December was fun, I’m not going to lie. The semester is over, and I could not be happier. There were illnesses and other unpleasantries, but life seemed to kind of smooth out a bit. I got to make the month away, and I (finally) have something to show for it. I got really into knitting again and can even start to dream about sewing in the near future.

* Finished Objects:

Another Everglade, by Wooly Wormhead. This was knit in Malabrigo Rios.

Flax sweater, by Tin Can Knits. This was knit with leftover Miss Babs Yowza and Malabrigo Rios. When knitting the sleeves, I ran short on the Yowza and added the Rios stripes to avoid panic-inducing yarn chicken.

Three Anker Toques, by Tin Can Knits. These were all knit in Malabrigo Rios, for the three taekwondo teachers.

Daddy and Feebs matching pajama pants. I don’t recall what patterns I used for these pants, but man, did I mess them up. I somehow sewed the two back pieces on both pairs as one leg and the two front pieces as the other leg. I cut the elastic ridiculously long on Feebs’ pants and had to clothespin them to get a decent picture, then had to resew them. I guess this is what happens when you try to batch sew after months of not sewing and then try to cram all the finishing into the last day before Christmas…

* New cast-ons:

Harris Sweater for Dad

* Works in Progress:

Shatar vest

Knitting my Memories blanket

White denim skirt

8 pairs of pajama pants/ shorts

* Goals for the month:

Finish the other two pairs of pajama pants for Feebs

Pull out the white denim skirt and assess the situation

Gear up for the new semester that starts at the end of the month

Finish the Father’s sweater by the end of the month

Make Sister #2’s scarf

This month was kind of weird great, and I got to knit a lot. Nothing makes me smile quite as much as baby knits. I knit the Flax sweater in size 1 year for the cousin’s baby. They are so sweet and little and knit up fast. I just love them. Then the debacle of the knitted hats for the taekwondo teachers… That was an exercise in frustration. Feebs and I got sick in the first week of the month, which pulled Feebs out of her twice-weekly classes for the entire month. She asked me to knit hats for the teachers, so I did. I was literally knitting up to the finish line, we got there, and it wasn’t a regular class. So, we had to turn around and go home. I ended up taking them in a week later by myself because Feebs was sick again. I felt bad for taking the fun of gift-giving away from her, but I wanted the teachers to have them before the studio shut down for the holidays. I started the Father’s sweater, and oh boy, was it super annoying to have to knit three colorwork sleeves. Why did I knit three colorwork sleeves, you ask? Because apparently, I do not know how to read, and I messed up my increases, which messed up my colorwork patterns. Good times. I believe I am back on track now, and I intend to complete it within the month. I am most scared about sewing on the zipper. Many tutorials will be watched prior to that happening. I already gave you Cliff’s Notes about the pajama pants, but that wasn’t even the worst part. On another pair of pants, I cut out one leg in the Husband’s size and one in my size. For real, Mrs. Collins, figure out your life! Part of the problem is that I did a batch-cutting session and started to sew up three sets of matching pajamas for Feebs and one or other of us parents back in July before school started. I had to move and reorganize the pile several times, and now I don’t know what patterns I used or how to undo and fix all of the leg errors. To put it mildly, I seriously messed up and will have to figure out how to salvage them. But did I tell you that I get to knit and sew again? I nearly wept when my classes ended; I could pick up my knitting needles and be leisurely about it. It was glorious. I can’t wait to have some larger finished knitted garments!

