. Thankfully, I found these buttons at Treadle Yard Goods.   They were acceptable to Paul and added a little extra something to the sweater for my eyes.

Since our collaboration has reached its conclusion just as the warmer weather arrives, Paul will need to tuck this away until next winter. Hopefully this sweater will see him through many winters. If I keep going at this pace, it will need to last him 8 more winters.

Ravelry project link

We Still Cook When We Can

Mom's Apple Cake from Smitten Kitchen

Things around our house have been go go go ever since Uli arrived. We have wanted to make the most of this impressionable time in his life so we can reap the rewards later on. It was necessary to be in that mode for a while, but when my schedule is so full, it is hard to find the time to cook for myself in the ways that nourish me best. I end up eating faster, easier food or takeout, which doesn't feel very good on many levels. Cooking for myself helps me feel balanced. As does spending time with my family and creating things. When I realized things had gotten out of hand, I made a point to lighten up on the plans and refocus on what brings on those better feelings.

On a recent weekend, Paul and I took some time to create a labor-intensive meal together that involved us both learning new skills. We made pasta from scratch! It was about time, too, since that shiny pasta roller was part of Paul's birthday present last July!

photo credit to Paul

And, as you might have guessed, we enjoy making things with eggs from our backyard pets/employees (their roles vary, depending on who you ask in this house).

We made a really basic durum semolina egg pasta for our first attempt.

We also cooked up a vegetable heavy, tomato sauce for the pasta.

Making pasta is not very hard if you have the right tools, but it sure is time consuming! I got a bit impatient when waiting for the sheets to be dry enough to cut, which meant we cut them when they were too wet and the noodles stuck to each other too much. Lesson learned!

Our meal was very satisfying in the nutritious way and also in the soul-filling way. And, truth be told, in the wine way, too. I am very glad to have been able to bring wine back into my diet.

In further attempts to bring things back into balance, I have also been trying to reinstate my weekend cooking spree. During these sprees, I make multiple dishes with multiple servings that have the ability to be transported to work and a decent shelf-life. It is my strategy for setting myself up to eat well throughout the week without spending each night cooking.

During one of these sprees, I made a beet slaw with preserved lemons. I am not sure why I have gone so long without preserved lemons in my fridge! They are super easy to make and amp up the flavor of every dish they are in. There are easy instructions on this site, although I don't usually rinse my slices when I use them. I have found the flesh and the peel are both useful. Try blending some in with a batch of hummus. Snappy!

PS The cake in the first photo was amazing and very big! I made it for a dinner party we hosted and it was well received. We had enough to all partake at dinner, send some home with our guests and still have leftovers for ourselves.

Double Double Cloche - Again!

Remember that thing about repeat projects that has been happening with me?  I guess I am not over it yet because I made another repeat.  This time I made a second one because the first one found a better fitting home than I could provide it with.  More on that in a minute.

I think I got it right this time! I wish it had a few more rows, but I think I might be able to get it to stretch in that direction after a little wear.

This time of year is good timing for a cotton hat and this one fits well under my bike helmet!

As for that first version of the hat...turns out it fits a certain little Sylvia perfectly!

She wore it recently when she and her mom Jamie came over to get in on some Shrinky Dink crafting time.

I feel a bit like a Shrinky Dink commercial this week!  I swear they are not paying me for this praise. Here is a little before and after for you.  The ones with the holes can be turned into jewelry or key chains or whatever else you might want to hang it from.



My Ravelry Project Here
Free Double Double Cloche Pattern Here

Mary's Spring Break Visit

Earlier this month our niece Mary had her spring break and spent a weekend of it with us! She arrived on the latter end of a Friday night. Before bedtime we had visited with her mom and brother, gone out for an ice cream cone, played with Uli and found out her new glasses are for "fashion".

Bright and early the next morning, the Uncle and Niece Chef Team set about making a delicious omelet breakfast using a half dozen of our backyard eggs with a side of potatoes and orange slices. Bon appetite!

The last time Mary stayed with us we did not have a dog.  Since we have Uli now, we had to do a little extra juggling of needs this time to make sure he got his energy out and Mary got her fill of our attention.  To help wear Uli out, we all took him to puppy playtime.

And, since visiting Minnehaha Falls was such a big hit last time, we went back to see it when it's frozen. Very shortly after we visited, the weather warmed up a good amount and the water started to flow again.

You can view the falls from above as well as take stairs down to see the bottom of the falls.  We wanted to do both, which gave Uli time to practice going down stairs.  He doesn't have a lot of opportunity to do stairs since we are not currently allowing him to go in the basement or 2nd floor of our house. Stairs are a little scary for a small pup but with a little encouragement from Paul, he got the hang of it quickly.

From there it was home to drop off Uli, back out to lunch, to the grocery store and then a stop at the library for crafting inspiration.  Mary and I spent a lot of time doing Shrinky Dinks together throughout the weekend. I have the kind that are blank pages so you can do whatever you want to with them, including tracing art you like from a book or making something of your own up.

We are wearing aprons because we were alternating between baking and shrinky dinking. We made a pumpkin pie together. I have a recipe that has become my super, duper, favorite one.  I should post it here because more people should be able to eat this pie. It has a ginger snap crust. Top notch!

This is one of my favorite activities to do with kids. I have a large assortment of colored pencils and funky scissors and hole punches and all sorts of things to play with.

Plus, the shrinking part of the process is fascinating, especially when you have never made them before!  We like to use our toaster oven for shrinking them but it requires a flashlight to see the process unfolding.  Paul joined in for some of the Shrinky Dink sessions, too! I have yet to meet someone who doesn't enjoy a little bit of the coloring/shrinking fun.

We also mixed in lots of Uli training time throughout the weekend. I think Mary had a good time learning how to be a good trainer and Uli benefited from learning that kids give him treats for doing the right thing, too! Mary did a great job managing the clicker and the treat timing.

And, of course, you have to fit in puppy snuggling time, too!

Mary told us that she really likes to cook so whenever she stays over we make sure to choose recipes that she can help make and food that she will enjoy.  Some of the things we made last time were memorable enough that she wanted to make them again this time....like popovers!  We also made an apple cinnamon mix and a raspberry lime sauce to go with/on the popovers.

Our last meal together was Sunday lunch and we made it a light, quick and easy one because we wanted to make sure everyone had time and space for one last big slice of the pumpkin pie with vanilla bean whipped cream.

Thanks for visiting, Mary!