Kitchen Cotton + Raglan =

One snappy new sweater!

(Warning, this is mostly about sewing)

We are in full back to school mode. I return to work tomorrow (deep sigh). Big sis starts kindergarten in a week, and little sis starts preschool.

The girls are still small enough to tolerate handmade items, so I'm on a roll. The sweater is done in Sugar-and-Cream kitchen cotton. It is top down, no seaming. It took about 4 days to do and used about6 balls of the cotton. I was going to redo the neck, make it less wide, but out Kindergartener-to-be says she loves it and thinks the neck is fashionable, so who am I to argue?

Here are some skirts I finished yesterday:

The red is for big-sis’ first day of Kindergarten and the blue is for little sis.

I have finished several for myself, including:
AND finished the valences I started for this house before we moved to Florida a year and a half ago:

I am totally crafting-for-avoidance. I want to go back to work, but I don’t want to leave the girls. The thought of kindergarten is scary. She is SOOOO ready though, she is counting the days on a calendar. Her school is great, and she rides the bus to my high school in the afternoon, so I really cannot complain.

I am done, the sewing machine is put away for now. I need to finish some socks for presents, so it’s back to knitting!

How knitting saved the day

I have always been someone that travels pretty light. Before the upswing in my knitting I could manage a 5 day trip with a small backpack.

Then started the knitting.

Now, I still take the same volume of clothing, but once the knitting is added I need a good sized suitcase.

The husband, oh he of infinite patience, thinks this is ridiculous. But he tolerates, because he is patient that way.

So we went to Williamsburg to see the family and a few friends. So I had to bring the car-knitting project, the mindless-knitting-while-visiting project, the kids-are-busy-so-I-can-concentrate project. Plus, extra yarn.

We went to visit a high school buddy of the husbands and his new baby. About four hours before we headed over there we realized we had no baby gift. What to do?

Knit a bib, borrow a button from my stepmother, and go visit a new babe. He gooed once at the bib, and then it was taken over by his big-sis Emma. Quite popular.

And on the way home the husband actually said "Good thing we had all that yarn in your suitcase!"

Notice the WE...

I wish I had pics, but the husband is back in Florida with the camera.

Home

Our house in the snow, 2004

We are back. We’ve been in the house for ten days. We’ve actually almost finished unpacking. This is my 16^th move in 33 years…you get to a point where you just gotta get it done.

It feels so good to be back. Just the thrill of running into someone I know at the store is amazing. Of course this also has it’s drawbacks. It is very embarrassing to buy wine from one of my students at the grocery store. And I do not buy any undergarments in Richmond. Too much risk.

I remember when I was in high school the attendance secretary was spotted purchasing undergarments by a classmate. It was the biggest piece of gossip for WEEKS. Small town, small school, but still, I take these threats seriously.

Which makes my husband laugh, since I have the most boring life ever when it comes to high school gossip. “Did you hear, she knits….socks!”

The camera is still with the husband in Florida. So there are a few “see, we really have unpacked” pictures, but no knitting. I'll try to put one up tomorrow.

I have finished a hat for little sis. Something to help with her big hair this fall. Full of innovations. And it’s pink.

I am trying lace yet again. The trellis scarf from IK (maybe this spring?). I am finally able to do it, and am really making progress. I have realized I was knitting way too tight. This is one of the problems with knitting in isolation in Florida, no advice from folks that had been there. I generally do like to figure things out for myself, but knitting advice is well appreciated.

This is one of the things I am VERY excited about. There are multiple knitting groups here. Lots. As in more than none. I can interact with other humans face to face and not be the only one knitting. Once the husband returns from Florida I am planning on getting out of the house.

I finished all my back to work orientation the other day, and got though it admirably knitting away on a snappy wool/silk scarf I started ages ago. It is getting very long, but there always seems to be the same amount of yarn in the ball. It is some great Elsbeth Lavold stuff. I have come to think that the yarn is magic. Really, the ball stays the same size. The thing has so much of my life over the past few months knit into it. I’s my “in between projects” project. It has been to playgrounds, trains, airports, cars, doctor’s offices, job interviews, the list goes on. It has a great soapy smell, that yarn.

That's the short update. I have a lot of knitting I've been working on. Don't let me forget to tell you the story about eh value of a traveling stash. I actually saved the day with knitting.