Knitting In The North

Big Kid Interview = Enlightening

 

I came across this meme on Facebook, but I'm not much of a Facebooker, so I thought I'd share it here.  Let me know if you decide to play along!

Ask your child(ren) to answer the questions and type their answers in.
Tag other moms(dads) with older kids who might have fun with this. Of course, you dads need to replace 'mom' with 'dad' when asking the questions, right?

Answered by:
Katie, age 11
Brian, age 6
Gwenyth, age 3

Liam had nothing to say, so there's a cute picture of him, instead.


1. What is something mom always says to you?
K: Yes
B: Do a chore
G: I love you

2. What makes mom happy?
K: Yarn
B: A present
G: A piggy bank

3. What makes mom sad?
K: When knitting needles break
B: When she gets nothing
G: Maybe nothing

4. How does your mom make you laugh?
K: When she tickles me
B: Telling a joke
G: She tickles me

5. What was your mom like as a child?
K: Bossy
B: Messy
G: She put clothes on

6. How old is your mom?
K: 31
B: 31
G: 6 or 7 years old

7. How tall is your mom?
K: 5'9"
B: 10 feet
G: 65 zero months

8. What is her favorite thing to do?
K: Knit

B: Knit
G: Knit

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
K: Knit
B: She goes out
G: Go out

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
K: Knitting the world's largest thing
B: Knitting the world's biggest thing
G: Knitting

11. What is your mom really good at?
K: Taking care of kids
B: Knitting
G: Doing the dishwasher

12. What is your mom not very good at?
K: Cooking
B: Climbing trees
G: Building

13. What does your mom do for her job?
K: Babysits
B: Babysits
G: Knitting (don't I wish!)

14. What is your mom's favorite food?
K: Wraps
B: Chocolate
G: Casserole

15. What makes you proud of your mom?
K: She's nice
B: That she's nice
G: For knitting

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
K: Velma from Scooby Doo
B: Daphe from Scooby Doo
G: Just you

17. What do you and your mom do together?
K: Go shopping
B: Crafts
G: Look under rocks for crabs on the beach

18. How are you and your mom the same?
K: We both have glasses
B: We have the same noses
G: We have the same noses

19. How are you and your mom different?
K: I don't like to wear long sleeves all the time
B: I don't wear glasses
G: Waving

20. How do you know your mom loves you?
K: She says it
B: She says that she loves me
G: Kisses

21. What does your mom like most about your dad?
K: He works a lot
B: He's cute
G: Kisses

22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
K: Yarn shop
B: Wal-Mart
G: Knitting

TCT: Being Flexible

 

I was all set to write about something very different today - until this morning happened.  It's Spring Break here, which means I have the joy of hanging out with my whole crew all week long.  I know many parents who dread this, but I anticipate it.  What I don't enjoy, however, is the busyness that comes along with it.  There are a bunch of smallish errands and bigger projects that need to be tackled, and as the Chief Planner and Organizer Supreme of this household, I carefully checked over the list of to-dos, and came up with A Plan.

What my plan did not include were variables such as sick kids, cars that won't start in the morning, surprise temporary work for me, or to-dos that were Not. On. The. List.  This morning was that kind of day, and I'll admit it sent me into a flap.  There is something about watching my carefully laid plans circle the drain that takes me straight into internal panic.  It's not pretty, nor is it fun for a single member of our household.  Today, faced with the drama that was this morning, I tried something different.  (After I went into the flap.  I'll admit it.  I flapped for a bit.) 

I made a cup of tea.  I took a shower.  And I thought about my plans.  Really, very few of the items on my list actually must get done this week.  If you want to take it down to bare bones, only one thing really needs to happen, and we would all survive even if it didn't.  So what's the flap about?  I think someone needs to be more... flexible.  Big deep breath.  And that, my friend, is how I'm practicing self-care this week.  Speaking of flexibility, perhaps a yoga session is in order, too?

By the way - Happy St. Patrick's Day!  We were visited last night by the leprechauns.  You can tell, obviously, by the green footprints leading from the back door, across the room and up the fridge.  Inside, they left us a jug of green milk for our Irish breakfast.  Have you had an encounter with a leprechaun today?

FO: Bulls-Eye Beanie

 

Katie came home from school the other day with the sad news that her teacher (much loved, much appreciated) is leaving the school at our Spring Break next week.  It's for the nicest possible reason, though, he and his wife are adopting an 8 month old baby boy.  My mind naturally turned to knitting, and I thought it was very funny when Katie came to ask me to knit a little something - I was in the process of finding yarn just for that purpose!  I didn't have time to knit a sweater or blanket, but decided on a hat from my go-to baby knit book, Natural Knits for Babies and Moms.

We chose the Beanie Hat, and I used leftovers from my Eyelet Cardi and Liam's Blanket & Hat (from this same book.  I love how the soft blue and brown look together.

Particulars:

Pattern - Beanie Hat from Natural Knits for Babies & Moms, by Louisa Harding

Yarn - Blue Sky Alpacas Dyed Cotton, less than half a skein each, sky blue & sand

Needles - 3.75mm and 4.5mm Denise Interchangeables

Modifications - I added one extra stripe before beginning the decreases for the top.  I find this hat is always a tad shorter than I would like it to be.

 

We made Liam model the hat, of course, and it was so cute on him, I used up some more leftovers to knit him one of his own!  I cast on for his late in the evening, though, and forgot to change up needle sizes after the ribbing.  What a difference this makes!  The finished fabric is still soft, but not nearly as drapey or stretchy, and the hat is significantly smaller.  I also didn't add the extra stripe, and it really could have used it.  The hat fits, though, so I'm not overly inclined to rip it back.  And he seems pretty content, anyway.  I love how the stripes make a little bulls-eye on his sweet head!

