A finished object!

My poor, poor craft blog is so neglected. I'm finally popping in to post a finished object!



Pattern: Knitting Pure & Simple (it's their children's top-down raglan pullover)
Yarn: Lamb's Pride Worsted in Blue Blood
Needles: Denise Interchangeables (can't remember size--I should really start documenting this stuff, eh?)
Time to complete: Too long.

Next on my needles--socks for my sister! I promise not to go six weeks without posting again.

The now

I'm almost done with a sweater for Nelson. It's a simple raglan pullover knit out of Lambs Pride Worsted. The sleeves are all that's left and I think I can crank out one a night after the kids are in bed. I think. But maybe not because my kids are sleeping so horribly (Nels is fighting bed time and Claire is waking up at 4:30 -- I'm sure this will get smoothed out when they've adjusted to daylight savings). Yesterday I held the sweater up to Nels to get a feel for its fit and he declared he won't be wearing it because it's too fuzzy. I hope I can change his mind. Maybe I can bribe him with Tootsie Pops?

Once this sweater is done, I have to get back to my sister's very belated birthday socks. I've completed one sock, but I think I'm going to rip it out and start over because I'm not happy with it. I like tight-tight stitches for socks and even though I got gauge, the knit feels a bit loose and sloppy to me. I was using the Interweave Rib and Cables pattern from the Fall 2005 issue of Interweave Knits, but I think I'm going to bag it and knit a simple toe-up sock instead.

So in lieu of photos, which I had hoped to post, I decided to link to things I'm loving right now.

This collaborative blog that focuses on (anti)consumption and green living.

Shari's recent post featuring some really amazing polaroids.

These recipes as I plan next week's meal plan.

This tea, which I'm enjoying as an afternoon pick-me-up.

This blog. Such pretty pictures!

I'm trying to cut back my internet time, so if you e-mail me and I don't get back to you quickly, you'll know why.

Happy Tuesday!

Here, just busy!

I wish I had something crafty to post, but I'm not doing as much crafty stuff as I'd like. We were gone in Portland, OR all last week; this week has been about settling back into day-to-day life. Knitting for me goes in bursts and I'm definitely at a lull right now, more interested in playing with my camera and trying to get some reading done for my bookgroup. I've also been trying to nightwean our 16-month old daughter who is being very stubborn about the whole thing.

More soon I hope!

Flapper Hat

I just finished knitting the Flapper Hat pattern found here (the link is near the top of the left sidebar). The hat is a gift for a friend who requested something in light blue. I was trying to knit from my (meager) stash and ended up using some Cotton-Ease I had--what suckiness it is to work with. It was splitty as all get-out. I'm pretty happy with the completed project, even if the yarn left something to be desired. Sarah's pattern is wonderful and I plan on knitting it again for my toddler in some sort of wool.



How come my stitches look sort of bumpy whenever I knit with a cotton or cotton blend? This isn't usually the case when I knit with wool. No wonder I favor animal fibers.



Oh yes, the flower embellishment was knit from this pattern.

Proof

Here's a photo I snapped yesterday of our home on our way out for a walk.

We moved to our log home last summer. We now live in the same small town my husband grew up in. This is the first time in my life I've lived in a place where anonymity is nearly impossible. Everyone knows everyone and the sense of community runs very, very deep.

The log home was built in the late '80s and was neglected for years when the couple who built it as a vacation home grew elderly and eventually passed away. We haven't had much in the way of time or funds to make the improvements we'd like, but that will all come with time. The house is situated on 2 1/2 acres, all of which is loosely seeded at the moment and full of potential. One of our priorities in the next week or two is to walk the land and decide where we're going to plant our vegetable garden. Then we'll place our seed orders. To say I'm looking forward to homegrown produce would be an understatement, especially after eating bland, store-bought produce this winter shipped from who-knows-where (Chile and California, mostly).

Initially I was a bit iffy about the log home thing. Log homes conjured images of dead animal heads mounted on the walls and oversized furniture upholstered with silhouettes of deer and moose. I'm really a craftsman-style or bungalow person, truth be told. But we kept visiting this cabin when it was on the market and I was drawn to the wonderful energy the home and surrounding land has. Our acreage overlooks a large park and is backed up to the park's two-acre pond. The views from our back deck are wonderful. In the end, I couldn't resist its uniqueness and beauty. So we put in a bid and made it our own.

And that's the story of our cabin.

End of an era

Last week I lost my job.

My former employer decided they wanted someone physically present at the office full-time and this wasn't something I could give them. I was given a good-bye severance package, which arrived in today's mail. The finality of it hit me when the check arrived. I worked there for almost a decade. My entire professional career is wrapped up with this company. It's so strange that it has come to an end.

I don't know what's next. For the foreseeable future, I'm going to focus on the kids and the home. Last week felt a bit like a test run--getting used to having no obligations outside of my family and getting used to being the boss of my time for a change--but now it's time to focus, plan, and get a daily groove going. I'm sort of glad this change came in the depths of winter. Winter seems like a great time of reflection--a time to cozy up with a hot cup of tea and just think, which is what I'm going to do after I post this entry.

Flapper Hat

I've started the flapper hat. What a fun knit! I hope to have a progress shot this weekend. Actually, I hope to have it completed this weekend. It's a belated holiday gift that I really need to finish, block, and get in the mail. Monday night was the monthly meeting for my son's preschool co-op and I meant to bring my knitting, but I was in a hurry when I left and completely forgot. Oh well -- it might have seemed rude to knit during the meeting. I never quite know what the etiquette is with knitting at gatherings. It seems like a benign activity, but I can see how it would also be perceived as being rude.

January is usually a slow month for me, but not this year. It's passing by so quickly. We've had unusually warm weather that is tricking me into thinking it's March (this is supposed to change on Thursday when the temps will dip down into the mid-twenties for a high). I'm doing a bit of a purge around the house, including cleaning out the pantry, wiping down the inside of the refrigerator (still to-do), cleaning out old stuff in the bathroom, and so on. I'm also doing a bit of a clothing purge, giving away all those pieces I've picked up over the past year that aren't quite right and thus always get passed up for something a bit more me. I was reading the archives at The Glass Doorknob and I love Shari's series about clothing (scroll down). I remember always having a love affair clothes. As a child I loved watching the period movies to take in all the amazing costuming. I had one girlfriend, Mandy, who shared my love of clothes and I remember spending many hours with her drawing up fashions, usually '80s-inspired, jewel-toned gowns with lots of poofs and ruffles. I remember discovering Esprit clothes in sixth grade--an age when clothes started to really get noticed in my peer group. In high school I dabbled in the gothic look and then abandoned this in college for a sloppy, somewhat androgynous appearance. (This was also when I discovered thrift store shopping, which is, to this day, one of my favorite past-times.)

These days my look is pretty basic. Jeans, fitted t-shirts, fleece, sweaters, and comfort shoes (Keens, Campers, or Dansko clogs, usually). I'd love to dress with more flare, but I live on two acres in a rural, agricultural community (where everyone is extremely casual) and my work-at-home job means I rarely leave the house. I console myself with the reminder that dream wardrobe probably wouldn't withstand my kid's messiness all that well. That said, I wouldn't mind trading in my favorite jeans and clunky clogs for some beautiful vintage pieces, a few just-below-the-knee skirts, and some feminine slip-ons more often than not.

Last night I had my hair cut--my first cut since mid-October. It was long overdue. I'm growing my hair out from a very short cut and I'm learning these maintenance cuts are so, so important. I hate to sound cliche, but I feel like a new woman.

I hope to post again this weekend with progress photos on the hat. Hope you're having a good week!