Hello Again, Friends

It has been three months since I last posted. I think that’s the longest I’ve gone yet, and I’ve missed writing here. Life has been so full and so busy and other things have been so urgent, that I’ve not often had leftover creative energy or time to post. For the readers who still come to visit, thank you, and I hope I can come back more often now.

To summarize the past three months:

  • My wee Hatchling is now one year old. He walks! He communicates amazingly well through a combination of grunts, points, yells, babbled words, and baby signs. He wiggles his little hips to dance and absolutely loves music. He charms me every day and he’s growing like a weed.
  • So far this summer we’ve thrown a big party, spent our first night camping with a toddler, attended three weddings, and gone to one funeral (for a dear great aunt, she lived a good full life and died in her sleep). There have been many road trips to Connecticut and Long Island. Many weekends away seeing lots of family and friends. And a couple more to go before this summer is done.
  • The Fiasco and I are feeling like we’re really falling into a good groove with this parenting thing. We’re much more comfortable in our roles and are being better partners for each other than we were a year ago and I am so grateful for that.
  • There have been some pretty major changes at my job which have resulted in my workload and level of responsibility essentially doubling. This has been really exciting for me (I love a good challenge), but also really exhausting as I’ve been scrambling to balance the extra work with the summer activities and quality time with my son. #workingmomproblems

Because of all that, I have done NOTHING crafty. No projects. No spinning. No knit night. No spinner’s guild. Nada, zilch, zero. I’ve been two rows away from finishing a cowl and one button away from finishing a hat and stalled out on the heels of a pair of socks since April, but these things all take mental energy I haven’t had the space to find.

However, my goal in these last weeks of summer is to seek out time for myself. Even if it’s a few minutes here, another few there, even if I’m tired and feeling lazy, instead of reaching for my phone or puttering away the time, I’ll re-train myself to use it creatively. It used to be second nature, to pick up the needles in every spare moment, but being pregnant and giving birth sucked all that motivation out of me. I don’t think it’s anything a little extra effort and mindfulness can’t fix, though, and as my baby is getting more busy and independent, my hands won’t be quite as full as they have been.

 

 

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WIPWed #67: Un-zen-like

I’ve been having the kind of week where knitting time is essentially zero and I’ve had to miss my last two yoga classes due to working overtime. Such conditions lead to a very un-zen-like-Alicia, let me tell you.

Woolen Diversions

My honey cowl, click for project page.

Pretty yarn helps, though. That honey cowl is the only thing I’ve worked on this week, but it is progressing nicely. It serves well as a travel project because it is so. stinking. simple. and was great to bring around with me over the weekend while my parents visited.

We took the ferry over to Block Island, which is a very special place full of sand, sun, and alpacas. Mom and I encouraged the fellas run wild on mopeds while we let loose in North Light Fibers.

Woolen Diversions

I got the Fiasco some socks, so we’re even, right?

I took home a couple skeins of a really lovely laceweight 60% alpaca / 40% kid mohair blend. I have never been a huge fan of mohair but there’s something about this blend that feels really weighty and delicious in my hands. They had it in worsted, too, but I have little use for single skeins of worsted nowadays and I thought I’d get more knitting bang-for-my-buck with laceweight.

Woolen Diversions

WaterFire in Providence.

We followed up our island adventures with a trip to the city to see the WaterFire event. WaterFire is a neat art installation / street festival that takes place in Providence every few weeks in the summer and fall. Over 80 huge bonfires are lit along the rivers that run through the city and they pipe beautiful music through speakers along the whole thing. There are often vendors, food, performances, etc. and it switches up every time. It’s a cool thing to check out.

We finished up our visit with a day at the Durham County Fair in Connecticut. There were animals, rides, concerts, and plenty of fair food. After such an exciting whirlwind weekend, it’s no wonder I feel a tad… unbalanced. I’m looking forward to some time this coming weekend to catch up and get back in touch with my zen. What do you do to keep your cool when things get busy?

In the meantime, have you entered my Blue Sky Alpacas giveaway yet? Entries will close tomorrow (Thursday) at 11:59 pm Eastern time, so make sure you do so soon! And check out more WIPs at Tamis Amis.

Thankfulness

I hope those celebrating Thanksgiving are having a great time with family and friends today! I’m starting my day slowly with a little bit of knitting while my wonderful Fiasco cooks breakfast for my family. (Yes, I am so very thankful for him.)

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That’s the North Wind hat pattern by Felicia Lo (sorry no links as I am on my phone) knit with Verdant Gryphon Mondegreen in my new favorite color: Slow Motion Walter, Fire Engine Guy.

I gave my mom her kick-cancer’s-butt shawl yesterday and it looks fabulous on her:
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Horrible train lighting and all, she looks wonderful and I’m so happy with the way the shawl turned out.

Today’s theme: being grateful for the little things. Wishing you all the best!