do something: wrapping up February...onward to March

A few days late: an update on February and introduction to March.

First off, February:

28 areas to purge/organize/streamline

DONE:

• clothes x5 (hand-me-downs, donate, toss)
• digital (back up files, clean up email + blogs, phone apps + photos)
• paperwork (file + shred)
• bathroom cabinet
• kitchen sink sprayer (fix the damn thing)
• izzy's closet
• kitchen island
• scrapbook stuff
• bookshelf
• fridge
• linens
• living room side table
• photos
• school projects + art
• cleaning supplies (toss + consolidate in one spot)

STARTED BUT NOT COMPLETE

• shoes
• playroom closet
• combine both of our closets (old bedroom + new bedroom)
• kitchen cabinets + drawers
• knitting stuff
• toy box
• laundry room
• carlos' school stuff (old textbooks)

NOT TOUCHED

• electronics "junk" (old software, headphones, mice, plugs, CDs, etc)
• boys' nightstand
• boys' cabinet
• coat closet
• movies

Overall, progress I'm happy with. February was a success not because I finished every item on the list but because I did fix stuff; I did make stuff easier to find; I did eliminate stuff we just don't need. And I'm not quitting just because February is over...I'll finish the list (and tackle those items that have become a more apparent need since eliminating other junk.)

I did another 50 miles in February and started the C25K app (again.)

Baby steps.

Onward to March.

Since January and February weren't exactly "fun" somethings (even though I'm beyond happy about the results of both) and because March is my birthday month, I thought it was time to add a more enjoyable task to the mix. Other than a few thrown together Valentines, it's been a crafting desert around here since the pre-Christmas rush. So for March, my goal is simply to Make Stuff. I'm doing this with Intention though, right? So I have some specifics in mind.

• knit something: I knocked this one out already but have other stuff I may attempt as well.
• crochet something: This is an obstacle to overcome as I've toyed with crochet but haven't begun to master it or even complete a single crochet project.
• sew something: A few possibilities here including a simple baby blanket for my niece.nephew to be EDD June, 2013 as well as a new quilt (again, super simple) for Izzy's bed.
• build something: You know, with wood!
• repurpose something: Put to use some of the stuff I have saved for future projects (like the other headboard from the crib.)
• scrapbook something: You would think this would be a gimme but you'd be wrong. Now that I've purged my stash down to practically nothing, I have the urge to do a paper layout - something I haven't done in years other than some project life spreads.
• finish something: I have, um, more than a handful of half finished projects of various provenance lying around. Time to finish one or ten.
• cook something: I cook daily and try tons of new recipes but I want to challenge myself with a scary recipe that requires a lot of time and effort and possibly even equipment I'm not familiar with.
• mold something: I've pinned tons of little concrete projects and absolutely love the simple + utilitarian look of them. this month, I'll tackle one!
• update something: A few ideas for this but one in particular that's maybe not so expected.

That put's me at about one project every three days. Ambitious now that I look at it. I've knocked out one though and hope to finish another today.

On Friday I started a scarf for Izzy - a pink one like she's been requesting for a few weeks now. It took awhile to find a pink that didn't make me nauseous (why are they all so pepto bismol-y?) and even this one, a foot into the knitting, had me regretting my choice.

The results were worth it though. She kind of loves it.

I just did a simple diagonal stitch pattern. Rather than knitting on the bias though with increases and decreases (which in my experience, tugs the corners so it's not a rectangle but more of a parallelogram) I did a K2 P2 and just shifted the pattern one stitch each row...like this:

c/o 30 stitches (I used an aran weight yarn - I could have gone a few stitches less, it's rather wide)
row 1: K2P2 until end of row ending with a K2
row 2: P1 K2 *P2 K2* P1
row 3: P2K2 until end of row ending with a P2
row 4: K1 P2 *K2 P2* K1

Repeat until you reach your desired length - super easy! I used maybe 2/3 of the skein so probably around 200 yards or so.

And I'm obviously not a pattern writer so I wouldn't be at all surprised if I managed to confuse you on even a simple pattern like this.