Overall, life was weird in December. It started off great with a trip to see the Father. We were supposed to do the festive mini-golf, but it was pouring rain both nights. We decided to reschedule for another trip over Winter Break. Instead, we played cards and had excellent Indian food. He and Feebs made breakfast both mornings, and it was so great to see them enjoying their time together. That week Feebs and I got nasty colds and were out of commission (and school/ work) the entire week. Unfortunately, my new meds are doing their job very well, and I have no immune system to fight off the ick that circulates this time of year. It took me a solid three weeks to get over it. That following weekend was supposed to be the cookie decorating night with the Forest Hills friends at our house. Since everyone had been battling illness, we rescheduled for the next week. We did end up feeling well enough to go to the children’s festival at the Husband’s work. It took about 35 minutes to go through the entire setup. Not the best year, but they tried. Another Forest Hills friend’s birthday party at the trampoline place was right after that. I was rather shocked when a 9-year-old received an iPhone for his birthday. What was even more shocking was that Feebs was the only kid there who didn’t already have a cell phone. She is hopeful that she will get a phone for her birthday, but it isn’t looking promising. What does my 8/9-year-old need a cell phone for??? That week Lillie finally got her cast off! She was so happy to finally be able to kitten. She has been running us ragged ever since. The third weekend of the month was both of our family Christmas parties. Unfortunately, we just didn’t feel comfortable going. I missed seeing everyone, but I just didn’t want to get sick again. Apparently, half of the people there were sick, so I may have dodged a bullet. We did end up having Jorge and Lisa over for dinner that night. It was a very nice visit, and I always enjoy spending time with them. Then suddenly, it was Christmas week. Feebs got sick again and missed the entire week of holiday fun. It was the pits. Work slowed down, and we had a lot of people off. By this time, my application for Manager had been accepted, and I was notified that there would be no test, only the interview. So, we will see what happens there. The week ended with our annual Christmas lunch and reindeer picture. We had invited Uncle M to come to dinner for Christmas Eve, the Mother in Law for Christmas day brunch, and the Parents for Christmas day dinner. Then at the last minute, the Husband got sick. He got completely wiped out, and all Christmas festivities were called off. We ended up having to cancel with everyone, and we just had Chinese food for Christmas Eve dinner. Christmas morning was fun, and Feebs really enjoyed herself. Once the gift opening was completed, it basically felt like a regular day. I did dishes, laundry, clean up, etc. I was a little blue the whole day. I was on vacation from work the whole next week. I specified “from work” because I was crazy busy the whole week. I drove up and down I-80 three times and paid $28 in bridge tolls. I spent the week being exhausted but had a nice time with the Parents. The Mother had a blue Christmas and New Year’s Eve, as it turned out, because of sickness. The second visit with the Father was very nice. Again, it was pouring rain, so still no mini-golf. We played cards and learned how to play Rummicube. It was a very fun game, and we will be buying it. The last weekend of the month started with a makeup Christmas dinner with Mother in Law. It was a nice visit, and Feebs liked seeing her grandma. The next day we headed to the O’s for NYE. They have an adorable new puppy, Noodle. She is a 9-week-old Labradoodle. I just wanted to snuggle her the whole time. We had a lovely snack lunch with an assortment of cheeses. We had a wonderful dinner. Once we got back to the house, the evening kind of died. The Female O fell asleep at 9:45 PM, and the girls stayed up till midnight. It kept us from having a mellow adult evening. It also created hell the next morning when Feebs had to wake up and be functional at 8:00 AM, so we could make it to our breakfast reservation. My girl does NOT enjoy getting less than 10 hours of sleep. She was pretty wretched till we got to breakfast. I will say the girls were awesome. They got along and played very nicely together. That always makes everything better. We also set up our next “kid-free” weekend. We will do it over my birthday weekend, and we are all so excited.

One not so great thing about the month and getting sick is that it wiped out my physical activities. I had no umph to exercise, especially when I couldn’t get rid of my cough for 3 weeks. I also didn’t do great about watching my sugar intake. I guess I can blame it on December. There is something psychologically programmed in us to be gluttonous sloths during that month. I don’t understand it. I got back on track in the last few days of the month, but it was a struggle. I honestly wonder if my decrease in stress made it easier for me to fall off of my wagon. I wasn’t craving the relief like I had been for the past almost 2 years. Whatever it was, it needed to go away. My body and brain need to be active.

So, that was December and the end of 2022. It was full and often bittersweet. I have hopes for the coming year and good memories from the one that just ended. Hopefully, January will continue to be a low-stress month, and I can keep enjoying my making. Onward and upward!

Loves,

M

There is something so very satisfying about taking something old, broken, or neglected and making it usable again.  I try to mend or upcycle whenever possible.  I tend to keep all fabric that I think I can find a use for.  That means old sheets, broken or damaged clothes, and “treasures” I find along the way.  I delight in shopping at thrift stores, garage sales, or being a curb gnome of Free stuff on the side of the road.  When I take fabric things apart (i.e. sheets, shirts, skirts, etc.) I sit down with my seam ripper and completely dismantle everything into individual pieces.  By doing this, I end up with more fabric from seam allowance and hems, or new notions like the elastic in the casing of a fitted sheet.  These are all good things to have and reuse.  They just take some time and effort.

Feebs pants:  Every year my darling girl wears holes in the knees of her leggings.  Every. Single. Year.  The first couple of years, I think I just threw them away.  One day it dawned on me that it makes no sense for me to throw away holey leggings, then buy her shorts when the weather warms up.  So now I have an ever-present pile of holey leggings that get converted into shorts each year.  It saves me money and helps eliminate some waste.  I have an overlocker, but for these, I use my regular sewing machine with a jersey needle and a zigzag stitch.

