The Gauge

Always Making Stuff.

Despite the number of hours I've been working, I'm still getting a lot of things made.  I guess it's true that the more you do, the more you do.  I knit every night when I get home, and a little as soon as I wake up in the morning.  I work on other projects on Sundays, my only day off.

I'm knitting a sweater for a new tiny friend named Hannah:

 

This is the Placket-Neck Pullover from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts.  I'm working with Lambs Pride Super Wash.  I love this yarn, though I usually think super wash wools are kind of a bummer.  This has a nice soft feel and a pretty little halo.

 

I made this little guy, too:

 

I haven't needle felted much, but this was fun.  Also, did you know that needle felted gnomes run off with your camera and take pictures of themselves?

 

Sneaky.

Last weekend Elinor and I carved some stamps and made treat bags for Halloween Day.  Well, I carved the stamps and Elinor slapped ink on every surface within 3 feet, which sometimes included the treat bags.

 

Nonetheless, it was a good time.  It's almost always a good time with Elinor.

Monday Morning

This morning Elinor and I took a beautiful drive to Lancaster, NH.  We stopped and had breakfast at out favorite little spot, The Mooselook.

I drank too much coffee and Elinor drank too much juice.  I love going out, just the two of us.  Elinor gets really chatty and flirts with everyone in the place.  Today she wanted to talk about Halloween Day (always with the "Day") and her little collection of toy eggs.

 

This girl was fueled by juice.  She barely slept last night.  Perhaps you can tell by looking at those little eyes?

We continued on through Lunenburg, beautiful place that always seems sad to me.  It was the last place my dad lived.

He lived on a pond in the middle of nowhere.  (You can see his little house off to the right.)

 

And look at this restaurant my dad and I used to eat at together...

How does this happen?

How can things possibly fall apart so quickly?

So, yes.  A sad, beautiful place. 

28 Days

So, sometimes I really let things hold me back.  I don't have the perfect job, we still rent, I'm still uncomfortable with my body (two and a half years after having a baby), and I don't get to make things as often as I'd like to.  I really tend to dwell on these things. A lot. I end up getting in my own way. 

This time of year is typically the hardest on me.  I deal with depression all year long, but in the late Fall it seems to sneak up behind me, tap me on the shoulder and punch me in the face.  I can feel it happening now.  If the past has taught me anything, it's that if I don't get on top of this as soon as I sense it, all is lost.  I know that medication is an option, and one that I will turn to when and if the time comes again, but right now I want to try something different.

For the next four weeks I'm going to try to say yes to all the right things.  To healthy food, to plenty of sleep, to lots of time outside with Elinor, to taking pictures and making things, no matter how small, each and every single day.  To being present at work, even in hour 51, hour 53.  To keeping this blog - something I've wanted to get back to for a long time now.  To making time for my husband, my family, myself, even if it's ten minutes at the end of a long day.

I like goals.  I like the tangibility of writing it all down.  I like the thought of heading into the next month with a real sense of purpose and hope.

 

Last week I started a temporary job with the state.  Will it lead to something permanent?  Heavens to Betsy, I hope so. 

I have to drive about 100 miles each day to get to work and back, which really isn't so bad.  The driving, I mean.  Being away from my family for 12 hours each day?  Not so great.  And by the time I get home I really just throw dinner together so we can eat as a family at the table each day, and then it's off to bed for Elinor.  I miss her.

After that, I usually use up the rest of my awake time knitting.  On (ahem) THREE sweaters!  I'm loving knitting right now - it really relaxes me at the end of the day, and sends me right to sleep by 9:30.  Yep, I knit myself to sleep by 9:30 every night.  HOT.

So, I'm working on two Penny Straker sweaters and Jared Flood's Cobblestone Pullover (which, I understand, everyone in the world is knitting).

