The Postman Always Rings Thrice

Yesterday was an interesting day. All the little people I know seemed to be grumpy and out of sorts. This, naturally, makes all the big people grumpy and out of sorts. Fortunately for me, I got 3 packages in the mail. (I know. That never happens.)

The first was my September installment of the Rocking Sock Club. This month, the yarn is inspired by the colour of river rocks and the designer is Cat Bordhi.

I will be casting on these beauties as soon as I finish what's on my needles. Now that the weather is cool, I'm back to wearing wool socks.

Later in the afternoon, the girls and I checked the mailbox on the way home from the park. One package contained a new book of sock patterns from Cat Bordhi.

This one is already blowing my mind and I have only had a few moments to flip through it. All I know is you measure your foot, use life lines and have to cut your knitting on EVERY SOCK.

The other was a package of yarn that I acquired from a Ravelry friend. Four beautiful skeins of sock yarn.

(And yes, the red one IS Wollmeise. I can hardly believe it myself.)

Ta da....

As J. said, it's time for cozy knits.


Good thing I'm prepared.




This out-take is for Sarah (it was a little bit windy today....)

Super Mittens

I came across this pattern a few years ago. I was looking for quick Christmas presents and thought that mittens in Chunky yarn seemed like a great idea. I was right. I made a pair for the Dude that he still wears today. T has a pair as well.

But that was years ago in the time before children. Now I have a couple of princesses. Most of my friends also have a couple of kids and knitting for all of them is a daunting task. One that I should probably give up if I'm honest with myself. I just can't seem to shake the idea that knitted gifts are the best kind and every year I look for quick projects for the little people in my life. Last year it was the one hour hat, also known as the Meathead.

This year, it's mittens. I'm making the smallest size of the Super Mittens from Weekend Knitting. They're pretty quick to whip up and I think the princesses in my life will enjoy them.

This one does.

Love / Hate

I hate....

....traffic.

....knitting the second sleeve.

....Cadillac Escalades.

....cleaning out my garden at the end of the season.

I love....

....warm fall days.

....leaves falling.

....deciding my Christmas knit list has 1 item. If it gets done then I'll move on to the secondary list.

....my boys. All 3 of them.

Cozy

I love Fall. It gives us fruits and vegetables, beautiful colours, and sweaters.

Here is my new sweater. It took me two weeks to knit. I love the top down design of this sweater. It was a little challenging during the cable sections with mindless stocking stitch in between.

The yarn is soft and lovely to knit. I'm already trying to decide what colour I will choose for my next sweater.

I think I'll just snuggle up with some apple cider, my knitting and my sweater. Let the leaves fall where they may.

Give myself some credit

I ran into a neighbour today out shopping. She too was looking for some new winterwear and obviously shops at the same fancy stores as I do.

We were chit chatting about the school and after school activities and how September sucks the life out of mothers. Then she said "I just don't know how you do it all Teri". And I laughed. My neighbour - the uber-mother of 4 is surprised by my schedule? Everyday I see her I wonder the same thing, how does she do it all?

We look at our neighbours and catch these small snippets of their life. We see them getting into their cars, going for walks and chasing children in their yard. But these are just little glimpses into their reality. Just like they only know about my life from what they see (mostly me scurrying to and from the car with the kids in tow). And when we catch these windows into our neighbours lives we often underestimate what we are doing. The lovely person across the street always seems to have it together, she must me an amazing mom. I've only ever seen the lady around the corner with a smile on her face, she must have it all together.

And they look back and me and see the same thing.

Maybe sometimes I should try and see what they see.

Doctor's Orders

I hurt my ankle. See?

The doctor says it's just a sprain and I should be okay in a few days. I'm really hoping that it won't hamper my plans to run a 10 mile race in October.

My sister in law, the physiotherapist, told me to ice and elevate my foot. She advised staying off it as much as possible while caring for a 3 and a half year old and an almost 1 year old.

So I did what she recommended. Fortunately, knitting does not involve the ankle joint and I managed to finish this.

It just needs a bath and a photo shoot. It fits me much better, I assure you.

Grumpy

That is the best word to describe me today. I'm at work getting ready for a meeting that will last the whole day and then I have to "entertain" people for supper. It's not the work itself, it is just the fact that I'm AT work on a Saturday in mid-September and the high is going to be 25.

I'd rather be at home, in my backyard, watching the boys swing themselves higher and higher, knitting on this and possibly drinking a beer.

Back to meeting preps. Dreaming of being outside.....

