Nothing to Post....

I mean literally, nothing.

Haven't knit at all in the last three days, and not much for the week before that. In fact, last week disappeared in about three minutes.

I'm spring cleaning, I'm tired, and I'm grumpy.

Hopefully, I'll have knitting content sometime next week.

North Shore Yarn Crawl

Part I: How to Prepare for a Yarn Crawl

• Save every dollar you can for two months leading up the crawl. Stop buying treats for the kids, look under the couch cushions for quarters, and maniacally clip coupons, pocketing the savings
• Print out Ravelry queue and relevant yarn information
• Analyze map, planning out most efficient route
  
• Assemble queue printout, crawl passport, and map in one place

• 

• Assemble assorted snacks and prizes to hand out to small children who will be dragged to too many stores in one day.

Part II: Go on Crawl

• Hit 5 stores in one day with two small children in tow.
• Bribe children at each store to behave by promising various snacks/treats/lunch*
• Regularly consult queue and budget and compare to stock at various shops.
• Repeatedly remind children not to run through various stores.
• Continually find gorgeous yarn that you love but cannot afford.
• Buy yarn and yarn related items, almost all related to the queue:

Purchases:

• Knitting Lace Triangles, by Evelyn Clark. Purchased at Cranberry Fiber Arts, and an item I was actively looking for on the crawl.
• Louet Euroflax purchased at Loom with a View, designated for a secret project
• Cascade Yarns Luna, purchased at Sit 'n Knit to knit Baby Girl a Tropical Lily
• Little Box of Knitted Gifts purchased at The Village Stitchery (for $2!!!). Impulse purchase.
• 3 skeins of purple Lyndon Hill purchased at Butterfly Knits to make a Fairy Tale Dress for baby girl. I also got the pink tape measure there as a gift with purchase.
• 1 skein of pink Lyndon Hill purchased at Toni Lee's Knitting Nook to make flowers for the Fairy Tale Dress
• 1 skein of Malabrigo lace purchased at Coveted Yarns, impulse buy.

Overall, I'm really pleased with my purchases, and I had a great time checking out all the stores. Now, I'm hoping that I've won one of the great raffle prizes!

Part III: Exhaustion

• Spend two days recovering from fiber overload
  

Part IV: Knit!

*Before you judge me on the bribery thing, cut me some slack. The kids are 4 and 2. One store, I just expect them to behave. 5 stores, one day, it's a little much. Believe me, they were SO good! Well worth the Fruit Loops, Cheez Its, Candy Store stop, and lunch at MacDonald's.

Six

This morning, at 8:18 a.m., Little Girl turned 6 years old.

Her birthdays always affects me the most; I'm sure because she's my first. I still remember being scared on my way to the hospital, and the days it took to sink in that I was really a mother. I remember how strange it felt, to hold this little creature in my arms, who for so long had been a part of me. I feel like she was so patient with me, as I learned how to take care of her.

I wish you could all meet my Little Girl. She's wicked smart. She loves to learn just for learning's sake, and she asks questions all the time, but really well thought out ones. She's very artistic, and loves that, in kindergarten, she gets to paint a little bit every day. Little Girl is attentive to everyone. I never need to tell her to make someone a card for their birthday or a holiday. She naturally thinks of others. She almost always says "please" and "thank you" without being reminded.

Sometimes it's hard to watch her navigate the kindergarten social scene. She's not always sure how to handle it when a friend doesn't want to do what she wants to do, or wants to play with someone else. She takes these things rather personally, and has a hard time recognizing that it's often not about her. Thankfully, she gets over things pretty quickly. She seems to have a definite sense of self, and I pray that this helps her to resist peer pressures as she gets older. For now though, I'm thankful for all the moments I get to share with her.

Bamboo/Silk

Last summer, I bought one skein of Ella Rae Bamboo Silk. I bought it on the day we drove out to Ipswich to eat at The Clam Box (we go once a year. We often go with my parents. It's just one of those things we do in the summer). It's pretty, and soft, and felt like a nice end to vacation yarn buying.

Last week, I finally wound the skein into a ball, and knit this:
The pattern is Fern Lace Cowl. It's a pretty pattern, although this is a perfect example of how much blocking can do for lace. The yarn is also pretty, and all knit up, it looks nice. Until you put it around your neck. And then, it just hangs there, looking like a bunch of red yarn hanging around your neck. There's no body, and no style. The only word to describe it is "whatever".

I knew that bamboo would have a lot of drape. I had several conversations with knitters well acquainted with bamboo, and they all thought a cowl would be a lovely thing to make from the scant 99 yards of yarn that I had. I'm wondering now if I should have done something with a little cable, or just a solid textured stitch, something to give it some body.

What do you think? What would you do with the cowl now? Would you frog it? Or just hide it a drawer? If you had one skein of 99 yards of bamboo/silk, what would you make?

11 and 2

Yesterday was Big Boy's birthday. He turned 11. Today, Baby Girl turned 2. They were dangerously close to sharing a birthday, but we worked it out so they each have their own day. Some thoughts on my children....

Big Boy - never, in a million years, did I think that step-parenting would be oh so challenging. I didn't expect it to be perfect, but I wasn't expecting to become your full-time mom, and I certainly didn't expect the plethora and layers of emotions this would entail. All of this compounded by two personalities that do not exactly.....mesh. Well, it's not picture perfect. But, oh, my Big Boy, I'm so glad to have you. You challenge me every day to be more loving, more compassionate, more easy-going, and just plain, better. I've learned to accept that I will never be everything you want, but I strive each and every day to be what you need. I know I fail often, but I hope you know that I intend to keep trying, and hope to get it right more often than I get it wrong. I'm so proud of you. I'm proud of how hard you try in school, and I'm proud of your improvement this year in hockey (and SO proud that I got to see that game winning goal!) I love that you are so your own person, and it's great to see you developing friendships on your own terms. I love your attention to details, and your efforts to perfect all your referee motions. Most importantly, I love you!

Baby Girl - I can't believe you're already two! You are so independent and opinionated! Despite your lack of words, my little Curious George sound-alike, you are marvelously adept at getting your point across. Your unique combination of persistance, sweetness, tenaciousness, and fearlessness makes you the belle of the playground. I love when you sing with me, especially when you do the motions to "Itsy Bitsy Spider". I love that you cuddle with me in the morning, and give lots of hugs and kisses during the day. Your beautiful face is a constant bright spot in my days, and I am more thankful than you will ever know for these days home with you. It's a whole different world parenting with experience, and I hope the lessons I've learned from the other kids make me a better mom to you. I love you, and I can't wait to watch you take the next steps away from babyhood. You are, thus far, a most interesting and fun individual. I love you.

Knitting content to come......