First up is this little owl sweater for Elinor:

 

Cute, huh?  It's really fun to knit, too.  I have both fronts and the back done, and I'm working on the sleeves.  I'm using Bartlett (yarn of the gods) in sport weight.  The yarn is showing the little owls beautifully:

The other P. Straker design I'm working on is this doozy:

Lots of details = lots of room for mistakes!  It's a blast though, and never boring.  I'm using Ella Rae for this and loving it.  It's a little splitty, but so soft a smooth for a 100% wool worsted.

Here's a close-up of the ribbing.  I love the little cables.

In other news, Elinor is suddenly a giant toddler.

(That's her smile for the camera face.)

That Almost Worked. Even Without Help.

Well, the posts from the other blog are on here, but a little backwards and somewhat out of order.  We're in Vermont now, so any Portland posts are old.  There's 700 feet of snow outside, so any pictures with grass, short-sleeved shirts, or iced drinks are plain old dated.  As soon as Ashley is operating I'll ask him to sort everything out for me.

Lots and lots to share...I'll get a post together that'll knock your hand-knit socks off.

I'm Back, In Full Effect

Oh, Hi!!

Okay, okay.  So, I started this other little blog, and I just didn't love it like this one.  So as soon as I remember how to move all the junk from that blog over here, you'll have lots of fresh new posts to read!

Then?  Well, then I'm just going to try with this one again.  I'll just keep trying.

Pam's House

We got a call from Pam last Tuesday offering up her house to us for a few weeks. The deal was that we'd get to stay in this incredible, beautiful house in exchange for keeping the mice away.

We said "you betcha!"

The house is just a couple of miles from our little house. Pam is mom to one of my best friends from high-school, so I've spent lots of time in this place over the last 20 years or so. It is on my top five list of favorite places of all times. One of the best parts is that it really doesn't change. Same books, same rugs, same place mats....everything is just like it is in memory.

We've already spread ourselves out over the house. It's so big compared to ours! Elinor is loving it...so much space to jump, dance, run, bounce, and brush teeth (a current favorite.)

She also loves this big desk that she can spread loads of paper on and color to her heart's delight. She's quite an artist, I can just tell.

LOVE the wood stove. It keeps the kitchen so toasty, and smells like heaven.

I'm at our house now, waiting to hear about a job interview. I was worried that our house would feel cramped and cluttered after being at Pam's for a few days, but it really just feels cozy and like it's ours.

January Everywhere

Another stunning Vermont day! Ashley and I were able to leave Elinor with my mom for a couple of hours and we went snowshoeing all through East St. Johnsbury and into Waterford. Since we're new to the whole snowshoe thing, we generally stayed on the VAST (snowmobiling) trail. It was really fun and felt like good exercise. Yeah...exercise. It's easy to ignore when you have a nice chair by the window and new projects underway.

I've been teaching myself how to hook rugs. I got a kit at Northeast Kingdom Artisans Guild on Christmas Eve and I've been working on it daily ever since. I LOVE it. The day I bought the kit, the woman who put the kit together, and whose rugs I have been admiring since the Guild started displaying them, was there working. She was lovely, and even invited me over for tea and rug-hooking. This is why I moved to Vermont!

My first attempt is a little uneven, and I really haven't a clue how to shade/fill in the empty spaces. It's coming along, though. More socks, of course. Always socks.

And the most popped over popovers of all time! Mom and Ron gave me this tin for Christmas, and then brought the mix home for me yesterday after they visited the King Arthur Flour store. I put some extra sharp cheddar in them, and they were mighty good.

Our little windows have been frosty, but we've been nice and warm in our small nest. The furnace gave up the ghost for an hour or so last night, but Bruce came over and righted it. I like knowing he's right next door, and that he knows this little house like the back of his hand.

Afternoon winter light. It makes you want to make coffee and read for the rest of the day.

Afternoon Walk With My Sweetie

The road where we live. For real.

Top of the hill - huddled together in the COLD cold.

My hiding place when I was a teen.

House at the top of the hill.

Our little corner of the world.

Some nice things.

Sock progress! I hope to start decreasing for the toe tonight.

A nice smelling candle surrounded by Oregon gourds, and....

A little bunny family! And last, but not least, a little sneak peak of our new home.