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!

It's Been a Week

Let me tell you, it's been a week! Last week was a week, and the week before it was a week as well. 2024 has been a LOT so far, and we are not even halfway to Christmas!

 

Sometimes, I feel as worn out as these shoes!

There have been highs...

 

With my friends at Woolapalooza 2024...so fun!

And lows...

 

Losing my father-in-law last Saturday was hard.

But so far, the highs are winning. Yay!

 

Boys, finding unattended construction equipment!

Through it all, the thing I keep telling myself to remember is that every minute counts. Every interaction, every birthday, every memory, and every little thing counts toward making this life better or worse. 

Pop Pop's birthday, with trick candles!

My goal will continue to be making it better, wherever I can...or, at the very least, not making it worse. 

You see, every moment helps to shape who we are becoming, and how we are helping others to become their best selves as well.

Bring the joy, when you can.

So, wherever you are, remember to be kind. Remember that you cannot know someone else's truth completely, and that's ok. Because, regardless of the situation, you can bring your best.

 

Of course I mean Pickleball!

Remember to also be kind to yourself. After all, you know all of YOUR truth like no one else can, so be gentle with that information. Let yourself feel your feelings and move on to the next right thing. Embrace the good of this life, like little kids on a playground!

The best kind of joy!

As far as the rest goes, just do your best. 

 

Your best is all anyone can ask.

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!

 

Newly acquired, Woolapalooza stash! Yay!