My Crazy Week

Monday, was a crazy day to start the work week. It rained so much in such a short amount of time. It started about 11 and ended about 1 and we got over 2 inches of rain in that short time. 

Tuesday, it was starting to feel like fall weather so I just the perfect evening to make chili for dinner. 

Wednesday, The first sock was almost ready for putting in the afterthought heel. I love how the yarn is working up. 

Wednesday Night,  I baked my first Gluten Free Cake from scratch. It looks so pretty and the icing is delicious, but I have to wait until Thursday to try the cake at Anastasia’s Birthday Dinner. 

Wednesday Night,  After the cake I had to do something to keep my mind off wanting to try it. So I turned to my Craftsy App and watched part of a sock knitting class. I really like watching Craftsy and knitting. 

Thursday Night, Anastasia turned 17. My baby girl is 17 oh my goodness it seems like just yesterday she was born. I finally understand why people say that. When you have children time seems to fly by. 

Friday, I have the afterthought heel placement and and I am almost ready to start on the toe, but it will have to wait until after work. We went out to dinner for Anastasia’s and my Mom’s Birthdays and I forgot to take a picture.

Saturday,  The new chicken coop is coming along good. Tim started it on Friday and by the end of the day it was almost fully finished. It looks so good, and I know our hens will love their new home. 

Saturday Night, the first sock is done and I don’t know if I really like it or not. I think I might rip it out and redo it. I am thinking making some boot socks and making the cuff, heel and toe a different color. This way I can make these into boot socks. I am thinking about using the say stitch pattern that I used for the leg warmer pattern that is available on Ravelry to download for free. 

Sunday, In the move I some how lost my swift, so this is the way that I have to wind my yarn up. It takes forever and when I have a lot of yarn to wind it seems like I will never get it done. I was winding up my latest KnitPicks order. 

Sunday Evening, I got 4 caked up, and I need o finish two more, I am planning on using this  (at least some of it if not all of it) on a sweater for me. I have been knitting accessories long enough I really want to make another sweater. I made each of the girls one when they were in elementary school and I haven’t made another one since. I really would love to make the So Faded sweater but I really just want to knit a cardigan. This is enough to make a sweater it is over 2100 yards and I love the colors. 

39 and Holding

I have never understood the term “39 and Holding”, and now that I am 39 I wonder what the big deal is all about. I guess people must have thought that it meant that the best part of their lives were over or that they wanted to hold on to the youth that they felt had passed them by. I look at is if I’ve earned it to say I’m 39. My life has had its share of ups and downs, but I have a lot to look forward to.  39 it not what it was when I was a kid. Back then 39 meant you were old, too old to do anything fun. So old that you had to act like the adult that you really are.  Well. I have determined that 39 is going to be a good year. I am going try to keep up with this year with a weekly post this year. I wanted to try to do a post everyday but I don’t want to set myself up to fail. So I am going to post once a week and them if I decided to I can post more but I am going to do a week in review posted here week to try to back into the world of blogging that I have really loved over the past 13 years. 

So here is my week in review. 

On Sunday I cast on this sock. And by Wednesday I had it finished. 

I used the afterthought heel method and was really just winging it for a pattern. I have taught so many sock knitting classes and always ended up with beautiful socks but they were always lonely as I never knit the second sock. I know the knitting teacher that always had lonely socks. 

Well I was determined not to end up with another lonely sock this time. I really love this yarn from my KnitCrate monthly kit so I was really planning on working a matching socks this time. It took me a couple of days to get it cast on but I did on Saturday on the way to Zoo Atlanta to celebrate my birthday and my oldest daughter’s birthday. Mine was Saturday and her birthday is this coming Thursday.

So off we went to the zoo and in the hour and half drive there I cast it on and this is what I have to show for it. I was very happy with myself I have never knitted a sock this fast ever.  Well on the way home I put in the waste yarn for the afterthought heel and almost worked it to the toe. 

I stopped at a Joann’s on the way home to find a sock blocker but they didn’t have one. So we stopped at my old Hobby Lobby, the one that I shopped at before we moved. They had one but not a pair. I found it in the clearance section. I also picked up a pair of project bags. I have really wanted some drawstring bags so I picked them up.  

I will use these until I can I can afford to get some of the beautiful handmade ones that are all over Instagram. 

