crocheting hearts

i find it kind of funny that my blog is titled "here i am, here i am" and i haven't been around much. i've been dealing with a personal struggle and it's really zapped my creativity and i haven't felt like talking to anyone about it. so i've been hiding basically. but things are turning around and i couldn't be happier. i've come out stronger, closer to my heavenly father. two things i am rather proud to admit. it could have gone the opposite way.

as with any struggle, i tend to analyze EVERYTHING i am doing. one conversation i had with a helpful friend opened my eyes to something. i scrapbook and make money doing it. scrapbooking is no longer my hobby. no wonder i've not found joy in it lately. i still enjoy scrapbooking, i love to create and i think i'm still pretty good at it, but over the last year i've lost much of the joy. i'm not in a place where i'd like to just bag it all. i just needed to find a hobby. so i started crocheting and knitting. why both? because there were cute patterns for both, i couldn't decide. i started knitting some bedroom socks in november and am still about a sock and a quarter away from being done. i got the pattern from the purlbee blog (i adore this blog), my friend heather has been instrumental in helping me get started. she suggested i start with a scarf, but i resisted. my reasoning? i know i must have knitted a scarf way back when i was 8 and learning to knit. i wanted to do something a bit more challenging. not sure how helpful this attitude is, but i am enjoying the process. they will look like this, only in green and charcoal:

pattern from the purlbee blog

last week i tweeted that i wanted to learn how to crochet a heart. i figured if i put it out there, i'd have to do it. enter pinterest and a search for crocheted heart. three hearts later (notice how each one looks a bit better than the one before it?) i think i have it down. now i'll make a little banner. and learn to make more variations. this makes me happy. note the lovely little snowflakes? yes, it's snowing again. we've probably had 15 inches in the last few days. so pretty. especially if i can stay inside. and crochet. i mean clean.

EXCELLENT pattern found on the cornflower blue studio blog. 

speaking of cleaning, my house has been neglected mightily as of late. january was hog wild paper crafting. i got home from a wonderful CHA (hope to blog about that sooner than later) and am slowly working from one corner of the house to the other. finally got christmas put away. the downstairs looks rather presentable. :) now i'm starting on the upstairs.

which means it's time to stop blogging.

happy day to you!