Yarn Along - Wildflower Cardigan, Week 16

Greetings! Obviously one of favorite things is reading, but I also quite love knitting. Ginny over at Small Things hosts a lovely little link-up so once you're done here go visit and see what everyone else is up to.

So close, we are so, so close to being finished! I have successfully picked up and finished my neckband (thank you, Karen!!!) as well as my button band, and I am all but done with my buttonhole band. After that I only have to set in the sleeves and seam everything up. Only. *sigh*

 A thousand apologies for the absolutely appalling photos this week...

 

Haven't been reading much lately because I went to a Blogging Conference which I will post about later this week (probably tomorrow or Friday) and also, the Roommate is moving in this weekend! She's actually coming over this evening to drop off some stuff and get her keys so I've been busy busy getting the house tidied up. For some reason I'm always a mess after I take a weekend away. Whether it's a retreat or a mini vacation or house sitting, my housekeeping takes a major dive when I'm away from home for more than one night. 

The neck band is knit first and then the button band and buttonhole bands are picked up after.

Anyway, it's unlikely I'll actually meet the deadline of being done with this cardigan by tomorrow (our original goal), but hopefully by next week? Difficult to say but I'll do my darndest.

That's it for me today - next week hopefully I'll be almost done seaming and can show off some pics of that.  What have you been knitting and reading lately? Let me know in comments and then head over to Ginny's to see what everyone else is up to!

Love, 

Willow

*Author's Note: The Yarn Along button in this post is property of Ginny Sheller and is used with permission. All other images used in this post as well as text are (c)Whitney Miller and may be used only with my express permission. See my About Page for details.*

52 Lists, Week 17

Happy Monday! Welcome to my 52 Lists Project, wherein I feature one list every week for 2015. To join in with your own list, scroll down to the link at the bottom, print out your own list, and then share it however you wish!

Week 17: List the People You Admire
I had to spend some time on this list (that's why it's more than a week late!) because I believe that there is a large difference between people I like and people I admire. I may like someone a lot and love spending time with them, but I may not necessarily want to be them when I grow up, you know? Anyway, on my physical list I just listed their names but here (since I have more room) I went ahead and shared why it is I admire these particular folks.

•  Beth - for her bravery to pack up and move and change her life when it isn't how she wants it, her moral fortitude, and her enduring friendship
• Deneen - her hard work, positive outlook, creative spirit, and loving nature remind me to be a better human being
• Aunt Leslie - she does a hard job really well, and is brave and asks for help when she needs it
• John Green - for teaching us how important it is to imagine people more complexly
• Hank Green - for making science and politics a little more fun and a little more accessible to more people
• Neil Gaiman - for encouraging us to be weird and to make good art
• J.K. Rowling - for writing the stories that will live inside us forever, and for being a model of charity
• Emma Watson and Malala Yousafzai - girl warriors
• My friend Harriet - who lived her whole entire life

This week I will honor someone I admire by...
finally sending a letter back to Beth!

So there's my list for this week. I've mentioned my friend Harriet before and I should really dedicate an entire post to her story, because it had a really big impact on my life and my writing. 

What about you? Who are the people in your life and in the world that you admire, look up to, and aspire to be like? Let me know in comments or with a list of your own! 

Love,

Willow

For more fun with 52 Lists, click down on "52 Lists" in the little categories section at the bottom of the post, and go over to Moorea Seal's site to see more!

Check out Moorea Seal's entire project at her blog below:
http://www.moorea-seal.com/p/52-lists.html  
 
 

Wildflower Cardigan, Weeks 14-15

Greetings! Obviously one of favorite things is reading, but I also quite love knitting. Ginny over at Small Things hosts a lovely little link-up so once you're done here go visit and see what everyone else is up to.

We are ALMOST DONE.  I picked up for the neckband last night (I'm a week behind because the phrase "pick up and knit" strikes terror into my little heart) with extra help from dear Karen. It was nice to have her sitting next to me while I did it (mostly) on my own because it's been a crummy week and if left to my own devices I probably would have thrown the whole project across the room and started crying. 

Source

It's been that kind of week, I tell ya.

