groove is in the heart...

I'm slowly, and I do mean s-l-o-o-o-w-l-y, getting back into a groove around here. You might have noticed the three and a half weeks that have gone by since I last posted. But, take heart, now that walking doesn't cause excruciating pain, I plan to post at least once a week. See, I have to go down stairs to use the computer, and some days, it just doesn't seem worth it to me. I get down here and cruise the net for a few minutes, catch up on some e-mail , stare open mouthed at the huge job that is before me to put the place back into order, and then I head back upstairs to stare at other stuff that needs catching up on. It is not unlike having a newborn baby. I have sleep deprivation, my world is in total disorder, I am struggling to get things back to the way they were before, all the while I know that things may never be the same. But I am forging bravely onward.

I have been keeping up with my knitting, and that pleases me endlessly. I have increased my knitting time, and thus increased my output of finished objects. In fact, I just bound off the pocket to my second pair of Charlie Card Mittens. I am not sure that I am totally happy with the end product, but I sat up for two nights knitting and ripping and cursing like a sailor trying to get that pocket to look not-so-handmade. Today, I said, "What the heck, they are handmade!" and (sort of) let go of my perfectionism. It is funny to me that I am a perfectionist with knitting, and no where else in my life. I look around me and think: Why can't I make all the things in my life look like I do with my knitting? Why do things refuse to line up like stockinette stitches? And the answer occurs to me,: If I spent less time knitting (and reading, and surfing the net, and talking on the phone) I would have more time to make all the rest of my life behave like I used a pattern...

Did I ever show you pictures of the oh-so-cute micro mitts that I made to give for Christmas? I guess not, since I haven't been on this thing in weeks.

I got this pattern from here. I knit up four pairs, two for my neighbor girls, and I gave a pair to my mom and my grandmother. Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of the pairs that I made for them, because they turned out very cute. But the other pairs for my neighbors turned out pretty cute too, although my camera is not cooperating with me at all these days. Every closeup that I take is blurry. It may be time to look around for a new one...

Here is my dear friend Sadie modeling the Invisibility Cloak that I knit from Charmed Knits. I knit it as the pattern was written, but used size six and this beautiful alpaca wool that I picked up at a thrift store for a few dollars. It turned out that two skeins was just enough for the finished product. It is much less airy and delicate than the cashmere one that is in the book, but I like it nonetheless. I didn't block it, because I thought I would leave that up to her. When I went to look at blocking wires, the woman at my LYS told me not to block it. I guess you either love blocking or you hate it. I haven't blocked enough to really decide how I feel about it yet, but in any case, she can choose to leave it, or block it on her own.

But, in case you're curious, here is the swatch that I blocked, and it looked ok to me, although it took the scalloping out of the edges, and I think it looks pretty scalloped.

The snow came down yesterday and I was afraid to bring Jack to school this morning, so he is home and is now begging me to play trains with him, a mother's work is never done...bye for now!