Slow-going

Remember how I mentioned in the last posts that I was busy cleaning and clearing and getting rid of the clutter.  I am, by nature, a packrat as I've mentioned before.  I hate to throw anything away that I might someday have a need for.  But then, after awhile, I realize that all of the clutter...stacks of magazines, books, papers, ideas are actually bringing me down instead of inspiring me.  I get so bogged down in what I could be doing that I tend not to do anything at all.  Blogs do this to me too, sometimes.  Does anyone else have this problem?

  Once I got my sewing room done, I spent all of last week cleaning my house from top to bottom.  I agreed to host a jewelry party here and it was that little push I needed to do all of the chores I often put off.  I actually changed out the pictures on my photo wall.  I dusted all the knick knacks and picture frames.  I scrubbed the floors and really wiped down all of the tables.  And, as I said before, I feel refreshed.  I am going to do my best to keep this up with a quick clean-up each night before the kids go to bed.  I'm going to make an effort to show my husband that I know it's important to him that the house be neat and that I value him enough to keep it neat.  I'm working on it, anyway...

  But, that doesn't mean I haven't done anything creative.  I've got my scraps (or at least phase 1) cut for the postage stamp quilt-along and am ready to begin sewing them together.  Rachel used 2 jelly rolls which makes this quilt immensely more simple than my "Oh, I'll just use scraps and then I'll be killing 2 birds with one stone!"  What was I thinking??  But, I've got them cut (some are 2 1/2 inch squares, some are 2 1/2 inch strips) and I'm ready to begin making the beginnings of blocks.  She's already got blocks pieced and beginning rows this week I think, but I'll catch up.  That's what I'm doing when I finish this post until it's time to pick up the kiddos.
  This weekend (well, really yesterday), I started a new sweater.  I know I mentioned my obsession with yarn and knitting, and my lack of knitting skills or finished projects.  Seriously, you saw the afro hat I made for Oren, right?  But I didn't let that deter me from starting a sweater.  Jules, if you're reading this, do you remember this sweater?  Well, I ordered it over the summer and decided to knit it up in some red homespun.  I've had red on the brain lately and while thinking of projects I could make in red, this one jumped out at me.  And y'all know I love me some homespun...
    So, it's my first big project (bigger than a hat, scarf or mittens) and it's my first time using circular needles.  They were an adjustment, but I've got the hang of it now.  I actually started Saturday night, but realized an inch or so in that I'd done my kfb increases wrong (that's knit into the front and back of a stitch for the non-knitters) and ripped it all out.  They're still not perfect, but after a few rows I got it down.  This pattern is a little vague for the novice knitter, but I'm sticking with it.  I usually give up and rip pieces out  when I am unsure, but I decided even if this is awful and I never end up wearing it, it will be progress toward becoming a knitter.  It will be a learning experience in a new skill.  So...here's to a warm, red sweater to brighten these awfully cold and dreary days!
  So, I wish I had more to show because it would mean that I had been sewing and creating.  But, I'm going to give myself credit for creating a cleaner, neater, more refreshing home for those I love most!  I'll be back soon with crafty progress, I promise!  And pictures, too!!