Elizabeth Newlin – Arizona Real Estate Agent

I’ve been meaning to post pictures of some of my more recent knitting projects. I think the cold snap out here has kicked my hobby into high gear. Too bad my desire for woolen creations will be gone with the chill in about two weeks. But until then, Jason has a new hat:

This was his Christmas present that didn’t get finished until slightly post-Christmas. And hey, it’s reversible:

I also tried my hand at cables and came up with this hat for myself:

I love it, but I think I’m going to also do one in a more solid color so the cables stand out better.

Lastly, I went to a baby shower this weekend and attempted my first ’sock’ pattern to take as a gift. Of course it was way more complicated and time consuming than I thought tiny baby sockies could possibly be, so I only have one done:

It will also have to be delivered slightly late (luckily the babe is still tucked away in the womb so he is not yet missing it.)

In other news, we have begun our kitchen remodel. A couple of weeks ago our horrid old dishwasher died and we were forced to buy a replacement. Since we were buying a dishwasher, we figured we might as well bite the bullet and replace the oven/range as well (Spencer’s gave us a discount). Sadly, though we love our new appliances, they have really shined a spotlight on the shoddiness of the rest of the kitchen, thereby prompting us to head over to IKEA and purchase our new cabinets. We haven’t begun ripping out our installing the new cabinets yet, but Jason did take a minute this weekend to put together our new freestanding pantry so that we could get all of the crud off the counters that’s been living there for lack of enough cabinet space. Check it out:

SO SO much extra space:

Oh my goodness I am going to love my new kitchen so much I’ll never want to move!

This weekend I actually had no real estate related appointments for the first time in several months. It was really nice to take a break and get things done around the house that were begging to be accomplished. I paid bills, changed beds, I even ironed the sheets. Which is moronic. I swear I only did it because we have these really nice new sheets from Pottery Barn (my sister-in-law works there and we get 40% off! How awesome is that?), and I thought maybe I would try it this once. You know, like, ‘One time i went sky diving!’, ‘One time I peed in the snow’, ‘One time, I ironed my sheets.’ I’m never doing it again. It took an hour and was entirely pointless. So there.

Anyway, notably, this weekend (besides the sheets):

I had dinner with my Papa (my mom’s dad) and his wife, Ann, who were in town from Florida for the first time in a few years:

Gray has developed an utter obsession with bananas. I think he’s going through a growth spurt, but he literally had three yesterday and two of those were just to stop the incessant ‘NANA!!’ demands he was shrieking:

I made a cover for the bench at the end of our bed. I used fabric from IKEA and whipped it up last night. I’m really proud of it. I’m going to make pillows to go on the bed from the same fabric:

I think that pretty much covers it. I’m working on several new marketing campaigns for my biz and am in talks with my web designer over a new look for my site (you can expect it May 1st!). More info on all of that will come later in the week!

Well, the renovation bug has bitten me again. The master bath is *almost* done. I know, I know, it’s ridiculous. We started the whole thing back in July and it’s still under construction. Although, I have to say, Jason has done an amazing job and an insane amount of highly skilled, detailed work. He’s been up in the attic the last four nights in a row installing the extra lights to make the bathroom bright enough for me to do my make up. Check it out (ignore the mess, like I said, it’s *almost* done):

Pretty, right? I’m in love with the whole thing. Those mirrors swing open to reveal extra deep cabinets with outlets inside. I also love the new Ikea towel rack:

And the racks above the toilet (Jason bought me those cute brown baskets for Christmas with this location in mind):

Anyway, now that the lights are working, pretty much all he has left to do is finish up some painting (the ceiling) and put the door on to the shower room. Oh, and there’s the small matter of the transition between the tile and carpet of our bedroom, but we’re still in talks over it. Regardless, I already love my new bathroom (now if I could only get the tools our of our bedroom…).

So the near completion of the bathroom has gotten me antsy for the start of the kitchen. Obviously, because of the time it has taken my perfectionist husband to complete the bathroom, we have decided to hire a contractor to handle the kitchen. Jason just couldn’t get it done in a reasonable amount of time with everything else he has going on, and I cannot live without a working kitchen for a year or so. Or really, even for more than about a month.

