What a Week!

Which Way is UP?

I’ve accomplished precious little knitting this week and I feel like I’m not sure which way is up. This photo was taken from our front porch on Wednesday which was my day off from work but was eaten up with lake association business. Being the president this year is a big job and the busy season is kicking up and we are vacating our office space, too. Lots happening, for sure. And my boss is away for three plus weeks and it’s spring vacation from school so two of my co-workers have also gone out of town, leaving two of us holding the fort … which we can do! It’s just a lot more hours than I’m used to.

I’ve finished the body of my “Patsy’s Traveling Sweater” and am hoping to get one of the sleeves onto some needles today. The sweater is really colorful and fun with multiple colorways of Gina yarn by Plymouth. One of my co-workers wears hers inside out … I’m going to see what mine looks like when I get the sleeves on (and before I knit the collar) to decide whether I’ll wear it on the knit side or the purl side. I may need to reknit the rolled hem on the bottom of the body if I decide to wear it “inside out”. We shall see.

I’ve finished a pair of dishcloths with a Christmas-y theme. I’ve cast on another one to take to my son in New York next week. It’ll be fun to see his face and see if he realizes the reason that I chose this one specific yarn. 🙂

Noro Striped Mitten

I’ve also finished the first part of the Noro Striped Mittens … I’ve finished the outside of both mittens, the striped part. They’re really pretty and they were fun to knit. I loved the way the designer (who reached out to me on Instagram when she saw my post) worked the thumb so that the color was seamless and matched that part of the mitten. Had I knitted in the typical mitten way, the thumb would have probably been a completely different color. But this way, the thumb looks like it belongs on the mittens. Genious!

I’ve been working on socks for my daughter at her request. I’m nearly done with the second sock and just have to go back to the first one to knit the toe. I didn’t know how long her foot was and didn’t want to make the socks too long or too short. Custom-knit socks should be perfect. I’ve got plans to make a couple more pairs for her once I know she likes them. My sock drawer is full so I have to have other victims to knit for because I love knitting socks. I think I need to make a pair for my sister, too. And maybe her husband. I think they’d like that.

We are going a Spring Sweater KAL at work starting on May 1. The caveat is that you must use a fingering weight yarn for the sweater. We posted the details on our newsletter today and had several suggestions that people can knit. We will do a kick-off on May 1st via Zoom so that our customers near and far can join us.

I bought my yarn this week. I bought some navy blue Berroco Aerial (laceweight mohair) and some Malabrigo Sock in a navy colorway. If I weren’t so lazy, I’d tell you what it is but that would mean that I had to get up from my desk and walk all the way (maybe 6 feet) over my knitting chair and look in my bag and come back over here. Sorry, not happening today. I’m writing this post and then I’m going to go sit in my chair and knit a bit before dinner.

I was in the store two extra days this week and it’s always fun to be there. This week, it was a bit different on Thursday because I decided to get a second Covid booster on Wednesday morning. I was tired and achey by Wednesday night and I went to sleep at 8:30pm and woke up at 7:00am and I still felt like I was tired. My arm was also quite sore – and I heard you should choose your dominant arm … not sure I’d do that again. Thursday I was dragging and it wasn’t busy enough to distract me. Phew! I’m glad I made it. By Friday, I was back to myself, fortunately, and I was good to go Friday and Saturday, too.

I’ve been at my desk sending lake association emails, signing DEP documents to commit to our work this season and now I’ve written my post. I hope that if anybody is reading this that you have a great week. I’ll be reminding myself to slow down and breathe and to squeak time for myself in the moments between. All the details of my current and past projects are on my Ravelry project page. I’m lindar on Ravelry.

Gone knitting.

An Easter Story

When I got divorced, my life changed drastically. It was (I was?) all turned upside down and I didn’t realize that it would never be the same. I have been working for the last six (plus) years on building a new iteration of my life. Some parts are very, very different. Some are similar. I work to maintain threads of some traditions that we valued as a family even though the family is not the same. And there are some parts that I am grateful to have given up & thrown away. We’re making new traditions, too. Figuring out how to be a family after a divorce isn’t easy and it takes time and perseverance.

The part of my life that I love the most is my children and this “Easter” (at least the few days leading up to Sunday) I got to spend some time in New York City with all three of my children. There’s nothing like it. And I am so proud (I know I’m repeating myself) of the people they are becoming … productive, self-supporting, happy, and fun to be with. All following their passions and building lives of their own. What a mother wants for her children and yet, also, requiring her to let them go … a mother’s worst heartbreak. A double-edged sword.

But this post isn’t written to make you sad. It’s joyful. I’m so happy to have spent time together in New York. And my little dogs were happy to see their “kids”, too! We also got to meet my son-in-law-to-be’s family for the first time which was a treat. Despite her concerns that someone would start a conversation about religion or politics and that everything would explode, we all got along. We all love this young couple bunches. Enough to be there for them and support them, no matter what.

What I realized this Easter is that I am “rising up” into a new life where I will be happy; filling my life with people I love and following my passions, too. Leaving the world, I hope, a better place. Making a difference in the life of a child. Just as I taught my children to do, I am now encouraging the same bravery in myself.

I didn’t take enough pictures but I have a heart-full of  memories to carry with me. Until the next time we meet!

Gone Knitting.