Whew...I feel like I've been in rush mode ever since Thanksgiving. That seems to happen this time of year, but I want to slow it down. Even though I've got a long list of knitted presents to finish (at last count I had three ready to wrap, three that just need to be sewn up, two on the needles, and one yet to be cast on), the making process itself forces me to slow down. I can sit and think while my hands work out all the stress I'm carrying around.
I cast on the first of a pair of pale gray socks for Korey over the weekend. I'd settled myself on the idea that he wouldn't receive a handmade Christmas gift from me this year, but Liesl's cozy socks for her brother inspired me. I'm using the Function Over Form pattern to make some simple ribbed socks. They're worked in worsted weight yarn, which is thick enough to make the knitting fly by, but I think still thin enough that he'll be able to wear these with shoes. I plan to use some darker gray scrap yarn for the heels and toes to make things a little more interesting (gray on gray = exciting!).
In the midst of my flurry of gift knitting, I also decided to pick up my Rocky Coast cardigan again. I'm a master of timing! This one-sleeved cardigan has been hibernating in a bag for months, but I deem the best time to work on it when I have the most knitting deadlines to meet. Anyway, I knit most of the second sleeve on a long car ride over the weekend. After the initial frustration of trying to decipher my cryptic pattern notes to myself (really just a series of numbers and tally marks that I still haven't made complete sense of), the sleeve knitting hasn't been too bad. I'm excited to finish this sweater so that I can wear it. It would be great for holiday gatherings, right? I should probably just add a December 25 deadline to this project too, in case I don't have enough to keep me busy.
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Lately I've been reading Alice Munro's new collection of short stories, Dear Life (not DEA Life, as it appears in the photo, which would be a completely different story!). Alice Munro is my favorite author because she writes about how ordinary moments shape lives; heartbreak, loss, and love fill the stories, but Munro shows how the characters reach these dramatic emotions through seemingly mundane decisions. This collection seems to give me just what I want; time slows down when I read her words. Events stretch out over pages as I get to know the characters in each story. I'd highly recommend this collection of stories.
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I hope you, too, are finding time to slow down (even if only for a moment).
Join the yarn along today over at Small Things.
Happy knitting! ♥ Try to relax and slow down. If we were snowed in (instead of all that rain), it would've been awesome, sitting with a mug of hot tea...
ReplyDeleteBe sure to take some time for yourself to just chill among all the Christmas knitting. That way you don't get burned out.
ReplyDeleteYour knitting is really beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to see knitting helps you relieve stress---it's great like that, isn't it? I think it was in one of the recent Martha Stewart Living issues that there was an article about how crafting affects the brain---a lot like meditating. Though lately I've been having the opposite problem: I sit down to knit and a flood of "should-do's" enter my brain and I just have to get up and do them.
ReplyDeleteI'm also super impressed at your speedy knitting and ambition. Tonight, my mother is having a little meeting here at our house that she has the first Wednesday of every month. I just realized that is was exactly one month ago I sat here in my room trying to figure out how to turn a heel! One month! That first sock is done and I'm not even at the heel of the second one. Oh boy! And I hope to complete two more by the 25th!?
With that said: back to my knitting!
Can't beat basic, functioning socks. They'll be fun with darker grey heels. Your cardi is so pretty so far.
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