Happy Mother's Day

I hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day. I had the pleasure of hosting my mother and mother-in-law for my brunch. We had Baked French Toast:

We also had an asperagus quiche and fruit salad.

So, not too fancy, but enough for a small brunch.

I heard from both my kids and went to my drawing group in the afternoon as my treat to myself.

Weeko says: What? It's Mother's Day?

FO Friday: Not Quite Seasonal

I am thrilled to present "28's Cousin 53."

I just love this shawl. I don't always pick the right yarn for a particular project, but this time ... I did a great job (if I do say so myself). This pattern really lets the yellow yarn shine. I picked up the yarn a few years ago, but the Madison dyer is still in business: htNEVELE Designs on Etsy.

I wore it once, and then winter transformed instantly into summer and everyone had to scramble to get their summer clothes out of storage. I'll pack it away, where it will have to wait patiently for fall.

The pattern, a freebee by Lynn Ashton,  is pretty simple and would make a great first-lace project.

WIP and Weather

(Excuse the sideways photo as I'm having wifi issues this morning!)

I will have an FO (finally!) Friday, and I have somehow resisted the urge to cast on something new. Instead, I returned to some holiday knitting I started a while ago:

Although you can't tell, at this point I've knit the bottom and sides of the slipper and have begun the instep. Not the most exciting knitting, but I think the finished product will be worth it. I'm hoping so. If these turn out to be as cute as they are in the photo, I plan to knit a bunch for gifts.

The weather this spring has been wet! But we had a beautiful day yesterday and I got on the bike for the first time since I broke my leg in April 2013!

I had grown absolutely terrified of biking -- and no, that's not how I broke my leg! I'm reasonably famous for being uncoordinated. Add to that the fact that breaking my leg made me aware of how fragile we all are. So, I am quite pleased with the 20-minute jaunt I took around my very hilly neighborhood. I need to build up my strength if I'm going to bike with my friends.

I also may need to learn to tolerate biking in the rain, as the rest of the week is forecast to be wet!

It's Even Better When It's On Sale

Friday evening I went out for gallery night with a friend, and we had a great time. It turns out that there are dozens of artists' studios on Madison's near East side, so we spent ours wandering around. Some retired professors craft exquisite etchings using a press that is more than 100 years old! One studio produces striking glassware.

And then there was this:

This adorable yarn bowl was waiting for me on the seconds table at Nstar Studio. You can see that it's a bit out of kilter, but I think it will work just fine. For $15, I could not walk away without it.

Some Weeks Are Longer Than Others

This week was longer than five days. I can't explain how. Maybe there were more than 24 hours in each day this week. I don't know, but by this morning, our 8th-grade team felt the need to jolt ourselves out of the doldrums.

It worked. We got through the day. And now I have a couple hours at home before heading out for gallery night.

I'm going to spend a few of those moments apologizing for neither writing nor reading much in the blogosphere this week. It was a grueling week: long hours, IEP meetings, and challenging students. I spent time with both my parents and Keith's -- something I like's to do more. Doing all those things means less time for blogging.

And I really, really like blogging. The best part is meeting people from all over and forming friendships. The knitters I've met have taught me so much about knitting. They've encouraged me to try new techniques, helped me out of jams, and directed me to amazing patterns and yarns.

Having been a single mom for more than a decade, time management has dogged me for ages. Am I the only one who struggles to find time for other people and myself? I could hole up in my studio for weeks at a time -- but in the long run I'd regret not nourishing relationships. I'm always trying to set boundaries at work. There is so much I could do that teaching could take up every waking moment -- if I let it!

So, where does blogging fit in? Earlier this week, I emailed a former blogger.  She hadn't posted for a long time, but also hadn't said on the blog that she was quitting. I wondered if she was ill or dealing with a major problem. She replied that she stopped blogging because she often felt that she was knitting to "feed" the blog, a feeling I've struggled with, too. My monogamous knitting of the last few weeks has made blogging hard. And this isn't the first time I've felt like the blog was driving my knitting -- which does seem backward.

