Christmas in July crafting begins, and preparation for the changes at mass...

Happy July everyone, and I hope that the new month is starting off well for you! Given our current situation, I see the start of a new month as an opportunity for a fresh beginning, and for new hope. It will also herald the return to mass for our family, which I'll circle back to.

Late June/early July always means that I start to think about crafting holiday gifts, and this year is no exception. If anything, being home more amidst the pandemic means that I'm thinking about crafting even more than usual! :-0 My current goal is to finish things that I have in progress so that I can begin working on a gift list. That means the Journey shawl that I've mentioned here a few times. And it is nearly done, save for a few ends to weave in, and blocking!

Pattern is The Journey via Expression Fiber Arts, yarn is the Journey Hues kit in Alpaca Silk DK  

Very pleased with this! I used nearly all of my yarn, so just fyi to make sure you get gauge if you decide to make this. ;-) It's *very* warm, a definite late fall/winter wear in terms of use. But so soft and cuddly to wrap in. As I was binding off, I was marveling at how large it was once it was freed from the needles!

I'm also finishing up a pair of socks for myself, and as soon as I finsh those, I plan to cast on for these:

Custom dyed NFL themed yarn in Pittsburgh Steelers and Buffalo Bills colors for Mike, Henry and my dad. And so the gift knitting will begin!

Thus, we have socks. Those are on the gift list. Also, my mother-in-law asked for a cotton top that I have the yarn for and will cast on soon. I have a cabled cardigan for Mike that is partially complete and has been in my in-progress pile for something like 5 years. 😂 It's just a big undertaking, I tell you! And I'd like to make a few cowls for my grandmother and aunts that see on Christmas eve each year. So that's...3 pairs of socks. 1 top. 1 complicated cardigan. :-0 And 3 cowls. That's mangeable. I think? I'll post updates throughout the summer and fall!

One thing that made me smile this week:

I saw this series of seasonal songbird quilted totes in Anne's monthly issue of Birds & Blooms magazine. Yes, my 9 year old has a print magazine subscription, her mother is a librarian, after all. She and I absolutely love birds. So I went to the Bradford Exchange website and signed up to recive all 4. The first one came this week, and I have to say that I love it, and the quality is high. It's well made and thick, has a zip top and interior pockets, and has a detachable bird house charm. Only problem is that the price I thought was for the entire series of 4, is for a single bag. 😂 I could just keep this one and cancel the subscription for the rest, but to be honest, I think I'm going to keep the subscription. I need more smiles these days, and the size is perfect to tote my kntting and/or work supplies around in. So I can look forward to receiving a new bag every 2 months! The one above is the spring edition, and I'll receive summer in late August. :)

And so the other thing on my mind these days is returning to mass. I'll be honest, I'm trepidatious, because the sheer volume of restrictions and full on prohibition on socializing and interacting while at the church really depresses me. I understand, mostly, it seems to me that a lot of this is common sense, and as adults that have been living through this the past 3.5 months, we could be trusted to do the right thing without quite so much structure, but it is what it is. I did wonder if I should wait a few weeks before going back (the dispensation is in place for the indefinite future) just to give things time to settle in a bit, as I'm sure the first few weeks will be the most awkward with everyone getting used to it. But then I reflected on the fact that I haven't received the sacraments since mid-March, and told myself to stop being so stubborn. :-0 So, as requested by the parish, I emailed in my intention to attend the vigil mass, and we'll see how it goes! I'm sure it will be fine. Jesus is there, after all, and that's all that matters.

*group hug*

And I'm so excited to bust out my new missal!

St. Paul Daily Missal

How are you all doing this early July weekend? We started chatting last week about returning to mass, which I really enjoyed. If anyone has updates about their parish, I'd love to hear about it!

Dancing publicly, but in my living room, and other quarantine adventures...

Hello friends, and TGIF? Maybe? It's so weird anymore, the week days and weekends don't seem as much different from each other as they used to, but we do what we can. I do prefer weekends still because I don't have to chase after the kids to complete their school work, but at the same time, without the structure of having some schoolwork to do, and really no place for them to go right now, it's difficult to keep them entertained for long. We're doing the best we can. We're going to all be home definitely through May 15th here in NY, and I'm expecting news in the next 1-2 weeks about the rest of the school year.

I had mentioned that last weekend I was invited to dance in an online show, which meant that I put on makeup (the first time in what feels like forever) including false eyelashes, pulled on a dance costume, put on ACTUAL JEWELRY, warmed up, moved some furniture, and then danced in my living room for hundreds of people to see. 🤣 It was a bit surreal, to be honest, but I have to say that I *really* enjoyed it! It felt SO GOOD to perform again, and having that performance to prepare for gave me a happy project and a sense of purpose for a solid week leading up to this. It went really well, and I was on a dance high all day on Sunday as a result. Monday left me with up and down emotions again just like every day since this nightmare began, but any little escape is a good thing right now, to my mind. I have another show May 2nd, and I'm sooooo grateful for this!

The other happy distraction I've been indulging in of late is my yarn crafting, and today I thought I'd share this fun little tidbit with you: this weekend is the traditional Local Yarn Shop Day, with lots of yarn shopping and little celebrations, which of course is not taking place in person like usual due to our current global health crisis. So this year it is being hosted online, with yarn shops around the country all sponsoring the beautiful shawl pattern pictured below from casapinka:

There is a list linked in the pattern page I posted above of participating yarn shops, sorted by location. If you purchase a yarn kit to make this shawl from them, they will email you a code to download the pattern for free this weekend. I ended up ordering a kit from Four Purls, a mint combined with a heathered gray called Raindrops, and I'm SO EXCITED. I'm happily awaiting my pattern download code this morning!

So that's what has been happening with me. How about you? Any happy distraction ideas? :-) I'd love to hear from you in the comments!

Lenten Theme of the Week: Steadfastness, and cheese lasagna for meatless Friday...

Happy midish point of Lent everyone, and let's have a group hug for making it this far, yes?

🤗

I'm keeping up with my 2 devotionals, but I'm letting myself take it easy with regards to staying perfectly on a Lenten timetable. Right now, our lives ARE LENT, so I think that simply by remaining steadfast and hanging in there, we're doing just fine right now.

For our part, we've all been trying to stay busy at home, our creativity flowing via online means, and still liking each other by the end of each week. ;-) Mike and I have both been working with the kids on their schoolwork, and also trying to get our own teaching work done from home. It's been a tough balancing act, for sure.

On the upside, I've been finding lots of time for crafting! My in-progress shawl is coming along very nicely, and I'm aiming to finish it to wear on Easter:

Pattern is Find Your Fade

I also received a few new rosary purchases, and am quite in love! First up is our pal St. Patrick, I love the pop of green this time of year!

St. Patrick rosary over at Rosaries by Allison

And the next is a 7 Sorrows Rosary, which is a totally new devotion for me, and it's perfect for Lent! You could also pray this without the specialty rosary, and just keep careful count. :-) This custom rosary though has medals depicting each of the sorrows, very handy!

