Finishing

First things first: thank you so very much for the kind comments and emails. Monday was a very difficult day, as late that afternoon after several tests they determined that my mother-in-law's cancer has progressed to the point where it can no longer be treated. She will be released to full time hospice care just as soon as they can coordinate it- hopefully before the weekend. Her care at the hospital has truly been phenomenal and we are so thankful for their help as we move to the next stage. It is likely that she only has a few weeks left (they are giving us 2 months at the very outside).


Monday and Tuesday we spent 12+ hours with her at the hospital talking with doctors and hospice, and in between all that we waited. She sleeps a lot right now because every conversation take all of her energy.


Waiting apparently leads to a lot of finishing for me.


I bound off the Omelet shawl last night (no word on when it might be blocked) and I also finally got buttons sewn on  my Little Red Cardi. I'm within a couple of rows of finishing my Back-to-School U-Neck Vest as well. I'll share pictures as I have a chance to snap some.


My husband had to go back to work this morning, so the boys and I are also taking the morning to catch up on life a little bit and then I'll head back to the hospital this afternoon and the boys will go hang out with their cousin for awhile.


Thank you again, and I'll be back in this space soon.

Unraveled

I had plans for this month.


This one month vacation from work was meant for spending a lot of time together in the kitchen, swimming every afternoon, reading for as long as we wanted to (because there was nowhere we had to get to on time), and maybe learning a little something new for math.


And I had plans to paint more, to sew and knit without feeling like my creative time was crushed into little pockets of stolen time, to get through closets and collections that have been ignored for the last year in order to simplify by just having less stuff...


But then last week happened and we hit a wall of too many days sitting in a hospital room, trying to walk the halls quietly, little boys being shuffled off to friends and family one too many times.


And even just getting to the every day things seemed like a miracle all week long. Laundry done, cleared kitchen counters, empty trash cans... amazing.


And I found myself overwhelmed all week long by what is happening in that hospital, by what is happening in my home as we show up here pretty much just for a quick meal, a shower and some sleep, by what is happening in my head as I hear that insidious alarm screeching: "This is not in the plans for this week, and now you have so much to catch up on..."


My husband gave me and the boys that gift of "normal time" on Friday afternoon and all day Saturday. (And I did the same for him and the boys on Sunday.) We caught up on the barest necessities of housework (namely clean underwear for all) and then took off to the pool. And even though my brain was pounding with an ever growing list of things that should have been done, I gathered my boys and we talked and cuddled in bed in the middle of the afternoon reading together and watching favorite shows and playing board games and just being silly together. And while we talked and cuddled and built lego towers I did something that just needed to be done:

It was a perfectly fine sweater, no mistakes, no reason that it sat within 2 rows of being finished for over a year except for the fact that I'd knit it before I knew much about fitting a garment to my actual self (not my imagined self) and it was two sizes too big.


I can't explain it really except that I had the overwhelming sense that ripping out that sweater while drinking hot chocolate and reading The Six Wives of Henry VIII would restore some balance to me.


I know. It makes no sense, but it was indeed true.


My husband came home after a long day at the hospital to boys tucked quietly in bed and me on the couch ripping a nearly complete sweater down to two skeins of yarn. He took it all in and said,

"Should I ask what happened here?"

And I told him, "All you need to know is that I feel much better now."

And it is definitely being re-knit.

On Hold

I think we've been home for about 5 seconds in the last 3 days. My mother-in-law was admitted to the hospital again on Monday, but all we knew that day was that it meant she would get the fluids she desperately needed and they would try to better figure out her pain issues.


We did not know that we would spend most of the last 48 hours in her hospital room or in the surgical waiting room. All is as well as it can be for now, but now we wait and see how the procedures from yesterday help in the next 72 hours. Thank goodness for the wonderful kindness of family and friends willing to hang with our kids and show them a great time.


We spent this morning at the hospital decorating the room to make it a little more home-like: hanging drawings from the boys, putting out a few important photos, and adding fresh flowers. She's going to be there for awhile, so we wanted to surround her with reminders of the people that love her and things that make her happy.


