Hi everyone! Welcome to my first blog post. I’m so excited to start sharing bits of my life with you!

I’m currently an Instagram addict, but it just doesn’t give me enough space to share all the words and pictures I have about the things I love most- namely yarny goodness. Today I’m going to lay out what you can expect from week to week. I hope you enjoy!

Finished Objects

Don’t expect to see a lot here! As I finish things I’ll post them. Here are a few of my most recent FO’s for you to enjoy.

WIP’s- Focus Projects

Here I will log progress of my WIP’s (works in progress) that I’ve dedicated the most time to that week. Never will I post all my WIP’s- there are way too many! However, you’ll find more detailed notes on my Ravelry project page- knatalia.

Something New

In this part of the blog I’ll share new techniques that I’m learning in my knitting and crochet projects. I think fiber arts are so good for the brain because they are crafts with rich history, yet constantly expanding with new skills. I try to learn something new with every project!

From time to time, I’ll also have some stash enhancements to share. My goal this year is to knit through a little of my stash each month with the help of Boston Jen from the Down Cellar Studio Podcast {give it a listen!}. She hosts the “Slay the Stash” competition in her Ravelry group. All that to say that I’ll still have some stashquisitions on occasion!

What God’s Teaching Me

Welcome to the longest WIP {work in progress} of my life- myself. As a Christian, I believe that God sent Jesus to save me from my sins. And not just the one time when I was saved, but each and every day.

I talk to God all day long- we are buddies. Sometimes his voice is louder, but most of the time I’m blabbing. God likes to listen to us.

Every time I start to grow impatient with a child at school, I hear God, “Remember Natalie, she’s my child. Use your words for kindness. Build her up.” Whenever a driver cuts me off and I say something unkind (“What an idiot!”), God is in my heart: “You don’t know where they’re in a hurry to go. Their child could be in the hospital.”* And of course, there are moments of joy, “Thank you, Lord for giving me this {money/safety/opportunity/second chance}. I didn’t do anything to deserve it!”

In this section you can expect to hear what God is teaching me each week. Sometimes it will be short, but I anticipate there will be lengthy weeks. Whether or not you share my faith, if you believe in hope, redemption, grace, forgiveness, and love, I think you will enjoy this portion. Click here to read more about my testimony.

I think God would make a great knitter. I like to imagine him as Stephen West, putting together wild combinations and flaunting it. After all, he put your personality together, and then you with your family, and then you with your extended family {what was God thinking?!}. You’re only seeing the process now, but it’s going to be a beautiful result.

*Sidenote: I have gotten angry with a driver and moments later witnessed them turning into the hospital. Talk about guilt!

What We’re Cooking

For those of you who know me well, I HATED cooking eight months ago. I’m not sure what it is about cooking {perhaps the process of planning the meals, purchasing the groceries at the store, prepping, and cooking everything and then the fear of it not even being good!??!}, but my blood pressure would start to rise at the mere thought of preparing food.

I could go on a tangent but let get right to it. I was getting married. And I wanted to be the best wife, right?! And we lived across the street from every fast food chain you could ever dream about {if you’re a local Texan- Whataburger and Chicken Express – whoop whoop!}, but I want to be healthier than that, right??? And we wanted to spend our money well… and in the coming years I’d need to feed children (can babies eat Taco Bueno?)… okay I needed to learn to cook.

 

So, for the past eight months I’ve scoured Pinterest each week trying to find easy and delicious meals to eat. I’ve tried super hard to just put dinner on the table each week night. It was SO difficult at first because everything was a new technique for me. When I say I didn’t cook before, I mean it. {“Hey Siri, what’s the difference between sliced and diced?”} Now I’m doing so much better!

I started out slowly, just trying to cook one dinner each week. That quickly went to two meals each week, which would last us 5-6 nights. Now I’m up to three dinners per week and sometimes I’ll cook a big batch of something for my school lunch and breakfast on Sundays. I no longer feel a huge sense of dread when I think about cooking- this could be because my darling husband braves the grocery store for us. Some meals are becoming familiar and I’m learning what I enjoy cooking. I’m super proud of every meal I cook because it doesn’t come naturally to me; and I think that makes my husband appreciate my cooking even more. Bless him, he always loves what I make.

So, you will get to see some of the things I’m cooking each week and where I get my recipes. If we’re lucky, Kent will cook. I think he’s kind of a wizard in the kitchen- above my level! When he cooks it’s a total fanfare. Bon apetite!

What I’m Reading

For the last year or so, I’ve been obsessed with the “Pretty Little Liar” series by Sara Shepard. I just started the 16^th and final book, and I am devastated- what will I read next?! I’m a big fan of reading book series or several books from one author rather than one-off books because of the ease of going from one book to the next. Reading should be fun and easy- an escape. You will rarely find me reading something complex or non-fiction {unless it’s self-help or comedy}.

I’m a long-time fan of the Harry Potter series. I like trilogies+ of the likes of “Hunger Games,” “Divergent,” “Uglies,” etc. Reading Sarah Dessen or Nicholas Sparks are like little vacations for me. I steer clear of vampires.

Check here each week to see what I’m reading. I’m a slow reader, usually stealing 10 or so minutes each night before I fall asleep. Feel free to suggest books for me!

Check back next week for more going-ons in the Knitty Natty home!

Love in stitches,

Knitty Natty