We are having some snow again today and we had some ice on Thursday. It’s winter in Maine and I have to say that I am a happy girl. I love the winter and I love the snow. I feel like the media has been really good at scaring the pants off of us and now we are told to stay home even at times when the driving isn’t bad. I headed out to work on Thursday after we got a quarter inch of ice and I had no trouble getting out of our driveway or getting to the store … and as my car slipped by the back door (ha! ha!) I decided that I’d park out front where nobody would have such a good opportunity to slip down the hill and into my car. I’m so grateful for my cleat-thingys that keep me upright on ice.

I’ve just finished sewing the perfect buttons on my Nancy’s Vest. It is finished. I wore it to work today buttonless and I love the way it fits. I also love the weight of the yarn and it’s soft and just enough gray and brown all at the same time.

So, now I have two vests … and there are going to be more of them in my future.

I pulled my sleeve out of my Women’s Favorite Genser again. In its first iteration, the sleeve decreases were too far apart and the sleeve would have been too long and the stitch count off for the colorwork before the cuff ribbing. On the second iteration, I realized that the increases were too close together which made the sleeve too narrow too soon. Now on my third try, I’m decreasing “in the middle” of the other two and I think it’s looking good. Cross your fingers.

I’m working on my Cooked Lobstah socks and my Double Thick Hat. They’re both easy patterns that I can nearly knit with my eyes closed. I may have mentioned that I hate myself in hats. The only ones that I wear are saggy baggy hats that fall down over my eyes. I only wear them if I have to go out with wet hair in the winter or if I am spending time outside like when I clean off my car or help shovel. But that’s the long way of saying that even though I am making this hat for me, I may decide that I hate it. AND I hope I don’t hate it but it’s more than possible. BUT I love the yarn! I’m knitting with Juniper Moon Farm’s Herriot Fine. I had two hanks of it in my stash, they were a gift from our KFI salesman at the store. He always sent something for “the girls”. (ha! ha!) Herriot Fine is absolutely gorgeous to work with. It’s soft and comes in lots of pretty colors. I have a blue and a creamy oatmeal color. Not thrilling colors but if I love the hat, I can worry about different colors later.

And the socks are just my “run-of-the-mill” socks using Yankee Knitter’s pattern #29. I love the pattern and have knit so many socks over the years that I practically know the pattern by heart. This crazy colorway that I bought at the Maine Fiber Frolic years (and years) ago. These socks will be a gift, as with the blue striped pair that I just finished.

I have a brand new knitter in my afternoon knitting class and today’s storm kept almost everyone home. It gave me an opportunity to help H. remember how to cast on and how to purl so she can try to make her first pair of mittens. She picked up purling really quickly and I feel pretty good sending her home to practice and I told her that if it doesn’t go well, it’s all good. Consider it an opportunity to practice! It’s a ribbed cuff and it can be frogged and re-knit and I told her that I’m re-knitting a sleeve for the third time.

Knitting offers us the opportunity to get used to making mistakes. I used to get frustrated and annoyed by making mistakes but now I can take them in stride and begin again. Forgiving yourself (and others) is a skill that is learned over time and knitting has helped me be more accepting of myself and my flaws. It’s also taught me to be more flexible and forgiving with others. I’m grateful for my sticks and string for having added so much joy to my life but I am also grateful for the lessons that it’s taught me. Life is good.

Gone knitting.