March On!

It is March. A couple weeks ago, we had a fairly deep freeze and significant snow...

Followed by some promise-of-spring weather,  where I knit outside on my lunch break, in nearly-60-Farenheit-degrees,

with sunshine on my shoulder and warm gusts of wind strumming background tunes on Ol' Glory, just above me. It was delightful!

Aaaaand now it's winter again, as we all knew it was bound to be, because it is March, which did not come in particularly like a lion or a lamb. Hot Cocoa season lasts a good long time in Ohio! 

So all bets are off for April, and that's ok. I've finished an afghan, 

and made good progress on my new sweater in mystery yarn, 

and I'm ready to March On! to spring holidays and birthdays, including mine! But first, let's turn those clocks forward tonight, in the US and in my state! 

Enjoy that extra daylight in the afternoon, and don't be late for church tomorrow! 

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health! 

I Can't Count

I won't [count], don't ask me...🎶 

Well, I WILL count, but I won't be very good at it. If knitting and crochet have taught me anything, it is that I can't count consistently. I am 57 years old, I have successfully navigated 13 years of public school and 2 years of college, and I'm no slouch at math. But yarn apparently brings me to my counting knees. My latest example is this lovely crochet afghan...

I'm working on this as a gift for an educator, which is a really fun idea I found online! It will look like a sheet of notebook paper, and I hope to also embroider a note on one side before the end of the school year. Super-cute idea, right? But, if you start with 132 stitches and some math for the proper ratio to match an 8½' x 11' sheet of paper, then notice later that you only have 121 stitches, well panic sets in! 

Not for you? Well, how nice for you.

Let me tell you that panic set in for me on Thursday, and I counted, and I counted, and I counted those stitches some more as I sat there with my friends. I thought I saw the place where I had started to accidentally miss stitches about 12 rows back, so I figured I could add in stitches gradually to get back to 132. I took a deep breath, and I started to do just that. I added those stitches very confidently until it was time to go home.

Friday morning, with another 12 rows and about 8 stitches added back in, I counted again. This time, I used some removable stitch markers to help me keep track of smaller sections of stitches as I counted. Guess what I found? That's right...

One-Hundred Thirty-Nine stupid stitches! 

I sat there, and I counted, and I counted, and I counted again. As it turned out, my stitch count was only off by ONE back there, when I started adding stitches back gradually. Smack-My-Head, which I did repeatedly as I pulled back row after row of double crochet, balling up that yarn to work with again as I went. I spent all day yesterday, including my lunch hour (it was lovely, I sat outside...in February...in Ohio...weird but lovely), trying to just work back to the place before I started ripping back...

By the end of the day, I was finally past that spot, and my stitch count was correct. I don't know what will happen this weekend exactly, but I do know that I will certainly mis-count something along the way. It is inevitable, because I just can't conquer crochet counting. Or maybe I covet counting calamities. Who knows? But when I put this yarn down, do you know what I won't do for you?

That's right. 

I won't [count], don't ask me...🎶 

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit (and count) in Good Health!

The White Stuff

Oh, oh, oh-oh-oh🎶...oh, oh, oh-oh 🎵...

Oh-oh, oh-oh-oh🎶, the right stuff!

No-no-no...the "white" stuff! Because after I blogged last week, the white stuff came...and came, and came! 

We had tickets to a show downtown, so we did not snuggle up and knit all day. We got on a bus at the YMCA, and headed out in a blizzard to see the most depressing musical I've ever seen, Parade. LOL...

See those smiles? We didn't really know what we were there to see yet, and we were happy to travel with a pleasant bunch of seniors to lunch and a show...especially since we had a professional driver through the snow.

Spoiler Alert: Parade is the story of a Jewish man wrongly accused of murdering a young teenager. Despite the writeup of how hopeful and artistic this revived musical recounts the tale of love and devotion between the main characters (which it does) the story does not end well for Leo Frank. It was very well done, but it was also a hard watch. 

When we got home, I hunkered down with my needles and took advantage of the snow as a photo prop for the first shock of a pair!

The winter weather has continued this week, and by the time this weekend rolled around, there was fresh powder on the giant snow pile plowed from our neighborhood streets and driveways. It was the perfect opportunity for little (and big) boys to climb and play!

And yesterday, I started a new project, which is always a lift! Just like the weather, this afghan will be mostly white. 

It'll be awhile until it is impressive to look at, but I've finished the pink socks, 

and the afghan was the next thing on my list...well, after the shamrocks and clover (St Patrick's Day is coming)!

There hasn't been much yarnwork today, since this crew has been "in the house" overnight, so I'll sign off here. 

Thumbs down to no knitting!

Thumbs up to pancakes!

Naptime is nearly over, and playtime is just around the corner!

Thanks for stopping by and Knit in Good Health!

Sledding vid here, just for funsies! 

Socks at Work

One of the things I have really enjoyed at my new job is my lunch break. Wait. That sounds a little lazy, but hear me out...when I started work on Jan 13th, I was working on these socks. 

I brought them to lunch and chatted with a very lovely co-worker. I didn't really know anyone, but I was starting to learn the routines of the office. Two weeks later, as I moved onto these socks, 

I knew a few more people, and I was starting to learn my job. I'd sit on a sectional in the main hallway with my knitting during my break. As people passed by, there would be some introductions and some small talk, usually questions about the knitting. I'd already  enjoyed my first holiday Monday off (MLK Jr Day) and a couple of snow / cold / work-from-home days by the time the blue pair was done, and at work I was making connections! I moved onto pink socks this week: 

This is a Valentine's Day yarn (KP Felici in the S. W. A. K. colorway), and a more complicated pattern than the others, which is good! I've learned a LOT in the last 5 weeks, and thinking in knitting gives my brain a mid-day, hard re-set so that I can learn more and do more in the afternoon. Co-workers are turning into friends, my job is revealing itself, and I have such a sense of purpose. Knitting as part of my work-life balance is the best.

