getting to know me

Hey new friends from The Nearsighted Owl!  Thanks for stopping by and giving me a good opportunity to tell you a little more about myself.

Here are a random smattering of facts and tidbits about my life.


My boyfriend David and I just celebrated our two year anniversary on Valentine’s day.  We met online via OKCupid and talked for a week before we met in person.

Every time I logged in to write him back, OKCupid had a little robot dude on the page that said, “I think you both like Johnny Cash.”  True enough, we did.


I have a 5 year old black lab mix named, appropriately, Cash.  He is the Dog in Black.  Although he is actually sort of brown.  Anyways.  We call him Johnny Cashius Clay.

He spazzes out when you say the words “dog park” and is generally a good dog.  He needs a brother or sister to play with, but not until we get a house with a yard.


I grew up in Michigan but I’m pretty firmly rooted in North Carolina for the foreseeable future.

I want to get a tattoo of the outline of Michigan (don’t worry Mom and Dad, not the one above), because it will always be home .  I love going on vacation to the Upper Peninsula and look forward to dragging David up there someday.


I’m an only child and an introvert.  All my hobbies are things I like to do by myself – reading, knitting, sewing, baking.

Well, knitting is something I like to do with other people.  I convinced 4 friends to let me teach them to knit.  I don’t know that they’re truly converted, but they have made a scarf, a coffee cozy, two hats, fingerless gloves, and half a sock.  Two of them have humored me by patiently following me around the Southeast Fiber Festival.

I count that all a success.  Want to be knitting friends? I’m on Ravelry!

 

When I was in grad school, I dyed my hair turquoise, pink, red, and purple.  I’m pretty quiet, so I think I shocked everyone.

I felt like it was my best chance to do something a little crazy before I had to go out and be a grown up.  I want to do it again.  For now, I’m settling with a pixie cut.

I’m trying to break my lifelong habit of biting my nails.  I can do almost anything for 2 months, but then I fall off the wagon.  I did awesome for December and January but had to start cutting them down to avoid temptation.

Long nails may not be for me.

 

Like Rachele, I believe strongly in fat/size/body acceptance and Health at Every Size.  That image (click for original source) pretty much sums up my body philosophy.

I have good body days and bad body days, like everyone.  I have too much to say to be succinct here, but I’m always interested in talking about it if you want to hear more.

 

Finally, I have an etsy shop that I’m still trying to figure out.  I knit, I sew, I make felt flowers.

I don’t really know what I want it to be yet, but in the meantime, I’m making things I like (like knitting bags and pillow covers) and putting them up there.  I like custom orders so if you see something you like but want it a little different, let me know.

In the meantime, I’m taking the Indie Business Course to narrow in a bit on my real business plan.

Anything else you want to know? Leave me a comment and I’ll put together another one of these posts soon. Thanks for stopping by!

2012 is going to be badass


(via the spotted fox)




I’m not generally one for New Year’s resolutions. I don’t believe in dieting and I’m not particularly athletic, so 95% of typical NYE resolutions are not that interesting to me.  But right now, I’m motivated so I want to put it out there: I want to do things in 2012.  Here are a few of them…

Educate:

  • Take the Indie:Compass e-course and figure out where I want to take Brownbetty Style
  • Complete all the projects from the Modern Patchwork and DIY Dress Up e-courses.  Maybe take an in-person basic sewing course
  • Learn Photoshop.  Mostly so this blog doesn’t look amateur and I don’t have to constantly bother David to make that happen.

Create:

  • Finish my first quilt.
  • Finish my super secret quilt.
  • Knit something with sleeves – starting with this.
  • Crochet… something.
  • Participate in another craft show… a real craft show this time. (Halfway there! I signed up for one in May!)

Those are all pretty straightforward – set task, find time, accomplish.  It’s the Personal stuff that’s nebulous and vague, so these are my intentions, rather than goals.

  • Be kind to myself about the “happy changes” my body has made over the last year.  Being happy and comfortable in my body as it is is important to me and I wouldn’t trade all the wonderful things from the last year (moving in with my boyfriend, learning to use my Kitchenaid mixer, watching 6 seasons of Dr. Who on the couch while knitting, etc.) for all the smaller pants in the world.
  • Judge Less, Lest Ye Be Judged.  I won’t lie, I’m a judgy person and I don’t expect that to change overnight.  But it really only makes me feel bad about myself. 
  • Remind myself: I’m Fat and it’s Okay.  I’m tall and I don’t see a need to change that. 
  • Find a Pair of Decent Fitting Jeans: I currently have 3 pairs of jeans and each of them annoys me in a different way. Since jeans + tank/long sleeve t-shirt is my go-to casual uniform, it’s worth it to find and invest in one good pair of jeans.  Now I just have to find them… and chuck the others.