Yarn along - 11/16/2011

I'm sneaking in here today with a post for Ginny's Yarn Along.  Every week, on Wednesdays, Ginny posts a picture of what she's reading, along with what she is knitting.  If you'd like to do the same, just follow the link and the directions.  (Crochet is acceptable too.)

I finally finished knitting Gabe's sweater.  I like how it turned out - sort of a blue/camel/brown camo look.  It's so soft, and it was easy to put together too.  Because I tend to drift in and out of projects, it took me quite a long time.  I usually reserve knitting and/or crochet for travel or doctor's appointments - times when I am out and will be sitting awhile.  I would knit while watching a movie - but I can't remember the last time I watched a movie.  (I'd like to....)

I made it in an 18 month size, and it seems to run a little bit big, so it seems I actually finished it just in time.  :)  He should be able to wear it for a year or so.  The buttons are little antique glass buttons from my button jar, kind of a "translucenty" blue.  (This is why I like blogging.  I get to make up my own words and pretend they are valid.) I can not post a pattern link, because this is from an old book that I've had around forever.  It's just a standard crew-neck pullover toddler sweater, though, with side buttons.  It's pretty easy to find a similar pattern online.

I have a secret for collecting buttons.  I go to the thrift store when they have bag sales - when the really ugly or worn garments are all that are left, and you can stuff as many as you can fit into a bag for $1.  I look at the buttons on the clothes   Some of the ugliest clothes have the neatest buttons, and you can score a large amount for a dollar!   Wooden, antique, vintage, glass buttons- they all need to go somewhere, and why not my house?  :)  I pay only pennies for beautiful buttons.

I'm reading the "hot-off-the-presses" biography of Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson.  My son brought it home from the library, I snagged it and commandeered it, and it is a fascinating read.  I love biographies in general; biographies of quirky, driven, successful people in specific.  What makes (or in this case, made) them tick?  What made them successful?  What were their weaknesses?  What can I learn from them? 

I'm two-thirds of the way thru the book.  I've learned many things so far and I'm still thinking about them.  You might not think that a full-time mother could get great "take away" from a book by a tech genius - but indeed, I have.  (Steve Jobs had several negatives, too. His family has been clear about that.  We can learn from that as well, and I could make a list of those too, but here I am focusing on the positives.)  Here they are, my "positive take-aways," in bullet point.  See if there are any things you could incorporate into your life vision - whatever your job or role is in life:

• Simplify.
• Prioritize.
• Don't apologize for that.
• Know what you can do and do it well.
• Revel in it.
• Embrace it.
• Grab it and run with it.
• Don't worry if people don't understand it.
• Don't be afraid of being different.
• Different isn't threatening, it is good.
• Allow for creative time.
• Please.  Be outside of the box.
• Don't let the turkeys keep you down.
• Believe in what you are doing.
• Relentlessly pursue your visions.
  
  What are you making and reading these days?  Feel free to join in over at Ginny's Small Things.