Gardening Hat:  I was riding my “stationary” bike recently and surveying the chaos that is the garage when I noticed my incredibly crumpled gardening hat.  The brim was bent and slumped and looked very depressing.  I started to consider the fact that maybe the hat was at the end of its life.  I was musing that maybe I could fix it if I had some wire.  No joke, I looked to my right, and low and behold there was a spool of wire hanging on one of the shelves.  I used heavy-duty thread and hand-sewed the wire.  I already had some double-folded bias tape, so I used that and my sewing machine to cover the wire.  Good as new.  Now I can look like my true quirky garden-lady self.

Reusable wine/ whiskey bags:  The Husband is hard on jeans.  Very hard on jeans.  About once every quarter, I tend to inherit a pair of jeans with a catastrophically blown-out crotch.  This blowout is not something that you/ I cannot mend.  The rest of the jeans are fine though, and they result in a lot of good, strong, material that I can’t make myself throw away.  For Christmas last year, the Husband bought himself some fancy whiskeys that he’d had his eye on.  I was out of bottle gift bags and wasn’t about to waste wrapping paper on them.  It seemed gauche though, to just leave them naked under the tree.  So, I cut up a pair of damaged jeans and an old button-up shirt that the Husband no longer wore and turned them into reusable whiskey gift bags.  The denim fabric was very bulky and took a lot of maneuvering.  When I make more, I will use lighter materials.

Using sheets:  I love making things out of sheets.  I have gone through the sets of sheets that have been moved from house to house that no longer fit our beds.  Do you know what these are fabulous for?  Toiles and pajamas.  I want to make a saltwater slip dress and don’t want to use my fashion fabric (another thrifted sheet) on the first go. So, I will pull out one of my old Ikea twin-size sheet sets and work out the pattern and my sizing first.  I am also in dire need of some summer pajama sets, so what better way than with a few orphaned pillowcases found at the thrift store.  To date, one of my proudest upcycles is a True Bias Ogden Cami dress hack.  A while ago, we bought a new duvet cover for our bed with decorative pillow shams.  I do not like pillow shams.  I have no use for pillow shams.  So, I seam-ripped them apart and made a dress.  I love this dress and was incredibly proud of the upcycle.  (Note to self:  make another one of these dresses using the unlined method and a size smaller.)

Excellent resources for this type of making are:

Podcasts:

Frugalisma

With Wendy

Coolirpa

Bernadette Banner

Books:

Mending Matters; Stitch, Patch, and Repair your Favorite Denim & More

Make, Sew, and Mend: Traditional Techniques to Sustainably Maintain and Refashion Your Clothes

Websites:

Upcycle That

Thread Up

Loves,

M

Hello Darling. I finally did it. I knit Deodara, by Maria Olson, using Brown Sheep Serendipity Tweed. I have wanted to knit Deodara for a long time. I added this pattern to my Ravelry queue in 2015 and even started it at one point, only to realize that I was using the wrong yarn for the pattern. I completed the entire body and knew it would be gorgeous in the right yarn, so it was sent to the frog pond (and later became a gorgeous Felix cardigan). Fast forward 7 years, I bought a cotton/ wool blend yarn from Keri’s Ravelry destash and decided that it would be a great idea to turn Deodara into a short-sleeved Summer sweater.

Since it is a worsted weight yarn, the sweater knit up fast. But, because of school, it still took me a month to complete. I followed the body length instructions but modified the sleeve length to be capped short sleeves with a ribbed cuff. When the top was done, I tried it on and wasn’t 100% thrilled with it. The length was simply too short for my taste. I like sweaters of all kinds to go below the waistband of my bottoms. I know this, yet, I constantly try to ignore it. The hem of the sweater hit right at the top of the waistband of my jeans. I knew this garment would not be something I would wear often.

This meant that I needed to do something annoying, like ripping out the bind-off and ribbing so that I could lengthen the waist. There isn’t much that annoys me more than ripping out those particular things. Yes, I realize I could have cut it, lengthened it, and kitchener stitched it back on, but really, which is the worst of the two evils? I added about two more inches to the waist length and then knit ribbing and bound off. All in all, I didn’t add a huge amount, but it was just enough to ensure that I would want to wear it. I mean, what is the point of knitting something that you either won’t wear or want to gift to someone else?

So, after the slight body length modification, the sweater worked out great, and I wore it often all Summer. I like the pattern and think that it is very versatile for different yarns and seasons. The yarn was a little rough on my hands, as all plant fibers are, but it knit up very nicely and held its shape well. I believe I have almost a whole skein left, with no idea what to make with it. My tastes have changed since I added this pattern to my queue, so I don’t think I will knit it again. I now tend to lean away from fitted stockinette sweaters. I like my sweaters loose and plain, or fitted and textured. Because of the bubblegum pink and fuchsia color combination, I can’t wait to see if Feebs ends up wanting this top when she gets older.

