Knitting – Page 2 – 40 'fore Forty

Day 101

I woke up at 6.30 am and was determined to dive into my day with the lust and vigour of someone who enjoys mornings. Two hours later all I had managed to achieve was being awake. Hubby left for work and I decided to do the things.

I started with a workout. It was a nice hard workout and it got my heart beating fast. Muscles felt sore but everything else felt good for doing it.

Next was French. I had to have a little giggle to myself when I realised that I was learning another language and I’d now be able to avoid conversations in two languages. I will definitely need to visit France or somewhere that speaks French so I can point out a boy and cat eating pizza. The practice went pretty well, I think.

Today’s drawing challenge topic; triangles. I had seen a neat triangle pattern that I thought I could do and then add little doodles in each triangle. It took just over an hour.

All challenge drawings can be found here…
40 Day Drawing Challenge on Three Peas, One Pod

I spent a couple of hours working on my beanie. I finished the body and now I’m trying to shape the top. Knitting two stitches together is my least favourite part of this whole knit. So close to being done though. Exciting!!

30 Day Blog Challenge – All my answers will be posted here.

Day 21: What is one of your favourite TV shows and why?

Torchwood. I have watched this series more times than I can count. The lead character, Captain Jack Harkness, is divine. He’s the perfect mix of masculine and tenderness. People die in his arms and it looks like the most peaceful and reassuring thing that could ever happen. The show has got the right balance of aliens, action and bisexual men. It’s easy to get caught up in this fantasy.

Tomorrow I’ll start the day with a workout and then see where the morning coffee will lead us. No real plans at this point. I’ve been a bit unfocused the last few days. Eep.

Happy weekend.

Tilly

Day 96

Today was definitely another rest day.

I woke up just before 8 am and stared at a really strange animated movie on TV. I didn’t feel like much else but picked up my knitting and thought I’d knock out a few rows while I decide what to do with the day.

It was around 1.30 pm when hubby pointed out the day was half over. I was sort of shocked. It had only felt like a couple of hours had passed. I got a lot done on the beanie. I’ve only got about 15 rows left to do before I start on shaping the top of the hat.

By late afternoon I was ready for a nap. It’s been a few weeks since I’ve indulged in an afternoon nap and I loved every second of it.

Once being awake had reclaimed me I did a little French. I’ll spend the next week working on the ‘travel’ words and hopefully start on a new topic the following week.

Hubby finally planted the leek long after the sun had set. I still snapped a couple of quick pics. Fingers crossed it’ll grow big and strong. It’s done pretty good on the windowsill so far.

Follow the journey on…
Three Peas One Pod

30 Day Blog Challenge – All my answers will be posted here.

Day 16: What are your views on mainstream music

When I was younger I was heavily into rock and grunge, with a splash of pop. The pop music would have been the mainstream music of the time.

Now my music tastes have chilled a lot and I’m loving indie. In saying that, if I like a song, I like a song. There are songs that I adore that ride long and proud on the music charts and would be considered mainstream.

Overall, mainstream music really isn’t my thing but what makes it mainstream is that LOTS of people do enjoy it. If it puts a smile in your heart then I’m glad someone is making it.

A new week is about to start and I’m going to keep on with the workouts, creatives and learning. It sure is a nice way to live. If you’ve missed my drawings, check back tomorrow!

Happy creatives to all.

Tilly

Day 92

I woke a little before 7 am and was tempted to go back to sleep. That temptation didn’t last long when my dog, Homer, decided it was time to go outside. Morning had started and I didn’t wanna. I’d love to bounce out of bed and get my French and drawing done before hubby even leaves but most days it’s just me scowling over a cup of coffee and wondering why mornings even exist.

Once hubby had left for work, I jumped straight into my workout. I wasn’t fuelled by French rage today and finished right on the 30 minute mark. My body was feeling fatigued and made some of the exercises harder than they should have been. Still a good work out though.

