I’ve moved one more time, this time into my own place with just the kids. I LOVE living on my own. This is the first time in my whole life I’ve had my own place and it’s wonderful. I’ve got a walk-in closet (!) and a fireplace in my new apartment!

Things did not work out with the roommate. Let’s just say that I do not have time in my life for toxic crazy people and leave it at that.

I have been crafting on and off (mostly off) for the past year and a half. Unfortunately I am terrible at remembering to take pictures. This leads me to one of my new years resolutions: take more pictures. Of the kids, the things I make, my friends and myself. I want to remember.

Another one of my resolutions is to be happy and to try to make other people happy. Sounds overly simple, maybe, but hear me out. When things are going good, I tend to stress about the next bad thing that might happen, which makes me unhappy. I’m going to try not to do that anymore. And I’m going to try and recognize when I am unhappy and take steps to eliminate what is making me unhappy. I don’t do that enough and it’s a good time to start.

I’ve got lots of pictures of what I’ve gotten done lately and will share those soon. I made a slipcover for my couch, which was a first for me. And so much Christmas knitting. And I started crocheting a gorgeous blanket I can’t wait to show you.

My daughter isn’t quite old enough to start kindergarten, but she’s starting to learn to read. Hooked on phonics is a genius system!

I am quitting my part-time job to spend more time with my kids. I still have my full-time job and I still enjoy it very much. Having only the one job means a little less money coming in, but I think I’ll be way less tired all the time, so hopefully less stressed out, too.

Things are working out great with my roommate still. We help each other out a lot. I feel lucky to have met her and I really don’t know how well this last year would have gone for me if I hadn’t met her.

“Do you even wear shawls?” you might ask. No, no I don’t. But they’re ever so pretty and I appreciate the challenge. And guess what? I’ll be able to knit 2 beautiful shawls from only 3 skeins of knit picks gloss lace. That’s a lot of knitting for not very much money. And it’s absorbing knitting that keeps me paying attention. The only part I don’t like (I think) is blocking. This might be knitting blasphemy, but I have never blocked a piece of knitting before. Most (I’m lying. All.) of my first projects were knit in acrylic yarn.

The only reason I think I don’t like blocking is that I seem to be putting off that particular part of knitting. That’s why I have two shawls completed that don’t look nearly as pretty as they could. Would have been three, if I hadn’t ran out of yarn on my first attempted shawl. I knit the entire skein, watching and watching the skein getting smaller and smaller. I was convinced that I would have just enough. I was wrong. So I unraveled the whole, nearly-completed shawl. It didn’t even hurt my feelings.  I just shrugged my shoulders and balled the yarn. That’s why I’m sure I’m a process knitter. I care more about the actual knitting part than having the product at the end. Not to say that I don’t love have someone complimenting me on something and then looking amazed when I tell them I made it.

I’ve moved out of my beautiful house and in with a roommate. I love my new place, but I do miss my giant sewing room. My roommate is great and she loves my kids. I’m mostly unpacked and we’re even starting to decorate. The only thing is, I seem to be having knitters block.

I think I just need to decide on what I want to knit, and unearth my needles and yarn. They’re still in boxes. The last boxes to be unpacked.

All of these facts come together to make my bus rides very productive of late. I’m close to finishing 3 purses, and four potholders.

The purses I will probably sell, and the potholders will be my housewarming present to myself when it’s time for me to move.  The purses won’t be finished for a while, though, because I want to line them and all my fabric and sewing stuff is already packed.

As such, I will be moving soon and thus my sewing room is all packed up and ready to go. The bad news for you, though, is that that means I can’t sew or knit anything when all my fabric and yarn is in boxes.

Sorry about that. I guess this post is an explanation as to why I haven’t written in ages, and why writing will be a little sparse for a while still.

There is also a large pocket on the back for a pad of paper and receipts. Does anyone else get their purse so filled with receipts that they can’t find their wallet? Yeah, that’s my purse. Hopefully a specific pocket for receipts will solve that problem. I also tend to lose my keys in the very bottom of purses, so I added a little clip under the long strap there. No more lost keys!  The top closes with two strong magnetic snaps. I forgot how easy those were to install, I should use them more often.

I also forgot how to put in a zippered pocket. It turned out pretty great considering that I had to figure it out again on my own. No gaps or puckered fabric and it runs nice and smooth.

As a final fancy bit of engineering, the long strap is removable, so it can be a shoulder or handbag.

Overall, I love this purse. Probably the only thing I would change is the curved bottom. I think I would like it a little more square and flat on the bottom.

This one is just like the blue snap bag, but the lining is dark green and so is the top stitching. This one is also available for sale if you’re local and want to stop by Sew Dandy on Osborne to take a look.

If you’re not local and still want one, email me and we’ll work something out!

Exactly like the blue jean bag, but a little shorter and with blue snaps. The size is just right this time! The straps are a great length, too. They are perfect for holding in your hand and fit nicely over the shoulder as well.

I top stitched with red thread to match the lining. I’ll remember next time to change to a new needle before topstitching next time. It looks ok, but it could be neater.