 The Second sock is finished and blocking. I am so excited I have actually finished a pair of socks. I am using the magic loop method because I am all thumbs when it comes to DPNs. 

I finished the second sock and it is now blocking. 

It’s sock knitting time

I knit this sock up cider is would start work on my second pair. The second pair ended up being knit on smaller needles and I really liked how they were working up so I decided that this one was too loose to hold up for a long time, when you knit socks you want them to hold up because they take a long time to knit ( at least for me they do) I want them to last as many months as it took me days to knit them even though I would prefer them to last that many years. So I ripped this one out and I will start back as soon as I get the other pair completed. 

I started this one on Sunday on the way to church. I loved how tight the stitches were and how it really made the sock look like I had striped it.  

I decided to try my had with the afterthought heel because I really wanted to be able to work the heel without having to pick up so many stitches and not be able to work it in the round the whole way. 

I love how this heel worked up. It was super easy so I think that this might be my heel of shove from now own. I didn’t even drop a stitch when I was picking them up. 

I just had to try it on.  I have since blocked this one and now I just have to knit the mate.  Can’t have a pair of mismatched handknit socks. 

We are now gluten free so I just thought I would share my new favorite cookie. If you hav to go this route try them out. I found them at most of my local grocery stores. So they should be easy to find most anywhere (I hope). 

Painting Rocks

I seems like the painting rock craze is going on everywhere. So I just had to get on the bandwagon. I don't like to do things exactly like everyone else so I decided to make mine mini. All of these are not much bigger than a quarter. I love playing on a small scale so I painted these and I have a few more in the works. They are super easy and I just use a Sharpie to add details at the end. 

After I painted them I went around town to hide a few. I like the thought that they will brighten someone's day. 

They are so small I hope that people will see them. This little Candy Corn fits perfect with the fall window that I placed it in front of. 

I just love the butterfly one as well. 

My Home Office Space

Living in a yurt lends its self to lots of trial and error in the design spectrum. I have moved my office space around a few times in the short time that we have lived in the yurt, but I think that I have the perfect space now. My husband added some shelves into the outer wall and now I have a place to put all of my books and a few of my collections. I now want them added to the other rooms of the house so that we can display our other collections. This is a fun space because I can look out the window in the bedroom door and I have lots of natural light during the day and at night I can watch the moon rise. It is a beautiful spot, and when you have such a small space to work with you really don't want to add a lot of furniture into the rooms so the bookshelves in the wall really work great because they save floor space and give me a place to put some of my books. (this is only a small amount of my collection and I can't seem to part with any of them) 

I like that I can have pictures and nic naks as well. On the shelves so this gives me another place to change up all the time. 

It is the perfect place for me to display my collection of washi tapes and my art supplies are so colorful they. Become art themselves until I need to use them. 

Getting ready for fall

I am so excited that it is starting to feel like fall is in the air. The mornings are starting to get a little crisper and in the evenings there is a cool breeze. I love it. So I thought I would share my little bit of prep for fall. With the nights getting longer it makes me want to read, knit and sip on tea. It also brings out my love for British TV so my list today is a little all over the map. I am on the search for the perfect candles as well. I love the way it makes the house smell. 

I picked up a couple of books while I was out an about yesterday. It was a grocery run because we lost everything in our fridge due to power outages from Hurricain Irma. It was a tropical storm by the time it hit us, but she knocked out our power for over 48 hours. Think good ness for a fully charged iPad that was had Netflix with lots of stuff downloaded before the storm. Our home didn't get any damage so we are blessed. Just a little inconvience of no power for a couple of days. It could have been worse. 

This is where the British TV comes into my list. I just started watching Shetland and I love it. It is very intriguing and it will keep you on the edge of your seat. I love how it is not predictable as to how the bad guy reallly is. If you are looking for a new show, check it out over on Netflix.  

This is my favorite tea at the moment, and I forgot to pick up a box when I was out yeasterday. I was too focused on trying to find gluten free items as my oldest daughter has just been diagnosed with celiacs so we will be converting the house to a gluten free house. I am trying to make this as smooth as possible of a transition so that it won't be so hard on her. I am going to make the switch with her as well, to show my support. 

I joined KnitCrate sock club so that I can get fun new yarn each month without the drive time it takes me to get to a yarn shop. You can check it out through this link and you will get $10 off your first months subscription . I really love the yarn that I have recieved in my first two months shipments. 