The boys and I are having a "normal" afternoon today. A little time to recover the house and the laundry, time to play and run, and a regular home cooked dinner. Maybe we will hope for a quiet weekend too?

Yarn Along

Yarning Along with Ginny (as usual)...

That blob of yellow that looks like nothing much? It's the Omelet- just a few tiny rows shy of completing the lace and then the massive bind off. I can honestly say that I'm not looking forward to it, except that it means I can block it and wear it!


I'm aiming to finish in the next few days so that I can block it over the weekend. Then the lace will open and actually look like something instead of a blob of holey knit fabric.


I'm also knitting along on the Back-To School Vest and have just a bit to finish on the back before I work the neck edging and armholes before calling that one complete too. And the gray Poet's Pullover is in need of just one more 1/4 skein to finish that sleeve. I aim to get to the yarn shop tomorrow so that I might finish that sleeve while we spend time waiting at the hospital this week. I did originally buy enough yarn for the pullover before I started it, but I think some of that wool became socks for my husband while I wasn't thinking clearly about it being "assigned to a project" yarn. PLEASE tell me I'm not the only one who does that sort of thing!


For our reads this week I'm on to Throne of Fire and I'm still reading Charlotte's Web with my boys. We are enjoying it very much and Ezra is especially in love with the goose's speeches.


I did a count of my reads for this year and I'm already at 16 novels. My goal is usually 20, so I think I'll be good to reach it this year. I've been heavily reading YA the last few months but I want to get back to some good historical fiction. I am lacking for titles though!  Thoughts?

Gray

Today is gray.

Today is gray, but it doesn't have to be.

:: 3 pints of salsa made this weekend



:: More painting complete (with more coming today!)

:: Down to the last 1/2 of a sleeve and then seaming on my Poet's Pullover.

{and I'm pretty sure I'm a tad short on yarn, so there may be a quick trip to the yarn shop today!}

:: And the beginnings of a shawl chart...

Changes

We've been living our homeschooling plans for a few weeks, lightly at first and then in the full schedule, and we've made a few adjustments to the original plans. As I explained in that original post I don't feel locked into our lesson plans, but I do need a plan for the quarter to provide a bit of structure for our family.



First up: Successes so far...


Math. We are using Singapore 1 and we both love the set up. It is visually uncluttered, the amount of problems per page are perfect for Ender, and it has great pacing and learning through hands on work before doing the workbook pages has been key for us. One of the big questions I had about choosing a math curriculum was about whether or not we would actually need the teacher's manual- after all, how hard is first grade math?


I have to say- DEFINITELY invest in the teacher's manual. Not because the concepts are difficult, but because it includes so many different ways to incorporate math games into your lessons. There have been just a handful of lessons that we've needed a little more written work and I've improvised some problems on the white board for him to do, but otherwise I'm very happy with this curriculum so far.


Handwriting. LOVE LOVE LOVE Handwriting Without Tears. This is the first time ever Ender hasn't complained about having to write! I required very little writing of him last year and he always disliked it. He is using the Kindergarten book right now and if he keeps up his self-established pace he might make it all the way through the first grade book also this year!


Phonics. We've continued with phonics work in the Victory Drill Book, but Ender's fluency in reading has really taken off in the last 6 weeks so I'm backing off on the phonics for a bit. We'll still use this book for practice if I come across a problem in his reading, but right now he's reading out loud to me for 5-10 minutes every morning and 5-10 minutes for his dad in the evening and doing really well.


Science. This plan has been so delightful that it's been the inspiration for the changes I made to our history program. We've been working with our first quarter theme of ponds and creeks, reading, going outside, narrating about animals and facts that we're learning and it's just been so much fun. I do think we're going to revisit this theme again for a week in the winter and then another few weeks in the spring and summer to really understand the lifecycle and changes.

Ender has been reading from the Christian Liberty Nature Reader 1 for some of his independent reading and we've been using the K reader for narration material.


Fine Arts. Violin practice, art (some structured and some free) and composer study is going well. I so haven't gotten the artist study thing together yet. We may ditch it for this year, but we'll see if I can get that going next quarter.


