New Home WIP

While I have been working on some crocheting and knitting, this weekend I've been working on a piece of furniture for my/our new apartment!!!

There are no before pictures, just halfway to step one pictures. 

On the first day, I got to play with paint stripper, a power sander, and ended with really sore hands, arms, and back. Being liberal with paint stripper (not that I have experience) was difficult, and I ended up probably doing more work than necessary. 

All the white paint is gone, but still needs work!

Day two was work on the drawers, as well as paint that I missed on day one. I also put stain on the top (the only bit that is completely sanded and stripped of paint), which is helpful in motivating me to work harder on the other bits. 

The reason for this dresser makeover? Fiancé really dislikes painted furniture. It was in a little girls room, and it needed either a new coat of paint or a complete overhaul. I counted at least 4 layers of paint, plus the most recent color. If I slapped another coat of paint, it would've needed to be touched up the next time we moved. So I'm striping all the paint, sanding, staining, and then topping it with a coat of poly. It's a lot of work, but I enjoy it. 

Even though I've been busy with home projects, I do have some yarn to share!!!

Decorating my books: a scarf and a shawl

My stack of books increased yesterday, as I decided to pursue the historical fiction section on Amazon. I didn't expect to get them all at the same time. Titles, in case you can't read them: The Age of Ice, The Light between Oceans, The Kitchen House, and Red Templar. It Starts with Food is obviously not fiction, and I'm still working through it, a bit at a time. 

And here's a close up of my crocheting, Hitchin' a Ride. 

Lovely self-striping Felici!

Linking up with Tami & Ginny!

Making New Things!

I am so excited to have pictures to share of the new things I've been making.

Both of my WIP shawls

Ananas Crocheted Shawlette

testing new settings on my camera- B&W except for blue things :)

Stephanie's Wrap

My hand-dyed tonal pink.

I had all the yarn for my Steph wound into balls on Thursday last week, using my cousin's eldest daughter M for my swift. (Note to self: KnitPicks makes their skeins small. Drill new holes on Lazy-Susan swift.) M is really great, and she loves helping me with yarn-y stuff (I sense a new student as soon as my schedule slows down). As much as I wished I had, I didn't officially start crocheting until Sunday night, when I alternated between 3 projects.

Sunday night, my "Ananas" were just starting to appear on the shawl. But the rows were really long! So, I didn't get as far as I had wanted to, but finally added the second skein. The pineapples are starting to be visible too-- I totally love watching these sorts of patterns develop.

This was my afternoon- popcorn, tea, Rav & crocheting

With Spring Break ending and classes starting back up, my crafting time diminished. However, I will be done teaching this week, and finish all the student teaching paperwork, etc, next Friday. So, crafting time will again be a large part of my day.

Joining Tami's WIP Wednesday & Ginny's Yarn-along!

No Longer Overwhelmed!

Last Wednesday, I posted a huge list of the things I was working on. On Friday, I shared a finished project.

On Monday night, I finished another project that I will share on Friday. I started a few more projects, but I feel less overwhelmed than I did last week.

I've nearly finished the stockinette section on my Oaklet shawl, and I am in love with the yarn I am using- Three Irish Girls Glenhaven Cashmerino sock. It is absolutely amazing. It was gifted to me in a swap, and I was intending it for a Summer Flies but I thought the color might be too busy. And then I remembered that Ginny made the Oaklet a while back, and I had browsed the FOs and loved how it looked in a variegated yarn. I really hope to finish it in the next week or so, because the weather here is perfect for a cozy shawl.

The Orchid House, by Lucinda Riley, was an amazing book. It was on my stack last week, and after abandoning my non-fiction book, I picked it up. I believe I mentioned that I had started it a month or so ago, but had to return it to the library. There was no such problem this time. I had a bit of a free weekend, so I mostly read this book. I loved the multiple layers to it, and I was fascinated by the history of Thailand and WWII that was injected into the storyline.

That's all for me today! Be sure to stop by on Friday to see what I finished!!
Check out Tami's and Ginny's for more WIPs this week!

None of them are on the Floor

My books, I mean. They are all either stacked on a shelf or some other similar surface.

I'm down to just my Michigan history books, for class and for my research paper. We have been assigned The Flivver King for the next week or two. It's quite a short little book, about Henry Ford and the rise of the automobile. So far, it's not killing me. I'm glad to be putting aside Rites of Conquest, as the author was writing to an audience that is quite a bit smarter than me.

Mary Higgins Clark went back to the library last week. I really enjoyed The Lost Years, it kept me up several nights in a row, something I haven't done in ages. I've never been good at reviewing books, but I will say that I had hoped for a bit more of the historical angle in it than was actually provided. Nonetheless, I enjoyed reading something new (if not entirely different) and hope to do more of it once my classes are finished (at the end of the month, YAY)

I took the ASL books back to the library, for a time, and will probably check at least one of them out again. Robin @ Crochet Nirvana asked me why I was trying to assign hand motions to a song. For the past 5 years, I have worked at a week-long Christian summer camp, and I will be going back again this August as a head counselor. We have an evening where each cabin provides some form of entertainment, be it a skit or a song or the like. I have it in my head that I will work out hand motions for a song to teach my cabin so we can perform it for Entertainment Night. We'll see how it goes.

I've made my way through The Two Towers, and am now nearly halfway through The Return of the King. I find it is nice to "read" while crafting. Harry Potter has been put on hold a bit, though I will likely go back to him mid-week or so.

Other than that, not much else going on in my corner of the world- lots of crocheting, some attempts at cleaning, and lots of avoided homework. I'm planning on cracking down and churning out a history paper this week, I'll let you know how it goes.

Currently on My Bookshelf

I've been reading James A. Owen's Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica, and I'm on book 5, the last of the currently published books (According to his website, Owen has at least 2 more in the works).
I've loved reading this series, however, The Dragon's Apprentice has been sitting on my shelf since last Monday, waiting to be read. And it keeps sitting there. I hate that I've been neglecting it, but school has gotten very busy, and it still sits. Hopefully next week, when my mini lesson plan project has been turned in and present, I will have a bit of time to read on it.