And here we are, February is complete. That means we are almost done with the first quarter of the year. February was really good. Many good things happened this month and I move onto March with good memories. A lot of knitting happened, but not a lot of finishing. No sewing occurred, but I think I have a plan in the making. There are no finished objects, but March should see some, so there’s that.
New cast-ons:
Birthday Flax
Works in progress:
Zipper sweater
Shatar vest
Home camisole
Travel socks
Goals for next month:
Finish the Zipper sweater
Resew the zipper in Harris
Plan out a sewing project
Find a knit I can’t wait to work on
I hope he never reads this because I have really hated both sweaters that I have knit for the Father. He is so knit-worthy, and I love him so much, but both of the sweaters that I have knit for him gave me absolutely no joy to knit. Add to that, they never seem to fit him. Harris was enormous. While I did manage to shrink it (successfully, I think) it was a pain in my ass and I still haven’t resewn the zipper and returned it to him. The birthday gift that should have been finished, by his birthday, still isn’t done. It is very close, but then the dread of “will it fit him” creeps in. That being said, I did allow myself a cheeky birthday knit. I have knit at least seven Flax sweaters, but none have been for me. So I grabbed my Knitting for Olive mohair and Holts Garn combo from our European trip and cast one on for my birthday. I started with a fold over neck, but fell out of love with it and have put it in a time out. I started to browse Ravelry, looking for a pattern that would spark joy, but I haven’t committed to anything yet. I have my eye on using up my old- AF Berroco Glace and knitting another Heartbeat top. I don’t have enough yarn to knit it, but have put out feelers on Ravelry for people willing to sell theirs. So, I will see if this is even a possibility. I had nerve to buy a new sewing pattern, the York Pinafore by Helen’s Closet, and have finished assembling the million sheets of paper that creates the pattern. I feel like I have no concept of what size I am, so am being a chicken about cutting it out. I think it will be super versatile for all seasons, so I need to woman up and commit. I also hacked up a pair of the Husband’s ruined pants and plan to knit a project or mid-sized tote bag. I have to “design” it so, again, I am being a chicken. I am putting no pressure on myself to sew, though. When I do it, I do it.
The month was fantastic! It was full of good things and I am so happy that everything worked out great. Day one started with Feebs’s recovery from her tonsillectomy. You’ve never seen a kid more excited to have surgery, she was hilarious. I was worried about how recovery would go, but the kid flew through it like a champ. I am so glad it is over and she is almost back to 1000%. Two weeks after the surgery, she was sleeping better and no longer snoring. It has been amazing. The second weekend was the Father’s birthday. Sister #1 and Sister #3 and I showed up at his party to surprise him. It was a tiny bit awkward, but he was delighted and that made it worth it. Sister #1, her husband, and I went to dinner that night. It was so great to talk to them and feel like we got some reconnection. With busy lives and a lot of distance, we haven’t been great about maintaining our relationship. We have both pledged to do better. At the beginning of the month my work like drastically lightened up, so that rang through everything. My birthday week was fantastic. I took two days off and Feebs and I went to spend time with the Father at his house. It was a great visit. The day of my birthday started out rough because I have misplaced my 16th birthday, baby, and mother’s rings. I still haven’t been able to find them, but I tore up the house that morning looking for them. Once I finally decided to relax and enjoy my day, we went on a few adventures. We found two crafting thrift stores, one in Berkeley and one in Oakland. The Oakland one didn’t impress me much, but I loved the Berkeley one. I got a huge code of natural color yarn that I want to use to redo the Knitting my Memories blanket for $13. After that, we headed to Urban Ore and I got to walk around and see all the fun things. I happened to go past the display cases and holy hell, there was a bag of beige silk mohair… for $6. It was a whopping $1 per skein. There was also an unopened back of Knitpicks Dream Catcher for $10. I was absolutely floored that I was able to find such a steal, at both stores. I did some Google searching and realized that I spent $29 dollars on roughly $450 worth of yarn. On. My. Birthday. I was giddy the rest of the day. After my major scores we met the Lisa and Jorge for dinner in Oakland at Wahpepa’s Kitchen and had a delicious meal and wonderful company. We came home and had the stellar corn meal pineapple upside down birthday cake. The next day I spent with the Mother and we had a wonderful day. We couldn’t really think of anything to do, but it was really nice to just spend time with her. The last weekend we went to the Treasure Island Treasure Fest. It was an absolute cluster-fluff to get onto the island and none of us were super thrilled with the festival. We went to visit the in-laws after that. Unfortunately, the end is near for the Father in Law. We were told “weeks” at the end of January. We have no idea if that meant two weeks or twenty, so the Husband is just spending as much time with him as he can. He got the idea to cook him a venison dinner, so I called in a favor to Sister #3 and the best bro-in-law hooked him up with some venison stakes. We went to collect them and took all but the youngest to dinner. It was fantastic to spend time with them.
There was an extra day in February this year, so that stretched the good month out a little more, and I am very grateful for it. It was a great month, and 43 isn’t starting off too bad. Next month looks promising and I hopeful that everything continues to run smooth. (Considering this is being posted at the end of March, obviously it was a busy month.) So that sums her up. You and I both had a birthday, and I am grateful that they were good ones.
Loves,
M
Mrs. Collins Makes Stuff 