Now the changes...


Language Arts. I'm refocusing our plans to literature. We were planning some literature yes, but as I thought more about what I wanted our first grade to look like, the more I felt like our plans just weren't as literature-rich as I was looking for. Instead of having "lessons from literature" I wanted to actually read the literature. So we've put the formal grammar learning off a year and instead I've inserted a unit on Fairy Tales, another on Tall Tales and another on Fables. We're also reading longer chapter books aloud together, but I feel like this approach is going to be much more what we're looking for this year.


I was kind of on the fence about including these this year anyway, but because of the above changes I did decide to forgo First Language Lessons and Writing With Ease this year. I like the curriculum and I think we could work through it slowly this year, but after working some with the material I think he'll retain it better next year and we won't have to go so slowly. Instead I'm pulling the beginning principles from WWE and having Ender narrate once a week to me after one of our read-alouds. I write down the narration for him and he illustrates. Mid-year we will likely move to using his one sentence narration as copywork.


History. As I wrote above, our science plans have been such a great match to our family's style of learning that I decided to pick a history topic for each quarter and then to read widely on that topic. After much debate back and forth (between me and my husband) and then finally a post from Jen that was perfectly timed for our discussion, we decided to hold off on the chronological progression a la Well-Trained Mind approach to history until 5th grade.


Right now we're focusing on people and places in history and specifically in areas where Ender is interested. So, yes we've been learning about Egypt this quarter (mainly pyramids) at Ender's request, but we're also going to spend time with a few of the American founders next quarter and on to a tour through the 50 states before taking a quarter to work back through the continents and make sure we remember the main points that we learned last year in addition to some new ones.


I'm keeping the geography section of our social studies in tact, because both Ender and I have been very excited to do that work and read from that book list.

I will likely share booklists as we complete "units" so that I can include only sources that we found useful.

Yarn Along

Yarning Along with Ginny, sharing a current knit and the reads for this week....

First, thank you to the folks who emailed and commented Monday about my mother-in-law. Your prayers and kind thoughts are greatly appreciated right now. We were able to get her home on Saturday and she is set up with a wheelchair, an adjustable bed and now will have home healthcare every day to ease the burden, specifically on my father-in-law.


I know I said I wasn't casting on anything new last week, but with all the hours spent in the car back and forth to the hospital plus the actual time in the hospital I got to points on all my UFOs where I needed to focus- shaping, finishing, lace... and I just couldn't have that along with me during the last week. So I did cast on the Back-to-School U-Neck Vest, another by Stefanie Japel from the book Fitted Knits. This is my third knit from that book and I *love* how clear the directions are. I've made my way through the 2x2 rib and I'll be able to move on from that section tonight.


We're reading Charlotte's Web together right now in addition to quite a collection of books on pond life, superheroes and dinosaurs (totally not in the same book). I am reading Tim Gunn's Guide to Style because I have none. I mean, I know what I like, but that's totally not what I wear because I'm a mom and in my work life I work with kids. I need to be practical but also professional looking without looking like I'm trying too hard.


The thing is that I have a coordination problem- I just can't coordinating off the top of my head unless it's very obvious- all the same color, or black with a color, or white with a color. My "uniform" seems to be jeans and a nice black shirt. And my hair? I'm in ponytail land right now and I really don't want to be. I'm really not looking to be trendy all the time, but I do want to look nice. My goal is to decide what my basic go-to pieces should be and then build from there. I'm willing to make many pieces, but I'm not opposed to buying pieces if they will be backbones of my wardrobe.

I need help, y'all! How do you mix mommy-hood and style?

Valuable Skills for Knitters

When I first started knitting the simple act of completing a row felt like triumph, and for a long while I felt like completing a few rows in a day accomplished a lot of progress... until I heard other knitters talking about how many inches they knit each day. Boy, did I feel slow. And then I took on my first adult-sized project. It was one of the patterns that first drew me to knitting- the famous February Lady Sweater.