This was the shipment from August . I am trying to decided what to knit with it. I just love hand dyed yarn. 

I am still working on finishing up my Find Your Fade Shawl. I love how it is turning out. I am just ready to get it off the needled so that I can wear it. 

Been super busy

It has been a crazy busy summer. So I just wanted to check in and say I will be back here soon.  I have a bunch of projects to show. 

Relax Me Happy Giveaway

I can't believe that it has been almost a month since my last post. I have been so busy the time just flew by. I wanted to pop in today to tell you about the new coloring book that I have published. My daughter drew half of the designs. She did so good and really worked hard on making the best images for the book. My drawings are mandalas  and her drawings are full page designs. So this coloring book has been so much fun to work on. We have been working on the designs since February and I have been working on the page layouts for a while now. Here is a link to the Amazon page where you can order one. I am also giving one copy away today. Leave a comment on this blog post and We will each randomly pick a winner and announce at the bottom of this post then. 

New project for you.

I have been working on a few projects this month as well as getting ready for our open house, so this is why I have been mia for a while.  I wanted to share a new project that I completed this month and you can now buy the design on society6. Here is a link to my shop. 

  

Glimpses of My Life, Living in a Yurt

 

I am blogging in a new space. I am so excited to share my new space with you. As most of my readers know we now live in a Yurt. It is 1200 sq feet including the loft. The spaces are odd shaped and sized but we are determined to make the most of every square inch of space. This space is in my bedroom so it is small. I had planned on building a desk that would fold up when not in use but I got impatient and when to my local antique/junk shop and found this 1950's sewing desk. It had the 4 drawers that I really wanted and it was small enough to fit into the space that I have for it. I love the thought that I can write even in the middle of the night and not bother anyone because the space it in the perfect spot. No I do have to worry about my husband because he can't sleep with the light on, so I'm sitting here at 2:15 am in the dark typing by the light of the ipad screen. 

 

When I got home from work today I knew that I just needed some outside time, so I decided to read on my porch for a while. I have a small porch outside my bedroom door. I love it because it is in the shade in the afternoon so on warm days it is at least 20 degrees cooler if not more. I can get a little bit of sun if I want to our just peacefully sit in the shade. I just need to add a small table to the space and it will work a little better. I am already talking to my husband about expanding the space from this 4' x 6' space to an 8' x 12' space. This is one of the next projects we are going to start now that he has the fences complete and the horses can roam our whole property. 

 

I love that the shadow in this picture shows off the yurt. We are still getting used to living in a round house and using the space to the fullest. I keep seeing way to change the furniture placement to make things fit better so you never know what I'm going to do from day today. I want to change the layout of the living room and put the couch where the tv is and the tv in the little nook under the stairs. Right now the tv table gets hit by the front door if your not careful. So a change of the space is in order I think. 

 

This is the placement of the couch and the table in front of the window now has the TV on it ad the chairs are in my bedroom. So you can see that even from this picture I have made changes that I have yet to photograph.  I have another section of this couch that is a chase lounge and I am thinking about putting it into my bedroom. I am not sure it will fit but I am willing to try. 

The One Thing You Can Do Today to Jumpstart You Health

 

 

Today starts a series of post for Get Healthy With A Southnern Lady. 

The focus of this post is one that you can do today to jumpstart your health.

I have been on this journey for a while now and I feel like I cam share what works for me. I am not a Doctor and if you have health problems you need to talk to your Doctor before you make any major changes to your life. 

The one thing that you can do today to get healthy is MOVE. I do't mean move homes or cities or even countries. I am talking about getting up from your seat and move. More than likely your are sitting at a desk reading this post or maybe you happen to be in your favorite coffee shop with your laptop or ipad. I can almost say with certainty that you are sitting still. 

So your challenge today is to get up and move. Not go to the gym, even though that would be great if you have a membership to one. I mean just move.  

I am going to share my top 10 favorite ways to do to get moving each day. You can start out small and work your way up to more time spent moving until you can get 30 min of movement a day into your life. 