Loves,

M

Hello darling. We are in the home stretch of 2022. I just finished my year in review, and it is time to start dreaming about what I want to make in 2023. I still felt stifled with sewing in 2022. I’m still afraid to make the first cut or make a mistake. I am far from being a perfectionist, but I hate when my handmade clothing looks “homemade.” That word has always had a less-than-desirable taste to it. To me, it means that it was obviously made by a novice. I don’t pretend to be anywhere near a professional seamstress, but I don’t want it to look shoddy and amateur. I don’t know why I have so much fear of mistakes. I don’t sew with expensive materials, and I don’t have any fabric that I really consider sentimental or irreplaceable. I also continue to struggle with rushing and fudging my sewing. I need to accept and remember that I do not have the experience necessary to rush, fudge, or eyeball my sewing. I need to slow down and take time to do things correctly. I need to measure, press, and pin to ensure accuracy and fit. I need to read my pattern directions and follow them. I also need to trust the process and tackle new techniques. I may not be a talented maker, but I do have skills. I can learn how to do things, once I get over myself and try them.

Each year, I select a word, something to work toward and achieve. My word, last year, was “Boundaries.” My word for 2023 is “Connections.” When a word chooses me, I try to figure out how it will fit into all the facets of my life. With family and friends, I want to reconnect and spend time with people in person. I want to make more effort to stay in touch and have rewarding two-way relationships with loved ones. Making-wise, I want to connect with my making. Connect with my fears and sit with them, then put them behind me. Reconnect with my love of making my own clothes. I know that I am capable, and I need to have more faith in myself. I also need to connect with my schedule and ensure I have penciled in time to work on my making. Job-wise, I need to connect with any and all opportunities I choose to embrace. I want to connect my opportunities with my long-term goals, and not be afraid to take on bigger projects or positions. I am definitely ready to connect with the person that I will become in 2023.

My Goals:

Sewing

• Sew at least one garment per month
• Experiment with different fabrics
• Sew more tops
• Use more stash fabric
• Work on hand sewing to help with finishing
• Use Grandpa’s sewing machine

Dream sewing patterns:

True Bias Hudson pants

DIbY Abb tee shirts

Friday Pattern Company Saltwater Slipdress

Lawly skirt

Tote bag using recycled jeans

Finish the white denim skirt

Tilly and the Buttons Stella Joggers and Hoodie

Knitting:

• Make more staple garments- think capsule wardrobe
• Knit a black cardigan and gray or black shawl
• Work on the Knitting my Memories blanket
• Make more charity hats and supplies
• Knit often; it’s good for your mental health
• Teach Feebs and the Ladies how to knit

Dream knitting patterns:

Harris sweaters for Dad and me

Lapis sweater (probably my NYE cast on)

Finish Shatar Vest

Lavonia Patronella Beginner’s Brioche Scarf for Sister #2

Kim Hargreaves’ Harten Cardigan

Mending:

Rehab front porch bench

Repair the Dooney & Burke handbag

Melt ruined candles and repour

Rip out:

• Multi-colored Lapis
• Rams Horn cowl
• 2470 Women’s Lace Border Tank

Replace zippers on zip-up hoodies

House stuff:

Landscape the front yard

Replace both garage doors

Replace siding

New windows

Tile covered patio

Remove the extra door on the porch

Strip and stain the stair banister

Build new decks

New railing for front steps

New things to try:

Macrame

Zippered make-up bags

Make more handmade gifts

Patchwork quilting

Go to more making festivals and conventions

What other goals do I have? I want to keep prioritizing my health and wellness. I want to keep enjoying the benefits, both physical and mental, of keeping my body in movement. I will continue to be kind and not berate myself for enjoying a cookie but, at the same time, fuel my body with what it needs to be strong. I want to travel more. There is so much to see in this country and out, and I want to start experiencing it. I also want to work on developing a budget and saving more money for the things that we need to pay for. I am still a devout anti-debt person, so that means making better financial decisions to pay for things upfront. We have big plans for the future, so I need to find a way to fund them.

So, I think that is it in a nutshell. I want to continue posting about my dream makes. Some of them I will make, some I won’t. I will toile all garments. This should help with my fear of cutting things out. I shall go into 2023 by being kind to myself and allowing myself to grow.

Loves,

M

Hello darling. The end of 2022 is nigh, and it is doubtful that I will complete any more projects before the end of the year (5 days from now). I guess now is a good time to reflect on the year’s makes and talk about my highs and lows. I will try to capture all of the categories to list the bests and worsts.

