The New Normal

This past Monday was Knittervention, but, of course, we couldn't actually meet.  The private room wasn't big enough for all of us to sit 6 feet apart, we might accidently have more than 10 people, and (the deciding factor) our pub, 9 Irish Brothers, was closed.  

But you can't keep a group of knitting aficionados down.  We met for community knitting through video conference.  It was a little weird.  We sometimes would talk at the same time.  Long silences were more awkward.  (Why does it always seem like we are counting all the same time?)  But it was nice to talk to someone other than my husband and children.  

I watch the news, and hear the numbers, and I can't help but wonder what I can do to help.  I mean, I don't work in the medical field, and I am still working my normal full time job, caring for my children at home, and dealing with a seemingly perpetually grumpy husband (at least these days), but I still want to do something.  

So I started knitting hats for St. Baldricks.  I didn't get any  done last year.  For that matter, the baby blanket that I did make, I never turned in, so I still have it.   

In moving and unpacking, I found yarn that I didn't remember that I even had.  Some of it is quite nice, so I have decided to use it for charity hats.  I think this ball is enough for two hats, and there are more in the queue.  

Today, is all about wanting to make a difference.  

The Training Has Paid Off

In the course of a week, life as we know it has changed.  Schools are conducting e-learning.  Restaurants and bars have closed.  People are snuggled at home for the immediate future.  My social butterfly friends have been lamenting how they can't go out and have fun.  Me?  I am a knitter.  I have been training for this for decades.  I have years worth of yarn.  Give me my DVD's and internet connection, and I could quarantine for years.

Since the kids are home with me too, I should probably include wine.

In the coming weeks, I should have some great knitting works in progress to show off.

Today it is all about being a new kind of prepper.  

Battle of the Socks

The old sock is  a LITTLE fiddly.  About two rows out of the twelve row pattern.  Not too bad, but enough that it is not really good for briefcase knitting.

So I started a new sock.  Easy, simple, something I can pick up and put down easily.

I hadn't knit, or worn, hand knit socks in a long time.  It may sound stupid, but I didn't have shoes to wear them with.  I had a great pair when I was pregnant, but they eventually wore out, and I never really replaced them.  Then I saw something similar, but pricey, so I put it on my Christmas wish list, and my husband is generally smart enough to buy from the list.

With all the cold weather the past couple months, I was so grateful for the cozy wool socks.  Why did I ever stop wearing them?  I have five pairs of handknit socks, and now I want more.  Hence the two socks in progress.  

Today, it is all about knits for the feet in the winter.  

Third Time Charmed

My third attempt at the Cozy Cowl was indeed the last.  Success!  Hurray for math!  (Shhh, don't tell sister Anna Maria, my freshman algebra teacher.  I would hate to think that she was right about something.)  I am now the proud displayer of a soft and woolie cowl, guaranteed to keep my head warm in the bitterest of Indiana winters.

I was uncharacteristically monogamous to the cowl.  Maybe it was the Indiana that seems to get colder and longer every year.  Maybe it is just where my mind is these days.  So many things going on, so little space in the RAM of my brain to allocate between them.  Knitting seems to get the brain power that is leftover after everything else in my life, limiting the level of difficulty these days.

We are still moving the last of the random things in my mom's basement.  Some  most of the last random items have literally been in her basement for years.  I am finding yarn and projects that I forgot I had.  Some have been the source of new inspiration, some have been more along the  "what was I thinking?" lines.

I am trying to approach the large, neglected stack of WIP's in a positive manner.  I don't want to beat myself up about a single sock that I have been working on for years.  I have decided to take them one at a time.  Pick up and evaluate it.  Do I still like the yarn?  Do I still like the pattern?  Are the yarn and pattern working?  If not, I have given myself permission to frog without guilt.  Give away the yarn, if I don't like it.  Put it back in the stash if I do.

I started with a single pre-heel sock.  I had remembered the pattern as being too fiddly, and opened the bag with trepidation.  To my surprise, I was able to immediately figure out where I was in the pattern repeat, and I did still like the pattern.  I will see if the other rows are too fiddly, but in the meantime, it is in my briefcase for before-court knitting.  One neglected WIP back in progress, way too many more to go.

And, I started something new.

Today, it is all about the new and the old.