I was going to start French when I got distracted looking for inspiration for my next painting or what I like to call ‘putting off doing French.’ Knowing that this was what I was doing, I put an end to my search and dived into the cold French pool. The water was lukewarm. What? All the words I didn’t know yesterday have actually been making it through my brain matter. I remembered words! Huzzah!!

I spent a good while doing the ‘travel’ level and then did some timed practices. I did well enough that I wanted to keep trying, I did bad enough that I wanted to keep trying, I just kept trying. I can happily say that there was no French rage to be had today. Good thing I’d already done my workout.

I was excited about today’s drawing challenge topic; Owls. When I was a teenager we had an owl come and visit every night. It would sit on the clothes line. It was a cute little brown owl. I had originally thought of drawing a baby owl because they are adorable but then I found a picture, which lead to a video, which was the inspiration for the little family of owls.

I didn’t feel like working on my story today or I didn’t feel like editing my story today. I did it anyway. I worked on it for about 30 minutes, adding and deleting things before giving it over to a grammar checker. I was nervous. I barely remember anything I learned about writing when I was in school. Luckily, I wasn’t far off the mark. I only had to rewrite a couple of sentences and fix a couple of spelling mistakes. There’s still so much to revise and check. This could take days before I’m back to writing new material.

I made some good progress on my new knitting project; a beanie. I got through the lower ribbing and will start on the body soon. Finishing the top seems scary but there’s only one way to learn how to do it, just do it!

30 Day Blog Challenge – All my answers will be posted here.

Day 12: Bullet point your whole day

Woke up
Worked out
Did 30 minutes of French
Drew a family of owls
Edited the story I’ve been writing
Knit for 2 hours
Did the dishes
Played mobile games
Ate dinner
Finished this post

I think the bad feels are starting to lift. It’s definitely easier to deal with bad feels when I’m neck deep in creative and learning.

Bonne journée.

Tilly

Day 91

I got out of bed on time and wanted to get straight to my French. That didn’t happen. We had forgotten to write a shopping list and had to get that done before hubby left for work. We finally got through it and I finally got to French.

UGH! I’ve just started learning new ‘travel’ words. I cannot remember a thing. It is so incredibly frustrating. I know that I’ve struggled at the beginning of each new topic but this one feel so much harder. Did I mention, ugh?!? By the time I was done, I was almost in tears. I was so frustrated. What better way to fix that, then with a workout.

I angrily worked out, pushing myself hard and fast and harder and faster. I ended up finishing my workout 7 minutes faster than normal. It made me think I’d forgotten something but I was just fuelled by French rage. If I can keep that level of rage, I could easily add another 15 minutes to the workout. HA!

I felt more human once the workout was done and got straight into drawing. It’s so much easier to do when I have something I need to draw. Thank you, drawing challenge.

Today’s task was to draw a dollhouse. The idea seemed hard but I found a great little dollhouse photo to reference. It took about an hour to draw and 30 minutes to colour. It seems a bit time consuming for a dollhouse.

After lunch I thought about writing. Then I thought about it some more. Then I spent a little more time thinking about it. I then convinced myself that I was watching a French movie on TV because I’m learning French and it would be helpful. It was just an excuse to not write. For two hours of trying, I got about 20 minutes of writing done.

The biggest problem I see with writing my story at the moment is I’m still not entirely sure where it’s going. Heck, I’m not even sure what genre I’m writing about. I mean, at this point, it could be a romance, a horror, a thriller or something that should just be turned into a tele-movie. Tomorrow I’ll do a read through and edit. See if I can gain some clarity for my own project.

After two failed attempts at knitting a pair of gloves for myself, I started work on a different project. I’m pretty sure it’s the cheap yarn that is making this almost impossible BUT I will endure and see if I can make something cool anyways. I know I have one mistake already but if I can continue with no new mistakes, it should be okay, I hope.

Tomorrow I’ll do more of the same.

30 Day Blog Challenge – All my answers will be posted here.

Day 11: Put your ipod on shuffle. Write down the first 10 songs.

Thanks for reading this post. You are an amazing person, with a smile that could light up a dark room.

