Back to Life...

Back to reality is coming! I've recovered so well that I'll be heading back into the office next week, yay! I know it's time because I'm getting tired of knitting....Lol! Not really, but my carpals are tunneling on my 4th pair of socks in as many weeks, so let's get my fingers typing again for relief. 

I've also made 15 sweaters (they were little) 

and 5 gnomes (who advised my knitting).

I'm thankful that I have a desk job I can get back to, and also that I'll be able to get the Christmas decor down in my cubicle before Easter! I'm sure my coworkers will appreciate that, too!

Just to be clear here, I know that going back to work will wear me out, in a good way...and my knitting productivity will suffer. That's ok. I am so looking forward to using my brain for more than counting and seeing my work friends. They probably miss me too, how could they not, right? 

All that said, there will still be knitting, for sure! I currently have plans for a new sweater.  I would have started it already, but I'm banned from lifting heavy yarn bins to get the yarn I want for the Do Ewe Yoke? sweater by Zanete Knits!

I have yarn colors themed to Daisy Jones and the Six by Fan Girl Fibers.

After buying the minis, I launched a mad search for the main color to use with it. I settled on an off-white tonal by Leading Men Fiber Arts. I'm sure I'll have more to say when I finally ask Sweetie to do the heavy lifting.  

In the meantime, as one final hurrah to my time off, Sweetie and I are headed to Amish country for some shopping and a delicious meal-not-made-by-us on this snowy day. 

Is it snowing at your house today? Or are you at the beach? Wherever you are, I hope you are well, and that you know you are loved. 

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health! 

It's Killing Me...

It seems like the blog has been been all about the blanket lately, doesn't it? But here we are again, with block 9 complete

and connected

which I did twice, because I put it in the wrong place the first time. I did not take a picture of that, because I was feeling so defeated at that point...this blanket is trying to kill me!!! (Not really. That was a teeny bit dramatic...and I've moved on to block 10 now.)

Part of the reason it's been such a slog this week is that I was part of a big event at work. Three days at the Ross Exposition Center left me utterly exhausted each day. 

The catch up in my office on Thursday and Friday also wiped me out, so my head truly wasn't in the crochet game...but the event was a HUGE success! 

Here's a vid one of the middle schools put together:

If I understand it correctly, there will be annual repeats of this event in perpetuity, or as long as it is an effective way to connect educators, local businesses and students (ie-the workforce of the future) and that is a very good plan! Yes, even if it derails my personal craft pursuits...lol!

Anything exciting going on where you live and work, friends? Drop a comment to let me know about it! 

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit (work, pkay and crochet) in Good Health!

A Tale of Two Cuffs

Hey friends! How has your week been? We returned from Gatlinburg on Saturday, and I went back to work on Monday, so I've been slogging through a little extra exhaustion...but other than that, it's all good here! I even finished my sweater this morning! 

This Neretina turned out great, and the fit is perfect (if I do say so, myself 😉), it even looks good before blocking!

It would be blocking right now, except for one thing...well, two things actually. After finishing the colorwork on sleeve two this morning, i realized it turned out much better than the first one. Mr. Pretty helped me take a Pic to show you...

...but I guess it's not something that shows super well in a photo. If you look closely, the white "pops" much better on the left sleeve than on the right, because my tension was a bit tighter on that first cuff than on the second. 

So now what? Its not so tight that it'll be uncomfortable to wear, even if I push that sleeve up a bit...but I'm not sure my sensory self can wear a sweater with one cuff tighter than the other, which says far more about me than about the sweater... 🫤 ...so (of course)  I've already ripped back that cuff and started to re-knit it.

Hopefully this isn't the start of a "now I have to rip out the other cuff" competition...lol! Even if it is, I do have some recent yarn victories to boost my ego...like a finished sock (that I started on vacation),

and some recently untangled yarn for a friend at knitting on Thursday. 

So, no matter what happens this week, I've clearly got this, and I'm looking forward to settling back into the routine. Just like when I was in school, I kind of love being back!

I hope you're getting enough sleep, and knitting time, too. Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health! 

My granddaughter texted me photos of
the sweater she is crocheting...I'm so
proud to see and celebrate her
artistry, too!

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!

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!

Ch-ch-ch-changes

After finishing the Constitution, it is said that Benjamin Franklin wrote,  "...in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes," (in a letter to Jean-Baptiste Le Roy, 1789). 

I'll add to Mr Franklin's sentiment "and change." Life is always changing, transition is less of a season and more of a constant, at least in my experience. 

This weekend, I am smack-dab in the center of a transition between jobs, and the changes loom large! The other thing that looms large for me is the recognition of all I leave behind as Pam-the-Church-Secretary at Avon United Methodist Church.

Yesterday was my last day, and the past couple of months have been bittersweet, to say the least. The photo above includes most of the tangible gifts, cards and letters from friends and co-workers at the church. I wish I could also show you a picture of the love and friendship expressed verbally, because those intangibles are just as valuable to me...but they don't photograph well! 

With words as my love language, and the way I process my feelings, some of the most precious things to me are the written words of friends. Words expressing that I am loved and valued; words of appreciation for my gifts, talents and work; words of thanks for my time and investment in the people of this congregation over these past 6 years and 9 months...these have brought me to tears several times in the last couple weeks. Thank you,  friends, for sharing your feelings with me in words, hugs and gifts. I'll miss our regular interactions.

This last photo (which includes many of the things that lived on my desk at the church) shows you where all those sentiments will live. I keep a file of positive notes, cards and letters in an old, blue gift bag, and yours will soon be there, too. 

Thankfully, this isn't the end. Our journey of friendship isn't over, but it will change. Perhaps our communication will move more toward the digital realms of social media, and our weekly and monthly interactions will probably be less frequent...but I will continue to treasure you, and you will remain in my heart.

You see, I try really hard to live the way I think Jesus would want me to, but sometimes I fail. In those moments, I reach into that bag of word gifts and pull out loving reminders that I am enough.  I pull out reassurances that I often get it right, even though I'm not perfect, and I see myself through your eyes in those good moments...which is a reflection of how God sees me all the time, because of Jesus. 

All of that to say,

Thank you, friends of AUMC, for loving me so well. I love you, too.

Thanks also for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!

My 2025 Era

Another new year, another new snow

Looks like winter finally decided to show up! On cold, snowy days like this, I'm glad my hobby is a cozy one! I have plans for hats and mittens, but first, I'm knitting some whimsy! 

A dozen hearts to share with friends that I won't see as often in 2025, because I'm starting a new job a week from Monday. More details about that next week...for now, I'm sharing my heart with the friends I work with here...

and knitting housewarming gifts for friends in new homes...

and thinking about moving onto a little selfish knitting for the rest of this month. 

How have your first four days of the new year treated you? I hope that you are well and that this fresh, new year has been good to you so far. Drop a comment to let me know if you have any fun plans! 

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!