Total knits: 44

6 pairs of socks

16 charity knits

1 cocoon

8 hats

2 ear warmers

5 baby sweaters

4 adult sweater

1 cowl

1 large shawl

Total sewn garments: 8

5 sets of pajamas

2 skirts

1 top

Favorite make: the Betty Cardigan. I knit this cardigan as my grandmother was dying, hence the rebrand from the Switchback sweater to the Betty Cardigan. It turned out beautiful and it will always make me happy when I see it. It is also my most complex knit, to date.

Least favorite make: the matching pajamas that I sewed for The Husband and Feebs. I don’t know how I messed the up so much, but I messed them up. They were simply thrilled with them, but I made some weird and big errors. I may still take them completely apart and resew them. The jury is out, only because I serged all of my seams, and the thought of ripping all that out is devastating.

Most teachable make: The Abb tee for Feebs. It was many firsts for me. It was my first t-shirt, first jersey, and the first time I sewed a garment with my serger. It came out terribly, but I learned so much from making it. I am still initimidated by it, but I will make more of them and learn how to make it properly.

Will make again: The Lawly skirt. I picked the worst fabric to make this, but I love how it came out and I wore it all summer. I already have plans to make another one using a firm pink/ white checked gingham cotton. I am currently battling over if I want to fuss with pattern matching, or just go with it.

Most worn make: In the warm weather I wore the Lawly the most. In the cold weather I wore Calliope the most.

There were many other crafts this year, but those get harder to quantify. The candles were a hot mess, and none of them came out properly. I hopefully learned some lessons and will be more successful in the future. The tye-dye was fun and came out really great, but each time we do it is a big commitment. The dye containers are big, and are single use. We had to find a lot of things to tye-dye each time. There were other miscellaneous crafts that we did, but they may not have registered as important enough to make it onto the blog.

So, I am pretty proud of what I accomplished in 2022. Considering that 4 months of the year were hard no-making months, I think I was pretty productive. I am really happy that I tried some new things, especially sewing-wise. I want to keep learning and practicing and not being afraid of imperfect. We will see what 2023 brings. I want to be adventurous and not afraid to make mistakes and I want to learn to fix them. 5 days to go, till we have a clean slate. Wish me luck!

Loves,

M

Well, hello there, December.  I should be ashamed that this is going up in the last week of December… November was interesting.  The month was full of visitors, medical stuff, and kittens, with some last-minute making crammed in.  Still, no sewing is happening, but the semester is winding down, so hope is on the horizon.

• Finished Objects:

2 Everglade gift hats, by Wooly Wormhead.  One knit in Malabrigo Rios, one in Loops Fiber Studio Yin Yang Worsted.

Antler Toque gift hat, by Tin Can Knits.  Knit in Malabrigo Rios.

Headband with a Twist- day-25 advent, by Mirella Moments.  Knit in leftover Miss Babs Yowza.

• New Cast-ons:

Everglade gift hat

Flax baby sweater

• Works in Progress:

Shatar Vest

10 pairs of pajama pants/ shorts

White denim skirt

• Goals for the month:

Finish Daddy & Me pajama pants for Christmas

Sew more garments

Knit to your heart’s content once school is done

Finish the semester!

This was a slow month of making till the 2^nd week in November when the Mother- In- Law asked me to knit a hat for her friend’s birthday.  I pulled a skein of wool from older stash and knit an Everglade.  I love this pattern for feminine gifts.  It knits up quickly (once you get through the 3 miles of rib) and is so squish and lovely.  You can tell that it is a preferred gift knit go-to since I knit 2 this month and cast on one more.  I wonder how many I will knit before the year has ended.  Then I decided to knit some more gifts for Christmas.  I have absolutely loved knitting again and felt my stress level go down dramatically.  Still no sewing, but I forgive myself since I was in the last few weeks of the semester from hell.  I have a goal to get a little sewing done in December.  I want to get the matching cat jammies sewn for The Husband and Feebs, for Christmas.  Fingers crossed that I can pull that off in time.  I will have a solid month free between this semester and next, and I intend to make the hell out of December/ January. 