Tilly

Day 86

It’s my birthday and I’ll cry if I want to…. except, I don’t want to. I’ve had a fantastic day. I woke up around 7 am and rolled out of bed. It felt early for a birthday wake up but because it was my birthday, I could get hubby to make me a coffee before he did anything else.

Once he was off to work, I worked out. WHAT? This is the first time in 38 years that I have worked out on my birthday. I have never even worked out the day before or after my birthday. In fact, I’m not even sure I’ve worked out in the months surrounding my birthday. It was a great work out. I pushed hard but not too hard.

First thing I did after that was my French revision. I got through it with only a handful of mistakes. Then it was on to writing and it must have been a birthday miracle because my words were back. I had no trouble working on my story. I did about 30 minutes of writing.

I spent a few hours in WoW with a friend. He paid for my sub, so I kinda thought I should. We had lots of laughs as always. It was a nice way to pass the day.

By early afternoon I was ready for lunch and getting back into a pile of creative. After a bowl of leftover pasta I started drawing. I drew another picture that I’d like to paint and it wasn’t from Akaroa. Gasp!! It’s true. I’m going to cast my creative vision a little further than Akaroa. I still have some issues getting the right perspective but I think it was a pretty good attempt.

Before dinner I started work on my knitting. It’s going pretty well. I’ve been keeping track of what I’m up to and it’s noticeable. The double moss stitch is finally looking straight and neat. Woo!

Seeing it was my birthday dinner, we had a delicious cheese platter, with roasted veggies, pickled onions, cabanossi and crackers. I washed it down with a couple of glasses of white wine. The only thing that would have made tonight perfect is if wifey was here enjoying it with us.

Tomorrow will be my last chance to paint before the weeks end. I already have a harbour shot of Akaroa drawn, so that’s what I’ll attempt.

Today was a good day.

30 Day Blog Challenge – All my answers will be posted here.

Day 6: What is your zodiac sign and does it fit your personality?

It most certainly does and what a great question for my birthday. I have already answered about being the ‘Cancer’ sign in my last writing challenge, so be ready to be copy and pasted, hard.

‘There are a number of things that I can identify with; being intuitive and being able to read people’s emotions, being passionate and loyal, being creative and resilient, tuned to nature and drawn to the water to name a few. ‘

Tilly

Day 85

I woke up just after 6 am and tried to get back to sleep but it didn’t work. I gave in to being awake and got up just after 6.30 am. It was still dark. I thought it might be a nice time to get some writing done but that didn’t happen. I did do an early French revision. I think my brain felt sharper and I got through each level much faster. I’ll start a new group of words next Tuesday.

After hubby had left for work I did my workout. I pushed hard and I have continued to feel it all day. I think I’m still clenching some of the muscles in question. Sleep will be a welcomed body relaxant.

I decided to draw first. I took inspiration from another photo from Akaroa. I drew it straight onto a canvas, so I can paint it. There is a lot of detail in the lighthouse and the boat which is quiet intimidating but I’ll attempt it over the next two days.

Then I started my writing practice and nothing happened. I tried to write the next paragraph and…. nothing happened. Uh oh! It has all been flowing so nicely for over a week and today the well was dry. I figured I’d start a second writing project but after three short paragraphs, I was also stumped. This ordeal was about 20 minutes long, so I called it a day.

I moved onto knitting. My new method for keeping track worked like a charm. I always knew what I was supposed to be knitting. Sadly, I made lots of weird little mistakes that mean it looks a bit odd in a few places. I am going to continue though. I’m hoping that by the time it’s stitched together and has a hand stuffed in it, it will look fine. We’ll just say it looks fine.

Lastly I spent some time singing before hubby got home. I wish I was a more consistent singer. I guess practice would help with that.

I feel like I didn’t do much with my day but I did all the things I needed to. I’ll give myself a break tomorrow because it’s my birthday.

30 Day Blog Challenge – All my answers will be posted here.

Day 5: What are your favourite comfort foods and why?