I started to work on it and got through 90% of it over a few months- why didn't I finish? Well, I'd made so many mistakes on it that I just couldn't bring myself to complete it. I know now that I'm not the sort of knitter that can make a quick fix and ignore little mistakes, but working on that first sweater that was the advice I was given and it made me never want to work on the sweater again. It sat there with 1 sleeve left to go for a LONG time before I did the right thing and ripped it out. The yarn is washed and waiting in cakes for that sweater to be re-knit (and it will be, because I love it so much!)

I thought I'd share some of the things I learned in knitting that failed sweater that have proven to be incredibly valuable to me in my current knitting.



1. Know who you are and where you're at.


I'm the sort of knitter that would rather rip back and fix mistakes than move on with a quick fix. Call it perfectionism if you like, but it's certainly not the crippling kind. I just don't like to be stared down by mis-knitted sweaters. A friend of mine is quite the opposite. If she discovers that she's off by a stitch at the end of the row she looks back through to make sure she hasn't actually dropped something that's going to pull out and then she'll just quickly add those missing stitches and move on like nothing happened. The thought of ripping and reknitting a few weeks of work makes her ill.


It doesn't matter what type of knitter you are, but take the time to really know and embrace your true identity so that you can move forward taking advantage of your natural strengths. This knowledge is liberating! Even though plenty of knitters speak with bitter anguish about trips to the frog pond I don't feel bad about ripping out because I know I will be happier with the finished product. That doesn't mean that I don't sometimes banish projects to UFO timeout (sometimes it's healthy to take a break from misbehaving knitting) but ultimately I know that I'll never finish that item if there is a glaring mistake and even if I did finish it I would NEVER wear it.



2. Learn to "read" your knitting.


This radically changed my life. Remember those glaring mistakes I told you I made on my FLS? Yeah--- part of it was due to not really knowing the difference between the front and the back. When it was time to divide for the sleeves I did, but then I was confused- which was the front and the back? I threw a flippant "it kind of looks all the same" out there and moved on only to understand later that it DOESN'T look all the same, especially not in the lace repeats...


So what is reading your knitting? It's knowing what each stitch looks like after it's made so that when you look back you can "read" it and know that you did a knit stitch or a k2tog so that you can find your place again. This skill is what allows me to stop in the middle of a row even if I'm knitting lace. I can always read back through my knitting to figure out where I'm at again.


Great pictures of different stitches are available at Techknitting and videos for each stitch are available at knittinghelp.



3. Keep track of your progress.


Keeping track of each project is one of those little admin tasks that many people agree is a good idea but most of those folks never actually do. Have you ever had a project you started and had to set down for some reason- only to come back a few months later totally unsure of where you left off? Um, yeah. That used to be me.


I got tired of that though and started keeping notes. This looks different for everyone, but I mostly mark up the pattern. If it's printed I mark off rows on the pattern or write in the changes I've made to a portion. If the pattern is in a book I generally have a big post it note on the pattern where I mark rows and changes.


I also have a notebook that holds my life (not just knitting) and I frequently jot down a quick note in that notebook about what row I'm on in a project for easy pick up later.


You can also use the notes section of the project pages of ravelry. All you have to do is type up a quick sentence or two about which row you left off on  or how your project is going. I try to put all my notes about changes and pattern likes/dislikes into the notes section by the time I'm finished with a project, because those noted have proven so valuable to me when other knitters include them on their projects!



4. Read your pattern all the way through before you start.


This was my number one mistake in the beginning of knitting bigger projects. I would get part way into a project only to discover that it was FAR more complicated than I was capable of accomplishing at the time, or I would discover some tool or needle size that I didn't yet own.... yes, a lot of patterns come with a list of skills used and a list of supplies needed, but it's super easy to accidentally leave one little thing off that list that makes it difficult for you to complete the project.


Save yourself a little bit of trouble and read ahead.



5. Do projects you love- you won't regret it.


I'm just going to say it- your first project does NOT have to be a scarf! It seems to be a popular first item, but I'm not a scarf person and probably never will be. In three years I have knit precisely one scarf - the lovely Kernel- for a Christmas gift for my mother-in-law last year. I started out knitting nothing and moved on to baby-sized things- they're small so you finish faster and you still run into skills like grafting, seaming, lace, and shaping.