1. Walk in place for 5 min, ( just raise your legs up and down lifting your knees as high as you can).
2. Stretch your arms,(raise your hands up above your head and interlock your fingers and stretch, keep your fingers interlocked and stretch your shoulders and neck) You can do this right where you are right now. 
3. Find some stairs (with at least 10 steps) and walk up and down them twice.
4. Stretch your neck, (roll your neck from side to side and let the stretch work its way to all sides of your neck)
5. Take a 10 min walk around the block.
6. Stand up and squat at your knees 5 times (try to build up to 25 adding 1-2 more reps each day, until you can do 25 at a time)
7. Stretch your toes and legs, (while sitting or laying down, point your toes straight down and hold for 5 seconds, next point your toes up as far as you can and hold for 5 seconds)
8. Stand up and do a task instead of sitting, (This will help you feel more energized). 
9. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. 
10. Use your chair as a prop and stretch your whole body. Take a long as you can and hold each stretch to maximize each one. 

Now all you have to do to get moving today and Jumpstart your health is pick a couple of things from the list and do them.  Then each day add another 1 from the list and this will help you get to your goal of 30 min of movement a day. 

Free Mandala to Color

 

I thought i would share a mandala that I have designed as a coloring page for you to print and color. all you need to do is right click on the image and select print. 

My Journey to Reclaim My Health

 

For the past few weeks I have been trying to take care of my health. I am eating Whole Foods and have eliminated processed foods from my diet. I started this in hopes to help my fibromyalgia and auto immune symptoms to subside. I have kept it pretty quite except when I am eating around someone. I really wanted to see if it would work before I said much more. Well two weeks in I have less inflammatory issues and I have more energy as each day progresses. I started off cutting everything out but fruits veggies and meat for the first week. I made good use of my juicer and I found that I love drinking beet juice, it is so good and so good for you. I mix it with carrot, apple, ginger and fresh tumeric.

Here is a little back story for you, I have not really shared this here because I have really just wanted to keep everything more positive here because the blog has always been my place to share my good days. 

In late 2010 early 2011 I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia,  I was told that I would just keep getting worse and that there really wasn't nothing that could make it go away. They offered me meds that had horrible side effects and I told them that I would not take them. I have always hated taking meds and to this day I don't like putting chemicals into my body. For a while I would have ups and downs and the downs would get longer and the ups would come father and father apart. I knew that I had to find something natural to help me, I started using essential oils and herbs and nutritional supplements but never changed my diet. That is until January of 2015 I had the worse episode of my life. I had the worse reaction to food that I had ever had, I had hives from head to toe, my throat almost completely swelled shut before the EMTs arrived. The next month I found out I had had an allergic reaction to beef, and testing had shown that I could no longer eat beef and pork or an meat from animals that walk on for legs. So it was the fins and feathers diet for me. That still didn't clue me into what I was putting into my body was causing all of my problems. So over the past couple of years I have been researching this issue, and have come across links to this allergy and other auto immune issues. So through my research I found various people who have seen a link betweeen processed food and fibromyalgia symptoms. ( I am not a medical doctor so this is just from me readin various research and you should look into it yourself and ask your doctor before relying on anything I am saying) . 

So this time I felt that I really needed to take back my health, because for the past few months since I started my new job at the end of the work day I was so tired and in so much pain, that I have to come home and go straight to bed. I knew that this was not the way that God meant for me to be living. So I began looking for a better way to help fix my problem. I started looking in to the ingredients that are in most processed foods that I was eating and really took an inventory of what I was putting into my body. Sugar and caffeine were at the of the list along with high fructose corn syrup. I knew that these were the reason that I was crashing everyday, so I decided that I would make a change and quit them cold turkey. I have tried two quit processed food cold turkey before but I have never really had the willpower to do it so this time I knew I had to push through. The first few days were horrible. I really was having withdrawal pains from taking everything away at once, but on day 5, I woke up feeling like a new person. I had energy and that night I reall started to sleep better. I am not coming home and going to bed after work anymore, I have the energy to do things with my girls and my pain has almost completely gone away. I take tumeric and magnesium every night before bed still and I really wake up refreshed and I am sleeping through the night. I was waking up 4-8 times each night not being able to get comfortable because of the pain in my joints. I will be sharing more of my journey to healing my body through Whole Foods as I go. 

Here is a great book that I am ready that has some wonderful recipes that will help you on the journey to living a more healthy life with nothing but Whole Foods. 

 

New patterns in the works.

 

New pattern collection is in the works. I am working on a few coordinating patterns to go with this one.