Source

But I'm working on the neckband after finishing my sleeves and blocking my fronts properly. My hope is to be done with the neckband and at least partially through the button band by the time I go to bed tonight, because I want to catch up. We're meeting up at Lorene's house tomorrow night to start seaming and I'm well aware that seaming this project together is going to take a long time. I'm not super concerned about it being hard, just time consuming. However, I do want to set in the sleeves with Karen or even Jayne looking over my shoulder, just in case I do something incredibly stupid.

Sleeves Blocking

Reading:
I've been listening to the Audible version of Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore on and off lately. It's pretty interesting, and I like that the story is told from the perspective of a 20-something like myself (there really aren't that many books out there that target us - the genres go from YA to Adult Fiction without paying much attention to the 20-something). It's definitely not my favorite book and it's not the best thing I've ever read, but the voice actor doing the narrating does a good job. 

If you want to know what else I've got on my needles, head on over to my Ravelry page for a look-see.

 Bonus pic of Gatsby using the body of my cardigan as a pillow

That's it for me today - next week hopefully I'll be almost done seaming and can show off some pics of that.  What have you been knitting and reading lately? Let me know in comments and then head over to Ginny's to see what everyone else is up to!

Love, 

Willow

*Author's Note: The Yarn Along button in this post is property of Ginny Sheller and is used with permission. All other images used in this post as well as text are (c)Whitney Miller and may be used only with my express permission. See my About Page for details.*

52 Lists, Week 16

Happy Monday! Welcome to my 52 Lists Project, wherein I feature one list every week for 2015. To join in with your own list, scroll down to the link at the bottom, print out your own list, and then share it however you wish!

Week 16: List Your Favorite Books
This is the list that could go on forever and is probably the hardest one I'll do for this project. However, after spending some time with my bookshelves and explaining to them that they are all important to me, I have come up with a list of the books that are at this precise moment firmly on the Favorites Shelf. 

• The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky
• The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, by J.K. Rowling
• Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen
• The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexander Dumas
• The Night Circus, by Erin Morgenstern
• Tell the Wolves I'm Home, by Carol Rifka Brunt
• I Am the Messenger, by Markus Zusak
• The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak
• Open Letter to Quiet Light, by Francesca Lia Block
• The Fault in Our Stars, by John Green
• Much Ado About Nothing, by William Shakespeare
• Ella Enchanted, by Gail Carson Levine
• Signs of Life, by Scott Hahn
• The Secret of the Rosary, by St. Louis de Montfort
• The Picture of Dorian Grey, by Oscar Wilde 

I thought perhaps my top 16 books for the 16th week of this project would be appropriate, no? I should probably post some reviews of these books on the old blog sometime soon...

What have you been reading lately? Any absolute favorites you think I should add to my To-Read Shelf? Let me know in comments or with a list of your own! 


Love,

Willow

For more fun with 52 Lists, click down on "52 Lists" in the little categories section at the bottom of the post, and go over to Moorea Seal's site to see more!

Check out Moorea Seal's entire project at her blog below:
http://www.moorea-seal.com/p/52-lists.html  
 

52 Lists, Week 15

Happy Monday! Welcome to my 52 Lists Project, wherein I feature one list every week for 2015. To join in with your own list, scroll down to the link at the bottom, print out your own list, and then share it however you wish!

*A brief note of apology to those of you who are subscribed by e-mail - there was a formatting issue on my previous 52 Lists posts which I have since corrected, so I apologize if you were inundated with e-mail updates regarding these posts.*

Week 15: List Your Favorite Quotes
I love quotes. I love that it's a thing in our world that there are certain words other people say that we love so much we would keep them with us and bring them out when we need them most. Humans are so wonderful that way, don't you think? Here are some of the words of other people that are special to me:

"There are seven days in the week. 'Someday' isn't one of them." - Unknown

"All I need today is a little bit of coffee and a whole lotta Jesus." - Unknown

"Be pretty if you can, be witty if you must, but be gracious if it kills you." - Else de Wolfe

"Be humble for you are made of earth. Be noble for you are made of stars." - Serbian Proverb

"Life itself is the most wonderful fairytale." - Hans Christian Anderson

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." - 2 Corinthians 12:9

"Heroes get remembered, but legends never die." - The Sandlot

"It's kind of fun to do the impossible." - Walt Disney

"Anyone can be passionate, but it takes real lovers to be silly." - Rose Franken

"Maybe our favorite quotes say more about us than the stories and people we are quoting." - attributed to John Green

"And in that moment, I swear we were infinite." - Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower


Those are some of my favorite quotes. The list is ever changing (except that last one) so maybe I'll do a round-up of my favorite quotes sometime in the future when I've got some new ones to share. We shall see. 