You *can* start with a scarf, but you can also start with a baby blanket or a sweater or a simple shawl. What's important is to choose a project you really love. I don't spend my time knitting things I "should" knit- I only knit projects I really like (or special requests from my boys, because who can resist a request from your kids for something handmade???).

What have you learned in your knitting journey that has been valuable to you and your progress as a knitter?

Quiet

Since last Wednesday we have been to the hospital more times than we'd care to count to help care for Brian's parents. My mother-in-law's cancer is very aggressive and there has been complication after complication in recent weeks.


We've spent the time we've had at home over the last few days staying quiet and trying to string together peace between hospital visits. There has been sleeping in, comfort food, lots of read alouds, and yes- knitting too (alongside keeping up on dishes and laundry- the two never-ending chores!)


We worshipped yesterday at church alongside friends and we praise Him who makes all things new.


I'll be back in this space tomorrow.

Yarn Along

Yarning along with Ginny and sharing a current read as well.

Another excellent picture in my bathroom mirror...

The Textured Tunic, now with buttons! I really love this sweater- it makes me so happy every time I see it. I am going to make an attempt at some better pictures as soon as the sun shows up again. It has been raining much of the time for several days now (and thank goodness for the cooler temperatures that has brought!), plus my photographers have been gone again! They decided yesterday was a great day to stay out til bedtime running around town so I ended up taking my own mirror pictures. Lovely, eh?


I'm still hard at work finishing items from the UFO basket. A pair of mittens is done and the plans for this evening include either finishing up a hat or sewing buttons on my little red cardi as well as knitting a bit on something else- maybe Omelet?


I finished Delirium this week. It is another in the genre of books set in the not-to-distant future where something has dramatically changed the world so that it is similar to our own, but obviously not like ours a la Hunger Games or The Giver. The book is well written and an interesting idea, but there were serious pacing problems. It started far too slowly with world building and by the time it actually developed a good pace and interesting story line it started the decent to the conclusion and the conclusion was completely disatisfying. If it would continue to another book in a series it might be able to be redeemed, but it appears to be a stand alone novel. I've been reading a lot in this genre this year and it seems to me that Delirium is an attempt by the author to hop on the bandwagon of this trend in YA fiction without much of an attempt to hide that fact.


I started Matched by Ally Condie last night and it's already a much better pace and plot. I got about 1/3 of the way though last night which is always a good sign for me- Delirium took me forever to read because I just wasn't compelled to read it.


I hope your current reads are in better shape than mine were last week!

Mama Retreat

Back in June when I turned 30 my husband got me the most awesome present.

A full day and overnight to myself.


A little "Mama Retreat" if you will.

We talked last spring about how much Ezra wanted to go on his first tent camping trip and how much Ender was looking forward to camping again this year for a "just the boys" weekend. But planning and going on the actual trip got lost in the shuffle of life until this weekend.


It was a little last minute, but I helped them get packed and sent off as long as they promised to call and tell me how much fun they were having.

And then they had such a great time that they stayed a second night.

And me?

I spent my time on a two-part knitting mission:

1. Find great buttons for my two recently finished sweaters.

2. Get as far through my UFO basket as possible in 1 weekend.

In the basket:

Poet's Pullover (needs 1 1/2 sleeves)

Ender's Mittens (needs thumbs and 1 cuff)

Ezra's Mittens (in need of thumbs)

Tappan Zee** (need to finish sleeves that I wanted to add)

Ezra's winter hat (needs to be decreased and finished off)

Omelet shawl (most of the last chart)

The basket is a little emptier this morning, and I've declared this a week of Finished Objects. I resisted the urge to cast on something new even with 4 sweaters and several shawls worth of fresh yarn staring at me. That basket is going to get knocked down to zero before anything new gets going.


**Oh, Tappan Zee... I'm seriously considering ripping and re-knitting the whole project. It's a fast knit so time isn't necessarily the concern, but I started knittting it before I knew much about fit (and I'm still learning, but know so much more than I used to!) and it doesn't fit well. It's overall too big, but especially in the shoulders, which makes it look like it's swallowing me... So I'm thinking. If I rip I'll definitely reknit with that yarn and that pattern because both are fabulous- I just made a really poor sizing decision.