Changing Times

P1 started preschool today. She was a little anxious about the unknown, but once we drove up to the school she was great. She put away her sweater and bag. She found her cubby with her name tag. She took her teacher's hand and said goodbye.

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about how much I've changed over the years. I've had the opportunity to see a number of people who knew me in my university years. We reminisced. We laughed. On the way home, I wondered how much they ever really knew me. That wasn't their fault. The bigger question is how well did I know myself.

I don't think I really came into my own until I had finished university and began my career. This was about the same time that I took up running and learned to knit. Coincidence? Maybe so, maybe no. The friends that I have now tend to be people that either have children the same age as mine, run, knit or all of the above. Perhaps these are the things that define me. Maybe my definition is still not set in stone. I just know that my knitting friends have been with me a long time and do not seem to be going anywhere. We're knit together, I suppose.

On the occasion of our 9th anniversary, the Dude and I had a conversation about choosing to grow together as a couple. We've both changed since we were wed, but we've grown together and made efforts to better each other. It was not easy, but we work at it. The same is true for friendships. You have to make an effort but it's definitely worth it.

Knit on, Dear Friends. I'm not going anywhere.

Challengers and Enablers

Some of the work I do at my day job focuses on identifying Challengers and Enablers that people believe help/hinder them from doing their job (does that make any sense? If not....skip ahead).

I often find myself doing the same thing at home - what things are enabling me to cook dinner tonight (a full fridge, docile children)? What things are preventing me from having a relaxing evening (no beer in the fridge, children who refuse to sleep)?

With the current project I'm working on, I've already identified some properties that are keeping me from progressing and other things that are keeping me on track.

Challengers:
1. The changes in yarn colouration - the DIC Classy is gorgeous yarn. Soft, interesting colour changes and knits up beautifully. However each skein is very different in colour. So I've spent some time trying to figure out what is the best skein to use next, what skeins should be save for the arms, and how best to hide the colour changes.

2. Company - we had company for the long weekend. Friends we wish desparately lived down the street rather than 3 hours down the highway. We had an amazing time with them. I did not, however, knit the whole time they were here (I blame all the food and drink....).

3. Stocking stitch boredome. Self-explanatory. I'm currently in StSt hell.

Enablers:
1. The yarn. As previously stated - gorgeous. Soft. Lofty.

2. The pattern - Kate Gilbert is on a whole different level. There are some designers who you just have to stand back and say wow - that is some talent. Kate is in the group.

3. Jo. Knowing that my dear dear friend knits like a fiend (she's faster than fast, quicker than quicker) and just trying to stay within the same ball park as her is good motivation.

I'm soldiering on.

Looking Ahead

I don't know about you, but I've been doing a lot of Christmas knitting. I usually end up knitting gifts right up until the time they are due to be opened. Once all the gifts are unveiled and the wrapping paper is recycled, I take a deep breath and reach for my knitting. Unfortunately, there is rarely anything on the needles. So I'm getting ready now.

I'm not sure where I read about this idea, so if it was you, raise your hand and take a bow. I will be doing a stash busting sock club. Now, I just love sock clubs. Every couple of months, you get a package in the mail that includes new shiny yarn, a pattern and maybe some goodies. I like to cast on these treasures right away, setting all other projects aside until I have a pair of socks. The only problem is that my sock yarn stash keeps growing and I never seem to get around to knitting it. I also have a queue full of sock patterns that I've been aching to try but never have the time. Do not fear, Dear Friends. I have a solution. A couple of days ago, I raided my sock yarn and pulled out enough yarn to knit 8 pairs of socks. I placed each in its own opaque bag so I can't tell them apart. I also pillaged my sock patterns and selected 8 patterns that I would like to knit. The yarn that I picked was mostly variegated so I chose patterns that would look good in multi-coloured yarn.

Once my gift knitting is completed, I will pick a bag of yarn and a random pattern and cast on. I'm really looking forward to this. I'll be using yarn that I obviously like because I bought it. I was also be knitting patterns that I've been looking forward to knitting for quite some time. Once I knit through this batch of yarn, I think I'll repeat the process using monochromatic yarns and different patterns. I think I'll allow myself 2 do overs incase the yarn and pattern that I pick really don't please me.

Wanna join me? Go pick some yarns and set them aside. You'll have a few months to forget what you've got and then it will really be a surprise. I'll be knitting patterns from Cat Bordhi's New Pathways Book and Sock Innovation by Cookie A. Feel free to knit along with me or pick your own patterns.

Now back to the Christmas knitting grindstone.