I remembered my password!

My knitting buddies were right. It has been a long time since I posted. Life is good. Kids are good. Joy #2's hair is still growing strong. I'm headed out to Women Walking with God conference in Wichita this weekend. I'll think of something interesting to post about when I get back.

Oh, I lost my knitting mojo. I hope to find it soon...

(Mary don't you dare post a comment!)

2 weeks and 16 rows later

My four rows a week is adding up. Slowly but surely...
Only 2 more weeks left of Snow Creek and then life will be a little more normal. A little more time in the evenings to do the things I enjoy.
It's not all work and no play though. I'm taking the weekend off to hang out with some friends who are coming to town for a visit. I am so looking forward to it!
Joy #2 turns 12 Thursday.

What I can do. What I can't do.

Things are great here. Busy but great. This tax season is different than all the rest. Mostly because I'm working a weird schedule so that I can continue to fulfill my commitment out at Snow Creek. The ski season will be over by March 15th so I only have about a month let of this. Because of the weird schedule and just overall business of work I've come to the conclusion that some things have to fall by the wayside. And honestly they make me pretty sad.

• I can eat, but I can't cook dinner. We've been eating out or fending for ourselves. I miss real food. My mom has brought me lunch and dinner a couple of times and that was great.
• I can only knit about 4 rows a week. This is a total bummer. So no project will really get worked on until after March 15th. I really miss my knitting.
• Housework is out of the question but as a collective we've been able to make sure the laundry is mostly done weekly and the kitchen has gotten cleaned once a week. My house smells like stinky dog but once you're there for awhile you get used to it.
• Homemade V-day gifts were a crazy, unrealistic idea.

Other than having to curb anything domestic related things are swell. Really, I'm living a man's life right now only he would come home to a clean house with dinner on the table. I've only got time for work and for family and that's all I need. I have no guilt whatsoever that my house is dirty. Only a little sadness for not having enough time to enjoy homemaking. And here is the difference from me and many other women out there. They beat themselves up for not getting to it all. I accept the fact that my time is well spent providing for my family and as long as I get to enjoy my kids I could care less if the dog chewed up a styrofoam cup and it's been laying on the landing for 4 days. It's obviously not bothering anyone else or else they would have picked it up right?

Frogging

I do not like the boot socks I'm knitting for Joy #2. I can't remember ever chucking a whole project. However, the time is come to make peace with the fact that I don't like the boot socks. I've knit one and I just don't like it. Maybe it's the wool I'm using (Knit Picks Swish), it's very soft and squishy but is not giving me the kind of fabric I think boot socks should have. So I'm frogging it and now need to find something else.

I still like the idea of socks but I don't know if I can whip a pair out by V-Day. And because I don't stash, I'll have to make them using leftovers of what I do have. I like the idea of homemade V day presents but homemade for boys is hard.

Ah, what to do, what to do.

Finish, Progress, Started

Finish: I've finished a tea scarf for my friend Shay. We had Joy #1's sweet 16 party at her family home. She was such a big help at the party that I wanted to make her something. That and the fact that the Christmas goodies I made her never got to her and we had to eat them before they went stale. :)

Progress: I picked this lovely up again this weekend. I worked on it for hours on Saturday and am now at the back neck decreases. Sadly, this knitting needs focus and I won't get a chance to focus on it again until next weekend. I'm also really hoping it fits!

Started: Boot Socks for Joy #2 for Valentine's Day. I'm using Knit Picks Swish. It's very weird knitting socks in worsted weight. I'm not sure I like it at all. But you can't make boot socks out of fingering weight yarn. Here's hoping I get them done by V-Day!

Hemlock Ring Blanket

Pre-blocking state:

I couldn't resist trying it on as a hat.

Blocking:

Hemlock Ring Blanket : 5.25 skeins of Wool of the Andes Bulky, taupe

The color looks kind of boring in the pictures. It's still plain in real life but not nearly as boring. I really liked knitting this. And somehow I finished it within 2 weeks. I hope it blocks quickly because it's on my bed. I don't really want to sleep on the couch tonight.

Those final 5 rows take forever!

I am so close to finishing the Hemlock Ring Blanket! I've been working on the last 5 rows since Tuesday!

Tuesday, 5 rows from the cast off (which I imagine will take a while with so many stitches) I broke my cable to my needles. Yep! It was exciting. I was sitting on my sons bed watching StarDust with him when it broke. I did my best to not freak out and loose all those stitches. I hollered for a circular needle, any circular needle STAT! Joy #2 ran to my room and brought me one back before things got ugly. Now that I think about it, I'm pretty impressed he knew what a circular was. I didn't drop many stitches but I didn't have anything big enough to use to finish up the knitting.

The next day I was able to borrow a large, cable for my Boyd Knitting set from Sandra and was back on track.

Last night I managed to complete 2.5 whole rows at knit night. Now I've got 2.5 left to knit. It's all straight knitting from here and then the cast off. I hope to finish knitting on Saturday and block on Sunday!

I'm so glad I took the plunge on this one. I think I'm gonna love it! Next up I'm going to make so V-Day Presents for my Joy's. Another pair of socks for Joy #2 and a bag for Joy #1.