Less is More?

I generally struggle with blog titles, and today is no exception, but this weekend, I have a little less of the boys and their knitting requests, 

and a little more of the girls, and their fun crafts! 

So, less is more...kinda. ;) I'm sure I'll have more photos by the end of the weekend...but for now, I'm just taking it all in. 

She has a new sewing machine (for kids), and I'm learning that she just needs a regular sewing machine. In the meantime, she's learning how to lay out squares to design her own quilt.

This gives me all the feels, because

1. The fabric comes from the stash of a dearly departed friend from fairly far away, and 

2. My granddaughters take after me, with the crafting gene!

They both like to craft,  and after a little trip to the craft store,  we bonded over Taylor Swift music and beads last night...but my phone was dying (and on the other side of the room to charge), so no photos. And since they craft, there are fewer requests now that they're not so small anymore. 

It is fantastic to watch them grow and see their personalities bloom vigorously! But soon the girls will move a little farther away, so this is a last hurrah of sorts in this location. There will be visits both ways, to be sure, and more crafts, in our future...but today I drink in these moments to cherish. 

I hope you are also enjoying time with the ones you love when you can, and I'm glad to see you here. There is no comparison to loving companionship, and no better use of your time than loving your loved ones! 

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health! 

Baby hat for road-trip knitting!

[Knitting] With the Fishes

Yeah, yeah, yeah...knitting with the fishes isn't really a thing...unless this is what's coming off the needles!

Lately my knitting is colorful and pastel, and these little fish make me think that little bunnies for Easter may be in my future! I'm sure I could sub in ears for that tail, and wouldn't little rabbits be cute? 

So, we'll see what happens...but this day has gotten away from me, so I'm signing out here. 😉 I hope the rest of your Saturday is good! 

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! 

Resting Rows

In knitting, as in life, you have to take some time to rest. Sometimes that means taking a break from stitching to keep your carpals from tunneling...but sometimes it's just letting your brain rest a bit by keeping the stitches simple. Like a pair of socks in self-striping yarn with few details...

Oh, you can keep it fun and interesting by adding in a new heel (my first, actual German Short-Row heel!),

Or a simple broken rib...

But mostly it's "just keep [knitting]," rows upon rows until you have a pair of socks. This kind of knitting brings rest to my brain and soul, because thinking through other things while knitting helps me organize my thoughts at a slower pace. As my needles draw one loop through the next stitch over and over and over, my thoughts start to organize themselves a little better. 

In fact, knitting is such a habit to me now that i often work many stitches without even looking.  This leaves me free to engage in conversation or enjoy a movie with my family, all while keeping my pulse and breathing steady, even when the movie is a thriller! 

Of course, there are some patterns and designs which require more concentration from the knitter, but even these tend to have resting rows built in...a little ribbing, seed stitch or maybe even plain knitting in between the "thinky" parts of the pattern provide a place to just knit. *(insert contented sigh here)* I think of these resting rows as a little knitting nap for my brain,  and who doesn't like a little nap here and there? 

Oh, that's right. The 4-year-old with a case of FOMO fights naptime! Most of the rest of us (and occasionally even the nap-fighters) relish a rest when we can take it.

Now that I've finished those socks, I'm working on an improvised project that involves picture knits. In this project, that means texture knit into the piece that creates an image. 

There is a LOT of counting involved, and I've already done a good amount of ripping back and re-knitting in these 56 rows, but I'm coming up to 12 resting rows very soon...which is good. Soon we expect a visit from the boys, and there will be no time for rest until bedtime with our favorite, local little hooligans!

Whatever you're up to lately, I hope you'll take the time to rest a bit between the thinky things and the "gotta-get-it-done." I promise that if you take some time to refresh your body and mind, you'll find that you are more productive in the long run! 

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!