It just needed a button!

I finished this Chloe shrug last April, but it lingered in my knitting bag awaiting a simple button. Really, a simple button! Well, of course, it doesn't fit as well as it did last Spring. I'm glad I knit it much longer than the pattern specified, but Tess still won't get to wear it very long. Finally, I couldn't stand it anymore. I had to get this project out of my bag if only to make more room for more of my unfinished projects. I still have a ways to go on my tendency toward procrastination!

Quiet about Lent

I know it seems that all I think about is knitting, but it isn't (completely) true.  I've been quiet about Lent this year.  I didn't mean to appear to ignore it. I've just been quiet about a lot of things this year. Yes, I've been writing about knitting a lot, but I have found a treasure trove of life lessons there- perserverance, generosity, etc. I found peace and prayer amidst all those stitches.

 I can't believe it's Good Friday already.  It has felt like both a long and short Lent. Does that even make sense?  Life moves pretty fast with 5 kids no matter how much I try to slow down life. I didn't do much of the reading I had planned, but I did something I've struggled with my whole life. I let myself off the hook. I didn't beat myself up for not accomplishing everything that I planned during this Lent.  This year, I didn't want to feel like I failed at Lent.  I just picked myself up, tried not to whine (too much) and acknowledged how I weak I am without Christ. I mean, that's the whole point, right? It's been successful in much smaller ways than I expected. As Lent draws to close this year, I take away, more than ever, my desperate need for Jesus in everything.

Blessed Good Friday to all my friends and family!

Focusing on one thing at a time

I know it isn't groundbreaking or anything, but I've discovered focusing on one thing at a time. For so long, I've been a crazy multi-tasker, but recently I've felt worn down by doing too much at the same time and not really seeing the results of such frantic activity. It's been truly difficult to slow down and concentrate on one thing and I'm still struggling, but oh, the results are not what I expected! It's difficult transitioning to doing only one thing at a time because there's this little voice in the back of my mind telling me that I need to shift my focus and do something else or it won't get done. I've had to work really hard to ignore that voice.

On Monday, I spent a couple of hours cleaning the fridge. It had to be done. Things were gettting bad in there and that's not normal for me. I took everything out. I looked at expiration dates on everything. I took out every single drawer and shelf and washed them in soapy water. I hand dried every shelf and put them back. I had to throw out a few things- some moldy cheese and a couple of liquefied veggies. I made a list of things I needed to replace. The whole time though, I felt this nudge to get a move onto something else or this would be the only thing I got done today. I knew that wasn't true. I'd get more accomplished, but at the time, it felt true. I didn't listen and I stayed focused. It turned out that I ended up being much happier that I stuck with the unpleasant task rather than breaking it up into bits because I thought I could get more done if I worked on a few things at the same time. I was much happier to have the whole fridge cleaned and I was free to move onto something else. I always joke that I have some form of adult ADD or something, but I believe it's just lack of discipline. I need to re-learn the discipline of staying focused long enough to see something through despite all the chatter to the contrary. I thought about this past weekend where I was determined to cut and sew the topper to The Hungry Caterpillar quilt. I didn't read and I didn't knit. I sewed and I was amazed. I had completed the topper! I didn't have a half-sewn project, a half-read book or a half-knit object!


It shouldn't amaze me at the results, but it does. Multi-tasking has left me feeling bereft, unaccomplished and unfinished. I've seen projects pile up some only barely started.


I've always had several books going at once as well and I only realized recently that this has made me a much slower reader. Although there will always be several books on my nightstand, it's been a real eye-opener to re-discover reading only one book at a time. It's another thing that's been very difficult for me. I'm too interested in so many different things, but it's not calming to pursue them all at once I've discovered. If I concentrate on only one thing at a time, it doesn't mean that I'm no longer interested in all those other things.

Take knitting, for example. I'm so over-inspired to knit that I've bought way too much yarn and I'm left feeling like I've more than I can manage. I yearn for a more simple life (less is more), but the way I live doesn't really reflect that at all. It takes serious discipline to work on only one thing at a time.

Thank you Sarah and MaryG for helping me manage my yarn. I'll be boxing up your new-to-you yarn today and shipping tomorrow. I'll post a new picture of my now not-overflowing yarn basket later today!

In this post, I mentioned this abandoned quilt project. Any quilter out there who would like to take on re-inventing this quilt? Like I mentioned in that previous post, I have plenty of extra fabric to send along with the topper. It's very bright and Spring-like. Can't you see that I'm practically begging someone to take this?

Less is more. Less is more. Less is more. Less is more. Less is more.

In today's world, it's a challenge to focus on those things that give us pure joy. It shouldn't be, but it is. Life is full of distractions and that's normal, but when it comes to doing anything worthwhile (yes, even cleaning the fridge), it's important to give it all we've got.

Stuck? Stuck!

So, the other day, Luke accidentally drops one of our new Christmas tree ornaments and I try to glue it using Gorilla glue. It's the only glue I can find and I know it's gotta be stronger than Elmer's. Anyway, my hubby gets home from work to find me gluing said ornament and he tells me that I need something stronger. So, he gets out the Krazy glue and I proceed to glue the ornament with Krazy Glue as he warns me not to get it on my fingers. But, here's the kicker: I don't take him seriously. I mean, most glue I've ever used peels right off. So, I go ahead and accidentally glue my finger to the Christmas ornament. At first I don't panic until I realize that my finger is really stuck and separating myself from this ornament actually means that I'm going to have to lose some skin. So, I pull and wow is it ever painful! I managed to get it off without too much damage, but okay, lesson learned.