Finished!!!

It's finally done!  I'm so excited!!  I'm even more excited to give it to her... hopefully so more pictures will be put up soon.

Added this little "A" to make it a little more personal.  They are naming their daughter "Annabelle"

 This one's just to give some perspective as to how big this actually turned out.

Crocheting during Conference

Almost done!!!

Thoughts and Inspirations

So, even though I only blog two or three times a week (I'm bad... I forget to do it), I am working on this blanket almost every day.   Probably put in a good 6 hours each week.

            Bizarre that it's not finished, eh?


Anyways, I wanted to put some thoughts down tonight, instead of pictures, because I've learned a lot throughout this process.

I'm finding out a few things about myself and about... well, life, as I've been working on this blanket.

          One, I'm able to de-stress and think more clearly.  I've been really amazed actually.  Pondering is easier and comes quite naturally.


Two, I'm learning that knowledge is power.  Schoolhouse Rock cliche, maybe, but it's true.
                The more things I know and skills I have, I am that much more able to make a difference.


      And three, I look for opportunities to serve and pray for opportunities to serve.


I know that this wasn't what I had originally planned and prayed about, but I know that the Lord was sure that I'd come around to these realizations eventually.

A Picture and some thoughts

So much progress!!!

I'm trying to get this thing done by Nae's baby shower... which is in...  2 days :).  We shall see.

On a side note, I was listening to the BYU devotional from this past week while I was crocheting and what really stuck out to me was the idea about how continuing to learn increases our capacity to serve others.  And that's one thing I've realized as I've been learning this new skill.  I'm excited to be developing something that I can use to bless the lives of others.  

Just a thought.
Here's the link:
The Joy of Education and Lifelong Learning

Progress!!!

Purely Pictures

You win...you always do

Alright... So, the lacey blanket is getting postponed... due to... my lack of experience and extreme amount of perfectionism... And also that by the time I get done making it, Jenae's little girl is going to be 3.

I found a different pattern and it's going much much better :).

Baby Blanket

Practice

Last night, Josh (my husband) and I discovered the sound booth in BYU's library.  4 years and I never knew about it.  So, we didn't get to record anything because we spent about an hour and a half trying to figure out all the buttons and knobs and levers and things.  BUT, we are prepared for next time and we're both excited to record together... we haven't done it before!


As far as my other practice, it's going a little bit better...

Slow going

This is the only thing I'm trying to figure out.  Theoretically... I got it.  In actuality, far from it.  It just looks wrong... this is going to be a process.

Crazy? Maybe

So after spending the past week on the blanket I was making, I decided it was ugly.  Yeah.  Thoughtful to make and give? Definitely.  Pretty to look at? Definitely not.  So, I found a pattern that I like instead... and I'm probably crazy for attempting it... but... just look at it!

Who wouldn't want a blanket that looked like that?!

I can do hard things.  This one will be worth it.  And it won't just get donated to D.I.

Trial and Error

So, I love recording music.  Problem is, I don't have anything but this Mac microphone... so, that's what I'm working with right now.  The quality is not very good, but I figured I tried uploading some of the things I'm working on...


...this might take a little bit... youtube is being fickle...

Pictures

So, here are some pictures of my attempts over the past couple weeks...

Watercolors... meh.  This really wasn't all that enjoyable.  I tried to enjoy it though, just to give it a fair chance.

The flowers were definitely the most enjoyable part of the experience though... the rest was just a need to fill white space.

 Focaccia... yes please.  Gave some to the next door neighbors and everyone loved it.  The 2 yr. old did have a problem with the rosemary in it though... he sat and picked it all out.  I imagine that took awhile... :)

Crochet!!!  This is a double stitch, taught to me by some youtube videos.  The beginning of this process took FOR-EV-VER (thank you, Squints). 

This is after 4 times back and forth... it's a pretty long blanket... well, long enough for a normal sized baby.  I hope that my friend doesn't have a 20 pounder... 

Oh, and ps, I haven't been working on my music for the past couple weeks because I donated blood to the Red Cross and they hit a nerve... leaving my arm numb.  Seriously, it was 2 weeks ago yesterday, and still have to be careful using my left arm.  Anyways, that's my explanation for picking up the guitar for awhile.  But, this weekend, it's coming... 

I always forget to post

I always forget to post.  Gosh darn it.  I have some pictures from the past few weeks that I'll post later today.

I work with senior missionaries and asked them about the skills/talents that they've developed that have been used for good.  These are some of their responses...

• Crochet
• Knit
• Sew (wedding/prom dresses)
• Gardening

Two weekends ago I attempted watercolors.  It definitely was relaxing, but not rewarding.  I give it like a 5 out of 10.  