The first would have to be lasagne. This was the first dish I learned to cook. It’s taken me many years to come to my current recipe. The meat sauce is slow cooked for 4 hours and is packed full of veggies. Although you’d never notice because it still tastes so meaty.

Next would have to be a gnocchi topped chicken, mushroom and leek pie. The filling is so light and creamy and the gnocchi gives it the hearty feeling you’re looking for with comfort food.

The next is roasted chicken with a southern spice rub and potato salad with apple. The spice rub is smokey and spicy and warms your soul. The potato salad brings much need freshness and relief from the spice.

Now depending on the type of comfort I need, I could simply enjoy a handful of M&Ms… just because.

Did you know you look really good when you smile? I hope you’re having a magical week.

Tilly

Day 84

Oh what a day! I don’t feel like I’ve stopped and it still keeps going. Having a full happy list doesn’t leave me much time but the feeling of achievement is real and it’s real good.

As soon as hubby left for work, I started my workout. I got through it pretty easy. One or two more weeks and I’ll have to add another 15 minutes. I think the biggest hurdle is that my brain wants to tell me that 45 minutes of exercise is a lot of time where I could be doing other things. I know that to reap the benefits of working out, I will need to increase it once or twice more.

Once my workout was done, I got straight to my writing. I only set myself a 20 minute goal and I like to get it out of the way early. It was another easy day, with free flowing words and a developing story line. I will need to do some editing soon, flesh out the characters a little more.

I was really happy with how my drawing of the Akaroa sidewalk went yesterday, I decided that today was the day to try and paint it.

The biggest issue I had was trying to create a ‘brown’ colour. I asked Mr Google and he gave me a number of suggestions, that when tried, all looked grey. In the end I mixed gold and black. It seems like an inconsistent way to get brown but for this painting it has worked nicely.

For the progress shots; Sidewalk, Akaroa, New Zealand

After hours of painting, I got to a little housework and an early French revision.

30 Day Blog Challenge – All my answers will be posted here.

Day 4: Discuss your views on religion?

I believe there is a God. I think each religion has part of the story but no one has put that story together yet, which is okay, because God loves us anyway.

I think that earth is both ‘heaven’ and ‘hell’. How you live your life will determine how you spend your next life. If you live a good and helpful life, you will be born into a ‘heaven’ situation. If you live a bad life, you come back into a ‘hell’ situation.

The spirit world exists and it’s just people waiting for their return to earth. Some will never make it back to earth. If they are good they’re angels. If they’re mischievous or troublemakers, they’re demons.

I grew up a Catholic and spent a number of years as a born-again Christian, but neither gave me the same peace as the above thought has. I know that when the time comes, my God will welcome me home.

I started work on my gloves last night, only a couple of rows, so I’ll try and get a few more added to it before bed. I’m really looking forward to a long nights sleep.

Tilly

Day 82

Today didn’t turn out at all as I’d planned. I didn’t have any concrete plans but it was supposed to be a cleaning day.

I wasn’t long out of bed when a gaming friend asked me to log in to do some stuff with him. While we were hanging out I told him that I wasn’t going to renew my sub. He then offered to pay for my next months game time. Looks like that little slice of my life will continue for now.

I had a really relaxed day just playing games. I do feel a little bit guilty though, there is really so much adulting that I should have been doing.

Once the sun had set, I got about doing a few little creative things like timed French revision and then some knitting.

The knitting didn’t go so good. I had made a mistake, just like I thought and decided to start again. Attempt two of the gloves was going well until I made the same mistake by knitting the same row twice. I need to find a way to keep track of what I’m up to.

The first week of the family Happy List has officially wrapped up. Overall we did really great for a first attempt. It was extremely rewarding and encouraging marking things off the list and seeing others marking things off their list all week and it seemed to help all of us focus on getting things done.

The final scores:
Me – 100 / 100 | Wifey – 69.9 / 100 | Hubby – 90 / 100

30 Day Blog Challenge – All my answers will be posted here.

Day 2: Where would you like to be in 10 years?

