oh, if mrs. boyle could see me now

as i'm sure you know by now, aaron bought be a sewing machine for my birthday (june 2, only 98 shopping days left). it arrived in december, and we made it operational in january (we had to buy a transformer to get it to work here).

here it is in all it's glory:

in my new sewing nook:

i never would i have ever guessed that i would not only own a sewing machine, but be this excited about it. i do not come from a long line of seamstresses. in fact, the only time my family even saw my mom use an iron, we had to take a polaroid of it. it is a cherished memory.

i do not have a good history with sewing. in my high school home ec class, we had to sew a garment using a pattern. i had my doubts about my ability, but i plunged into it. a week or two later, i asked mrs. boyle, if anything could be done to save my jumper. she quickly looked to make sure no one was within earshot, and gently told me that i should just throw it away and she would give me an "a" for effort. fail.

there seems to be so much to learn. it's overwhelming. but i am determined. after all, knitting was intimidating to begin with, and now it easy, relaxing even. my first project went really well. splendidly, really.

it is a much needed pin cushion. much needed, because the only pin cushion i could find here was $45 and magnetic. i like this one much better than a stupid tomato anyway.  a few other mending endeavors have went nicely as well. i have fixed a few shirts and a pair of pants. however, my second main project, a tote bag, didn't go extremely well. in fact i sewed a pin inside it and can't get it out. oops.

mainly i have the most trouble with the exactness of it (which is why i am not too good at baking as well, also and exact science). the measuring, the cutting, sewing straight. 1/4 inch seams, 1/2 inch seams, 3/4 seams. so precise. i need a lot of practice.

right now i'm taking fabric scraps, cutting them into 3 inch blocks and sewing them into strips. if you look closely, or not even closely, you can tell that these two strips to not measure up to create a checkerboard effect.

i need a lot of practice before i can begin making my own clothes. although, i've been reading sew retro, and it's an incredible inspiration. it combines my love history, vintage fashion, and sewing. pluse it includes a few patterns. wish me luck as i practice and learn.

a log cabin with yarn

i have four great friends who each brought 5 balls of yarn with them from seattle to san francisco in december. from there, the balls of yarn traveled with aaron from san francisco to wellington. now they await their fate as as awesome moderne log cabin blanket.

my colors are dove gray, hollyberry, evergreen, and chocolate. i wanted it to be wintery with a hint of christmas coziness, but not overtly christmasy. here is what i have so far:

it is currently 23" x 23 1/2" and getting longer everyday. it's perfect tv knitting, but i must admit the rows and rows of garter stitch (knitting every single row) might be getting to me.

week 5 of the running

i'm managing to keep up with the running. so far i haven't missed a day of the c25k program yet. i am currently on week 5, day 2, which involves a 5 minute warm-up, followed by a 8 minute run, a 5 minute walk, and another 8 minute run. i'm floored at how non-scary it is. i'm also floored that i'm doing it, and looking forward to it. i've found myself really enjoying running, which i never thought possible. it's a distinct possibility that i will continue running even after i completed this program.

i've also found a potential 5k to enter. every tuesday there is a brooks waterfront 5k. since it occurs every tuesday, i don't think it'll be too formal or intimidating. also, it's along the waterfront, which should provide some excellent scenery.

also, isn't it neat when you discover or learn something new, and then all of a sudden you see that thing everywhere. it's the same with running. wellington, it turns out, is covered with runners. i love running past them and sharing a smile. it's incredibly corny, i know.

c25k

merry christmas! happy new year! to celebrate, we had a day long skype date with aaron's family. lots of fun, like always. we also tried to have a nice, vacay, which you can read about here. spoiler alert: it was an epic fail. epic.

in other news, i decided i want to stay fit (or try to get fit, depending on how you look at it). i've been spoiled in the past with being able to go to the gym 2-4 times a week. this is not a luxury i have anymore. i figured an affordable way to exercise would be to take up running. i've tried this numerous times in the past with bad results. i've always wanted to be a runner. i don't know why, but i've always been in awe of those who run long distances for some personal gain. whenever i try to start i usually do too much too soon and end up quitting in a fit of disgust (people do this for fun??? wtf???)

i discovered this program called c25k. basically, it is supposed to help you go from couch to running a 5k in 9 weeks. each week you do intervals of running and walking, gradually adding more running and less walking. for instance, the first week there is a 5 minute warm-up walk, followed by 8 intervals of running for 60 seconds and then walking for 90 seconds, then a 5 minute cool-down walk. the next week includes the 5 minute warm-up/cool-down walk, and intervals of 90 seconds of jogging, followed by 2 minutes of walking. i've heard of this program before, but i thought it was too hard to time yourself while running. however, there is an app for this for the iphone. this app allows you to listen to the music you would normally listen to on you iphone while running, but there is a beep, and a voice telling you when you should run and walk, so you don't have to time yourself. (side note: even if you don't download it, i highly recommend going to the site and watching the extremely funny video the designer made to advertise it. you'll thank me). it makes it super easy to just go and not worry about where you are at. this has made me super excited to stay with it.

so hopefully, i'll continue to intermittedly tell you where i'm at in the program, and you can help me stay motivated. it's also really nice to have a goal to shoot for. anyone want to try it with me? if i can do it, i'm sure you can!

best wishes for an amazing new year!