It's not bad to do good things for yourself

I was putting together a little package for someone during our Snow Days last week and one of the things I made was a little book full of quotes and mantras that inspire me.  I made the book with the hope that they will inspire the person it's going to and I loved it so much that I made one for myself!

I'm taking a cue from Gala Darling's Radical Self-Love project.  I feel like lately, I've been neglecting myself in many ways.  I wasn't really seeing it until my friend kindly pointed out that I hadn't plucked my eyebrows to their usual state of prettiness.  I made up the excuse that I was trying to grow them out (which was kinda true) but then I confessed: I just haven't had the time.  She scolded me and reminded me that there is ALWAYS time for ourselves!  And she's right.  I didn't need to take out my sorrows and stresses on myself and make sure everyone around me is okay - I need to make sure I'M okay.  And I'm not saying that to be self-centered, I'm saying that because it's true - we need to take time for ourselves.  I think fellow bloggers on the same page since Kailey posted a wonderful post about pampering ourselves on her blog, Mermaidens, and I took it as a sign that it's time for me to stop feeling bad about wanting to do something better for myself!  I need to get back in the habit of painting my nails, plucking my eyebrows regularly, dressing up for no reason and doing all the things that make me feel good from the inside out.  And you should too!

Here are a couple of pages from my notebook:



Some of the mantras are from Louise Hay's wonderful app Heal Your Body A-Z.  I picked mantras to help stimulate love in yourself and with that, it can help balance other areas that you may or may not be having issues with.  I notice that when I'm saying one of her mantras (with love, of course), I feel so much better that I've forgotten what was wrong in the first place or that my headache or stomach ache or whatever was bothering me has totally vanished!  I focus on the self-love part because I know healing starts from the inside out and once I'm in a good place with myself, I can focus on the rest.

Enjoy! xo

Do you have any mantras or things you like to do for yourself?

That Katniss Wrap - My sketch

So...I had some ideas forming in my head about the "Katniss Wrap" (that's what I'm calling it) and the more I broke it down, the more I realized that it's not really knit - it looks more of like a woven or braided piece.  Not to worry because I deconstructed it in the best way that I could: I talked it out on my car ride on my way home from work last night and on my way to work this morning.  As soon as I got in, I printed out the loveliest photo of Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss (from Captiol Couture) and another that featured a front-on shot of the "Katniss Wrap" and sketched out my version.
Keep in mind that I'm a terrible illustrator


Do you like how I'm wearing Peeta's locket today?

I decided it would have to be constructed in two parts: the cowl neck and the arm piece.  I love knitting in the round!  I think it's a fun way to knit things up quickly and efficiently but because I felt like the neck piece needed some texture, I can't knit this one in the round because the texture I want is a able (or possibly two) and I'm not that confident in my cabling skills in the round just yet.  I barely have enough patience for a single cable and here I am designing two flat pieces, each with cables.  Go big or go hime, right?!
In case you can't see on my terrible illustration, the cable is pretty basic with the straight line representing a knit stitch all the way down on each side of the cable - which is the way I feel comfortable doing cables.  So, the arm piece will be done in the same way - even though that's clearly NOT how it is in the photos.
In the photos, it looks like a very intense braided piece - which it very well could be since District 12-ers are pretty resourceful.  I think I might be able to recreate the "weight" of it with a really chunky yarn and some large needles but I want there to be some play room for the cowl to be more relaxed than the arm piece.  We'll see what comes off the needles since I don't ever swatch anything - I kinda just go.
The more I look at it, the more I think the neck piece could be the only cable part and maybe the arm piece could have some light ribbing on the sides and it could be two strands of yarn held together for a thick, basic knit, maybe?  That'll give the arm piece the "tight braided" look and the cowl a more relaxed feel.  And then the whole thing could be crocheted together with a basic chain from the inside or I could sew it with a large yarn needle?  We'll see how I'm feeling when I get there - if I get there, that is.  Sometimes, knit pieces get boring and I abandon them (like the countless scarves in my knitting bag) BUT this project seems short enough that I can make it during my time off during the holidays next week!  Fingers crossed!

I'll be sure to post progress photos and *try* to write the best directions I can (if it works out the way I want it to!)