No, I Guess I Didn’t Win!

In the last post I told you I thought I’d won on the Firmament Lace Shawl.  You know the one that I ripped out three times?  I didn’t win.  In fact, I got smacked down!  I ripped the $#*&! thing out for the fourth time.  In case you haven’t gotten a glimpse of my personality through reading this crazy blog, let me just tell you that I am a serious bullhead.  I just can’t let a stupid impossible simple lace chart beat me.

I am, however, going to choose a different lace pattern for this segment.  I still don’t know what I’m doing wrong on chart B, but when I got to chart C, I had the wrong number of stitches.  So, therefore, I will quietly and gracefully move on.

Do you know what the prerequisite for absorbing a history lesson is?

It’s a puppy to snuggle, of course!  The puppy sleeps and her little brain goes a mile a minute!

I’d also like to give you a progress report on being an adult,  On Monday, the guest room was cleaned.  The laundry room was shoveled out on Tuesday.  Wednesday will be the kitchen.  I’m starting to feel better about the demolition control around here.

And now, I’m going to bed.  It’s either that or start a bonfire with that &$%!# shawl.

Keeping It Real

I won…I think.  You know the Firmament Lace Shawl I started a few weeks ago.  Yeah, the one I ripped out 3 times?  I finished Chart B and I think it’s right, but I’m not sure.

I keep looking at it, and it looks like a pile of holes.  The stupid thing!  I was planning to just pick a different lace pattern for this section, but I’m a bullhead and I. Will. Not. Be. Beat.  Especially by a dumb lace chart.  If it’s wrong, I’ll know it when I block it and then it will be too late.  So life is not always rosy with my knitting projects.

There has been a lot of whining in our house in the last week and it’s getting on my nerves.  The problem is…it’s me.  Homeschooling is going really well.  I’ve been making meals.  That’s the good part.  The bad part is demolition control.  My house is just messy, and I’ve been complaining about keeping up.

Then, on Thursday, one of the kids, who shall remain nameless, got probation notices (yes, two!) for his/her grades.  I blew a gasket.  I yelled.  I threatened.  I didn’t throw things because I was driving.

Fast forward to Saturday night.  I was sitting in my bed in the motorhome.  And, yes, I was knitting.   Hubby and one kid had gone home with their itchy eyes and snotty noses.  Allergy season!  Two kids were in the front of the bus watching a movie.  All of a sudden, it hit me that I couldn’t very well chew on that kid for doing a lousy job on school work, when I was doing the same thing with my job.  Ouch!  I believe God asked me to give Kid 4 a year of my time and homeschool her.  As a mom and wife, part of my job is maintaining my home.  God doesn’t call people to do things without equipping them for those tasks.

So what does that mean?  I’m fully capable of doing my job.  Whether I feel like it or not is immaterial.  That also means that the kid that is getting the lousy grades is capable of doing schoolwork.  It doesn’t matter if that kid feels like it or not.  But I’m older.  The kids are watching me.  They hear what I say, but they do what I do.

So, this morning, laundry is sorted and being done.  We’re finishing up school, and then I’m going to go clean stuff.  Because my kids are watching me.

Oh, I did get a treat in the mail this morning.

It’s Handmaiden Casbah, and the colorway is Sangria.  I’m test knitting another project for Susan!  I can’t wait to start it.  This yarn is heavenly!

It kind of looks like our fire on Friday night.

I’m off to be an adult!  Oh, and don’t tell the kid that’s in trouble about this post. I hate admitting it when I’m wrong!

Things That Make Me Happy

I’m not promising to make this a regular thing, but I’m going to do an occasional “Things that make me happy” post.  Life is busy, messy, and not always much fun.  But I don’t have anything (except a messy house, and who’s fault is that?) to complain about.  And I don’t mean “things” in a material sense either.

Today I’m starting with this:

That’s enough to make me smile!  I love the shawl.  I love my jean jacket.  And I love the fact that the hat on the manequin matches the outfit.  I may never undress this thing.  It may just decorate my house, at least until it gets cold here in Minnesota.  That may be tomorrow.  Who knows?!?

I used 3 skeins of Silk Garden Sock yarn, color 252,  on size 6 needles.  The pattern is called Langsgalid Barur by Sigridur Halldorsdottir.  The book is available from Schoolhouse Press.

This is going to work great with my black pants or a pair of jeans added to the ensemble.  I really should find a cute green hat to go with it.  (Not!)

You know what else makes me happy?  I don’t have to go to a laundromat.  Bye!!!

I started a new project.  Shocking, isn’t it?  I placed a lovely order with Blue Moon Fiber Arts for some Socks that Rock yarn.  I’m knitting a sweater with Socks that Rock Heavyweight on size 3 needles.  I’m not exactly a size 6 or even a 10 either.  Does that mean I’m crazy?  Ok, I am, but look at this gorgeous yarn!

It’s actually knitting up at 5.5 stitches per inch.  That’s not too bad.  I chose the Drops Camelia pattern after I saw this cable.

The colorway is Nyame.  It’s a bit more aqua than my photos.

I did finish a project!!!  My Langsjalid Barur is finished, but not blocked.  I was going to block it last night, but there was an 8 year old birthday boy sleeping in my bed. (I usually block beside the bed on the floor.)  He got stung by a bee after school and was pretty sad.  Not a very nice birthday.

Oh, and there’s another project, but I don’t have to apologize for this one.  It’s another test knit for Susan.  I do have to apologize for the photos though.  This is so much prettier in person!

Susan designed Leaves of Grass to be a simpler pattern, without all the beads.  She used a fingering weight yarn.  I chose Noro Aurora, a much heavier yarn.  It’s going to be a large, rectangular shawl.  I’m calling mine Autumn Leaves.

It’s not showing up very well, but there’s lots of metallic mixed in this yarn.  I’m thinking this will be a great shawl to wear for fall (of 2009)!  Susan will have the pattern available on her site in the next two or three or four weeks.  I’m not committing her to anything.  She’s a busy lady, putting out a huge variety of gorgeous patterns!

I’ve had a few people ask how homeschooling is going.  It’s going really well, thank you.  There are moments, because we’re both bullheads, but we’re both enjoying it.  Yesterday we worked from 8:30 until 2:00.  That means we can take it easy today and maybe take tomorrow off.

How does my house look?  It’s a disaster.  I’m just not in the mood to buckle down and clean stuff.  I really have to force myself to be an adult.  I decided to lay (or is it lie) down with Kid 5 last night, and almost decided to stay in bed at 8:30.  I told him that if I didn’t get up, the messes wouldn’t be cleaned up.  He looked at me so seriously and said, “Does it really matter”?  He’s a pretty smart little kid!

We’re off to learn some new vocabulary words!  And then we’re going to the park with friends.  I can clean tomorrow, right?  After all, does it really matter?