TCT: A New 'Do

   

I was sitting at my Stitch 'n Bitch on Sunday, when someone looked around the group and remarked that almost everyone had a new hairstyle!  I'm not sure if this is exclusive to northern-type communities, but at this time of year, cabin fever sets in pretty firmly.  The children are antsy, the dog is restless, and we are all just so very weary of the cold.  Especially on a day like today, when my thermometer reads -32C, plus a wind chill.  Sigh.  I long for spring, for warmth, for days of picnics and sending kids outside to play.  For green and yellow and red and purple - anything but white and grey and brown.  

Strange as is may seem, I am a winter lover.  I can wax poetic about snow falling, curling up by the fire, walking among the bare, silver trees, the glitter and sparkle of the sun on the snow.  At this time of year, though, enough is enough!  To help myself be patient, I indulged recently in a new hairstyle.  It is truly amazing to me how powerful feeling good about my appearance can be in fighting off the I-can't-wait-for-winter-to-end blues.  And a new (for me, shorter) 'do helps me feel springy, even when the weather isn't co-operating!

TCT: Rituals

I told you last week all about my fancy new milk frother, and how wonderful it is that I can now have a latte any old time I feel like it.  The truth is, most days I make myself one.  One very special latte, for a very special time of day.

I've struggled this winter with the demands of my little world here.  Busy baby, busy pre-schooler (I really, really wanted to type toddler, when did she become a pre-schooler?), busy school-aged kids, busy husband...  You get the idea.  Lots of busyness going on, and not a lot of quiet time.  For an introvert like me, it's can feel like torture at times.  Always someone there, someone talking, someone touching, and never a moment of peace.  I found I was cranky by the time Stuart came home at the end of the day, which I'm sure was not fun for him, either.  By the end of our evening meal, I spent half my time shushing people and sending kids away "to play".  How nice is that to live with?

One evening, we were having a special movie/picnic night.  Everyone was happy and having a good time, except me.  I was telling Brian to stop bumping the coffee table, Gwenyth to please-for-the-love-of-all-that-is-good-please-stop-talking, sighing at Liam's need to be held, irritated with Katie for no particular reason.  And let's not even get started about how Stuart could say Nothing Right At All.  Suddenly, I had a moment of clarity.  They were all happy.  They were eating their dinner, having fun, relaxing after a busy week.  It was not them.  It was me.  I quietly told Stuart that I needed a break, picked up my plate, collected my library book, and retreated to my bedroom.  I sat in bed for about 45 minutes, eating my food and reading my book.  When I came back out to the living room, it was like a whole new Mommy was there.  I was calm, together, peaceful.

That evening was a real turning point for me; I realized that I need time.  I need space, and quiet.  And I also realized that there is absolutely nothing wrong with asking for that time.  That when I take that time, I am a better mother, a more content wife, a nicer person all round.  Shortly after that, I instituted afternoon Quiet Time in my house.  I maneuvered Liam's daily schedule around, and found activities to wear Gwenyth out in the morning.  I take 45 minutes for myself every afternoon.  This is not time to run around like a crazy woman catching up on house projects, this is not time to deep clean the hall closet or rummage in my studio.  This is Quiet Time for me, too. 

With the kids in bed (Gwenyth is in that place where she may or may not sleep, but she understands that she needs to play quietly in her bed, regardless), I make myself something healthy to eat.  I prepare my special latte, and I sit down with my knitting, and something special to watch on TV.  Right now, I'm watching the TV show Without a Trace on DVD (one episode of an hour long TV show on DVD exactly fills my 45 minutes, which is perfect).  Some days, I choose to listen to a podcast instead.  It doesn't really matter, what matters is that this is My Time.  My daily ritual, that I've come to depend on.  At the end of this time, Liam wakes up, Gwenyth comes out of her room, the kids come home from school, and we all kick into high gear.  But it's okay, I can bring that peace and quiet with me from my afternoon, and share it with the rest of my family.  Even when my little bundle of joy looks like this:

 

At the moment, I have the best kind of knitting for my afternoon ritual - I've finally gotten with the times, and cast on for a Clapotis!  I can see why it's universally popular, the rhythmic stitches just fly along my needles, as I enjoy my peace and quiet.

 

What about you?  Do you have a special daily/weekly/monthly ritual?

FO: Favourite Cardigan

 

 

It only took me a month, but I finally sat down and sewed the buttons on my new sweater!  I also found Stuart in a photo-taking mood, so you'll have lots of shots to enjoy today.

I really enjoy it when Stuart gets in the mood for a photo shoot, we have a lot of fun together.  With him directing me & teasing me, it makes having my picture taken much more bearable.  Usually, I hate having my photo done!

 

Particulars:

Yarn - Needful Yarns London Tweed, which has been discontinued -9 balls in the Mallard colourway.(I scored a great bag sale at Elann a while back.)

Pattern - Favorite Cardigan from Custom Knits, by Wendy Bernard

Needles - 4.5mm Denise interchangeables

Notes & Modifications - I am in love with top down knitting!  Really, I can't see why I would ever want to knit a sweater in pieces, the experience was so great.  I followed the pattern almost exactly, making just a few changes as I went along.  At the very front edges, I changed part of the knit/purl pattern to be more symmetrical.  I decided on the change partway along, and was very brave and put the knitting on holders, dropped the offending stitches and re-knit them.  Terribly exciting stuff, I tell you.  I also added about 2" in length (and would have added more, in retrospect), and a few increases at the hips.  If I were to do it again, I would also increase the length of the ribbing at the neckline, to make it just a titch smaller.  Otherwise, I'm very happy with it, and looking forward to knitting more of Wendy Bernard's patterns!