I really miss this blogger -- she was one of the best -- so we'll try to connect in other ways. Still, it won't be the same. I don't plan to quit blogging any time soon, but I am going to try to not feel pressure in the blogosphere. I know that none of us want that!

Monogamy Has It's Benefits

The downside of monogamous knitting is that it doesn't supply you with much variety for knitting. All I have is ANOTHER photo of my "28's Cousin, 53" shawlette. At least this photo captures the lush color of the yarn

The upside of monogamous knitting is that you finish a project in a reasonable amount of time. The 1x1 ribbing at the bottom (top in the photo) will be finished soon. I'm on row 7 out of 10! I want to point out that each row has more than 500 stitches!

My stitching activities have been more focused on embroidery. As miserable, cold and rainy weather persists here, I find myself fantasizing about spring:

These are about the only flowers blooming now!

I don't generally dread Sunday evenings, but I have a ton of meetings and paperwork scheduled for next week, so I'm feeling a bit of trepidation about the coming week. Still, it was a nice weekend. Dinner with my parents on Friday; vewing an exhibit on surreal art at a local museum; and going out drawing this afternoon. Now I'm off to get some cooking done for the week.

Yarn Store Art

I finally finished this sketch of the the new yarn store, Looped Yarn Works, in Washington, D.C.

Isn't this an adorable store? It's on a second story on busy Connecticut Avenue, the perfect respite spot in a busy city. And the staff is super welcoming. I heard them tell shoppers over and over that they are invited to come knit at the store even if they're not shopping!

I guess I should draw the LYS here that has a coffee shop.  But can I go there without buying any yarn???

WIP Wednesday: Slow But Steady

I'm still plugging away at my "28's Cousin, 53" shawlette. The early morning light doesn't show off the sunny yellowness of this yarn, but it was the best I can do.

Going back to school after break yesterday was tough. I thought the 8th-graders would be relaxed and happy for at least a day. I thought wrong! They were wound up and restless. I'm hopeful that today they will be back in the swing of things.

The shawlette is quite mindless, so I'm planning to go home, make dinner, and sit down with the shawlette for a few episodes of "Call the Midwife."

Go on and see what others are working on with Tami Amis.

Yes, There Was Yarn

There's a new yarn shop in the District of Columbia, so I had to check it out. Looped, at 1732 Connecticut Ave. NW, is just a few blocks from Dupont Circle. It is very very sweet and cozy. There is a fireplace and lots of space for knitting. I picked up the two skeins of Quince & Co. Chickadee there. Those skeins are destined to become a Gladys Hat.

I picked up the other skeins at Fibre Space in historic Alexandria, Virginia. I've been to Fibre Space before, and was excited to return. It is a large shop with a truly "gourmet" selection of yarns. This yarn was dyed by Neighborhood Fiber Co., which is based in nearby Baltimore. The colors are just exquisite and the yarn is squishy. I see scarves or mitts or hats as their futures. The green will definitely be a present for my sister-in-law Mary. I stayed with her, my brother and their daughter, Rebecca this past week.

We ended up in Alexandria on Saturday because my other niece, Jennifer, was visiting the area. She's studying economics at Davidson College. She's on the left below, with my daughter, Rachel. Mary and I spent the afternoon hanging out with them, which was really fun.

Unfortunately, Rebecca (below, left) only stayed for lunch before heading home with her dad. Rebecca has Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, a disorder of the circulation system that causes fatigue, headaches, dizziness, nausea, and a laundry list of other symptoms. It is so great to see her smiling here, because she is in pain/discomfort a lot of the time. She keeps her spirits high and hopeful, which is so inspiring.
 
The best part of my trip was spending so much time with my family. I hate that we are so far apart!

Springtime Stitching

I have had quite a bit of crafting time here in Washington. I've added rows to my shawl, but it doesn't look too much different from the last post. Long rows of garter and stockinette build slowly. However, my embroidery project is coming along nicely.

I do get out to my favorite spots, but spending time with family is what this trip about. Besides, I really need to relax as much as anything, so I am quite happy with my crafty week here.