I want to be healthy and happy and surrounded by my family. I want my house to feel like a safe home that truly showcases my personality and creativity, with an overflowing veggie garden. I want to have developed all the skills that I’m currently learning. I would love to be able to take a trip to France and speak French. Mostly, I would like to inspire people to change, grow, be creative and be the best they can be.

This week will be another creative filled delight. I can’t wait to get my paints out, draw, write, sing, workout and learn some new things. May it be a good week for all.

Tilly

Day 81

Today was a pretty chill day. I started with my last day of gaming for a few months. While I played well, everyone else I encountered reminded me of why I’m taking a break. It’s a good decision.

By early afternoon I wasn’t feeling very well and went back to bed to try and get some rest. It didn’t really work. Every time I dozed off I would wake abruptly, almost like I was shocked or reacting to a loud noise.

Late evening I did my French revision. I did about 20 minutes of timed levels. I’ve been enjoying the timed levels, not only because they give more points (and winning learning is fun) but because my brain seems to recall things faster when it feels like it has no other choice. My brain is the best. Check out Duolingo for all your language learning needs.

For the last minute creative stuff, I did a quick drawing of a flower garden inspired by;
30 Cool & Easy Things to Draw to Get Better at Art

I also knit some more of the gloves I started yesterday. I think I may have made a mistake though. I’ve been using the double moss stitch and even though I wrote it down and I make the row I’m working on ‘bold’ so I remember which row I’m on, I still forget what it is I’m actually doing. I fear I’ve done the same row twice.

The Weekly Happy list is set to wrap up today for hubby and I. My list was a very big creative task and took up more time than anticipated. Next week I’ll make some subtle changes but still aim for a creatively full week. It’s a great way to pass the time and feed my soul.

The last task on my Happy List is to start a new ‘challenge’. I’m still working on the photo challenge but I’d love to add one or two more challenge projects. I’ll need a little more practice before committing to a drawing or painting challenge, so I’ll start another writing challenge.

The 30 Day Blog Challenge has lots of interesting questions that will be confronting and challenging to answer. Getting to know me a little better isn’t a bad thing for me or you.

Day 1: Discus your current relationship.
I have been with my husband for 15 years in October. We were married in 2006. We have had our ups and downs but it’s a very stable relationship and I couldn’t imagine my life without his love, care and support.

I met wifey around 7 years ago in a virtual world. From the day we met, I knew she was special. She fell head over heels for me instantly. I told her I was married but it would still be possible to have a relationship. We talked everyday online for over four years before her first trip to stay with us.

Being in a three way relationship hasn’t been easy for any of us. I don’t think any of us really knew what to expect or how to act and react. The one constant has been that we consider ourselves a family and we’re determined to make this relationship work. Wifey is planning her 5th trip down under. We’re both looking forward to her being home.

Every trip we feel more like a family and it’s an incredible feeling. I feel truly blessed that I am loved by two amazing people and I have the chance to make two amazing people feel loved.

This is the second half of the ‘Dig a Little Deeper’ questions.

