Olives for Olive and Snowflakes for You

Knock knock.

Who's there?

Olive.

Olive who?

Olive you!

Here's the cute little baby hat I've been working on. The best part about this hat is that I made it for a little sweetie named Olive! As soon as I saw this hat, I knew Olive needed it. The pattern is from Itty Bitty Hats by Susan B. Anderson, and this book has some adorable designs. As a matter of fact, I think it may have helped me solve a problem I've been having.

My sister-in-law in Miami is expecting a little girl in March. This is not just any little girl. This is The Girl Destined to be Most Spoiled in All the Land. You see, my husband is one of four brothers. So far, there are eight grandchildren... all boys. You have no idea how much pink frilly goodness has been saved up for this unsuspecting soul that will grace us in the spring. I have been knitting sweaters for the last couple of new babies in the family, but it seems cruel to knit a Miami baby a sweater. It's like saying, "We're so glad you're here - now go have a heat stroke." But I feel like I absolutely must knit something for her. Well, Itty Bitty Hats to the rescue! Every baby needs a cute hat, right?

Well, the semester is finally over, and I've been taking some time to destress a little bit. I've been catching up on some knitting, reading, napping, and generally goofing off. This morning, Youngest reminded me of one of my favorite forms of procrastination. In honor of CyProWriMo, I would like to share it with you...

Make-a-Flake is so much fun, and there are no little scraps of paper floating all over the house. I love it because I can make intricate little designs that I just can't seem to manage when I try it on paper. Trust me, I've attempted it, but it ends up looking like a drunk monkey got a hold of the scissors. Grab a cup of hot cocoa and give it a try! (I mean, try Make-a-Flake, not handing sharp objects over to inebriated primates.)

All the Boring Things I Won't Post Today

I've been sitting here for a few minutes racking my brain to come up with some semblance of a blog post. I've started a draft on a few different things, but they are all just excruciatingly boring. Just so you'll know I tried, here's what they are:

1. My eighth grader's assistant principal announced on the intercom that students are not allowed to congregate in groups of three or more. I'm honestly not sure how they're going to enforce that one. I'm not even sure why. Maybe it's because the school is a global studies magnet, and this is a way of studying what it would be like to live in a communist country.
2. Rhett evidently swallowed a gerbil. He keeps clearing his throat every minute and a half or so. He's only sitting three feet away from me. Can you tell I get easily annoyed by extraneous noises? I wonder... if I hit him on the back of the head, will it make him feel better? Will it make me feel better?
3. School is almost over for the semester. I have these delusions that over the month long break I am going to get more organized and accomplish a lot of things that I've been putting off because of school. I know, I know. I said they're delusions, okay?
4. I've been having panic attacks every night when I go to bed because that's when I remember all the stuff I've been putting off because of school. One of those things is Christmas shopping. I'm getting a little anxious just writing about that one. *think happy thoughts - think happy thoughts - think happy thoughts*
5. I've been feverishly knitting a darling little hat for a friend's daughter, but I forgot to take pictures of it in progress. Now it's almost done, and I can't stand to take a picture of it so close to the finish line. It'll have to wait until after Thursday because I have a couple of last minute things to tidy up for school. Trust me, though. It's cute.

See? I wasn't kidding. It's a total yawn fest around here. Oh well. At least I didn't try to blog any of that drab drivel. Maybe something intriguing will happen tomorrow.

Big Fat Liar

I am a complete fraud. I am so ashamed of myself. Do you see the title of this blog? It's "Word + Craft." Have you seen any craft around here lately? Nope? Me neither. I originally intended this blog to be equal parts knitting and random musings. So far, I've only made one knitting post. Do you know why? BECAUSE I HAVE NOT BEEN KNITTING!!!

Sorry about the yelling. I'll try to calm down. It's just that I miss knitting. I miss the coziness of the yarn sliding through my fingers. I miss stopping every few rows to admire my handiwork. I miss the rhythm and the repetition. Knitting soothes me, and since I haven't been soothed much lately, I'm getting kind of cranky.

I've been so time crunched between the end of the semester, Thanksgiving, and just playing mom that the last time I tried to knit a few rows, I fell asleep. I decided it was better to put the sticks and string away than to risk a fatal knitting accident. So, I still don't have any progress updates , because there hasn't been any progress. But I can show you what I want to knit...

The Patons SWS in Natural Geranium wants to be a Calorimetry when it grows up.

The Knit Picks Essential in Shoreline Twist is jumping up and down to be a pair of socks for Rhett.

The Knit Picks Shadow in Lost Lake Heather has repeatedly tried to become a Gloriana lace scarf (it's the one on the far left), but I kept having to frog it because I'm horrible at tinking lace.

And, the Manos del Uruguay in Stellar is destined to become My So Called Scarf.

Do you see how patient they are? They just watch from afar and wait for their turn. (Although, the Manos has been known to sigh loudly on occasion.) I can't keep leading them on like this. Soon - at least I hope it's soon - I'll stop being such a liar and help all of my little yarn friends achieve their dreams.