Operation Find Buttons was also a success- now to get them sewn on!

Life By the Numbers

In the last 48 hours:

10 music students taught

9 stitch markers dropped while working on the Omelet Shawl (thank goodness for plastic straws!)

8 pounds of peaches ready to be made into jam

7 episodes of Mad Men watched (while spent on #6)

6 hours of re-organizing the school room to get rid of broken toys/mostly filled notebooks/things we no longer use or the boys have outgrown

5 calls to try to fix problems with the fall schedule in the studio

4 loads of laundry washed, folded and put away

3 hours in rehearsal

2 hallways freshly painted

1 finished Little Red Cardi minus buttons

Sewing a Kindle Cover

One of our recent acquisitions for homeschooling is a kindle. There are several books we are planning to use for school this year and in the next few that are available as free or nearly-free e-books. After weighing the cost both ways it was decidedly cheaper and more convenient to go with the kindle.

It doesn't hurt that this will also cut down on our purchase of physical books {you know- the ones we just don't have space for in this little tiny house}. What I needed next was a cover.

As most sewists do I have scrap material from projects and a bit of a fabric stash too. I dug in there and came out with a little bit of an older Alexander Henry lion print that I love along with a little bit of leftover quilt batting and muslin.

You will also need about 12 inches of bias tape to finish the top edge as well as a button and whatever you'd like to use as a button loop. I used about 4 inches of bias tape for my loop because that's what I had on hand at the time.

I cut all three layers to the same size. The kindle is about 7 1/2 inches by 5 inches so I cut my rectangle to 8 3/4 inches by 6 1/4 inches to account for seam allowance.

1. Sew together the muslin layers (or whatever you choose to use for lining.) on 3 sides, leaving one of the 614/" sides open. I used a 1/2 inch seam allowance and then trimmed the edges down. If you use a heavier fabric you can trim the corners down for less bulk, but I didn't have any problem with leaving mine untrimmed.

2. I embelished the outer fabric with beads and embroidery- you can do this step or not, but I like the extra special something it lends.

3. After embellishing the outer fabric I stacked one outer panel on top of one piece of batting and stitched them together around the outer edge. Do the same with the other outer panel and batting.

4. Place the outer panels together with right sides facing and sew them together on the left, right and bottom sides, leaving one of the 6 1/4" sides open like you did with the lining. Trim the bulk from the edges and corners and then turn your little bag right side out. I used a 3/8 inch seam allowance here.

5. Slide the lining inside the bag you just made out of the outer fabric and batting. Line up the seams and top edges (pin if necessary) and then stitch around the top edge. This stitching won't show when you're done- it's just to hold all the layers in place.

6. The next step is to make a loop for the button and to bind the top of your bag. I used a little bit of left over packaged bias tape but you can use anything you like. I cut a length for the loop that would fit around the button I wanted to use plus about 2 inches. Make sure when you place the loop that you place it on the inside of the bag and upside down like shown above, lining it up with where you'd like your button to go on the other side.


Pin the loop in place.

7. Cut another length of bias tape for the top binding with enough extra to be able to fold the raw ends under. pin it in place.

That will make a nice bound edge with that little loop sticking out of one side.

8. Attach your button to the side you'd like it placed on, and your loop should fit right around that button.

Slide your kindle in and admire your beautiful case!

Yarn Along

Knitting along with Ginny this week...

I've been a sweater knitting fool here. My little red cardi is down to needing about 2 hours of TLC to be finished- one more sleeve and I'm done! Then ends to weave in and buttons to hunt down. I'm heading to another LYS this weekend on a serious button quest because last weekend resulted in ZERO buttons for my lovely green textured tunic.


