September was a crazy month. I feel old every time I talk about how fast time is going, but it really does seem to fly. My making mojo has not decreased, but my available time has. School is taking up most of my spare time, so my making continues to take a hit.
* Finished Objects:
Deodara, by Maria Olson. This was knit in Brown Sheet Serendipity Tweed, in a variegated pink/ fuchsia. There will be a separate post for this top.
Shatar Vest
August 2022 socks (being knit for The Father, for Christmas)
2470 Women’s Lace Border Tank Top
White denim skirt
10 pairs of pajama pants/ shorts
* Goals for next month:
Knit more
Figure out 2022 Mendocino knitting
Sew a short winter skirt
Don’t flunk any classes
My desire to knit hasn’t gone away. I actively long to work on my knitting projects. Unfortunately, I bit off more than I should chew and took two classes this semester. I won’t make that mistake again. The rule that I set for myself is that I can only knit once my weekly work is complete. This is why Deodara took me a month to complete. In actuality, this top should have taken me 1-2 weeks to finish. Another thing that has been interfering with my knitting on the go is that I don’t like having to take off my Fitbit every time I pick up my needles. I think it is hilarious that it counts my stitches as steps, but it is also quite inconvenient. I need to make more of an effort to knit, though. My mental health needs the calm that comes from knitting. Sewing hasn’t happened at all and that is only partly because of school. The Mother has been here quite a bit, lately, and that prohibits me from setting up my sewing station in the toy room. With the weather changing, I think I have missed my window to sew the gingham Lawley skirt. The same for the Salt Water Slip Dress and my summer knits. The Deodara is a good summer/ fall top so I will count that as my summer garment for the year. It’s a cheat, but oh well. I think I can now move on to my beloved colder weather makes. My plan for Mendocino knitting was to work on my long abandoned charity knitting. That would break with the convention of knitting a sweater, but it’s what I am leaning toward. But… I may also start working on a new black cardigan. I have 4 days to decide and start packing, so we’ll see which way I want to go.
So, life has been incredibly busy. Work, family, school, and just basic day-to-day tasks take up 100% of my time. Demos and training for the big 2023 changes have been taking up much of my work days. I am still training my new person. I have had staff out sick and on vacation so coverage has been iffy. I am trying to get caught up before we leave for Mendocino, next week. The same is the case for schoolwork. My goal is to have all of my homework done by Tuesday so that I can unplug while we are away. And school… I remember at the beginning of the semester thinking “yeah, I can totally handle this.” I won’t say that I was wrong, because I can and am handling it, but I won’t do this again. Note to future Mrs. Collins: You are smart and capable, and you can do anything you set your mind to. However, you are really freaking tired. You aren’t on a deadline to finish school, so, don’t overload yourself!
Things have stalled a bit with The Mother moving here. The market has been slowing down so she is still waiting to sell her house. Therefore, she can’t buy another house here. I am still hopeful that it will happen though. I really want her to live closer. I got together with Sister #2 at the beginning of September and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I am so happy that we have started to spend time together. I enjoy being with her so much. We have scheduled our next sister’s outing for January since the holidays are fast approaching. In October I intend to reach out to the other two sisters and see if we can schedule some one-on-one to get time. I also want to touch base with The Brother’s wife to see how she is handling the weird school stuff for her girls. I want to talk to or see them all before the end of the year. That will hopefully make the big family gathering more comfortable for me. We also got to see the O’s for the Bestie’s 8th birthday. It was delightful!
October is a really big month in our family, and we won’t have a weekend free the whole time. Some of the highlights will be Lambtown Wool Festival, Mendocino, our anniversary, The Husband’s birthday, The Mother’s birthday, and Halloween, to name a few. Hopefully, there will be more making happening in that month, and I will have more to share.
So that is September, in a nutshell. It was a good month. It was busy and hectic and more memories were made. I look forward to the chaos of next month. On a positive note, I only have 10 weeks left in the semester!
Loves,
M
Mrs. Collins Makes Stuff 