Life-wise, November was weird.  I made an executive decision, and on 11/3 I went to the county animal shelter and adopted two kittens, sisters, Mitsy and Missie.  I filled out the paperwork on the 3rd, and they were to be spayed and sent home on the 4th.  I paid the fee and took the pictures from the wall.  I told no one that I was doing this.  I went home that night, sat down the people in my house, and explained that I had made a big decision and that it would affect everyone and be a lot of work for us.  I knew they were both dubious, but they said “okay.”  I showed them the pictures and said that the little girls would be coming home to live with us the next day.  I should probably mention that The Husband is a cat person.  He has always been a cat person and marrying me meant that there would be no more cats.  I am allergic, Feebs is allergic, and cats are a lot of mess and maintenance.   And still, I went and adopted kittens.  Feebs squealed with delight, and the Husband ugly cried with joy.  They were both so surprised that I did it and couldn’t wait to meet the new babies.  We went to pick them up the next day.  We now have Esme and Lilith (Lillie).  They are adorable and very bonded to each other.  Mind you, exactly 7 days later, Lillie jumped off the top of the cat tree and broke her back leg.  Throughout the month, we have spent A LOT of money at the vet, but she is worth it.  I spent the first weekend of the month with The Mother, just the two of us.  It was lovely, and we got to have some chill time together.  Unfortunately, her house is still on the market, so there is no big movement on her moving closer to me.  The next weekend, I had my first infusion appointment.  I was able to reschedule my appointments when I was released from jury duty (hooray!!!).  It sucked a bit because my appointments were rescheduled for Veteran’s Day and the day after Thanksgiving.  All in all, it went okay.  I had an allergic reaction to the medication and had to get a mega dose of Benadryl to counteract it.  You haven’t lived until you have had a mega dose of Benadryl shot straight into your vein…  0 out of 5 stars, do not recommend it.  It didn’t knock me out but basically made me very out of sorts.  The first appointment took 7 hours, and the second took 4.  Fortunately, on the second round, the nurse was prepared for me to have a reaction, so she gave me Benadryl first.  I still don’t recommend it, and it threw me for a loop again.  Since she was proactive, the appointment went much faster.  Between the first and second doses were 1.) my cousin came to stay the weekend and 2. the week of Thanksgiving.  Madam Y came the day I had my first infusion, and the Husband picked her up from BART.  She asked me to teach her to knit, and Oh My God, Becky, she knit an entire hat over the weekend.  And when I say she knit a hat, I mean her stitches were even, and she did a beautiful job.  I didn’t realize that she had a larger head, so the hat she knit was very small, and she said she would gift it.  It was such a nice visit, and I am hopeful she will return for more knitting.  Then the following week The Mother came and stayed with Feebs to spend some time with her.  She stayed for Thanksgiving, and The Father came too.  The Husband cooked a huge spread, and everyone ate well.  It is crazy to me how he can whip up a complete meal and everything to be done at the same time.  On Thanksgiving morning, the three of us went to Alcatraz for the Sunrise Ceremony.  The Husband had gone for years before we met.  This was his first time going with us.  We got up very early and were bundled up in many layers.  The temperature wasn’t too cold, and we enjoyed the ferry ride to the island.  I was glad to go so that the Husband could experience it with us.  I don’t think I will go again next year.  The next weekend we got to see the Bell Ladies, which was delightful, and I got to meet the adorable grandbabies.  It was so nice to snuggle some littles and catch up with my friend and her girls.  The last Sunday of the month was crunch time to get going on my final work for the semester.  I was able to get my final English paper completed and submitted it on 11/30.  That basically ended the semester (workwise) for that class.  I started my final project for my Health class but didn’t finish it by the end of the month, and that wasn’t my goal anyway because it wasn’t due till 12/11.

So now we will be moving into December and the “real” holidays begin.  I am very behind on Christmas shopping (we celebrate non-religious Christmas).  The end-of-the-semester tunnel was in site!  I was almost done and so ready to be finished.  We already have a lot of fun things planned for the month, and I hope everything goes to plan.  I can’t wait to be free and able to make all the things.  Oh, and The Father has asked me to knit him a sweater for Christmas!  You could have knocked me over with a feather when he asked for that.  I went right online and ordered the yarn and will start knitting as soon as it arrives.  I warned him that it wouldn’t be done by Christmas but would be by his birthday in February (it will probably be done before that).  It seems like the month is full of possibilities!  I can’t wait!

Loves,

M

October was so busy, it’s almost like it didn’t happen. The month is also the doorway to holiday season, so it just stays busy till January (notice the date this is being posted?). October houses several crucial birthdays, an anniversary, and an important annual trip. And during all of it, not much making happened.