Baking, specifically bread, has been the Sunday obsession.  So far I've enjoyed the process and the outcome.  Probably like an 8.5 out of 10... pretty darn delicious.  I always give some to my neighbor after the experiment is over.

And, finally, what I've been wanting to do has finally become a reality.  Went out on Saturday and bought a crochet needle and some yellow yarn.  The first baby blanket will be for an Oregon fan, who's having a little girl.  So far, so good... getting faster at the whole thing, although I'm sure there will be approximately 5 million stitches in this thing by the time I'm done.  Haha, should've bought a bigger hook.  But, it's been really enjoyable so far... up there with the bread making, I think.  8.5 or 9.

Revelation

So, I want to do some evaluation along the way with this project, otherwise I'll end up not where I want to be I think.

I appreciated the criteria at the beginning of this whole thing to involve prayer...  Pray for inspiration, write it down, check back with the Lord to see if any changes need to be made.  Elder Scott gave a talk about doing that and I was grateful for the reminder.

Well, I think that's a continuing process with this project because we're continually learning, so when adjustments need to be made, they should be made.

I was in a temple session this weekend and thinking a lot about what I was learning from this project.  I was doing what I planned on doing, but something was missing.  I thought about all the talents and the skills that the Lord has, specifically thinking about the process of creating the earth.  What made the Creation truly wonderful was that the Lord took His talents to create and then GIVE to those He cares for.  That's what brought him joy.

Which brought me to this conclusion...

                  I want to cultivate and develop skills and talents that I not only enjoy but that I can use to benefit those I love and care about.  That's how I've really enjoyed things in the past...  Yes, I find happiness in playing the piano, but when I can use that skill to accompany someone in church to help bring the Spirit into a meeting, that brings it to a whole new level.

So, I'm changing the question I'm asking others... "What skills and talents have you acquired (that you enjoy doing) that you've used to bless the lives of others?"

These are things I've seen others do that I'm interested in learning....

• Knit/crochet (for baby blankets and such)
• Cook and bake...specifically awesome bread (it's an ongoing process)
• Photography (volunteer services for poor engaged college kids like my husband and I were)
• Practice flute again (so I can teach it)

What to do...

Some responses from last week...

• Exercise
• Photography
• Learn new languages
• Write
• Read
• Kung Fu
• Disney World (that kid worked there)
• Go to space... these answers are getting ridiculous

Last week and the week before that I tried my hand at some cooking I hadn't attempted before.  I never cooked before I was married, so I kinda threw myself into the furnace for not preparing that skill.  Now, I'm more use to cooking, but I keep it within the things I know and don't branch out too much.  So, I decided to branch... with pizza.  And these were my results...

I'm not gonna lie, I was pretty darn proud of myself when it came out looking like this... that it could actually be recognized as a pizza.

This bottom picture was my second and Valentine's attempt.  It kinda looks like a heart... right?

End verdict?  Enjoyed making AND eating it.

When did I stop reading?

I don't know if it was when I came to college or sometime before, but at some point, I stopped reading for enjoyment.  My best guess is that I was too busy reading everything that was assigned in school to justify anything of my own choosing.

I picked up The Golden Compass tonight though.  Pretty sure it's not meant for my age group, but, regardless, it's been interesting so far.  And I don't feel guilty putting off other homework assignments to do some reading... yet...

Apparently reading is enjoyable to me.  Depending on the book :)

What do you do?

So, I've been asking people this week and these are some of the responses I've received...

• Reading
• Cooking
• Camping
• Genealogy 
• Cross-stitch
• Volleyball
• Hiking
• Video games
• Play cards

Sometimes when I ask I'll get answers like, "Just hang out with friends."  When I counter that with a, "Ok, but what about when you're by yourself?"  A response that seems to be common "sleep."  I don't think I need any practice or discovery to know I enjoy that one :).

Who's "You?"

"Today you are You, that is truer than true.  There is no one alive who is Youer than You."
       -Dr. Seuss


Dr. Seuss seem to figure out who he was.  Actually, a lot of people seem to have it together.  I just haven't taken the time to figure out the things I find joy in... the things I identify with.

My husband always asks what I like to do.  Or suggests that I take a break from cleaning or homework and do something that I want to do.  What comes to my mind?

"?????????????????"

That's it.

Because I don't know what I want to do.  So, this little blog is a sense of self-discovery, I suppose, suggested by Josh.

This is finding me, Sarah C.

(watch out Dr. Seuss...maybe I'm a poet :).