In case you haven’t been following along on my other blog, in addition to scrapbooking, I’ve recently taken up knitting, thanks to the online classes at Craftsy. I’ve already sung their praises, and signed up for Knit Lab, Crochet Lab, and Sewing Studio with their $25 new member special. So far I’ve only gotten through about five lessons with Knit Lab but now I finally know enough to make a scarf, which I’m currently working on, so that I can master the knit and purl stitch. I know it’s not the most exciting thing, but I’ve always wanted to learn to knit and I feel like I’m really getting somewhere with my one little word this year — Create.

One of the cool things about picking up a brand new hobby is that it’s usually pretty easy to figure out where to start, like the top five things you need to master to start and finish a project. With knitting, I knew I needed to learn how to cast on, knit, purl, and cast off before learning anything else. With gardening, I got a really basic herb growing kit. With photography, I needed to learn how to take a picture in manual mode.

But when I actually make it past the basics, everything sort of falls apart for me. I get overwhelmed with all sorts of other techniques, I don’t map out where I want to go next, and then I lose the momentum and interest. I never really mastered gardening, but I definitely lost the spark with photography, which I want to re-ignite once this baby is born. And I keep scouring Pinterest for new projects and new possibilities with what I’m learning to keep me on track.

In the meanwhile, I’m keeping a running list of next steps and things I’d like to start incorporating into my creative life to map out where I need to go. Here’s what I have so far:

Paper Crafting

I recently ordered a Silhouette for a pretty good price and have been experimenting with cut outs and pairing the results with my Xyron sticker machine. My stuff tends to be more journally and heavy on the text like a zine, and I’m not terribly interested in mimicking traditional scrapbook layouts, but I do want to better figure out my style: how to make my hand-lettering prettier, how to arrange big blocks of text, how to incorporate ribbons and twine, how to embellish better without cluttering up the page. I’ve also been obsessed with tape, and I have a shitload of acrylic paints lying around that I’d like to start using in these journals.

I also spent a weekend a little while ago doing a cute little project with Hugga — I popped some film I found in the fridge into my Instax Wide and let her spend the day taking pictures of whatever she wanted, then we laminated her pictures onto a bunch of 4×6 cards and turned them into a book. I decided to get the Cinch Binding Tool so that Hugga and Baby and I could do more book making (my mom got Hugga a new kid camera to give to her upon her little sister’s arrival). I also have a shitload of kid paints lying around, so it’ll be fun to do that kind of stuff when Baby is finally here.

This also goes without saying but I’m forever yearning to get back into zining. And way way way down the line, if I even make it this far, I wanna learn how to letterpress with the Sizzix Big Shot. I mean, we’ll see.

Yarn Stuff

Once I finish Knit Lab, the first order of business is a big ass cowl for myself, like this:

Source: purlsoho.com via Theresa on Pinterest

I’d also like to make at least one thing for one of the girls — a sweater or a blanket or something — and that’s only before moving onto Crochet Lab. The main thing I’m interested in learning how to crochet is amigurumi. I really only want to learn how to make adorable toys for the babies first, and then maybe piece together a super awesomely colorful afghan.

I’ve mentioned that I also signed up for Sewing Studio, which I’ll probably take in the summer or later in the year, and I really need to learn those fundamentals first before getting caught up in projects. But I am pinning a ton on my Pinterest, just to be safe.

General Crafting

Okay, first of all, what the fuck do people use Mod Podge for? I am intrigued and have started following this blog to figure it out.

Also, now that I have the Silhouette, I went perusing all the cool accessories they sell for it. I jumped on a Plum District special for the Silhouette store over the weekend and ended up with the Vinyl Starter Kit and sketch pens. I’m thinking it might be time to cut a new decal for my MacBook Pro and replace my badass Snow White. They also sell Heat Transfer kits, Fabric Ink, and Sewable Fabric Interfacing, which I’d love to figure out eventually.

I know this is a ton of lofty aspirations, especially since I’m about to give birth, but I kind of have my whole life ahead of me so I know there’s time.