The Impulse to Make

When the spirit moves me, don't try to hold me back. Last week I saw the Lacy Baktus shawl on a friend and loved it. I was immediately obsessed. It's long enough to do a generous wrap-around, or worn over a coat, or on the head and tucked around.

The pattern had just the right mix of interesting, but not too interesting that I couldn't chat. This is important criteria for me as a knitter right now. I knew just who I wanted to knit this shawl for and knew just the right yarn for the project. The right yarn is a merino and alpaca blend from my friends at Good Karma Farm, in a colorway called Peacock Feathers: so beautiful, soft, and perfect for a recipient who wears emerald green like a queen.

While I awaited the yarn's arrival, I was itchy and twitchy and ready to start the knitting! It's my favorite moment of anticipation, of imagining the making, thinking about the pattern, yarn, any modifications I might foresee, etc. It makes the actual making that much more delightful.

Now I am knitting and loving it.

little fairies made by my friend B.

I am knitting for this friend because I miss her. The knitting makes me feel closer to her: I carry her in-process-Peacock-Feathers-Baktus-Shawl in my bag and it brings my thoughts and attention to her. I think about places we've been together and moments and ideas we have shared. Yarn stores we have visited!

There's no timeline on this knitting. It's just happening and will be finished when it is done.

As you can see, it is the season for cinnamon rolls.

Getting Our Craft On

Thanks to Skip the Chips I have embraced yet another Grandma craft, yes, now I can say I have made a rolled-hem hankie by hand just like my Aunt Stella used to. She posted a link to a lovely tutorial from Purl SOHO, if you want to get your Grandma Craft on.
It's so fussy and super detail oriented that I have not made it start-to-finish through one hankie...I usually take a few stitches, then move on to something else. As it happens there are a couple birthday girls who needed presents. Would they have chosen this pattern of fabric? Probably not, but I figured why NOT have something bright and happy to blow your nose on?
You may remember the fabric from the Tiny Purse project that started this whole sewing thing.
One of Sylvan's very dear friends, Miss S. is turning 4 on Tuesday! As I am pretty sure she is not reading this blog, I feel confident to show you the interior of her birthday card. She will be getting a special gift of the very last Tiny Purse in stock and a doll.
This is Sylvan displaying his 3rd place ribbon that he got from his VERY FIRST skiing race, in icy and fast conditions, at yesterday's Family Fun Race hosted by the Ragged Mountain Ski and Snowboard Club! He was so excited to be wearing that bib, displaying his race number (#57). The ribbon has his NAME on it, on the back---he wants me to tell you---and they announced his NAME and NUMBER and TIME on the loudspeaker. Although there was initially some totally slapstick humor style misses on the mountain...Sylvan had no helmet, Dad had the helmet on the mountain somewhere, Sylvan waited for him, then decided to go up and find him, Dad came down (repeat this a few times)...all ended well and they finally reunited.
And I had to repeat last week's cinnamon rolls. This time I made extra for our friend Ed who plows our driveway at no charge, a significant gift, as plow prices are steep and this winter is such a doozy. They are saying 8-12" of snow for tomorrow?!?! Come on. So when I get the chance, I like to make Ed some goodies. I froze his rolls unbaked so that he could have the aromatherapy for his house also.

Not a Small Amount of Snow

Those of you with children in school may appreciate the fact that a snow day yesterday, after the week of Anti-Vacation that I had, was not very welcome. We had a great day anyway, just not the day that I thought I might have had. We got dumped upon, old-school style with SO much heavy snow. This was the snow, in the amounts, from my childhood, the kind of snow that is almost as tall as you are when you are small. And the piles from the plow are as tall as an adult. Really, it was kind of magical. I showed you one picture yesterday, but here are some more.

The view out of my kitchen window

Sad old chicken fence, laden with snow.

Small red hat bobbing above the whiteness.

This chicken is to show you just how high the snow is,
like mid-thigh on a medium-sized woman.

After doing bits and pieces of my schoolwork in those rare peaceful moments when the children were playing harmoniously (they HAVE been together almost constantly for over a week), and after working up a sweat shoveling some more, I decided to pack it in and make cinnamon rolls. The recipe can be found here, and I made it pretty much verbatim except with a little whole wheat flour for the illusion of better healthiness. Partly I wanted the aromatherapy, because there is a weird smell in our dining room that may or may not be a dead mouse under the house. The inspiration for the rolls may have come from Tollipop.

They tasted pretty amazing.

And today, everyone was back where we all were supposed to be, namely work and school. And as a bonus, we are healthy, well, and a two-parent household again.