Yesterday, in an attempt to do some quick Internet research, I filled out a survey on this site, and within hours, was contacted by two different contractors who wanted to bid on our kitchen remodel. They both will be coming by on Thursday (one in the AM and one in the PM) to take measurements and talk about what we are interested in. I seriously can’t wait to have a pretty kitchen! We are absolutely going to gut the thing. I’m thinking about having a ‘Goodbye Kitchen’ party and then not letting anyone see the inside of my house until it’s totally done, and having another ‘Meet the New Kitchen’ party. I think it would be fun to not let anyone see it as it progresses. Don’t worry, though, I will take pictures along the way!

The Christmas gifts have FINALLY all been received. Yes, I realize it’s January 12th, but the international postal service has some sort of a voodoo curse on us and no one ever receives anything we send out of the country on time, if at all. So the box we sent off to England for Jason’s twin sister and her husband just got there this week. We told them not to eat the cookies, but they did and apparently haven’t died of botulism yet, so I guess we’re in the clear.

Anyway, one of my other favorite Christmas crafts went to Jen:

It’s a little satchel type bag meant to fit a book or notebook and a thin wallet or whatever. It’s just a really basic ‘rectangle sewed to rectangle with a lining’ design with an interesting button I had used as a closing at the top. It’s made of 3″ by 3″ squares I knitted mixed with corduroy squares. On some of the corduroy I did stitching or beads just to jazz it up. Jen’s a total hippie girl, so I was going for that earthy patchwork look. I was really happy with it when it was finished and I hope she likes it too.

And two last quick Christmas crafts before I move on:

One-shoulder backpack purse for Amanda (a Butterick pattern, with my own design of turquoise):

And a zig-zaggy scarf for Julene (an altered version of the Wavy Gravy scarf in the Stitch ‘N Bitch Nation book, out of Kureyon yarn):

I made her a hat like the one I made for Kelli out of the Kureyon yarn for her birthday (yesterday!), but I forgot to take a picture.

So now that all of that is over and done with, I’ve moved on to one of my New Year’s resolutions; I’ve started knitting a sweater for myself:

I’ll keep you updated on the progress. It just may take me all year.

Probably all three of these things could be separate posts, but they are all fresh on my mind from the weekend, so you’re getting them all in a clump:

The Good – The Boat Parade at Dobson Ranch

Last Friday night we took a ride on my parents’ Christmas decorated pontoon boat:

We rode out to one of the several parks on the lake and met up with the 13 other contestants in the Dobson Ranch Boat Parade. It was too fun. I tend to be a bit scroogey about all of the hoopla that surrounds the holidays, but this was a holiday event that got me in the spirit. We played holiday music from a stereo on the boat, but one of the other boats had a live band on board playing carols. It was awesome. The winning boat was made up to look like a pirate ship full of Santa’s:

And here’s my attempt to catch the boats all lit up when it was dark:

The Bad – Sale Day at the Montage Condo Conversions

Saturday morning I got up early and met my clients who have been looking to buy a condo up in North Scottsdale out at the first sale day of a complex they have been particularly interested in. We had visited and checked out the models a few weeks before and they liked it enough to be preapproved with the preferred lenders at the complex and make an appointment on sale day. We were told our appointment was at 11 am and our slot number was 73. We assumed this meant that we were number 73 on the list to purchase one of the 200 units. We were very very wrong. The entire event was a circus. We had to valet park our cars and then were put on a shuttle to a tent in the complex. In the first tent we were told to wait until our appointment time was called. It quickly became apparent that we were actually number 73 in the 11 am time slot. There was a time slot called every half hour starting at 7:30 am and EACH ONE had roughly 100 people in it. Once our time was called we were checked in and ushered to another tent where we waited, standing, for several hours for them to call our names. At least an hour before this happened, the announcer (most annoying announcer EVER) declared that all units were sold out. We continued to wait just to put our names on a backup list. It was a dismal, spirit crushing experience. We are officially back to the drawing board.

The Pretty – My First Hat!

I spent most of yesterday knitting a hat for Gray:

I felted it this morning and will post pictures of it when it’s totally done. I’m going to make one in the opposite color scheme for Ben (green with a brown stripe). Fun!

Hope you all had crazy fun weekends too!

Last night when Jason got home from work I sent him right back out again… WITH the boys. It was soccer practice night, and I usually go with, unless I’m staying home with the baby, but yesterday I was just feeling so totally and utterly disorganized. Lately, I have actually been quite busy with clients. This means that during nap time, when I’m not chasing my cute little lunatics,

I spend hours running CMAs and doing searches on the MLS for my clients. It also means that I’ve had lots less time to keep the house clean.