Created by Rosaries by Allison

The 7 Sorrows of Mary are:

1.) The Prophecy of Simeon
2.) The Flight into Egypt
3.) The Loss of Jesus in the Temple
4.) Mary Meets Jesus on the Way to Calvary
5.) Mary Stands at the Foot of the Cross
6.) Mary Receives the Body of Jesus in her Arms
7.) Jesus is Placed in the Tomb

In our evening time, we've been watching the Lord of the Rings movies as a family. This isn't our first time doing so, but it's been a few years, so we're really sinking into them anew. And Anne didn't remember the stories particularly well, so they're almost like new to her. It's been nice to have an installment to look forward to after a long day of work, and I've been making popcorn for the kids to go along with it. Lord of the Rings has also been inspiring my crafting life:

Journey hues kit from Expression Fiber Arts

Yarn purchases and project planning has been keeping me sane right now. ;-) Also keeping me sane is the vast amount of dance and fitness classes that are available online now! I've been doing at least 1 daily, and it's helping to keep my creative juices flowing, along with meeting some of the items on my dance goals list for 2020! I'm getting to study with dancers that I would ordinarily not have the opportunity with, so I'm taking advantage of everything that I can.

In terms of meal planning, we're still at it:

We've been getting takeout 1-2 times per week from a local restaurant, and that's been another way of cheering ourselves up in the early evenings, along with supporting local businesses that are really suffering financially right now. For our meatless Friday this week, we're making a 3 cheese lasagna similar to this one:

Mike isn't a huge fan of ricotta cheese (believe me, I too cannot image how this could be true :-0) and when he makes this, he subs in swiss cheese. Unconventional, and I was skeptical, but I will say that it is delicious. And it is a perfect dish for a Lenten Friday!

How are you doing, friends? Do you need anything? How are you staying busy at home? Let's cheer each other up in the comments. :)

"Register your goat!" Adventures with sheep and wool...

All! I'm freshly back from a foray over to the infamous (well, if you're a knitter, that is) New York Sheep & Wool Festival in Rhinebeck, NY. I am positively aglow from all of the community love and fiber stimuli, and couldn't wait to share my warm and fuzzy experience with all of you. Do you have your coffee? It's starting to get chilly out, so you really should! ;-)

On Friday, I headed out with my knitting group on the 5 hour journey to the Hudson Valley. I have always wanted to attend this fiber festival; it's within a reasonable driving distance from my home, and it's one of the largest in the country! This year, we had it all planned out, and I worked my teaching schedule around it. I was going. Sheepies, here I come!

I'm a knitter, you all know this. I'm also a crocheter. Animal fiber makes me HAPPY. There's just so many things about it that appeal to me: it's softness. It's coziness. It's potential. The creative possibilities that it holds. The fact that it can keep me and my family warm. The thought of all of the yarn that lie ahead of me was enough to make me squeal with joy on Friday.

We got in, had a lovely dinner, rested up for our big day on Saturday. And what a day it was:

I live in a beautiful area of the country, and I'm so grateful to God for putting me here. Autumn is my absolute FAVORITE time of the year, and down in the Hudson Valley, foliage was even more prominent than here in Western New York.

Crossing over the Hudson River on our way into Rhinebeck Saturday morning

We had a gorgeous ride in, powered up with breakfast, and headed to the Dutchess County Fairgrounds. We were immediately greeted by many, MANY furry creatures:

Angora bunny

Very cute goat

  Alpacas and llamas abounded.

That one on the left was very grumpy and spit at someone :0

And of course, the big attraction was the raw fleece for sale:

And the yarn:

 

SO MUCH YARN. And the thing is, this is not like yarn you get at the craft store. That yarn is perfectly lovely, don't get me wrong, and very practical for many purposes. But this yarn is LUXURIOUS. Hand spun, hand dyed, animal fibers like merino wool, alpaca, cashmere. In other words, one could spend A LOT of money if you are a yarn lover at an event like this. :0

Most of the vendors had handknit items featuring their yarn on display, and thus naturally one could covet said item and desire to procure the yarn to make one herself:

A shawl designed especially for Rhinebeck by Decadent Fiber Arts. I may or may not have bought the kit to make one as well. *halo*

Needle felted corn! I bought a kit to make the pumpkin counterparts :0

There were barns upon barns filled with fiber-bearing animals, yarn, and unspun fiber for sale. I walked around with my friends in wonder, stroking everything in sight. One of the barns held an ongoing animal auction. Every step we took was underscored by an omnipresent:

"BAAAAAAAAA!"

And then there were the handknits. EVERYONE was wearing handknit garments. Quite literally everyone. Handknit shawls, sweaters, cowls, hats, mittens, skirts and ponchos draped every human form. It was like the ultimate fashion show for Nerdy Knitting People.

Strangers would come up, *pet* the fiber that the other person was wearing, and exclaim over each other's scarves:

"Wow! I love the colors you chose for your Fox Paws! Excellent job!"

Walking around, lovingly stroking every bit of wool in sight, I was struck by the warm sense of community. These were my people. Knitters. People who love to make things, both beautiful and practical things, with wool and sticks.  It made my nerdy self tear up. When I was a kid, I never felt like I fit in. I was an owl-eyed wallflower who was too terrified of rejection to talk to anybody. As an adult, it's a good feeling to know that I don't NEED to fit in anymore. I just seek out the people like me. Reserved people who like to knit and belly dance. 😁

I was amongst kindred spirits. And it felt GOOD. I was in my happy place. And I came home with loot!

Fiber to make needle felted pumpkins, fingering weight yarn in tonal reds and golds to make the shawl pictured above, a gorgeous chocolate brown hank of alpaca in Aran weight, and enough ocean blue yarn and fiber to make 3 pairs of mittens with a tiny heart design.

I could have bought so much more. SO MUCH MORE. But I was on a budget, and I stuck to it. It all still feels very decadent and special, and I'm thrilled with what I chose!

I left completely satiated and refreshed. I was inspired, both creatively and emotionally. It was a good, good weekend. And now I'm knitting like crazy to finish up all the projects I have lying around, so that I can cast on my yarn with zero guilt! 😇

Where is your happy place, dear readers? Does it involve sheep the way that mine does? ;-) I'd love to hear all about it!

Who's in the mood for a summer knit-along?!

You all know me by now. Prior traumatizing cast-on experiences, anxiety-inducing episodes brought on by glacial pace, results with faces only a mother could love... none of these things deter your Catholic Librarian when she gets her mind set to a knit-along!

*confetti!*

I LOVE knit-alongs. I love the community spirit, the camaraderie, the feeling of having a timed mission, the support as we work together, the excitement. Love. Everything about it.

And so the Downton Abbey mystery shawl memories are behind me, and I am all Full Steam Ahead on this latest endeavor. Want to join me? :0

Our mission is the Expression Fiber Arts Summer KAL (fancy acronym for knit-along). Expression Fiber Arts is pretty much my weakness when it comes to yarn. I mean it, go look, you'll see what I mean. The inspiration photos for each yarn, showing the color palette in question?

