Gazing Fiercely Forward

It's summer break, so the days have really been getting away from me! My two littles keep me pretty busy all day, and my oldest just turned fourteen! That said, I did have manage to get some projects done: Makes First off, I finished this pair of Bear Paw Socks (by Andrea Mowry) for my husband. I used Knit Picks Stroll: GO GIANTS! Here's a two-fer:  Sweater is The Weekender, which I finished last month! I sewed a pair of Bob Pants (by Style Arc) using Brussels Washer Linen. I'm not super satisfied with the fit (the rise is SO high, it feels like wearing maternity pants!), but then again, they look okay in the photo? I wanted a pair of high-waisted pants to wear with my cropped sweaters, and that is what I got! I also finished my DRK Everyday Cowl (by Andrea Mowry), using Spincycle Yarns Dream State and The Farmer's Daughter Fibers Reminisce Worsted. Here's a closer look: It turned out beautifully, it's lovely to wear, and the colors are so gorgeous! This was a b

 This month was a busy one, due to end-of-the-year stuff! Let's get to it: Makes: I finally finished my Weekender sweater! It took me a grand total of four months, and I missed the deadline for every KAL for it except one =D But it got done! I used 7 of the 9 skeins of Spincycle Yarns Trine that I purchased, because I ended up deciding to knit the body to 12 inches instead of 15, for more of a cropped sweatshirt fit. That was my only modification, besides not doing a tubular bind-off for the sleeve cuffs. (I did do it for the neckline though.) I don't know if I'll ever make this one again--it's a great pattern, and easy, but for me, it was tedious. (Plain stockinette--or reverse stockinette--for so many inches is just very boring for me. It feels ENDLESS.) It probably would not have taken me nearly so long if I had felt more excited about picking it up :) But that said, I really like the finished object, and I wish it weren't ramping up to summer weather right now,

I have to be honest, this month really got away from me! Makes The only thing I finished this month was this pair of socks for my mom, for Mother's Day! This pattern is Suska's Socks by Andrea Mowry, and I used some Knit Picks Hawthorne Kettle-Dyed held with some Rowan Kidsilk Classic. They were pretty easy and quick (if you don't mind a lot of purling), but I did find out after my mom tried them on that the cuffs were not very stretchy! These are a folded sewn cuff, and I guess I did not sew them down loosely enough, so my mom had to really tug on them to get them over the heel of her foot. So, lesson learned for next time, I'll either just do a non-folded picot bind-off or I'll just do a standard ribbed cuff with a stretchy bind-off. Faves This month, I have been obsessed with: Archer & Olive's  Vegan Leather Travel Accessory Pouch With Insert , but specifically the insert! They had released this last fall, and by the time I realized how cool it was and th

 Self-care is a big thing right now. Arguably, it should have always been a big thing, but especially now, people are always harping on self-care and how we shouldn't pour from an empty cup, etc. But are we having enough conversations about what self-care should look like? I have several self-care and wellness -themed sticker books from a well-known planner company, and there are a POOP TON of stickers that feature the bust of a woman with a towel around her head and cucumber slices on her eyes. Like, this is the icon that is supposed to represent self-care in my planner--a spa day and a face mask. And maybe for some people, that's what self-care is--letting go for a couple hours and sighing with relaxation. But as a representative image, I find that face masks don't even begin to scratch the surface. I had a conversation with a friend not too long ago, in which she mentioned reading an article that basically posed the question, "Is it self-care... or is it self-soothi

  I like how I wrote this whole post about how I'm going to take things step by step, be patient with the process, etc., and then I totally did the exact opposite. People love to throw around the phrase "F*** around and find out" on the internet (mainly regarding politics, however), but I regret to inform you, reader, that I did indeed f*** around, and I found out. About three-ish weeks ago, I went to Orangetheory Fitness and had a great time, and even managed to run the final 30-second sprint for the treadmill portion. (I didn't sprint---I typically walk the treadmill portion, so my "sprint" was really someone else's light jog.) The following week, at home, I decided I would try to do short spurts of running on my own treadmill, since running at OTF felt so great. This was mistake #1. For one thing, if you've never been to OTF before, you should know that their treadmills are SO BOUNCY. They are absolutely the best treadmills I've ever run on. T

 Makes! A couple of sewing projects! First is this Hinterland Dress (pattern by Sew Liberated). I did a sleeveless, placket-free, shortened version. I was trying a size smaller than the last Hinterland I made to see how I'd like the fit, and even though it is a better fit, I think I just prefer a looser fit. The fabric was actually two rayon batik sarongs that my parents bought on clearance at Ross while in vacation in Hawaii!  Next is this pair of Nocturne Pants (Sew Liberated) that I made using a brushed cotton herringbone fabric from Joann's. Nocturne is actually a pajama pants pattern, but depending on your fabric choice, they can actually work fine as out-of-the-house pants! I especially like pairing them with my Easy V sweater-- these are brown, and the sweater is a rich pumpkin orange. (I don't care if it's spring, I will continue to wear fall colors whenever I want!) Faves: Stronger By The Day is a strength training app by @megsquats on IG and YouTube. I've