Changes brewing...

I have 4 blogs right now - this one, one for general family news, one for what I'm reading, and one for sewing. I can't keep up with any of them. LOL I'm sorry I haven't been posting here or commenting in other blogs much lately. Life has just been busy and as usual I am so behind on everything. I am still reading your blogs though!

Anyway....

In September I will start homeschooling Lindsey (Kindergarten), and I've been thinking about doing a blog with more of a homeschool focus - what we're learning, accomplishments, struggles, and misc. ramblings. But I still want to write about reading, knitting, and occasionally sewing so I've decided to combine everything into one blog. I've decided to start this blog at Homeschool Blogger. I haven't decided on a name yet so I don't have a specific URL to share with you. I would LOVE suggestions on what to call this new blog! I am so uncreative. I don't want the word homeschool in the title since the blog will be about more than that. The same goes for any one subject such as reading, knitting, etc.

I'm thinking I may lose some readers when I go to this new blog but I may gain some too. I would love to have you follow me there, but I understand if you're not interested.

I hope to have my new blog started in the next few weeks and when I get a URL I will let you know! Thanks to the faithful readers/commenters of my many blogs.

On the knitting front, I have been knitting only about twice a week lately. Sigh. But I am 3/4 done with a small felted bag and last Tuesday I started a pair of Monkey socks (from knitty.com). I worked on them again last night. Again I'm sorry I've been such a horrible knit blogger lately! I am just as obsessed with knitting as ever and subscribe to new knitting podcasts all the time! My new favorite is the Brown-eyed Mom podcast. I think about knitting all the time. I guess I have more time to think about it than to actually do it but that's just the way it is right now and that's okay. It's not going anywhere. :-)

Happy knitting!

Knitting Jeopardy

Answer: All of these are in short supply in my life.

Question: What is time, energy, and money?

Correct! You win a lifetime supply of yarn. (You know I'm kidding about the yarn, right? LOL) I am so obsessed with all things knitting but unfortunately I don't have as much knitting time as I would like. Often when I do have time, I have no energy. And while I currently have enough yarn to keep me knitting for awhile (which is actually not very much, I'm a s-l-o-w knitter), I would love to be able to buy more, more, more yarn. :-)

I live a very blessed life, I'm not complaining (okay maybe just a little) but I'm just stating a fact. I would love to knit more than I do. For now I just knit when I can, listen to my multitude of knitting (and other) podcasts, browse Ravelry, and read Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's books. :-)

Happy knitting!

Just a little while longer....

WOW, I haven't posted in over a month. I promise to update soon.

I have been tossing around deleting all my blogs. But I can't quite bring myself to end them either. I just don't have the time/energy/ambition to post much of the time. Things are going on in my personal life (the biggest one is my dad is ill) and with 2 active little girls and a teenager in his final year of (homeschooled) high school with college decisions being made, I just can't seem to do more than read other people's blogs. I don't think I have that many readers either, but if you're out there, please stick around! I really don't want to only talk to myself. :-) So anyway it remains up in the air what I'll end up doing. I will post an update here sooner or later.

Fyi, the Tidal Wave socks are done. :-)

How do you knit so fast?

I started my Tidal Wave socks over 2 weeks ago. Since then I've worked on them almost every day for anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour. Actually 2 hours a week ago Sunday when I went to my local Knit & Sip. I finished the heel flap of the first sock last night. HOW DO YOU KNIT A WHOLE PAIR OF SOCKS IN A WEEK? OR A WEEKEND? I've heard of both. You don't sleep? :-) Or what?

It doesn't matter that much to me. I am totally enjoying making these socks. I just wonder.....

So here they are so far....


Other knitting notes:
-Sophie bag still not felted
-Haven't heard yet if friend received my gift
-Not sure if I'll start another project soon or work on socks until they are done


Note to Chris: I so planned to participate in your book thingy here on my blog. I really did. But here it is over 2 weeks later and I haven't done it yet, so I hope you don't mind if I don't do it. I do love to read! And thank you so much for your kind comment about my knitting. I won't tell you about the mistakes I made in my sock so far. LOL

Knitting time (or lack thereof)

I feel like I picked a bad time in my life to learn to knit. I just don't have the time, or maybe more accurately the energy, to knit all that much. I have the desire though! But between homeschooling my son, chasing around 2 active little girls, and taking care of home and husband, in my free time I am just pooped! The best time for me to knit is after the young ones are in bed, but by then I am usually just too tired. I think about picking up my knitting, then I choose instead to read or veg in front of the TV for awhile.

I know there will be a time when I can knit more, so for now I'm just going to be content with whatever time I do have to do so. As I've said before, I am certainly enjoying reading about knitting and listening to knitting podcasts - THAT I can do much more than actually knitting! So for now I am learning a lot and dreaming about future knitting projects, and knitting when I can.

We're leaving for a week-long family vacation tomorrow. My Knit Picks order didn't come yet, and even if it comes tomorrow before we leave, I'm not going to bring it along. I don't think this trip will be a good time to start learning to knit socks. Also I don't know that I'll have a lot of knitting time on the trip. I'll just bring Lindsey's scarf and hopefully finish that while we're gone, and start on my socks when we get back.

Our trip involves a 16 hour drive so I do have my iPod loaded up with knitting podcasts for the trip! Yea!

I am also reading Drunk, Divorced & Covered in Cat Hair by Laurie Perry (a/k/a Crazy Aunt Purl) and although I've never been in her situation I am enjoying the book. I hope to finish that before we go.

Good night!

Fearless knitting and sock woes!

"One of the greatest discoveries a man makes, one of his great surprises, is to find he can do what he was afraid he couldn't do."

Henry Ford

This quote was in Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's At Knit's End, Meditations for Women who Knit Too Much. After I finish Lindsey's scarf I want to get started on some "real projects". But I'm afraid I'll be the first knitter who cannot knit a sweater or socks! I've been crocheting for over 10 years and I consider myself fairly good at it, but I've never made anything that had to be fitted in any way. I've always made afghans, dishcloths, coasters, doilies and things like that. I've never had to worry about gauge. Everything always turned out an appropriate size (except maybe the afghan I made my youngest sister that turned out really BIG! but she likes it anyway).

I really can't afford to buy a sweater's worth of yarn and then have it not fit in the end! But I'd love to make myself one someday. I probably need to just take it one step at a time and not fear it! Stephanie says she is surprised to hear of knitters like me, who are afraid to take on a big project or make a mistake. She says "Be afraid of skydiving. Be afraid of wild boar. Be fearless with knitting."

I will try to take her advice! As she also says: "...no one has ever been killed or maimed by being adventurous with knitting, no matter how pointy the needles."

So I am ready to make my first pair of socks - BUT - I need help!!! Bombard me with your suggestions. I don't know what yarn to buy, I don't know what needles to get, I don't know if I should use dpns or two circulars or magic loop. At first I thought I'd try magic loop right away and was fairly set on that, then I thought maybe I should use dpns for my first socks and my first project in the round, and then I thought, I'm not sure! I'm confused! I can't wait to get started but I don't know what to do. I was thinking I would go to my LYS and ask for some help, but with my 2 little ones I don't know when I will be able to get there, so my best bet might be to order what I need online. But what to get? HELP!!!!!!!!!