The Evolving Homemaker

So I decided to sleep in this morning since the kiddos went to bed so late and were sleeping in.  Instead of getting up and blogging and starting our day, I hid in my room, took the time to meditate, read the second mindfulness training from Plum Village Monastery, and began perusing a book called If It’s Not Food Don’t Eat It. It was next to my nightstand and all my other books I am currently reading were in the living room.  Not worth the risk of waking the kiddies up to go get them.

Ahhhh…….

And then the kids got up. And our day has begun.  They are eating breakfast, yummy coffee cake from yesterday, and some yogurt, while I get this post up and think of breaking out the Omega Juicer for breakfast.

The knitting has hit a SNAG this week.  A big snag.  I finished the body of the glove then cast off, easy as pie.  Then I watched a You Tube video to try to figure out how to pick up the stitches for the thumb.  I knitted a thumb.  Then realized that there were a couple of large spaces in the knitting of the thumb AND it was inside out.  The knit was on the inside of the thumb hole and the backside was on the outside.

So I ripped it out and have yet to find the time to find another video.  We had a blasted busy Saturday and Sunday I played catchup with making a list of things that need to get done in the garden and in my life.  The list is long.  I am not feeling any pressure to get to it, actually feeling like I have knowledge of what it is, instead of the rambling thoughts in my brain that get lost.

So you can see my needle holding the four stitches that I had to ‘hold’ for later.  I will figure this out.  I will.  I want theses gloves.

I am still reading the Dynamic Laws of Prosperity, and will be for the next five weeks as long as the class goes.  And went back to I Need Your Love-Is That True.  Funny, the day I finished Stillness Speaks and went back to this one, a friend posted she was reading Loving What Is by Byron Katie.  She was loving it, so it will probably be next on my list since I am enjoying the philosophy of I Need Your Love so much.

That is it for my reading and knitting update for this week.  Not much to share since I have found myself stuck at the moment.  Hope you all are having better luck this week!

Joining, albeit late, with the weekly Yarn Along!

It is Wednesday again, I am not sure I like being this clear about how fast my weeks fly by.  Nevertheless, here we are yet again with Small Things and the yarn along delight of seeing so many amazing projects.

Dare I say it?

Out loud?

I am not sure I should…

I am trying something on double ended needles.

I am serious.

Last week at this time, I had just finished my first ever knitted hat.  I didn’t know what I would do next, should I practice the hat again before moving on?  Or should I dive into something else?  What was a gal to do?

Find inspiration.

Which is exactly what I got last week perusing all the projects until I was reminded about fingerless gloves.  I have been dying for some, and wanting to learn to make them, but trying to work my way up slowly through knitting endeavors so I don’t get in over my head.  I found this seemingly easier pattern at A Friend To Knit With which I fell in love with right away.  I want to try both patterns.

I am new to double ended needle knitting, duh, so I needed a little You Tube love to get started.  Of all the videos I found, this one seemed the easiest to see what she is doing and also made the most sense to me and my logical brain.

And here is my current project:

Needless to say, not much reading happened this week so the books are still the same.  But I am just super excited that I started this glove yesterday morning and it feels like I have made a surprising amount of progress.  Hopefully next week I will have at least one of them done, I still don’t know what “Knit 4, slip next 4 stitches to a piece of waste yarn, CO 4 stitches using the bakward loop method, knit to end” means, but I am willing to bet I will figure it out when I need to.

Yeah!  I finally feel like I am making some knitting progress and moving up the challenge ladder.  Before you know it I will be on to sweaters.  O.k. maybe not, but still, FINGERLESS GLOVES!

What are you challenging yourself with this week?  On the needles or off?  In the pages of a book? Or not?

Another week has passed, another yarn along is here with Ginny at Small Things.  Wow, how time flies when you are havin’ fun!

I finished The Help.  It must have been stupendous cause I finished it in a week, while getting all of my other stuff done and not hunkering down in bed for two days as many of my Mama friends joke they did when they read it.  I am not actually sure how I got through it so fast, but I did stay up until 12:39 on Monday night since I so desperately wanted to finish and see how it ended!

This is BIG for me.  I haven’t read a fiction book since Edgar Sawtelle.  No joke.  That was actually the only book I have ever ‘given’ away too.  I was THAT disappointed in the ending.  It made me physically ill…I ain’t lyin’.  But The Help redeemed fiction and I went out and bough five fiction books at the bookstore to celebrate and rediscover a few new gems.

OK, so duh not a lot of knitting got done since I was reading MOST spare moments, but not all.  I only have a few rows left to finish the blue shawl, I did 3/4 of the fringe on my daughters shawl last night, and will easily be beginning the purple one for my niece before next week…I hope.  I am feeling optimistic today! (I can’t show you the pink one cause my little gal is up and running around at the moment)

My reading this week includes The Beekeeper’s Handbook as I just began my beekeeping class last night and am so excited and intrigued, but we have to read two chapters by next week.  Left Neglected is a fiction book I picked up last week that sounded interesting about finding out what is important in life.  I am always searching for that reminder too so I thought it would be up my alley.  And of course How To Talk So Kids Will Listen And Listen So Kids Will Talk, you are supposed to read but one chapter a week so you can practice.   Which actually is working out well, it did give me time to practice the first chapter more instead of plowing on through the book and forgetting everything I read at the begining.

There you have it.  My work is cut out for me for the week, but as I am learning to prioritize my time these days, spending heaps of less time on Facebook for starters, I think I am leaning into more productivity and enjoyment out of the quality of my life.

Happy knitting and reading all, if you have any fiction you just LOVED you should leave me a note telling me which ones so I can check them out!

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