What was your favourite book as a child? I can’t name any one book in particular but I loved when my mum would read me Dr Seuss books.
Do you like your cereal crunchy or soggy? Crunchy. I usually only have a little bit of milk just to be on the safe side.
What would you like your legacy to be? I hope that I could inspire someone to be creative or to improve their life in some way.
Do you like reading? What was the last thing you read? I really don’t like reading but I think I’ve already mentioned that. The last thing I read was this list of questions about 47 times when I realised I’d missed a question and couldn’t work out which.
How do you show someone you love them? I care about and care for them.
Do you like ice in your drinks? In summer, I like a lot of ice in my drinks. In winter, one or two cubes is good.
What are you afraid of? Everything. The question would require less of an answer if it asked what aren’t I afraid of. I am afraid of everything from wildlife, to people, things outside, things inside and ghosts.
What is your favourite scent? Garlic and onions frying. Granted, I’m not going to wear that as perfume but I so very rarely wear perfume, I don’t have one I can name off the top of my head. I spend more time sniffing food than myself.
Do you address older people by their first or last name? By their first name. The only old people I talk to are related and they don’t mind me using their first name.
If money was not a factor, how would you live your life? On a yearly basis I’d; cruise for 3 months, live in Akaroa for 3 months, live in France for 3 months and spend the last 3 months of the year….wherever I felt like at the time. Plus cocktails, lots of cocktails.
Do you prefer swimming in pools or in the ocean? I love swimming in the ocean more than a pool but I hate sand, so I’d prefer a swimming pool. Although a swimming pool fed by ocean water would work.
What would you do if you found $50 on the ground? Slip it into my pocket, make shifty eyes and feel conflicted over keeping it vs finding the owner. Then I’d most likely find the owner.
Have you ever seen a shooting star? Did you make a wish? I can’t be sure. I’ve either made wishes over shooting stars or glorious air planes.
What is one thing you would want to teach your children? To be kind to people. Life isn’t going to improve if we can’t, at the very least, be kind to each other.
If you had to have a tattoo, what would it be and where would you get it? I would love lots of tattoos. I’d love something ocean related, music related, pin up related and a piece based on my favourite locket.
What can you hear right now? The TV show ‘Hoarders’.
Where do you feel the safest? I don’t feel safe anywhere. The only place I feel comfortable is in my home but I still don’t feel safe.
What is one thing you want to overcome/conquer? All my fears and issues. It’s going to take some time. I’ve spent 37 years building them and sometimes it feels like I’ll spend the next 37 years fixing them.
If you could travel back to any era, which would you choose? I feel like I would have fit in best between the 50s and late 60s.
What is your most used emoji? I don’t use emojis. They’re horrible little things. If you think about it, we’re just one step away from becoming cavemen (people) seeing people would rather express themselves with drawings on walls instead of words.
What is your favourite season? Why? I used to think Winter was and maybe it still is but while I’m sat huddled under robe and blanket, I think spring would be most welcome. I enjoy 20 degree days with a nice breeze.
How would you spend your ideal day? Surrounded by my family, eating a delicious cheese platter and indulging in arts, crafts and music.
Describe yourself using one word: Trying.
What do you regret the most? The person I’ve become.
Invent your own word. What does it mean? Deliciyum: Something slightly more yum than delicious.

Thanks for sticking this post out. If you read the madness, you’re good people.

Tilly.

Day 80

The day has gone so fast. I woke up when hubby did and then I sat huddled under a blanket, struggling to wake up. Soon as hubby left for work, I threw the blanket off and got to my workout. I think I pushed even harder today because I knew it was the last workout of the week.

I got my paint stuff out and then decided to write instead. I knew that painting could take up most of my day and I didn’t want to forget my writing practice. Once again the words flowed freely. I had planned on writing for about 20 minutes and ended up going for about an hour.

Soon as I stopped writing, I chose a picture to paint and started painting after a quick little drawing. I picked another picture from my shore trip to Akaroa. This one was just after we got off the tender boat and were walking along the jetty to the shore.

This painting was a lot harder than I thought it would be. It was great practice at creating thick tree cover. I also mixed my sky and ocean colours on the canvas by applying a few colours to the paintbrush at the same time.

For progress photos, please view Akaroa, New Zealand, Hillside

After painting, I sang for about 30 minutes before hubby got home. Hubby and I chatted about the day and I started a new knitting project. I’m going to make myself some pink gloves. I also got in about 30 minutes of French revision before dinner. I did some timed practices and got them all finished in time. That felt good.

Tomorrow is a rest day. I wish it was a day that I was spending in bed. This week has made me pretty tired. Tomorrow will also be my last gaming day for a little while. I’ve really been enjoying all the new stuff that I’ve been doing and really need an extra day to get things done.

Good luck if you’re in the midst of life changes. May your decisions lead you to a brighter future filled with smiles and love.

Tilly