Would I have made friends at work without the knitting? Yes, probably. But something about that meditative motion in the middle of my day has brought me a peaceful, easy feeling in a new situation that might otherwise cause me to fret...because new things are sometimes hard.

So, I knit at work, and I knit at home. 

I knit with others, and I knit alone. 

I knit when I'm happy, 

I knit when I'm sad. 

I knit through good times, 

and also through the bad.

Knitting gets me, it makes me feel good!

If YOU don't knit yet, maybe you should!

That's just my humble opinion, but if you'd like to learn, hit me up! I'd love to help you learn!

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!

Movin' On In

If you've been following along, you know that I have a new job, and you probably know that I'm enjoying it! You may not remember that the cubicle I moved into was still occupied by its previous tennants' things for the first three weeks I worked there, which I didn't really mind, but this was the week I actually moved in!

All my pictures, magnets and feel-good office things came with me, and the office is another "home from home" finally! With photos of family, drawings from young friends, and even my favorite magnets, 

I feel settled here. Having some knitted things scattered about helps!

I took special care in arranging the spot where my eyes fall most...

Awwwww!, who ARE those crazy kids?

So many happy things, and I'm doing some parts of my actual job, unassisted now, so all is well. I know there will be hard days eventually, but at least I'll have some joyful things to lift my spirits when they come!

What lifts your spirits on the hard days? If it's knitting, keep some handy!

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health! 

PS - I also received the new Mochimochi Land book this week! What fun!

Happy Things

Did you ever wear a sweater all day long, then find a hole when you got home?

Yeah, that happened last weekend. It was very sad, and I know that I can fix it, but my sweater is currently in timeout until I can face the repair process. In the meantime, rather than dwelling on this tragedy, I've moved to happy things! Like another pair of stripey socks,

three pair of double-knit mittens,

a colorwork hat,

and a tiny hamster, all knitted in the best of spirits!

I've also started my second pair of 2025 socks, and my new job is still going great!   

Yes, this year has started strong, and I've had more happy things than sad! Yesterday, I even started planning my cubicle-scape. Ive cleaned out sone desk drawers, and I've got loose plans roaming around my brain for some knitted decor...not trying to reign them in at all...lol! 🤣

Yes, I have plenty of ideas to keep my needles clicking and my whole self smiling! I hope you have things around you that make you smile, too!

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit (and find your happy things) in Good Health! 

Holidays and Snow Days!

Last week was a good week. Super cold, yes, but such a good week! My first weekday minor holiday (not Thanksgiving, Christmas or 4th of July) from work was Monday, and I celebrated with sweet rolls, fresh from the oven!

Because it was so cold, many schools also had "Snow Days" (cold days? temps down to -8°F) on Tuesday and Wednesday, and students stayed home. Do you know who also stayed in, eating sweet rolls while working from home? This Pretty did! 

Holidays and Snow Days are the best!

While I enjoyed not having to drive to and from work, I also found that I missed the interactions with my new co-workers. I was glad to get back into the office on Thursday, and I pulled this mug out of the kitchen cupboard there to celebrate my return.

Being the "new guy," I'm not sure if the mug might actually belong to someone, so I dutifully washed and returned it when I was finished, but not before using it as a photo prop for mittens!

One of my goals last week was to finish that second pair of double-knit mittens. I didn't make that goal by the end of my work week (turns out I take fewer breaks while working at home...well, fewer knit-breaks anyway...). But it looks to my like mitten #4 will probably be complete today!

Another reason I didn't make better progress on the mittens was this test knit,  which I'll post more about on Instagram when the pattern goes live. 

The rest of this weekend will be full of boys! These three giant personalities will be coming for a sleepover tonight, amd we can't wait! 

I'm never sure where the fun will take us with these three, but I know we will have fun, and I can't wait!  I hope you also have good things to look forward to this weekend. 😉

For now, I suppose I'll sign off. After all, I gave cookies to bake and pictures to take, but I'm glad we've had this time together. 

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health! 

It Is Good

Today is the day I tell you about my new job! I know I said I'd tell you about it "next week" (which would have been last week), but I really didn't have much to tell before I'd even started...so, I'm happy to report today that I've received a very warm welcome. 

With a full five days under my belt, I have confirmed that this was totally the right move. Even though there was (and still is) a boatload of new knowledge to absorb and assimilate, I've been given a sense of autonomy already, and I'm starting to exhale. Having a couple of my favotite things on my desk helps me remember to breathe when I feel overwhelmed.

And the knitting. I've made a mitten or two on my lunch breaks, and having the chance to reset in the middle of my day is good for my mind, body and soul!

I am tired at the end of my day, and it is good. The work is challenging, and comfortable, and it is good. The people I work with are intelligent, helpful and kind, and it is good. My supervisors are interested in my work and in who I am as a person, and it is good. 🙂 My commute has been, well, pretty snowy! 

It's actually not a bad commute, a little less than twice as long as my last commute (which was a whole eight minutes, lol!), and mostly highway. Still, I miss the worst of rush hour, both because of my actual hours and because I'm driving west in the morning and east in the afternoon! (Our "big city" is east of my house.) So, even my commute is good!

Yes, this is a transition. It's actually many transitions: Part-time to full-time; double the commute, surface streets to highway; jeans to more professional dress (for which I've been shopping!); church office to educational service office. But just as I've praised God for so many opportunities to do good work in church (and other) offices and settings, I am praising God again for this change!

What are you praising God for this week? Drop a comment to let me know. I'll be waiting to hear from you, cozy inside, probably knitting and maybe putting together some comfort food for later.

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!