*swoons*

It's magnificent. I love her work. Indeed, I'm working on a project right now with her Resilient Sock yarn in the Appletini colorway:

Pattern is Merridy by Taiga Hilliard Designs

This is a summer lace dress for Anne. All of her colors are limited edition, so things aren't around for very long. She'll have something, and then when it sells out it's gone. Unless she decides to dye another batch of it, which she may or may not do. The thrill of the chase, I tell you. ;-)

So, let's get down to the nitty gritty on the Summer KAL (to access this link, you may need to sign up for a Ravelry account, which is free). It's not a mystery, but the pattern will not be released until June 1st. For now all we know is that it will be a small summer shawl. On June 1st, however, the entire pattern will be released.

We'll all work on it together through June and July, and those who officially sign up and finish their project by August 1st will be entered to win a prize. Which is, of course, free yarn. ;-) Not a knitter? There is also a Summer CAL (crochet-along). I thought about doing both. But then I remembered the Great Downton Abbey Debacle of 2016 and restrained myself. :0 I just signed up for the KAL. Both projects will be small shawls.

You'll need 400-550 yards of sport weight yarn for the project. You can of course use any sport weight you'd like, and likely could substitute fingering weight pretty easily. The official yarn (for which you'll receive 4 extra entries into the prize drawing at the end, if you use it) is Expression Fiber Arts Luster Merino Tencel sport. Naturally, I could not resist, and ordered some. There is a coupon code that is good right now for a few more days (Destiny15) for 15% off all Luster Merino Tencel and Resilient Sock. I used that to procure 2 skeins of the sport weight in a mint green color that has now sold out, called Spearmint. But there are still other lovely options available if you want to take advantage of the code. I also bought a skein of the Boston at Night colorway to knit Mike a cabled hat.

That sound you just heard is that of a happy yarn-aholic whose appetite has been totally satisfied.

I'm really looking forward to working on this. In the meantime, I'm working on other spring projects. The dress pictured above for Anne. A blue silk lace scarf for myself. Going to cast on for some self-striping Fourth of July themed socks for Henry. The knitting life is grand.

Anybody else interested in either the KAL or the CAL? Do write in and let me know!

Crafty Wednesday: It's lacy scarf & shawl season

It's usually a "happy Wednesday!" to you all, but this week is a bit of an exception. ;-) It's a busy day, complete with early reference shift and an English Composition class later in the afternoon, during which I'll be observed by one of my colleagues who wants to get into teaching, so you know - PRESSURE. :0 It'll be good, just not a relaxing day.

I was dwelling this morning as I readied for work on what I wanted to write about today. To be honest, a myriad of ideas popped into my head. Some are more personal, some are more of a religious nature, some are complete humorous fluff (but we all enjoy those, don't we? ;-)). I went with crafts, because I know some of you out there are also crafty and like such updates, and plus I'm still sorting through all of the other stuff I mentioned. It's "heavier," if you will.

Inside Tiffany's Brain: The True Story

Everything else will filter out over time, trust me. So here we are in this first glorious week of Easter, and I've been enjoying preparing for the upcoming summer shawl and scarf season. This is dependent upon your climate, to be sure, but I LOVE all manner of wraps and neck-wear in the spring and summertime. The weather can be unpredictable around here, and when the breeze picks up, I love the touch of warmth these provide. As well, when it's hot outside, but the air conditioning is alive and kickin' on the inside, these are perfect so that you don't freeze your giblets off.

Our first contender is a lacy scarf, crocheted from an absolutely *angelic choir inducing* silk yarn base from the always fabulous Expression Fiber Arts:

Pattern is Panda Silk Spider Lattice Scarf, and is available for free!

Expression Fiber Arts is my new Yarn Kryptonite. I am powerless against her merino and silken wily ways. And the colors!

*swoons!*

This one is from her January yarn club, which had a snow and ice theme, and the colorway is called "Ice Crystal." It positively glows and is absolutely magnificent. After I wound it from a hank up into a ball and began chaining my first row, Mike peered over at it sitting innocently on the table beside me:

"What is that yarn over there? Is it new?"

I froze. Mike says nothing about my yarn stash, because he knows that I use and enjoy it. But the less he knows about how much is actually IN it, the better. :0

"Yes. Why do you ask?"

*paranoid*

"It's so pretty!"

He really said that. This is why I love him so much.

"Oh thanks! Yes, her yarn is really special. The colors are just so saturated and rich."

*I take a sip of my Chardonnay*

"What are you making with it? Socks for me?"

*promptly choke on sip of Chardonnay*

"Sorry darling, no."

It's not possible to love someone THAT much. ;-)

My other ongoing project is also crochet, and it's the infamous Downton Abbey Mystery Crochet-along shawl. I have been zooming right along on it, and am currently on Clue 7. Here's my progress:

Lookin' good in the fall Hayride colorway!

I just have a few rows on the edging left to go in order to finish up both Clues 7 and 8, and I do love the result. The pattern has been a bit of a pain in the tuckus, but I have persevered and I am glad that I did. If any of you are working on this version, feel free to message me if you run into difficulty. I've troubleshot a good number of issues with the pattern. A little bit of swearing was involved, but it's all worked out now, so we're golden. :0

How are your crafty projects going, dear readers? Do write in and let me know! I've also got a bunch of fun stuff swirling around in my little head for summer projects (generally, that is, not just crafts!), and I'll touch upon those on Tea Time tomorrow. Join me!

A few pre-Advent sales not to miss...

Hi all! This is going to be a fairly brief Tuesday post since I'm still catching up at work and I have to leave early to take Henry to the allergist. And then I'm off tomorrow, so I'm queueing up the Catholic Book Club post to be ready, I'm *that* dedicated to keeping my promises on blog content. ;-)

#TypeA

But I wanted to share two sales with you that I have already either done damage at shopped :) or will be shopping this coming weekend. Great gift opportunities as we approach Advent and Christmas season!

My own personal Yarn Unpacker...

If you know anyone who is a knitter or crocheter, Knit Picks is having their biggest sale of the year all this week, through Monday December 1st. I was fanning myself in my office yesterday morning when the sale went live and I grabbed a sweater quantity of a cashmere/merino wool blend for 50% off. And a gorgeous alpaca/merino tweed for a cabled cardigan for Mike. I know it's hard to guesstimate how much yarn someone would need to make something, but 5 skeins of something in worsted weight would be a good amount for a hat and mittens, and 10-15 is generally a sweater quantity. A 100 gram hank of fingering weight yarn will make a gorgeous pair of socks. Just some ideas. ;-)

And of course, any shopping with the Catholic Librarian wouldn't be complete without mention of rosaries...

This is a gift, but I like it so much I want to keep it for myself :0

The absolutely lovely Etsy shop Rosaries by Allison will be having specials all December long, beginning with Small Business Saturday on November 29th. I adore Allison's rosary designs, and frequent her shop for rosaries for myself and others. She will also custom design anything you have in mind! For the coupon codes for the sales, "like" her shop Facebook page and you will see them there as the dates come up. I'm planning on heading over to her shop on Saturday since there are a few rosaries that are simply calling my name, and I'm not telling you which ones, so that I have a hope of them still being there this weekend. ;-)

Happy shopping everyone! I'll chat with you tomorrow for the Book Club!

