artsy-crafty babe

run, beki, run

Have I mentioned that I started running?  Well, I did.  I am not athletic, never have been, but something possessed me to run.  I don’t remember exactly when I started, maybe last February?  I know it was cold. That I remember.

At the beginning of April I formally started the couch to 5K program.  The first few weeks were a breeze since I already had a bit of light running under my belt, but it didn’t take long for it to be a challenge.  I actually did this program back when Lily was a baby, but that was before apps.  We had to use a stopwatch to keep track of our invertals!  Having an app tell you when to walk and run makes it so much easier.

By the end of May I ran my first 5K.  I wasn’t at the end of the training program yet, but I did it anyway. Finishing that race was quite an accomplishment.  

I stayed with running about 3 miles for a few weeks, but that was getting boring.  I got all crazy and downloaded the 10K training app.  I did the first week with no problem.  Wahoo!  And then I got hurt (big sad face!).

Man, running is rough on my body.  I had to ease off and rest.  Stupid bursitis in my hip.  While I was resting I tried to do some other workouts to add strength.  One day at lunch I decided to climb the stairs. Because I had been running, my endurance was great - I climbed those stairs for 20 minutes. And then I couldn’t walk for a week.  My goodness, that was painful!!  

Hip, calves, sometimes knee, it seems like it’s always something.  I’ve accepted that aches and pains are just part of it for me.  As long as I don’t run 2 days in a row, I’m good.  I need a good 48 hours of rest in between runs.  

It has been a slow recovery, but I’m back to 2-4 miles, sometimes as much as 5, depending on how I feel that day, and how hot it is.  Have I mentioned that it is flipping HOT down here right now?  And humid? Yuck.  In some ways I’m a little discouraged that I haven’t made much progress over the last 6 weeks or so, but looking back at where I started, I’ve come a long way.

I’ve still got my eye on a 10K.  I’ll get there eventually, just now right now.  I can’t wait to see what kind of progress I’ll make once it cools down a bit, as long as I can stay healthy.  I may complain about my aches and pains, but it hasn’t stopped me.  I’ve finally found an activity that I enjoy and I look forward to the time I get to spend doing it.

sprucing up with coffee filters

How do you like my coffee filter drum shade?

This is what 1000 coffee filters looks like.  That’s not a typo - yes, one thousand.  It’s a good thing coffee filters are cheap!  

Y’all remember my chandelier, don’t you?  It's been through many transformations - dangly vellum circles, draped in sparkley & shiny beads, and finally burlap.  I think burlap has won the longevity award.  I did that one over two years ago.

To make the burlap shade I constructed a drum shape out of chicken wire.  The burlap is a tube of fabric I slipped over the wire.  It’s worked fine, but I was ready for a change.  Why not coffee filters?

It’s quite simple, just take the 4 cup size coffee filter, pinch in the middle, then pull through the holes in the chicken wire.  I had a pack of 200.  After using up that first pack only a small portion of the shade was covered.  I did some quick calculations and estimated that I’d need about 800 more.  That didn’t seem possible, but I bought 4 more packs.  At $1.18 per pack, I couldn’t complain too much.

It turned into a family affair. We all scrunched up coffee filters and took turns inserting them into the shade. Finally, by Sunday night we were done (I started it off on Friday night).

It’s a fun change for now, until I get some other crazy idea I want to try out.  The only problem is that every time I look at it I want coconut cake!!

triangle tote

After abandoning this project for a month, I picked it back up and finished this thing!  I don't know why I do such things - this tote was almost completely made.  AllI had to finish was putting it all together.  

I think I had a hang-up over those straps.  They're attached with rivets.  RIVETS!!  Really, rivets are easy peasy, but because I had never used them, it turned into a BIG THING in my mind.  Seriously, when will I learn to get over myself?

As you can see, this tote has all my favorite things - raw edge applique, vintage sheets, and repurposed leather.  I'd like to say that I love it, but I don't.  Because I was a big ninny and left this bag sitting for a month, when I picked it back up today the details were fuzzy. For some reason the lining didn't look right to me, so I decided to chop off a few inches.  Big mistake.  It was the right length, so that made the lining too short.  I wasn't about to start over, so I made it work.  That's why my triangle tops are chopped off on the top row. Yes, I know it looks funny, that wasn't on purpose, just due to my stupidity.

The tote is for me, and I think I can live with topless triangles, so there.  It's done.  What's not done is this whole idea of combining leather with fabrics.  I can see a whole lot more of that.  And I'm ready to get started NOW.  Gotta go :-)

P.S. second post in a week - what's gotten into me??

 

 

summer

How is it July already? Almost mid-July? My summer is already halfway over. The kids go back to school early next month. Crazy pants! I wish I could tell you that I’ve been busy making all kinds of stuff, but that hasn’t been the case (other than making dinner and clean clothes).

Those 4 offspring of mine keep me busy enough with their activities and demands ;-) Speaking of demands, my former baby, aka Ceci, has turned into a bossy little thing. She likes to take my hand and lead me to whatever it is she wants. Right now she likes to be outside. Outside on the swing, outside in the stroller, outside doing whatever. She thinks she’s a big kid who can play in the driveway with her big sister and brother, but doesn’t understand that cars will squish her.  Contained in the fenced backyard with Mama will have to do.

The past couple of afternoons I’ve been able to fit in some somewhat crafty time cutting t-shirt strips. A few weeks ago I cleaned out closets, which produced a stack of old t-shirts for cutting. Remember when I made that rug? I’d like to make another. No plans yet, just cutting strips, which is just my speed and perfect for working on while sitting out on the patio. I discovered that my stretched out old maternity tanks are great for this, and those are fun colors.

Knitting is still happening, but not on what I last talked about. I’ll have to tell you more about that later. I think there are a few more projects I’ve started and stashed away, but my brain fails me right now...I think the heat has melted my brain. Ah, summer!