What about you? What are some of your favorite words from other people? Let me know in comments or with a list of your own!

Love,

Willow

For more fun with 52 Lists, click down on "52 Lists" in the little categories section at the bottom of the post, and go over to Moorea Seal's site to see more!

Check out Moorea Seal's entire project at her blog below:
http://www.moorea-seal.com/p/52-lists.html  
 

Pinteresting, Vol. 16

Happy Friday and welcome to Pinteresting! The part of the show where I roundup my favorite pins from this week and share them with the world. I pin recipes, decorating ideas, religious stuff, teaching thoughts, funny stuff from Tumblr, kids' activities, crafting ideas, knitting/crochet patterns, and cute cat pictures.

1) 

Felt Post-it Coasters

These felt coasters are meant to look like the post-it notes we leave for ourselves, with little reminders and cute sketches. They are completely customizable but you can download a pattern for the designs shown. I might make these as a housewarming gift for my new roommate, or as a gift for someone. (Can you imagine using a bit of sassy cross-stitch for these?)

2)

About Being Pretty

I really like this. I'm not the world's prettiest 24 year old girl. But I'm pretty smart, and I'm pretty capable. I want my sisters to know that there are things they can be pretty good at other than just being "pretty." Especially pretty kind.

3)

Keep your embroidery floss organized

I'm sure I'm not the only person who likes to embroider things but really struggles with keeping all that floss tidy when I'm working on a multi-colored project. This neat little trick involves a scrap piece of cross-stitch fabric (or scrap fabric of any kind) and masking tape with the color symbols written on it in sharpie, with the corresponding colors already threaded onto needles underneath. This even saves having to thread a needle every time you change colors. I like it!

4) 

  This 'Do

 

My hair is still at that awkward length where I can't do a ton with it and summer is coming and the bun on top of my head is getting really boring. This looks doable with my crazy-thick hair so maybe I'll give it a try next week and see how wearable it actually is.

5) 

These Corner Designs

I started embroidering hankies a while back and I've been meaning to get back into it this summer (a nice, light project). These corner designs are sweet and classic and really cute. The website (pin links to it) also has monogramming patterns you can do as well, which is neat. I love handkerchiefs - once they're soft and well-worn they're really handy and you know me: I looooove a classic.

6)

Questions about the Mass

I liked this list of eight questions non-Catholics (and even cradle Catholics) ask about the Mass. Things like holy water, genuflecting, the small Sign of the Cross, etc. are discussed in a simple but lovely way. A good read.

And that's it for this week's edition of Pinteresting! I always enjoy curating my favorite, most recent pins. If you're not currently on Pinterest, make sure you take a moment to say goodbye to your loved ones before you log on, because there's no going back! You can follow me on Pinterest (any or all of my boards, find your cup of tea) HERE. Happy weekend!

love,

Willow

**Author's Note: None of the images in this post are my property. I have borrowed them from Pinterest and made my best effort to ensure that the Pinterest pages linked to link to an original source. If you see your work here and want it taken down please see my About page and contact me. Thank you for not suing.**

Yarn Along - Wildflower, Weeks 5 - 13

Greetings! Obviously one of favorite things is reading, but I also quite love knitting. Ginny over at Small Things hosts a lovely little link-up so once you're done here go visit and see what everyone else is up to.

My cardigan is starting to look like a cardigan!!!

WOW have I fallen off the blogging bandwagon in a big bad way! I've been so crazy-busy with some personal drama and taking on a new babysitting job and work is nuts and I haven't been sleeping and it's just been chaos over here in Willow World. Plus I've been trying to keep up with working on this cardigan that I've had very little time for anything else lately. Like blogging. Sorry.