Adventures in a yarn shop...

Hello dear readers! Very glad to be back with you today. Yesterday was just one of those days, you know? The weekend, as you saw if you follow me on Twitter, left a lot to be desired, and then yesterday went sort of predictably:

Day starts off: Eh. You don't want to be in a bad mood, but you're not exactly optimistic for a stellar day given what you're working with.

Day progresses: A perk of hope. Get lulled into a false sense of security.

Day continues to progress: Hopes unceremoniously squashed.

Work day ends: You are despondent.

You go home: Crapola.

Day ends: You are drinking.

Some days are just like that. Not very often, thankfully. Today, things are decidedly better and I'm feeling perky. And all this despite the fact that it's going to be the warmest day of the year so far here, and my car is guaranteed to resemble an oven by time I get into it to drive home tonight. Huzzah!

But now that I'm feeling back to my old self, I wanted to briefly chronicle my experience last Friday doing something that I have never done before, but will now become a regular part of my summer rotation: a pilgrimage to the local yarn shop.

Given the sheer amount of yarn that I own, you're probably wondering where the heck I got it if I don't go to the yarn store. Well, dear reader, I am an introvert. Introverts shop online. I go "in", I take my time, I carefully browse the offerings and make obsessive compulsive checks on Ravelry for color swatches and reviews, I put stuff in and take stuff out of my cart at a whim, all without anybody talking to me. Isn't it glorious?!

But on Friday, I was having lunch with my knitting group, and we agreed to take a field trip to a local shop that we've all been meaning to try out. We wanted an adventure.

It's a small place, but the minute we stepped into the door, it was as if the very gates of heaven had opened up. Yarn was stacked into cubbies covering every inch of wall and spilling out of baskets on tables and on the floor. A group of women was seated in a cozy nook, knitting and chatting. Knitting and crochet magazines and books filled a bookcase and were tucked into some of the cubbies for inspiration. A swift and ball winder was at the ready up by the register to immediately wind up your purchase so that you could cast on the instant you got home. I nearly died.

We immediately spread out to divide and conquer. I inspected the entire store, but two areas drew me sort of like a dog is drawn to certain spots which are inevitably stinky, but in this case the result wasn't nearly so gross: the sock yarn kiosk and the cotton cubbie.

Fancy sock yarn always does me in. It is inevitably tightly spun into a springy coil and hand dyed in gorgeous saturated colors that self-stripe or self-pattern or self-something-really-cool. There was some Frolicking Feet sock yarn that I could not stay away from, in irresistibly titled colorways like Tiger, Sugar Maple, A Maine Summer Sky, and Cozy Cove. I kept picking the hanks up, and reluctantly putting them back down. At over $20 a hank, I had better have a really special gift in mind, and right now I simply do not need more sock yarn. I have other beautiful hanks at home which are still unknit. So you see, $25 for a skein of yarn does not put me off in the least, no sir. I just have to be able to justify it with a specific project, and right now I can't. Blast.

So I moved on to the cotton area.I don't really need any cotton right now either, but it's the summer and a girl could always use a new dress scarf, right? Cotton is the perfect fiber for summer, and I do adore seasonal projects. As soon as I got over there, I honed in on a gorgeous skein of Cascade Ultra Pima. Pima cotton looks like silk, and the shine makes the colors simply glow. This one in particular I couldn't stay away from:

In person, it looks like a deep turquoise, and I was smitten. In the fall and winter, I'm all about oranges, reds and greens, but in the spring and summer I can't stay away from blues. There's just something about that color in the summer that I adore, reminds me of a cozy seaside village.

I held it several times, like a new baby. There was only 1 skein in stock in that colorway, so the only possible use for it would be a scarf unless I ordered more. Which I really didn't want to do. I looked at the other colors, which were also beautiful, but none spoke to me the way this skein did. Unhappily, I put it back, thinking of the large containers I have at home filled with yarn. And the yarn that won't fit in the containers that I snuck into the guest room closet. And the yarn that I have tucked into a filing cabinet at work. Oops.

Eventually, everyone else was checking out and having their yarn wound and I was mentally patting myself on the back for my self control when suddenly I was at the register and that skein of turquoise yarn was on my elbow. How did that happen?! I swear it jumped on there of its own volition, and since it was only $10, I didn't want to hurt it's feelings by not taking it home. That wouldn't have been very nice, now would it?

So I bought it, and had it wound, and threw caution to the wind and cast on that very night for a seafoam stitch scarf. LOVING. I will post a photo when it's done and in its beloved home draped around my neck.

I've been doing lots of knitting and crocheting lately, seasonal items, and it's been soothing me greatly. What have you all been up to so far this month? Comments, please!

:)

Adventures in knitting lace...

So, I'm making this cardigan for Anne, which I have a strong sense of foreboding will be *very ill fated*, but I'm trying to ignore that right now, and the pattern is for a heart lace. Anne loves hearts, so I was really excited about making this cardigan for her.

It's for a newborn, but the designer notes that a knitter could size it up for a toddler by using heavier yarn and larger needles. Done.

Well, I'm trying to be a very good girl (*halo*) and use the yarn that I already own in my stash rather than ordering more, but I really wanted the cardigan to be either pink or purple, just given the heart theme. And unfortunately, I didn't have any girly-hued yarn in my stash in the necessary weight  AND in the needed quantity. I needed worsted weight pink, but I *did* have some sport weight pink acrylic that fit the bill. I figured I could double the yarn up and it would equal a worsted weight. No problem.

 Well. Right away, I could see that the fabric was coming out a lot thicker than I expected. It's a top down sweater, and even in the garter stitch yoke the *thickness* was really coming through. Instead of a worsted weight, I was getting more of a bulky weight gauge and texture. I wasn't crazy about that, but did the Catholic Librarian *listen* to the angel on her shoulder? SHE DID NOT. (Please refer back to the post about the red velvet cupcakes a few weeks ago for a further example of how I never learn my lesson.)

I pressed on. Stranding the yarn doubled resulted in lots of annoying yanking from the skein, but I ignored that too, happily awaiting the coming lace pattern.

Aforementioned lace pattern arrives. I begin to knit. It quickly becomes clear that (a) the doubled yarn is making the lace far too bulky to be attractive, and (b) the cardigan will be far too large to fit Anne.

*long suffering sigh*

After consultation with my fabulous knitting group, I decide to rip the cardigan back and knit it with a single strand of the existing sport weight pink acrylic. It appears to be a generously-portioned sport weight, resembling a worsted weight upon close inspection. I re-size my needles down accordingly.

