It's the first day of class - I'm comforting myself by frantically knitting :0

"Happy" Monday, everybody! ;-) Actually, it really isn't a bad day. But it's pretty jam packed, and it's the first day of classes here at the university, so things are all crazy-like. I had my first day of teaching already, I'll talk about that in Tea Time this week. Mike started teaching for the fall semester today as well, and he has six classes to wrangle. So we're easing into the fall before the kids start school next week:

"But I *don't want* to go to school, Mommy!"

Should be fun, yes? :0 I have lots of clothes to buy this week for growing bodies, and school supplies to assemble into either plain blue or Frozen-inspired Elsa and Anna backpacks. We'll get there.

Mike has an 8 am class to teach three days a week, and he can get Henry to school each day, but I'll be delivering Anne to her pre-K. It's all going to be a much more intense morning routine for all of us. And you know, change. Change is hard.

But we'll get used to it. In the meantime, I've been knitting to wile away at my anxiety. I'm on a Christmas Gift List Quest, and am determined to have a good dent in things prior to Halloween. We don't panic around here until after we get past Thanksgiving, but that's a story for another day. ;-) I finished a gift shawl over the weekend:

Pattern is: Color Affection

The colors were chosen by my sister, and I have to say, I really like them together! We'll call it "grellow." :) I also started a pair of mittens for myself, and they're somewhat untraditional:

Pattern is: Fold Down Fingerless Mitts, and it's free!

OK, so there's the colors, right? The yarn is hand dyed by a friend of mine, and I'm afraid of running out, so I used a coordinating gray for the thumb. They match a hat I already knitted up:

Pattern is: Amanda Hat, and is also free!

But do you notice anything else about the mittens? Anything...unusual?

"Are those mittens supposed to not close at the top?"

Mike, ever observant, ever adorable. ;-)

Yep, they're designed to not close at the top. I don't know about you, but I rarely wear mittens (despite the fact that I live in a snowy, very wintry climate, and mittens are warmer) because I exhaust myself taking them on and off, on and off. When I have to drive. When I have to pick something up. When I have to switch podcasts on my phone. When I have to do anything. But with these guys, ta DA!

They *fold down* so that you can access your fingers real easily. They're much longer than fingerless mitts usually are, so they fully cover your fingers when you just want warmth. But I love how easily they fold down when you need to drive or answer a text message. Sublime!

As you can see, I finished mitt #1, and so am hard at work on #2. I'm hoping to finish tonight. I've been a super busy, crafty bee, and have been loving the distraction.

I've also been busy reading the book club book, Near Occasions, so look for a Catholic Book Club post on Wednesday!

How was your weekend, dear reader? Working on any crafts or other fall projects? Do write in and tell me all about it. :)