I am fortunate to have 3 "L"YS's. The closest is about 20 minutes from me, then the other two are about 45 minutes from here, but well worth the trip every few months. And of course they are in 3 different directions. I made a trip to the closest one last weekend and didn't find any satisfactory buttons for the project so I'm making the 45 minute trip to the one with the best chance of having great buttons on Saturday. Five buttons for the green tunic and six for the red cardi... and if they don't have a good option I'll head into Joann's and Hobby Lobby close to home.


I didn't include it in my sweater photo, but I just started reading When I Lay My Isaac Down on the kindle. I'm also finishing up Delirium, but it's easier to take the kindle places lately since it also carries many books the boys like too. I made a case for it so that it stays safe in my purse (I'll post the tutorial later this week) so it pretty much goes everywhere with us now.


Next up in knitting is mittens. I'm mostly done with the boys' mittens, but I need to get to my own before long and then on to hats. There are so many mitten patterns I love that I'm having a very hard time narrowing it down.


Do I go with the Fiddlehead Mittens that were one of my first favorites on ravelry? Or how about the 5-1 mitten from the Magnificent Mittens book I love so much? Then there are the Ruba'iyat Mittens that I actually cast on last fall but then ripped out, and many more. Suggestions? Favorite mittens of yours?

August

We've been practically living at the pool the last few weeks in this heat.

Today is supposed to hit 104 without the heat index. I can't imagine how hot it's going to feel with the additional humidity.

We've made and eaten popsicles almost every day for the last several weeks.

I don't see that trend ending any time soon...

Only five more days of work in the studio this month before we take time off

to really enjoy these summer days,

to work our way into the school year with grace,

and to prepare our hearts for the things coming our way this year.

Try New Things (It Won't Kill You)

When it comes to trying new things I'll admit it: my natural reaction is to just say no. I've had to learn to be flexible over the years and to roll with what comes. That's how life is, right? It keeps moving along whether we adapt willingly or get caught up in the flow kicking and screaming. So in the name of making life less stressful I choose to go along with what comes our way. It makes for quieter living and I'm a big fan of that.


The thing is, that natural bent toward saying no to the new leaks into every area of your life, even the places that don't matter as much in the grand scheme of things. After all- since when did messing up a knitting project affect your value as a human being? There's no reason not to be adventurous in knitting and yet it's easy to find yourself congratulating yourself for even learning to knit in the first place. You tell yourself that just knowing the knit stitch is enough because the very thought of trying to learn lace or bobbles or cabling gives you a little panic attack.


And another moment of honesty: while I feel pretty daring in my knitting endeavors, the very thought of steeks makes me want to pass out.


But it's still on my list of things to try some day, probably following Elizabeth Zimmermann's recommendation to lie down afterwards.

It all comes back to my knitting philosophy: 

You can always take it back out if you make a mistake.

If it doesn't work you can just try again.

Pick a Project and Go.

It really is that simple. The key is to pick something you really love- a project that you feel drawn to every single time you see it. One of those projects for me was the February Baby Sweater and I learned a *lot* from it. A little bit of lace, more about sweater structure, button holes- it was a good project with just the right amount of difficulty for where I was at the time.

So how can you find a project that is going to help you gain new skills

without being too difficult for your skill level?

1. Read the directions all the way through.

After you find that pattern that you love, read through everything in the directions- every last little line. Check out the new skills you'll need to learn and take a few minutes to watch videos on youtube or knittinghelp.com to decide if you're ready to attempt those skills.


2. Practice on a swatch.

Not sure if you can do it? Try a swatch. Cast on 32 stitches or so and knit in stockinette for several rows. Then try out the new skill. Try out yarn-overs or bobbles of k2tog- whatever it is that's making you nervous. On a swatch it's okay if your count is off or it doesn't look like anything and it gives you a chance to practice practice practice until you feel comfortable.


3. Know when to quit (and try it again later).

Sometimes you might over-reach and go for something a little too big for where you are right now. That's okay- remember that you can always rip it out and try again. I attempted a lace vest that was waaaaay beyond me about two years ago and I ripped it back several times before giving up completely. It's back on my list for this fall because after a little more beginner lace work and more experience with sweater construction I feel much more confident about working on the project.

How do you feel about trying new things? Nervous? Adventurous?

What have you tried lately that's new to you?