The actual ripping back, gentle reader, was not a pretty sight. It resulted in twin piles of angry yarn tangles in my lap that I fought with and swore at. I TOLD it that if it didn't behave I was going to get the scissors, but DID IT LISTEN?! It did not. The scissors came out with a vengeance. Mangled yarn was thrown triumphantly into the trash can. Now I'm worried that I won't have enough yarn to knit the entire sweater, but was that important in that moment? Decidedly not. THAT'LL FIX YA.

I re-started. The yoke flew by, and the texture is SO much better. I was a little worried at first that now it was going to be too *small* to fit Anne, but a quick fitting with a squirmy Anne eased my fears. It looks like it will fit. Now onto the lace.

Ok, now see? I *wanted* to use stitch markers. (If this sentence isn't an ominous sign in knitting, I don't know what is). But the pattern has one row that is different from the rest, and so any placed stitch markers between section repeats had to be volleyed every time I came to that row and it was making me crazy. I was more comfortable with the pattern by that point and so I took them out. I could see the hearts forming and figured that if I made a mistake, it would become apparent right away and I could fix it. The sleeve separation was a bit dicey, but after quite a bit of research on Ravelry, things went swimmingly.

Everything was fine UNTIL last night. Here, dear reader, is where you can learn a lesson from someone else's mistake. What should you NEVER combine with knitting lace? Spotlight, please:

(1) Watching the latest episode of Mad Men with your husband, and

(2) Drinking 2 glasses of Chardonnay.

I was being careful, but don't we all feel OH, SO CAREFUL! when we're tipsy? Admit it, we do. Next thing you knew, my stitch count was off and I had deformed hearts taking up residence on Anne's sweater. What is a girl to do? The possibilities, in my very Chardonnay-influenced state of mind:

(1) Throw the entire sweater into the garbage, including every last bit of that *freaking* pink yarn. By this point, I'm sick to death of the thing, and I've barely gotten past the sleeve separation. Maybe this is just one of those "bad projects" that has offended the knitting karma and I should just release myself from it's painful oppression. This was at the top of my list last night.

(2) Pull the needles out, rip the pattern back several rows, and attempt to re-insert the needles back at a point where the pattern is still correct. This my friends, is what we call, The Crocheters Mistake. Long before I was a knitter, I was a crocheter, and ripping back in crochet is SO, so simple. Rip your little heart out, get back to troublesome spot, fix said spot, crochet on. In knitting? Not so much. Especially with lace where you have all of these deliberated-inserted holes called yarn overs. Picking those back up with your needles? Next to impossible. People that knit a lot of lace insert something called a "lifeline" in their work for a reason. It's a strand that you knit in a a point where you know the patterning is correct. If you make a mistake further up, you can always rip back to the lifeline and pick the stitches up. Did I have a lifeline, you ask? Of course not. Ripping the lace back without one is pretty much project suicide. I considered it anyway.

"Sweetie, don't you think maybe you should just put it down for the night?" asks my reasonable husband, who has seen me in his predicament many a time before.

"NO!" Because I'm very unreasonable when I get into these predicaments.

Thankfully, after some further soothing, I *did* put the sweater away for the night, and in the morning solution (3) dawned as very doable,

(3) Un-knit the last 4-5 rows to remove the deformed hearts, and then continue on with the sweater. This isn't a quick solution, but it WILL fix the problem and it means that I can salvage all of the good hearts that were born prior to last night. It'll probably take me 1-2 evenings to undo the bad lace, but I know I'll be happy that I did in the end.

*sigh*

At least all is not lost in that I do still manage to sometimes produce salvageable finished objects. :) This is the result of Lion Brand's spring KAL for the Tranquil Tank Top:

And I made this shawlette for a friend's birthday who loves blue:

I crocheted my grandmother some kitchen towels (one of my favorite free patterns ever) and a soap sock:

Never a dull moment in the crafting life...

Still sick, but having a happy Advent

Whatever it is that I have is lingering on and on. Anne seems to be on the mend, but now Henry is saying that his throat hurts a bit and he definitely sounds stuffy. These are my exact symptoms. And he and I were already sick about a week and a half ago!

*sniffles daintily*

At least Anne slept last night, which meant that I got to sleep. Not getting enough sleep certainly makes things a lot worse when one is sick. She's still in a pretty saucy mood, but things were a bit easier this morning.

Meanwhile, I've been knitting. I'm finishing up a gift for my sister, and I'm going to make my dad a hat next. He's a fisherman and needs lots of heavy wool for warmth since he fishes in the winter. I also have 2 sweaters on the needles, and I think I've come to the conclusion that the red tweed sweater I was trying to finish for Christmas day simply isn't going to be done by then.

*moment of silence*

I mean, I knew the chances of that were likely. I just bought a dress at Kohl's (they're having a sale :)) that I can wear instead. It's the sleeves I tell you, the SLEEVES! Long sleeves get me every time. I'll be whipping through the body and then I get to the sleeves and BAM! Sweater sits for the next 6-12 months. I get so bored knitting sleeves. We'll get there.

I also have plans in the new year for the Jimmy Beans Downton Abbey KAL, Karrie's memorial Lady Edith shawl that I mentioned yesterday, and an after-Christmas exchange gift with my beloved friend Karen. I'm plotting that one out right now, and I'm all giddy with new pattern ideas. And I'll finish the 2 sweaters. I promise.

Eventually.

I've also been an excellent girl and using stash yarn.

*halo*

Because I really do have plenty of yarn, 2 storage bins full. The only short term purchase plans I have are for things that truly don't exist in my stash. Our tree skirt is looking bedraggled, and I'd like to knit us a new one for next Christmas. I found a gorgeous pattern, but obviously I do not have a boatload of red and green worsted weight yarn in my stash. I'd also like to knit a warm blanket for our couch. I do have a few afghans that I've crocheted, but a crocheted fabric lets in a lot more chilly air. :) I'm hoping for some Knit Picks gift cards for Christmas *angelic smile* and maybe I can get yarn for these 2 projects sometime in January or February.

In other news, last night I finished Jan Karon's Shepherd's Abiding. So good! When the book reaches its climax at the end, I always cry. Now I'm contemplating whether or not I should download the pope's infancy narrative book or not, still haven't pulled the trigger on that. But I'm still reading several Christmas-themed Love Inspired books on my Kindle, so those are making me happy. If you haven't read any Harlequin's Love Inspired line, I encourage you to do so if you like romance books. The regular Love Inspired's are contemporary fiction, but they also have a historical line and a suspense line, which is my favorite. These are very sweet Christian romances, and if you have a Kindle, on Amazon they are super cheap. Once they are published on the first of every month, the price drops to either $2.99 or $3.82 per book. If your ereader can work with epub format books, you can download them right from Harlequin a month early. Those of us with Kindles are not so lucky. :) But it's all good. I love them.

Anyway, my Christmas party with my fabulous knitting group is tomorrow and I'm taking the day off to drink, knit and be merry (and hoping that I feel better by then!). I will post pictures of the gift I knitted for our exchange on Monday, and trust me, it's SMASHING. I want it for myself, actually.

