Ooooops...totally meant to post before another week went by but that's the way life goes sometimes. Well, gear up because I feel like writing today. An organized blogger would put all these thoughts and photos into two or three posts, but I never said I was an organized blogger. Or an organized anything.
I'm feeling the knitting pull again, not that it ever goes away, but when we head toward fall (finally! hooray!) the knitting needles and the wooly stranded patterns and thick cables begin to call my name louder than ever. I am not much of a summer knitter, not meaning that I don't knit in the summer, I do, always, always, but I mean I hate knitting with cotton or linen or anything that's not from the fleece of an animal. The biggest compromise I will make when it comes to summer knitting is to use fingering weight yarn (love it, just takes so much longer) and I try not to knit huge projects that will cover my lap in a wool blanket. But, sometimes that happens anyway and there's nothing for me to do for it but to grin and bear all the sweat under my knitting. I know, did I make you cringe with the water balloon photos on an obviously suffocatingly hot morning, mixed in with photos of stiflingly hot stranded wool knitted projects? It's wishful thinking- fall is surely almost here!
Oh boy, so many projects going on. Love, love, love how Merriment came out. I need buttons still, and need to weave in the ends and sew up and block the adorable matching bonnet, but how cute did that pattern come out? Like always, Alicia's been inspiring me with her talk of stranded yoke sweaters and how fun they are to knit. I thought that already, but she has gotten the wheels turning in my brain as I scramble to remember the yoked sweater patterns I have been wanting to make for a while now besides Merriment. Should Alicia ever happen upon my blog, here you go Alicia: not sure if you yet discovered these yoked patterns yet. Like my sister said to me when I showed her Alicia's blog, "Um, why are we not best friends??" Um, right?? I just love checking out what she is up to in her adorable little Scandinavian-inspired house!
Back to knitting: I just hit the point (yet again, for the hundredth time) where I have to tell myself to slow down and not start so many things. Just when think I am getting burned out on knitting, or making things in general (like where I was a couple weeks ago), something or other always gets the ball rolling in an unexpected way. Maybe it will be with some sort of decorating project, maybe it will be something totally different, like sewing or cooking, but more often than not some new inspirational knitting project will call my name and I will be amazed that I ever felt the need to take a break from knitting.
For my readers who aren't knitters, don't worry, I have more to write about. I turned 36 a couple of days ago. I am so okay with it, in fact I have loved being in my thirties. Each year of life that goes by gets better than the last. I am not just saying that, I mean it with all my heart. Life takes so many unexpected twists and turns. So many bad, but so many of them so, so wonderful. I didn't realize watching my children grow up and seeing them experience the same things I experienced at their ages would be ten times better than when those things happened to myself. It's as if I'm living my life, plus seven other lives at the same time. Good thing I chose the right name for my blog.
There's so much joy and emotion I wonder if I will ever explode. I'm sure I entered the doll playing stage when I was two, like Clemmie is in the thick of right now, and I know watched my other kids love dolls as well, but that does not dampen my delight in watching Clementine discover her love of playing with "babies." In fact, it is perhaps more fun watching my last almost-two year old than it was my first. Now I know how much to appreciate it. I worry less. I am well aware now how quickly that stage, and all stages, pass. Before long, she won't sing "Hiya-Hiya" in the same sweet way she does now ("Hiya, hiya, Jesus hiya, Hiya, hiya, hiya, Lowa, lowa, Jesus hiya!"), or say with delight, "Shoe-y! Toad-y! Snake-y! Monkey!" quite the same way next month. And I use Clementine as the example because she changes so fast, but oh my, how proud I am of each child as they achieve each new accomplishment. Last night we watched what was my favorite movie growing up, in honor of the Olympics. When it was over, Cate asked Jude how he liked it (I wouldn't think a six year old boy would like a gymnastics movie). He gave a deep sigh and said, "I loved it." Ah, Jude. There is nothing more wonderful in life than sharing your favorite experiences with your children.
In five years my life will look so different from what it is now, and I am more than okay with that, in fact, I am delighted and I absolutely can't wait to see what life will bring. Though things don't always go well and many days, weeks, months, and years have been hard, I know for a fact that God has blessed every single day of my life. I'm so thankful that He loves and delights in His children every bit as much as I do mine.