* New Cast-ons:

Lapis- will be ripped out, with the intention of using different contrast yarn

* Works in Progress:

Shatar vest

August 2022 socks

2470 Women’s Lace Border Tank Top

White denim skirt

10 pairs of pajama pants/ shorts

* Goals for next month:

Don’t fail any classes

Rip out Lapis and get new contrast yarn

Figure out and start holiday knitting

Teach Yin to knit

My knitting just didn’t work out this month. I tried. I honestly did. For some reason I just couldn’t get into any project that I worked on this month. Even knitting on the socks wasn’t bringing me joy. I started Lapis after Kristin, of the Voolenvine podcast, brought it to my attention. She had started it, then planned to rip it out. I thought the pattern would be an excellent way to use the gorgeous Ephemera mini set that I bought at Lambtown. I paired it with a charcoal gray Patons Kroy sock yarn, thinking it would moody and Fall-ish. I was wrong. It ended up being a weird color-block stripey thing that simply did not meld the way I had envisioned. This was my Mendocino knitting this year, so it is disappointing that it didn’t work out. I still want to make it, though. I think the top would be incredibly cute and versatile for layering during the cold months. I am leaning toward using a natural color contrast and striping it, instead of the solid block of color like in the pattern. I would also love to keep working on Shatar. I think that will be another excellent layering piece, and it will look scholarly and adorable. The only issue with working on that is that I have to 100% pay attention to what I am doing. This is NOT a T.V. knit. That being said, I haven’t had the time available to dedicate to it. And sewing… I will keep trying to get something out of that machine each month, but I am not sure it going to happen while 1) school is still a thing and 2) the Mother is here often and the bed has to stay down. Yin comes next month, too, so I am thinking the bed will stay down and sewing space won’t be available.

So October… The first weekend was Lambtown. There is a separate post for that, so I won’t bore you by going into detail. That following week was both Mendocino, and our 10th Anniversary. Our trip was so great! I know I say that every year, but this year was incredible. We did new things, like try an amazing Mayan restaurant in Fort Brag (mayanfusion.com), went to the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens, and tried out a new beach. We went the new coffee shop (formerly Moody’s) and found that is the same coffee as the previous shop, thank goodness. We went to a lot of the same places: the toy shop, Sea Pal Cove, and the rock shop. The girls got along so well, that it was almost eerie. The hot tub was out of commission, which was heartbreaking, but Ms. Lucy was incredibly generous about it and left us wine and offered a discounted rate for next year’s booking. Our anniversary was very nice. The O’s were kind enough to keep Feebs for us while we went to dinner. We tried the Mendocino Inn’s restaurant for the first time. The food was very good, but we felt that we should have gone back to Mayan Fusion instead (because that place was so amazing). I ordered the whole fish, and good lord, that was a commitment. It was huge! A guy at a neighboring table ordered the same thing, and both were delivered at the same time. We made startled eye contact and I told him that we should have shared one. He laughed, and we both did our level best to finish our dinners. While we were in Mendocino, of course we got our traditional pictures; the three of us in front of the house, the girls in front of the fireplace, and the girls at the beach. For the first time, we had the girls take a picture of the four adults. It was a great picture, and we now have a new memory. Once we got back from the trip, we got a slightly less fast-paced week. I had my EEG (everything looked good), and then Feebs and I spent the weekend at the Father’s house. The Mother changed our plans, so it was not as relaxing and flexible as I had hoped it would be. We saw the youngest niece and nephew, as they stayed with Dad over the next week. I guess I didn’t realize how difficult age 10 is. Once I was exposed to it, and it’s incredibly sassy attitude, I began to reminisce about all of the previous 10 year old’s (me included), and realized that it wasn’t a unique thing. I think all 10 year old’s, especially the female ones, are wretched. Gee, I can’t wait to have one of my own… It was nice to get to talk to them, though. I don’t see them often, and never in a small enough group to have actual conversations. The next week began Birthday Hell Week. The Ladies hosted Ms. V’s 50th birthday party on Tuesday, then Yin turned 20, then the Husband had his birthday, then the Mother had hers. This all happened in one week. It was a very long week. On the Husband’s birthday, we went to the Arnocorps show with the U boys. We had a fantastic night! The rest of the weekend was spend making the Mother happy. The following week was Halloween, and Feebs decided to be Harley Quin. She was stuck between that and Poison Ivey. Her penchant for villainesses makes me slightly nervous for the future. We went trick or treating with the FH group, which was really nice. and Feebs make out like a bandit with candy.

So then, finally, the month was over. It was so packed. I feel like I am forgetting to document some stuff, but… such is life. October is always like this, and I hope it never changes. It was a really good month. I hope to do more making next month, but with work and school, I am putting no pressure. I want to get over this semester’s hurdles, then I can figure out what life will be like next semester. More excitement and adventure to come.

Loves,

M

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

August has come and gone. Again, not much making to report. Between home, work, and now school, leisure time is hard to come by. I am only allowing myself making time on the weekends. That being said, I will still be knitting my little heart out during my allotted time.

* Finished Objects:

June 2022 socks. These were knit in Nomadic Yarn- Trusty Sock in the Bellatrix LeStrange colorway. I knit a 58 stitch vanilla sock with an afterthought heel.

