Attitude Adjustment

Listening to the counsel of good friends is often a wise course of action.

One piece of advice in particular proved the salve for this fractured soul:

Do not be surprised that a full schedule finds your brain taking time off.  Give it a small break and keep swatching. Things will calm down in time.

Take a breather and find something to get your attention, she continued.

Well, I did.

Earlier this month the Yarn Barn of San Antonio announced it was closing its doors.

I discovered the Yarn Barn years before I began knitting seriously, back when needlepoint and cross-stitch consumed me.  Long before we moved to Texas in 1998, the previous owner and I had become good friends over our mutual passion for out-of-date, rare, and antique books on  Berlin work and charted needlepoint.

In any event, they are in the last stages of closing the shop.  I had resisted going over there because I hated to see them close, but Tuesday found me with an empty lunch hour.  So, I zipped over.  I had thought I would be fighting for a parking place, but I was the only one in there with the store clerk.  The shelves were mostly bare, but I managed to find 15 skeins of Noro Retro in a deep blue, almost purple saturated shade.  They were 50% off.

Despite its silk content, Noro Retro is still a rustic type, single ply yarn.  An aran weight, it knits up more like Manos del Uruguay than the softer Malabrigo Worsted Merino; however, I was looking for something a little tougher (read:  something that would not pill quite as much as the Malabrigo) for an outerwear sweater/jacket.

I had this pattern in mind:

Pattern:  Everything Nice Hoodie

It calls for 1620 yards.

15 skeins of the Noro Retro is 1650 yards!

Oh, yeah!

Two evenings later, I have pockets and oversized buttons with loads of personality!

Yes, I have a long list of designs that need any or all of the following:  proofing, knitting, editing, writing, knitting, and test-knitting.

However, my brain was just not cooperating.

I needed something mindless to occupy my hands, something with which I could see actual progress.

The upside?

One design with which I was having difficulty visualizing exactly how it was going to be constructed worked itself out in my head as I endlessly knit in stockinette.  When I put pen to paper and made the calculations, I was spot on.  This morning I did a mini-mock up to test the theory.  It worked!

People ask me all the time if I knit other people's patterns.

Yes!

Absolutely and enthusiastically.

They give me a break.

Everyone once in a while, I actually do enjoy having someone else do the driving.

With each stitch of my mindless stockinette, my mood and disposition improve.

Thank God I have reached the point in my life where I have finally begun to listen to those who love me.

Happy Stitching!

Free Falling

Is the summer almost over?

Last weekend we moved the older daughter into her first apartment at University of Texas.  It is her second year, but she is already a Junior!

Next week the younger daughter begins middle school.  Tomorrow is orientation.  While she is thrilled, I struggle with wondering what happened to my sweet little babies.  The last time I blinked, the Wee One was still very wee.

I hate to even think of my older one turning twenty in February.

In addition to all the school-related issues and obligations we have been addressing of late, the day job has been hopping with fiscal year-end approaching next month.  During the weekday hours I am an attorney. At night and on the weekends I devote my time, not only to the family, but I masquerade as a knitter/designer, seamstress, and novelist, albeit, the writer has been largely absent of late.

While my blood type and personality are the same (A+) and I take great pride in honoring my commitments and keeping my word, I think the free fall in which I have found myself in recent weeks just hit a wall.  The designs in progress have only been inching along in fits and starts.  Other knitting has all but dried up, as the (internal) pressure to produce mounts by the moment.

All I can manage is swatching.

Stress typically induces the desire to eat everything in sight; however, this round, the appetite is non-existent, as nothing really looks appealing.

I simply swatch.  I am test driving new yarns, old yarns, stitch patterns, and combinations of stitch patterns.

The creativity is burning with fresh ideas covering the pages of my sketch book, but the execution is sorely lacking.

I guess, I am simply not done swatching.

Cancer sucks!

My lovely friend Michele said so, and I believe her!

I wish I could hold her hand and walk beside her as she fights and wins this battle, but time and distance will not allow it.  So, I pray for her, knit for her, and send as many positive thoughts and wishes as I can muster.

These are heading out to her now:

Cashmere helps (I hope).

Pattern:  Lovely Lace Cap
Yarn:  Jojoland Cashmere Lace, held double

In addition to modeling, the older daughter knit this green one!

Pattern:  Rikki Hat
Yarn:  Artsygal Bamboo Merino Fingering in BMN 8801

Hang in there, Michele!

You are loved and adored!

I have more cashmere with your name on them waiting for you to tell me what you like or want in your next hat!

Yarn:  Plucky Knitter Lace Cashmere in Out of Nothing at All