A tribute

I made it through the night, but barely. The Christmas concert was smashing, actually. It was shorter than last year, and it was quite lovely. I liked all the songs that they chose. Hank looked adorable in his red Christmas sweater, and his class sang "When Will the Little King Come?". And we concluded with a prayer. I love that he goes to Catholic school.

The overnight with Anne was TOUGH. I don't even want to write anymore about it, it was that miserable. It didn't help that I was also not feeling good. I'm just glad that it's morning, I made it, and Anne is not listed for adoption this morning. I'm still not feeling 100%, but it doesn't help that I haven't gotten enough sleep in about 2 years. I may leave work early today.

At any rate, I was on the reference desk this morning, and since I had no business whatsoever, I went on Ravelry to try and find a pattern to make my dad a hat for Christmas. After I was done, I checked in quickly with the forums. For some reason, today I got the urge to scroll down to the boards I don't check in on as frequently. One of them is "Friends of KnitPurlGurl."

KnitPurlGurl (not Abi of the self-patterning yarn fame on etsy, who also goes by knitpurlgurl) is a woman named Karrie whose blog and podcast I have followed for a long time. She's a knitter and designer, a very sweet and interesting person. She moved to a video podcast a year or so ago, and then I couldn't listen anymore since I have an older iPod Nano version that doesn't support video. But she had a board on Ravelry that I belonged to, and in November 2011 I participated in a knit-along/giveaway that she sponsored, and I won! I received a skein of yarn from Storied Yarns on etsy. I never met her in person, but she was a person that I followed online that I felt that I knew.

Anyway, so this morning. I scrolled down to her Ravelry board and I see a post entitled "Sad News." I click on it. Karrie passed away. :( She was 38! There aren't a lot of details, but she apparently had a seizure. She has a husband and 2 small children.

I couldn't believe it, I thought at first that the woman in the post must be referring to someone else! Karrie had written a blog post just 6 days prior to her death. Her and her family had recently relocated from the Pittsburgh area to Vermont, and she was so happy there. Her son has autism, and she said that the school district they were now in was unbelievably wonderful in setting up services that he needed. She loved her new knitting community and just sounded extremely content.

I feel just awful. I saw on her Ravelry board that some of her friends set up a memorial knit-along, and I'm going to take part. I have that yarn that I won via her, and she has several shawls that she designed which call for fingering weight yarn. I think I'm going to knit her shawl design called "The Lady Edith," another Downton Abbey inspired design. It'll make me think of Karrie when I knit it and wear it.

I'm anxious to cast on for this, I'm just finishing up a few Christmas gifts. It made me think about the fact that life is short, so very short. And we never know what day will be our last. Life is never something to be taken for granted.

Karrie shared the ups and downs of her life with her readers and listeners, and I feel privileged to have felt a part of it with her. I know that she was a devout Lutheran, and I ask you all to pray for her and her family. That would mean a lot to her, I'm certain. :)

Excitement with yarn

As I've mentioned several times on this blog, I love Knit Picks for my knitting and crochet supplies. I have multiple sets of interchangeable knitting needle tips and cables from them, I bought their new wood crochet hooks (and love them!), and I buy most of my yarn from them. They have lots of selection of workhorse natural fibers (wool, alpaca, cotton), and some luxury blends to indulge in on occasion, for very reasonable prices. I know that I get more for my money with them than if I shopped in other places. When I need yarn or needles (which seems to be at least once every other month), I turn to Knit Picks. They have very friendly customer service, and our relationship is quite loving. I participate in the Knit Picks Lovers board on Ravelry. I recommend them to others. I'm rather wedded to them.

However, I have a hidden yarn secret: somewhat regularly, I have an illicit affair with Jimmy Beans Wool.

Jimmy's yarn is pricier than Knit Picks, but I was drawn to him because of a discounted Namaste knitting bag he had in stock. I bought the bag, and found that every purchase you make with Jimmy Beans gets you 5% back in store credit that you can use during the next quarter. And their customer service? Out of this world. I mean, SAINTS can't be as nice as these people, and their shipping speed is verging on the very wings of angels. Then I saw that they had that London 2012 colorway in their Lorna's Laces sock yarn and I ordered a skein, to commemorate my first successful Ravellenic Games.  Yes, it costs twice as much as I normally pay for yarn, but everybody deserves a little splurge sometimes. Suddenly, I had a little stockpile of store credit and a free shipping code to use from October until the end of December.

And oh, oh Jimmy. Seducing me with your limited edition colorways every month in the Lorna's Laces yarn, that is most unkind of you. I felt like I was sneaking around every month checking on the new color to see if I liked it. Several were pretty, but I wasn't tempted. Until last Friday.

I'm innocently scrolling through my Facebook newsfeed. Suddenly, via my friendship with Jimmy's Lorna's Laces limited edition fan club, I see December's colorway. It's called "Christmas at Downton."

*keyboard activity ceases*

*brain function comes to a screeching halt*

CHRISTMAS AT DOWNTON?! I *LOVE* Downton Abbey!!! It's one of Mike's and my absolute favorite shows. And the third season begins airing in the U.S. right around our anniversary in January.*heart*

It was meant to be. I considered the sock yarn, but let's be honest. I already own A LOT of sock yarn that still needs to be knitted up into warm and comfy socks. I looked through some patterns on Ravelry and justified a skein of the worsted weight so that I can make a hooded cowl for myself. Doesn't that sound cozy for a winter project? And with my store credit and the free shipping, it was only $16. I mean, it would have been a sin to not get the yarn and let that credit go to waste.

So I ordered the worsted on Friday. And Jimmy, with his wonderful speedy shipping, had my yarn on my doorstep by Monday afternoon (and it was coming from Reno, NV!). Didn't I tell you that he is wonderful?

The colorway is *beautiful*. Pleased as punch, I tucked my new yarn into my stash to pick up again after I finish Christmas knitting.

And then came yesterday. I'm innocently (ah hem) looking for a pattern on Ravelry when I notice on the "Hot Right Now" list the following:

"Downton Abbey Mystery KAL (knit-along) with Jimmy Beans Wool."

*eyes widen*

How could I not click on that? I click on it.

Starting on January 6th, Downton's premiere date, Jimmy is hosting a mystery knit-along in which participants will receive a clue each week and knit a project together, the final product of which is a mystery until the very end. The recommended yarn is of course some of the "Christmas in Downton" colorway in a sport weight.

A mystery KAL?

*Hallelujah chorus*

I DREAM (quite literally) of good knit-alongs. I MUST DO THIS. My dignity as a knitter requires that I take part in this blessed event. There's just 1 problem.

I have no sport weight yarn.

Well, ok, that's not *completely* true. I have a few skeins of sport weight yarn, but they are ear marked for other projects. It's not like worsted weight, or sock yarn, which I have an abundance of in my (very reasonably sized, that's my story and I'm sticking to it) stash.

What to do, what to do...

Somehow, it was all a blur I can't remember the details, the "Christmas in Downton" Sportmate yarn that the KAL mentions jumped into my cart. I swear I don't know how it happened. 1 skein is $24.50.