Gratitude

Today is all about giving thanks. (Or overeating. I'm never sure which.) Anyway, I thought I'd take a minute to think about what I'm thankful for:

1. My kids are smart, funny, strong, and healthy.


2. Rhett is patient with my silliness. Very patient.


3. We have a roof over our heads and food on our table.

I truly am thankful for these things, but the list feels a little stale. This is the same stuff everybody else is thankful for. I need to show gratitude for the little things, the things I usually take for granted:

1. Rock-star parking


2. Yarn ( I would say it's cheaper than therapy, but if you saw my stash you'd know I was lying.)


3. Warm socks


4. The way my Dad's eyes light up when he tells a joke


5. One of the cats, Matilda, being smart enough to stand by the door and use a special meow when she feels a hairball coming on


6. My favorite song playing on the radio exactly when I need to hear it


7. Yarn-stealing squirrels in Canada - They give the Yarn Harlot something to write about.


8. And, of course, I can't leave out pumpkin pie:

Happy Thanksgiving!

34,000 Ways to Say I Love You

I just found a sock in the middle of the living room floor. I know, I know - as a mother of three boys I should not be all that shocked. What you have to understand is that it wasn't just any old sock laying there abandoned and helpless. It was a handknitted sock.

My boys don't fully realize what that means. In At Knit's End, Stephanie Pearl McPhee (aka Yarn Harlot) says that the average handknitted sock is made up of 17,000 stitches. Yes, you read that right. 17,000 stitches. Now first of all, I didn't realize I had the attention span to do anything 17,000 times. But even more surprising is the fact that, in order to make a pair of socks, I actually had the attention span for 34,000 stitches. In fact, I cherished every single stitch.

You see, when I knit a pair of socks, I'm not just producing an item that I could buy for $1.99 at Wal-Mart. Every inch of the four hundred yards or so of yarn that goes into those socks slides between my fingers as I knit, and I put a little bit of myself into that humble knitted gift.

This is important to me because my boys are getting older, and I often have to send them off into the cold, cruel world to fend for themselves. But I know that when they wear those 34,000 stitches, I'm with them in some way. Since nobody really notices socks, it's like our little secret. I keep their little feet warm. I cushion their step as they run and jump and play. I give them a foundation to stand on when they are faced with a difficult choice.

I know it sounds like a lot to expect from a pair of socks. But trust me, it's in there.

Finally, Some Knitting!

So, it's only day two of NaBloPoMo, and I'm squeaking in under the wire yet again. Tonight we went to see Barefoot in the Park at The Rep, and Rhett talked me into going out for dessert afterwards. Oldest and Middle are on a Scout campout, and Youngest is staying at Grandma's. I couldn't very well say no to pretending we don't have kids to come home to! At any rate, that got me home a little later, and then I spent the last fifteen minutes trying to figure out posting photos to the blog. Here we go!

This is the first time I've tried toe-up socks. I'm still trying to decide if I like it or not. The cast off seems a little ruffly to me, and the short row toe and heel aren't as portable as I'd like. It frustrated me when I couldn't take this project to school because I knew I'd have to concentrate too hard on the short rows. But hey, one down, one to go. I'm also working on this:

This is Wavy from Knitty. It seems like it's not as wavy as I'd like it to be yet, and it doesn't seem as wide, but it measures like the pattern. I made one of these for my niece a couple of years ago, and it seems like I had the same concerns last time, so I'll just keep on knitting.

I guess that's all for now. I had better post this quick before I miss the midnight deadline!

My Two Favorite Black Holes

I had industrious plans this evening. I was going to study for my Spanish exam and come up with a dazzling thesis statement and outline for my next paper. I was even going to post some ridiculously witty piece of writing here on this very blog. Then, I checked my email.

Now, it's not the email checking per se that has sucked the productivity out of my evening. It's where a particular email led me that is causing so much trouble. The subject line appeared harmless enough: "Do we read the same books?" Considering that the sender recruited me into her book group, I was thinking, "Of course we do, silly. We have at least one book in common every month." But curiosity got the better of me and I opened the email anyway. The email was actually an invitation to goodreads.com, an absolute paradise for book readers and list makers alike. Not only can you keep track of what you've read, are reading, and want to read; you can also network with other readers. It's like Facebook for bookworms!

My other big time-waster lately has been Ravelry, which is to knitting what Goodreads is to reading. Not only can I keep track of my yarn stash, my needles, current projects, and projects-to-be; I can see what others have knit with a yarn that has been sitting in my stash way too long, or I can see what yarns other knitters have used for a particular pattern and then substitute without fear. I could get lost on Ravelry for days. I even broke down and ordered a digital camera just so I could post pretty little pictures of my stash and works-in-progress. (Yes, I do realize I'm the last person still using film.)

Well, at this point, I really do need to get busy. I still have a Spanish exam tomorrow, and I still have a paper due next week. But first, I just want to add one more book to my list...