one, two, three, four ...

With all the snow that we had last weekend (okay, 2 weekends ago ... that's how long this post has been floating around in my head), I thought that I should knit up a few pairs of mittens -- one for each child was my lofty goal for the weekend.  Nice thought, but it didn't happen.  Now, more than two weeks later (ahem!) I have one finished pair.

Nothing too fancy but the wearer is very pleased with them.  Here is the pattern that I used -- it's basic and simple.  But, after finishing the first mitt, I discovered that it was a little to big for even my biggest boy, so I adjusted the second mitt a bit.  Clever, right?  Not so much ... I didn't write down what I did, so back to the drawing board for pair #2!

As I was finishing up the last mitten, Laurel joined me.  When she gets tired, she will often climb up behind me, put her thumb in her mouth and grab a handful of hair (yes, she is still attached to my hair, but thankfully, she does not pull so much anymore!).  As I got closer to the top of the mitten (and decreasing stitches), I was counting aloud to myself:  "one, two, three, four.".  Then the patterned called for knitting 2 stitches together.  After a couple of rounds, Laurel leaning on my back, me still counting ... "one, two, three, four ...", I stopped to wrestle with some particularly tight stitches, and a little voice whispered in my ear: "five" ... funny girl!

The Gift of Knitting

It's been some time since I have posted ... the business of life, trying to keep up with 4 kids, house hunting ... yah, excuses, I know.  The truth is that I have been struggling lately with this blogging thing.  When I started, my intention was to only write about good and happy things (sounds a bit fluffy, I know).  And while there are many things in my life that are both good and happy, the truth of life is, it's not always like that.  Sometimes life sucks -- there really is no other word for it.

I have been wanting to write about knitting for some time now, but keep putting it off.  My hesitation comes from the parts the story that don't fit into my "good and happy" guidelines, but without which, the story would be incomplete.  So, leave parts out, or find a way to make everything look rosy?  Neither seemed the right way to go.  Then it occurred to me that things aren't always easy to categorize into good and bad; and that appreciating the good things that come along doesn't mean that you've forgetting about the bad.  The trick, I guess, is to be open to the good while still remembering how you got there.  Yes, that seems appropriate.

So, here is my knitting story:

My childhood home was filled with knitting.  Not my knitting, but that of my paternal grandmother and mother who were both wonderful knitters.  They happily and (what seemed like) effortlessly knit sweaters, hats, slippers and mittens, mittens and more mittens. At the time, it didn't seem all that special -- I mean, didn't everybody have a grandmother who seemed to have a knitting needle attachment (kind of like Inspector Gadget -- "go go gadget knitting needles!")?  It was many years before I realized that this was not the case.

When Isaac was born, my grandmother had already passed on, but my mother excitedly stepped up to the plate (she'd been busy practicing for other babies in our family) and my home, like the one of my childhood, was filled with hand knitting for all my babes, knit with love from both sides of the family. Just the way is should be right?

Then things changed ... my mom got sick ... she forgot how to knit and lots of other things too.  She knit quite a bit while she still remembered, and the piles of hand knitted goods that showed up at every visit seemed strange at the time, but looking back, were great expressions of her love that she knew would last longer than she would.  Slowly, the knitting stopped, the conversations got harder ... and before we knew it, the fight was over.  And at that moment, life sucked.

A year went by, life went on (as it is prone to do), and finally it seemed time to do some cleaning out in my parents house.  The craft/laundry room seemed like an easy place to start, so I dug in.  Buried under a pile of stuff was this old trunk.

I had often admired this beautiful, old trunk of my grandmother's but didn't have any idea what was inside.  When I opened the lid, it was filled with yarn ... lots and lots of yarn, knitting needles, and books for every age and style.  I had long been thinking about taking up knitting, and this new discovery seemed to announce that now was the time to start.  This collection of my mother's and grandmother's included needles of every size, yarn every colour of the rainbow, projects started and never finished (some so heart-breakingly full of mistakes as I imagined my mother's frustration at not being able to finish what she once found so easy), and a stack of books filled with patterns spanning decades of styles and fashions.  Then I came across a booklet entitled "Learn To Knit in 6 Easy Lessons".  I picked it up and recognized some of the stitches that I had been taught as a young girl -- but I hadn't thought important enough to keep up -- and decided that now was definitely the time to learn to knit.

A "Red Cross Knitting Instructions for War Work" pamphlet dated 1940 was a real surprise to find.  Finding my grandmother's name on it made it even more exciting (the "J. Webb" on the top is her writing).  The instructions for everything thing from service socks, to gloves, to sleeveless sweaters are very specific -- for example:  although the instructions for Two-Way Mitts are the same for the Army, the Navy and the Air Force, it specifies:  khaki colour only for the army, navy for the Navy, and air force blue, for ... well you get the picture).  When I get a little better, I'm going to try knitting some of these socks for the boys -- I think that they will get a little thrill from wearing "army socks" -- and if I get really good, I may even mail a pair to a soldier ... soldiers today still need socks, right?



I hope to someday move the whole trunk to my house to look through, and choose from whenever the mood strikes (unless my father unexpectedly decides to take up knitting, but I think that I am pretty safe).  But for now, it is waiting at my parent's house -- minus a few items that I am using to practice with. 

So that is my knitting story -- the whole complete story.  So, what have I learned?  I learned that I love knitting!  I would probably not have discovered this new love if things had gone differently, and although I would rather have my Mom (and her knitting), I can still enjoy this new hobby of mine and the connection that it has forged between mother and daughter (and granddaughter).

This is the "cowl crew", as they dubbed themselves, and all cowls were lovingly knit by Mama (yes, me!).  The gift of knitting continues.  Thanks Mom!

Sickness

Not a lot gets done when sickness invades your home -- nothing except napping, coughing and nose blowing.  But with all that sitting around trying to get better, it's kind of nice to have some quiet time to read a book and finish a project.

Snuggling by the fire with a little girl (who recently visited the local radio station which explains the sticker) is one of the best things about feeling under the weather.

Not sure where I first heard about this book: Simplicity Parenting: Using the Extraordinary Power of Less to Raise Calmer, Happier, and More Secure Kids, but I am LOVING it (hope I won't have to wait until the next time I get sick to finish it).  Written by a Waldorf trained teacher, it provides arguments and practical suggestions for simplifying your environment, and creating rhythms and routines in your day.  This really ties in great with my goals for the year.

The Rhythm of Family: Discovering a Sense of Wonder through the Seasons is another book that I have been enjoying and working my way through.  Near the beginning of the book is a knitting project perfect for my beginner knitting skills -- a winter cowl.  It knit up pretty quick (and turned out pretty well, if I do say so myself) and Isaac is happy to be the owner of a new cowl.  Now all we need some winter weather to wear it in!


Today, there is nobody lying on the couch -- a sure sign that people are feeling better.  A break is nice (even if it is forced), but it's nice to get back to normal too.

Hoping that you and your families are all well -- or at least curled up in front of a warm fire with a cute kid, a good book and some yarn!