*cringes*

But you see, Jimmy, with his smooth talking ways, was already working on me. You only need 1 skein to make the mystery item, he whispers in my ear, and if you can get free shipping...

I'm on the email list to my knitting group in seconds. Anybody want to take part in the Mystery KAL, I ask? There's a brief silence, and then a flurry of happy responses. Anybody want to order the yarn?

There was some negotiation involving consideration of existing stash yarn, but Jimmy worked his wiles with them as well. Next thing you knew, everybody was in for a skein of Sportmate and together we had free shipping.

The yarn is actually out of stock, but is on order. Jimmy wrote right back to me to tell me he was sorry that he didn't have the yarn ready to ship out immediately, but that it would arrive in 1-2 weeks. He thanked me for my patience. We sent Jimmy a kiss.

It will arrive in plenty of time for the KAL, and meanwhile excitement is building in my knitting group.

This is the most fabulous development in my knitting life since the Ravellenic Games. I AM RIDICULOUSLY EXCITED. So expect lots of Downton Abbey and knit-along talk this January and February. I'm just lettin' you know now. I'll keep you posted every step of the way.

Karen, want to join us? *evil smile*

Brief Friday update

Well, the ghosts are still misbehaving, but they're being allowed to live. I pulled back a bit and re-started the patterning section on larger needles. Now, the ghosts are appearing just fine and they even seem to be smiling, trying to appease me, BUT, the socks are coming out too big for my foot. :(

However, the solution is simple. It DOES involve me ripping back again, but these things knit up so quick I'm not too broken up by it. I have a needle size that is in between the two I just tried and that *should* make my gauge just right. I've never worked with yarn like this before, and I'm realizing that it's quite tricky to keep your tension such that the patterning works out the way it should PLUS the sizing stays such that the sock will fit you. I have developed an obsessive love for the ghosts, so I'm persevering. No photo for today, but if they cooperate this weekend I'll photograph them then.

In my Year of Faith quest, I've downloaded a few books to read to my Kindle and I'll post about that next week. I'm still brainstorming on other ideas, but in the mean time I'm just keeping up with my prayer life, I figure the answers will come.

I have dance tonight, which I'm looking forward to. We're preparing for a hafla November 10th, and have lots of choreography work to do. I've been listening to lots of music, trying to decide on a solo piece. The beauty of improvisation is that I feel no rush to pick anything. I would like it selected at least a week ahead of time so that I can listen to it and become familiar with it, but other than that, there's no specific preparation required. I can't believe I waited so long to move to improv, it's so wonderful and freeing.

A good weekend ahead. I'm hoping to have a knitting update by Monday. :)

Are these ghosts out to get me?

Last night I cast on for my self-patterning ghostie socks (yarn available through KnitPurlGurl on etsy).

*squeals*

I've been SO excited for these socks, and I knit so often for others that I felt I deserved to just indulge and knit something that I really wanted to knit, and knit it for ME, ALL FOR ME.

*Henry happens by the ghostie kit on my side table*

"Oh! Ghosts will be on these socks? Mommy, are you making these for m..."

"NO! They're um, just for Mommy, Sweetie. I'll make you other socks."

"But..."

"Sorry! No ghosts for you."

After Henry was safely tucked away from my yarn in bed, I got out my swift and ball winder and wound the patterning hank of yarn.

I was quite pleased with myself.

Then I got out the pattern.

You need to start the patterning section with a green stripe and I quickly discovered that the first stripe I came to in my ball was orange.

S*%!

It was wound backwards. And I really wanted to pull from the center of the ball, rather than the outside. This meant rewinding the yarn, by hand, back onto the swift in the reverse order, and then winding a fresh ball on the winder.

20 minutes later my back was killing me, but I had my yarn perfectly balled. I happily cast on with the bright orange yarn for the ribbed section of the cuff.

Today at knitting lunch, I picked my cuff back up with much excitement. The colors are just vibrant and beautiful in this yarn. I finished off the orange part and triumphantly cut the yarn to attach the patterning section. I begin to knit.

Once again, I pick that moment to remember to look at the pattern. Prior to the ghosts are 3 stripes of color: green, black and orange. The pattern says that you should get about 2 rows of each color and that means that your gauge is on.

Don't you just love that word: "About."

I knit my green stripe. I begin black prior to getting 2 full rows in, but it's only *about* 2 rows, so we're all good.

I look at the pattern again. Uh oh. "...about 2 rows, give or take a stitch or two."

Crap. I should have read that sooner. I have a lot fewer than 2 stitches where the color turned over to black too soon. Never one to learn a lesson in a real quick-like fashion, I knit on.

I knit the black stripe. Somehow, that one is far too long before I get to the orange. Aaaannnddd once again, the orange is too long before I get to the ghosts. I pray that somehow the ghosts will still match up and knit on. Hope springs eternal, you know.

Right. They don't.

There are eyes everywhere and white body pieces where there shouldn't be any. I'm pretty sure that even ghosts aren't supposed to be quite this disembodied.

Sigh. I pulled back to the orange cuff and have the stitches safely ensconced on stitch holders. I need to change needle sizes. I hoping that on my next attempt the ghosts cooperate, otherwise their lives are about to get a lot more difficult. I do NOT like to rip back my work, and one of them may be sacrificed if things go awry again.

I'm certain their little white bodies are trembling.

If things go well tonight, perhaps I will post a picture of them in progress tomorrow. *narrows eyes in the direction of yarn bag*

I'm sure you will all be relieved to know....

...that my new dance shoes are out for delivery. :)

*snort*

I love the ability to track packages, I'm a bit neurotic about it. As for why I need new dance shoes, there's a very exciting story that I'll post on Monday. :) I'm sure you're just dying of anticipation.

In other exciting news, my self-patterning snowman sock yarn kit finally shipped! I ordered it back in mid-August, and it was a pre-order, so I knew it would take some time. She said about a month. It's been over a month (not that I'm counting) and I was getting very squirmy about the whole thing. Well happily, my snowmen are on their way from Colorado Springs to me as I type. I'm *dying* to get started on these. Will definitely report back in about this project.

Currently on my needles I have a winter wool cardigan for Anne, and the pair of fall colored anklets that are the replacement for my doomed falling leaves socks. I'm going to get as much done on both of them as I can over the weekend so that I can dive into new projects. It's all very thrilling.

Roller coasters and autumn activities

Another non-blogging day for me yesterday, sorry. :) Mike and I took Henry to a local amusement park, which we had promised to do before school starts in a few weeks. Mike starts teaching again next week, so now was the time. It was great in that the weather was cooler and the park was less crowded. The only bad thing was that August heralds the beginning of my allergy season, and I was MISERABLE yesterday. I must have sneezed at least 100 times, plus my eyes were watery and itchy and I felt stuffy and pathetic. Sounds like I was a lot of fun to be around, huh?

But I fared ok. Truth be told, I don't enjoy amusement park rides the way I used to when I was younger. Has this happened to anybody else? I used to love every and all roller coasters. As an adult, I'm so much more fearful. I think it's because as a child I felt invincible, whereas as an adult I recognize my own mortality much more keenly. My babies need me, and I don't want to leave them. I think this is probably very common, but mine has really translated into a much less enjoyable experience at amusement parks. Sigh.