BUT LOOK!!! I'm finished with my fronts! The chart was a bear, though. Those bobbles, man... I am not a fan. Thankfully by the time I was about halfway through the bobbles I figured out how to make them work a little better but they were still a major pain. The chart went a lot faster and was a lot easier the second time around. My recommendation: work the chart in scrap yarn before you do it on the real thing. That way you can rip it out or tink back and not ruin the yarn you'll actually be working with. I honesty wish I had done that but in the end they still turned out okay.

 Pocket - note the lifeline. Lifelines are IMPORTANT.

I have yet to sew my pocket linings onto the pocket fronts, though they have been joined to the body of the sweater (obviously, or I couldn't have continued on the fronts). I'm awaiting some data from darling Karen about how best to go about sewing it in since the obvious way didn't seem to work well for her. I'm looking forward to figuring it out and getting on with the rest of it, since we're beginning to fall a bit behind (the pocket chart, I tell ya, it's a doozy). For detailed notes on my thoughts on the pocket chart and the damnable bobbles, please click HERE to check my Ravelry project notes.

See the little stem? I talk about it in my project notes on Ravelry.

We're doing the sleeves two at a time (it was almost more trouble that it was initially worth because I had to start over 5 times before I got the hang of it). They're coming along nicely, although I'm not entirely sure I'll be finished with them by our meeting tomorrow night. Oops.

Not quite finished sleeves

Reading:
I confess, the reading has taken a dive. Between the new babysitting job, finishing up my sisters' Confirmation class, tax season, office chaos, cleaning my house, and knitting on the Wildflower Cardigan, I've been reading only in small bursts. These reading bits usually happen when I'm putting off doing the dishes. But I recently re-read The Ramsay Scallop which led me to order Off the Road, a modern day story about the Pilgrim's Way.

If you want to know what else I've got on my needles, head on over to my Ravelry page for a look-see.

That's it for me today.  What have you been knitting and reading lately? Let me know in comments and then head over to Ginny's to see what everyone else is up to!

Love, 

Willow

*Author's Note: The Yarn Along button in this post is property of Ginny Sheller and is used with permission. The cover image of The Perfectly Imperfect Home is sourced to the Amazon page and is used for illustrative purposes only. All other images used in this post as well as text are (c)Whitney Miller and may be used only with my express permission. See my About Page for details.*

A Life Update (with cat photos)

It's been a while since I've done a semi-personal post so I feel like I should probably do a bit of blog housekeeping and such, because the times they are a-changing!

Because this is going to be a heavy text post, I'm going to share some pics of Gatsby of late because he's cute and we haven't seen much of him on the blog lately.
 

52 Lists, Week 14

Happy Monday! Welcome to my 52 Lists Project, wherein I feature one list every week for 2015. To join in with your own list, scroll down to the link at the bottom, print out your own list, and then share it however you wish!

Week 14: List Your Childhood and Current Dream Jobs
I'm not sure about you, but when I was little I had a very, very clear idea of what I wanted to be when I grew up. I had my whole life planned out and until I was about 20 I was completely on track to make that plan a reality. Of course, then life happened and I've had to re-write my Life Plan several times in the last few years, but it's always nice to look back and look ahead, and see how much I've grown and changed since I was a 7 year old dreamer.

Childhood Dream Job:

• Princess-Pirate
• actress
• nanny (before I realized how much work that is!)
• Stay at Home Mom (SAHM)
• novelist
• librarian
• archeaologist
• secretary
• nun (you may pick your jaws up off the floor - when I was 14 I honestly thought I was being called to a cloistered convent)

 Current Dream Job:

• Catechist/religious education reformer
• novelist
• poet laureate (pipe dream, that one)
• secretary
• historian
• professor
• homeschooling wife and mother
• YA reviewer (they still pay people to read and review books, right???)

You'll see a fair bit of overlap - like I said, I've known what I wanted for my life from a very young age. I'm still a little surprised at how some things have changed, and those things that haven't. 

 It's about to rain - hence the dark pic. The general badness is because I'm not a photographer.

What about you? What did you want to be when you grew up and then what did you grow up to be? Let me know in comments or with a list of your own!

Love,

Willow

For more fun with 52 Lists, click down on "52 Lists" in the little categories section at the bottom of the post, and go over to Moorea Seal's site to see more!

Check out Moorea Seal's entire project at her blog below:
http://www.moorea-seal.com/p/52-lists.html