Anyway, last night was just one of those times when I needed an hour or so alone with the house, or I was going to go crazy. I didn’t know exactly what I was going to tackle until I got started, but this is what I ended up with:

This is our reading room, but Jason has been hinting lately that maybe the dining room table is not the best place for all of my Christmas present projects. So I cleared out the space, did some serious dusting, and set myself up a little sewing central. It only took me about an hour, and boy do I feel much better about life in general.

Sometimes you just need a little space of your own, I think. It makes life feel so much more manageable.

The Backtack II gallery is up! This is a gallery for all of the people who participated in the swap that I have been involved in. Somehow, my bag didn’t make it in, but I resent my pictures and hopefully they will be added soon.

I have spent literally hours viewing the photos of all of the amazing bags. The ones I really love I have tracked down at their original sites and tried to get a better understanding of how they are constructed.

One of the things that I feel has been lacking in my work so far is embellishment. I think it’s just a rookie error, I was so focused on getting the bags or other projects to be functional that I overlooked making them pretty. So now that I’m putting together all of my Christmas presents, I have been focusing on trying different types and methods of decorating my works.

Here are my two latest bags:

What a fun Christmas this will be!

I’m getting ready to wrap up this whole backtacking journey I’ve begun. I’ve finished my project and will mail it off today. I am honestly very glad I got involved. I feel like crafting has taken over a chunk of my life lately, but it fills a necessary slot for me. I’ve always felt more complete when I have a creative outlet and this certainly fits the bill. I also feel a great sense of accomplishment because I tackled a difficult pattern and didn’t let it get the best of me. I have come a long way from a month and a half ago when I wasn’t sure which line to cut out on when I cut out the pattern. I now know how to baste, top-stitch and make gusseted pockets (and more importantly, I know what gusseted pockets are). I’ve figured out how to make my own pattern and I can sew a basic zipper. My point is, I want my partner to know that this swap has been more to me than just an exchange of created goods. It’s been an introduction to an activity I will enjoy for a long time, I think.

I’ll post complete pics when she receives it all, but here’s a sneak peek:

Thanks again to the crafty gals who set this up!

OK, I’ve been terrible about posting this week. I’ve honestly just had a lot going on between my friends who decided they’re ready to start seriously looking for a new house, and my in-laws visiting to do a Grand Canyon hike with my parents. But I promise to be better in the next week.

Anyway, I have exciting (OK, really only exciting for me, sorry) news: I got my backtack package!!! Cynthia at Big Girl Feet in Canada was my anonymous partner and she spoiled me totally rotten. Not only is she ridiculously punctual (yep, I’m not even planning to send mine out till next Thursday!), but she’s utterly talented as well. Look at this great stuff:

I love her attention to detail. Everything is gorgeous and matching and perfect. And as you can see, the kit was for a scarf and I’ve already started it. I’m so excited about it and loving the knitting so far!

Thanks again Cynthia!

I’m getting close to being ready to send off my backtacking project. I ended up creating another bag that I saw in a knitting store and decided would be pretty easy to make. My gal is a big knitter, and said she likes neutral, earthy colors, so I’m hoping this will be of use to her.

(You like my little monkey in there who couldn’t bear to have pictures being taken that he wasn’t in?)

So here’s what I really like about the bag:

1. I created it, pattern and everything (right, right, I stole the idea, but still, I figured out how to do it all by myself!).

2. I love the retro liner fabric and the pretty brown corduroy.

3. This is the second one of this type of bag I’ve made and I made a few little adjustments that I think really helped (interfacing, shortened it a bit and reinforced the straps).

Here’s what really bums me out about it because I’m a giant perfectionist and self-doubter:

1. When I pinned the corduroy ends to cut it out the pattern circle I made got a bit bunched, so the outside is actually smaller than the inside and it feels like there’s all this extra fabric on the inside.

2. I completely made the whole zipper thing up as I went and it is so unprofessional you cannot even imagine. It works, but I have this feeling anyone who’s ever done a zipper ‘the right way’ will take one look at it and feel horrified at my incompetence.

3. I did the whole thing inside out with a gap in the liner so I could flip it through and then I hand-sewed the gap. I HATE THE HAND-SEWING. It totally shows. How do you make it not look different?

Anyway, I think I would like this bag, but I’m definitely feeling the pressure when I look at all the other backtacker’s sites. Everything looks so perfect and stunning. I am so imperfect!

So my solution is: if I cannot give her the quality I would like, I will go with quantity. I’m also remaking the original bag I made first with the gusseted pockets and flap top. I’m going to send her two slightly flawed bags, hopefully that will make up for it.