Anyway, we're planning in earnest for Mike's return to teaching and Henry's return to school. I've also commenced my Christmas knitting list and am ankle deep in fall sock knitting. Shelia asked me in the comments area about the self-patterning yarn that I mentioned ordering last week. Behold, the magnificence that is the ghost yarn:

She asked if you have to knit them a specific way in order for the ghosts to work their magic. And the answer is yes. You need to knit the socks at a specific gauge (x number of stitches per inch) in order for the yarn to align properly. I haven't received my yarn yet (could be awhile since she has a waiting list) but I'm assured that the seller includes instructions on proper gauge for each pattern. If you do not get the appropriate number of stitches per inch with the recommended needle size, you'll need to change sizes until your gauge is right. Otherwise I'd speculate that your ghosts will look disembodied, and that wouldn't be a good look for them. Even if they *are* ghosts.

I'm absolutely dying for my custom listing to materialize, so excited. But it's not like I don't have other yarn and other projects to work on in the mean time.

*unladylike snort*

On a different note, but still related to my excitement for fall, Michelle at Liturgical Time has a wonderful post up about getting your Advent candles ready for the season nice and early. I enjoyed her post very much because Advent candles are also on my mind of late. :) I ordered a new Advent wreath for this year, along with accompanying candles from Christian Book Distributors. I've had a very pretty Advent wreath for a few years that I bought at a local Christian store, but I had a hard time getting the candles to stay in the cups and my attempts to finesse the cup holder thingies resulted in a near puncture wound as well as me breaking the cups. Hence, I knew I needed a new one, and now is the perfect time to look, since there's plenty of time to shop and have the wreath here before Advent. Unfortunately, the wreath that I chose is back ordered, and I'm feeling ridiculously anxious about it. Right now the ship date is next week, but that date has already been pushed back a few times.

Gotta make sure it's here before December, lol. :)

Busy weekend, and preparing for fall

You know I'm busy if I don't post on a weekday. Friday was like that. Things are definitely gearing up both at work and at home for the start of a new school year.

We were out getting Henry some new school clothes this weekend. Can I just say how much I love Catholic school uniforms? We don't have to intervene in Henry's morning dressing routine at all. He must wear:

Navy blue pants
A belt
Navy socks
Black loafers

He can choose only the following:

Shirt: white or light blue
Long sleeves or short sleeves

Ahhhh, no more morning matching battles. Attempted pairing of bright red Angry Birds tee shirt with camouflage pants, no longer! It's a thing of beauty. When Anne starts there, I can only imagine how adorable she will look in the girls uniform. Although I have to admit, I do worry about... I don't know exactly how to put this. But about men finding the Catholic girls uniform appealing, let's just say. Mike worries as well and says that he blames Britney Spears. Ha!

I also had a hair appointment this weekend, and in the spirit of fall, my hair is now super dark. I mean, my hair is brown. There's only so much you can do with that. And yes, I dye my hair, because I do get some gray. :) Not that I've complained about that before, or anything. I like getting my hair colored, but I don't put too much stock in any one hue. I like to change it up often, to the extent that is possible with dark brown hair. Lately I'd noticed that my hair was looking quite reddish. I don't really know why, aside from the fact that the summer sun could have been a factor. And I only get my hair colored every 3 months, so it's a long time in-between, and thus the sun fading can really make an impact by around month #2. It looked fine, but it wasn't really what I had chosen, plus you can see my roots more when they grow in.

So, this time I asked my wonderful hair stylist to dye my hair darker. She's excited about changes too, and bustled off to mix my dye. I didn't look at any color cards or anything, I just trusted her.

And my trust is well placed, because I love my hair color now. It's a really dark chocolate brown. Much closer to my original color than the last batch. It's so dark Mike was surprised when he first saw me, lol. It does feel more fall/winterish. Love it.

I brought Henry with me (lured by a new Lego sticker book and the promise of a 7 Eleven slurpee if he was good), to give Mike a break, which resulted in questions such as:

"Mommy, see that sign over there? What is wa...waxing?"

Oh sigh.

"Well Honey, it's to remove hair that you don't want."

*scrunched eyebrows*

"Does that hurt?"

Kids just intuitively always know the important questions, do they not?

Another sign of fall's approach is that I'm really noticing that everyone knows most of the new Mass translation changes now. The "And with your spirit" is a slam dunk every time, along with "It is right and just" and "Lord, I am not worthy for you to enter under my roof." The Nicene Creed still requires a missal, but hey, you can't expect miracles, right?

Henry is still doing lots of whining about attending Mass, but the Magnifikid! is a life saver every week. This was very worth the $34.95 subscription price, let me tell you. He works on the activity for a time, but really spends the rest of Mass just following along with the readings and prayers. He's very much like me, always with my nose buried in a missal. He even follows along in the hymnal. It's precious.

My last fall update is about yarn. Because I'm just so excited about it that I'm busting at the seams. I've been finishing up lots of cooler weather projects. New hats for both kids, photos to follow shortly. A scarf for myself. I finally photographed a few sweaters and wraps that I knitted over last winter and early spring that I'll finally be able to break out of the closet.

A snowflake sweater:

I really like that one. It's very warm, knit out of wool.

A cardigan from the well regarded February Lady pattern:

 (please ignore how chunky I look in this picture; My skirt was all bunched up in the waist from my quick changes for knitting photos, and I look downright dumpy. But the sweater looks cute, so I wanted it featured to its utmost potential. :))

And the most infamous of all knitted wrap patterns ever created, the Clapotis:

Very toasty garments, all. And then there's the socks, which I'm the most excited about. I'm currently knitting a pair of falling leaves socks, and I have several self-striping pairs in the wings that I can hardly wait to cast on for. AND, most importantly, after much discreet stalking of my new favorite etsy yarn shop, I am on the waiting list for a skein of self-striping watermelon sock yarn, as well as a self-patterning ghost kit for Halloween. And when the owner mentioned in her message to me that she had just put up more snowman and other Christmas sock kits, I nearly tripped over myself speeding to her site to pre-order one. 

Seriously. In just 2 hours, the Christmas confetti yarn was GONE. Only 2 lonely snowmen kits remained! I scooped one of them up so fast he didn't know what hit him. The kits (which include not just the patterning yarn, but also some coordinating skeins of solid colors for the heels and toes) are, well, a bit more expensive than what I usually pay for sock yarn, lol. However, these are a true work of art and are just beautiful. I think I'm going to knit the snowmen for my mom for Christmas, and with the leftover yarn the shop owner includes a pattern for some ornaments which will make nice gifts.

I'M SO EXCITED.

I can just picture the conversations with Mike this will spawn:

"Have you been buying some gifts Sweetie, I see lots of etsy charges on the bank statement."

"Yes. Um, yarn."

"$50 worth?"

"IT HAS GHOSTS ON IT!!!"

*angelic beam*