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 is, recounting the tale of love and devotion between the main characters (which it does well), the story does not end well for Leo Frank. It was very well done, but it was also a very 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! 

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!

Remember the Hats!?

When I typed that title, I thought, "Remember the Alamo!" Of course, that has nothing to do with hand knits... but it gave me a chuckle! 

So, do you remember the hats I knit for Christmas? These were two of my favorites, and I had grand plans to make matching mittens... but you know what happens to the best laid plans? 

They sometimes work out! Check out these mittens that match their hats AND match each other!

So fun, and the boys love them! If they slow down long enough today, there will be photos of wool-heated heads and hands at the end of this post! 

I'm knitting other things, too...but some of them are secret. Secret and super fun, so I hope you'll keep coming back! 

In the meantime, thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health! 

SMS?

Nope. Not a blog about secure text messages... more about mittens. You see, when one knits mittens, it's a mixed bag of sorts. Mittens are quick, but there are two...just like socks...which means that even after a successful cast on and cuff, 

followed by fun colorwork, 

hand and thumb closing, 

you still have a second mitten to knit. If the knitter does not cast on that second mitten immediately, 

Life can take over and new, shiny projects may beg for their chance on the needles...leading to Second Mitten Syndrome. 

Second Mitten Syndrome may be defined as the lack of motivation to start a second, identical item...which does not feel anything like a new project, because it is actually the second half of an unfinished pair. 

One more? Just like that one? Hmmmm... boring. 

Well, for some knitters it's boring. But for the knitter that has knit multiple multiples on many fronts (human beans, tiny t-rexes, gnomes, and countless hats and socks and other things through the years)... well, that knitter is Pretty, and she is not at all daunted by SMS. As a matter of fact, that second mitten is already cast on...

And there are plans for a second pair of these when this pair transitions from a HO to a FO! (Half-finished Object to Finished Object - not sure what you were thinking...)

In the meantime, I'm also looking at shiny, new projects to cast on. What did Willy Wonka say? "So much time, so little to do... scratch that, reverse it..." So I'm off, but I'm glad you stopped by, and I hope I'll see you again next week! 

Knit in Good Health! 

A Million Mittens!

Well, not a million, exactly...more like 24! Here, take a look...

24 mittens are one of the ways I have begun unlocking Christmas around here. 

I mean, don't get me wrong...I know it isn't even Thanksgiving yet (19 days for those who may be counting!) but I have started to feel festive, and so has my staircase! Of course, these will not live on my staircase...very soon, I will box them up for my grandsons, and send them to live there for seasons to come! Even though they aren't mine, I do love looking at them...

Another fun thing about this time of year is the cooler weather which gives me lots of opportunities to knit. Since Hallmark Christmas movies have started, and since Sweetie is enjoying a late-season round of golf, today is the perfect day to get my tools together and cast on something fun and new!

I finished a birthday blanket (shhh! don't tell the birthday boy if you see him before next Saturday!)

So today is the day for mittens and hats, just for fun! When I finish those, a test knit wrap is project adjacent...squeee!

So, as you can see, it's clearly time for me to sign off and get stitching! What are your plans for this sunny Saturday? (Is it sunny where you are? If not, I'm sure you could knit something to fill your indoor time!)

Mid-week Amish Country visit  with Sweetie

Thanks for stopping by! Now, go Knit in Good Health, and I'll see you next week!