* New Cast-ons:

Shatar Vest

Deodara

August 2022 socks

* Works in Progress:

2470 Women’s Lace Border Tank Top

White denim skirt

10 pairs of pajama pants/ shorts

* Goals for next month

Figure out 2022 Mendo sweater

Finish Deodara

Sew one project

Mend 2 items from the pile

Don’t flunk any classes

So, as you can see, the making department has gone on strike. Well, not strike, more like sabbatical. I want to knit on Deodara. I feel that she is going to pull me out of the knitting funk that I tend to go into during the summer. For some reason I tend to lose my making mojo when it’s hot. I will note, that I have a growing mending pile, and I need to make that a priority this month. As you can see, the charity knitting has also taken a nose-dive. That too needs to be pulled from the wreckage and put back on track. I have a million plans, and only a handful of hours. We are heading into the unfortunate time of year where mornings are sweater weather and afternoons are three steps away from hell. I would really love to set up my sewing station work on the gingham Lawley skirt, while I can still wear it. Unfortunately, current life events are requiring me to keep the guest bed clear so there can’t be a sewing station. I have a feeling that I won’t have any dedicated sewing time and space until after the warm weather is pretty much done for the year. Another crazy thing that happened this summer is that I have not completed my annual summer knit. I have always been able to knit a summer garment, usually only one. I am not a fan of knitting with plant fiber as it dries out and hurts my hands, hence I only complete one per year. I cast on the Lace Border Tank Top, and I purchased some cotton yarn to knit a Kuutar top. I have half of a front of the lace tank top, and the yarn and pattern for Kuutar in the downstairs basket. I have lost steam on both projects. I am going to blame this loss of motivation on the fact that it has been a very unusual summer.

August was a pretty good month. The annual family barbeque happened at Sister #2’s house. It was a delightful event. I got to catch up with the family, including cousins and the offspring. It is so fun to watch my nieces and nephews become adults. It is bittersweet, but sweet none the less. Right after that grand event, school started. Ladies and gentlemen, we have a 3rd grader! That doesn’t even seem possible. Where did 8 years go? We have (I think/hope/pray) a good teacher that seems to be strict enough to keep Feebs going forward, but gentle enough that she adores her. Since school is back in session, the germs are starting to fly. Feebs has been home for two days with a cold. She gets to go back today, and we are both excited about it. My fingers are crossed that she is always excited to go to school. Lord knows, she didn’t get that from me. And shortly after she started school, I started school as well. I began two classes at the local junior college. I am taking college English, which I have some how been able to avoid for the past 20 years, and a health and wellness class. The English class will fulfill my general education requirements and the health class goes toward my major. I am still undecided if I want to go for Health Sciences or Public Health. Health Sciences is more general, but I only need 5 classes to complete it. Public Health is a specialized major, and is transferable to a state college. I need 7-8 classes to complete it. I am in conundrum, because the part of me that is just checking boxes is voting for the easier path. The part of me that likes to have all of the options is voting on the longer, more specialized path. I would say “what’s three more classes?”, but two of them are classes that would have to be in person, and would be very difficult for me to pass (chemistry and biology with labs). My current classes are going well, so far. Both professors are pleasant and seem to care about their teaching and the students. I have had some major learning curves, when it comes to the technology aspect, but so far, the content is easy enough to follow. The week my classes started, Ms. H was here for a visit. It was so great to have her here just to relax. We took her to good food, Nicaraguan and Ethiopian, and just had a nice visit. We kept trying to come up with something fun and exciting to do, but we were all really tired and wanting to chill. It was still a great visit. Health-wise, I seem too be at a standstill. I finally meet with a neurologist tomorrow. I will get the results of my brain MRI. My guess is that she will say there are no changes from my last scan and that I am just fine. There will be no explanation about the dizziness that refuses to go away. It will probably be chalked up to having had Covid, with no further need for investigation. Tis the story of my medical life. My medical stuff has had the side effect of prompting the Mother to want to move to this area. Over the last few weeks, she has been coming here to see houses. Her house goes on the market tomorrow, so we will see what comes of that. The market is noticeably slowing down, and the town that she lives in isn’t a growing metropolis, as it is. She has found some very cute houses and hopefully she will be happy in them. Only time will tell. Her coming and going is the reason for no sewing station. It is a small sacrifice, though, if it means she can live closer.

That sums up the month. It was a good month. Busy and sometimes frustrating, but still good. I look forward to September and all that she holds in stock. I will continue to check off weeks of this semester. It will be done before I know it, then onto the dreaded math. Wish me luck!

Loves,

M