End-of-Summer Sewing

I finally got to the sewing machine for a fun little project instead of boring old mending.

iPad stand

side view

reading the newspaper

My wonderful husband got me an iPad for my birthday (after some very UNsubtle hints) and I have been having fun playing with it. I decided I needed a stand, so I searched online and found this lovely tutorial.  I questioned some of the design elements of the pattern, but I thought it safest to follow it exactly as written. I filled it nicely with rice, and found that those design elements I questioned were just right as written.  I love it! It works great on flat surfaces but not so well in my lap when I'm sitting and reading. Guess ab iPad lap pillow  is a project for another day.

The kids (and their parents!) have survived the first week of school. Before the week was out I decided they needed a little extra pick-me-up, and some bribery to get them to talk to me a little bit at the end of their day.

I even sent a box of cookies off to my son at college. I've got to at least start the year being a good mother.

Fall, the change in the weather and the beginning of another school year, always finds me wanting to clean house, reorganize, and start new projects. I've been very slow with the cleaning, though we've been slowly decluttering by selling off "stuff" that we don't need but is still in good working condition. The new project that I really shouldn't be starting, but I'm doing it anyway, is socks for my daughter. I had started a pair for her earlier in the summer in a nice cotton blend, but didn't like the gauge or the stitch pattern, so I've ripped them out so I can start again. But now that the weather is turning a little cooler, I don't want to make the summery socks. So I pulled out a lovely alpaca blend in some of her favorite colors. This afternoon while my husband was out with the kids to buy school supplies, I pulled out my swift and nöstepinne and balled up my skein.

I haven't decided on a pattern yet, but it will probably be something pretty basic, like a simple 1x1 or 2x2 rib, because I think a lacy or cabled pattern would get lost in all the color changes. I'll have to see what it looks like when I swatch it up. Here's hoping it's as beautiful knitted up as it is in the skein!

Shelley in CT

Home Again, Again

I've gone away and come home again in between the last blog post and this one.  It's been a busy summer and I'm about ready to settle back into the school year. The kids aren't, they like to be able to sleep in, but I think they secretly enjoy seeing friends every day at school.

We had a week in between our last trip and the beginning of the school year. We were out in California for a family Bar Mitzvah and really enjoyed seeing so many relatives. We snuck in a couple college visits for our daughter-who-will-be-a-senior while we were out there too. (She liked UCLA but not UCSD) And the whole time we were there I didn't take ONE picture. Thank goodness some of the relatives took pictures and shared.

We got home in time to celebrate my birthday - 48! Woohoo!

birthday flowers from my husband

Kids finished up summer jobs and summer homework. I worked on preparing for the beginning of school. I've been making quiche (it's a kid favorite for breakfast - who'd a thunk?) and putting them in the freezer so we have some "ready-made" breakfasts during the school year. I can put onions,  Swiss chard, kale, leeks, spinach, garlic, almost anything we get in our CSA (community supported agriculture) box that can be chopped and sautéed, and the kids will eat it. I've been using my grandmother's pie dough recipe, which is super easy, and a quick quiche recipe that came with the veggies one week.

You can see how well-used my pie dough recipe is. My grandmother taught me how to make it when I was about 12. Directions are simple: put flour, sugar and salt in a bowl. Cut in shortening. Add liquid (I've always used water; I chill it in the fridge before adding it to the dough). Mix gently. When dough holds together, turn out onto a floured board and knead 2 or 3 times, no more. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Here's the quiche recipe:

1 tsp. olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1/2 bunch swiss chard (or spinach, or kale, or almost anything)
~2 c shredded cheese
4 eggs
1 c skim milk
salt/pepper

Preheat oven to 375 deg F. Wash and dry chard/veggie of choice and chop. Add oil to a sauté pan and  sauté chard and onion until tender. Add salt and pepper to taste. Whisk eggs in a large bowl. Add milk and cheese and mix. Fold in chard mixture. Put a bottom crust into a pie dish. Pour in the egg mixture. Bake 45-50 minutes until golden brown.

I usually put in a blend of available veggies. It always comes out tasty.

Took me so long to get to the blog that the kids have already started school. Seemed to be a good beginning, and homework has begun (today was the first day!).  Weather is starting to cool down just a bit and I think we're all enjoying the fresh new year, though the kids won't admit it. Daughter is driving in to school this year so I get a a break on the driving. 

Haven't been knitting, did a little bit of sewing (mostly mending) and am on track with my training for the half-marathon. Toughest workout was getting in my 10 miles while we were in California. I managed it though, using google maps (http://www.gmap-pedometer.com) to plot a course, and it was 11 miles this past weekend here at home. My husband will only run about 7 miles with me, but I met another woman this summer who is also training for the half marathon and we are doing the long runs together. We have a similar pace and it sure helps to have company. We'll be running 12 miles this weekend.

The calendar is already becoming overpopulated with parent meetings, back-to-school nights, sports, and extra-curricular activities. Then I get to fit in my own, like tap dance classes and knitting group. Busy but fun.

Shelley in CT

Celebrating 50!

No, not me, my husband. I'm the trophy wife (ha!) Yesterday was the dreaded 50th birthday so we had a party. I spent most of the week beforehand cleaning up clutter, vacuuming (or having kids vacuum), clearing and wiping surfaces, cleaning bathrooms, and, the pièce de résistance, scrubbing all the mildew off the screen porch (it has been years since I scrubbed it). It was in sad shape; the roof has been leaking for years and we are currently talking to a contractor about tearing it down and rebuilding, so it has not been a priority. But with the party coming up and the possibility of being outdoors, it had to be cleaned. The things I'll do for the love of my husband...

before

after

It took me two days of scrubbing both ceilings and walls. Phew! Then, after all that, we had such hot humid weather the night of the party that nobody could stand to be outside, so we all stayed comfortable in the air conditioning inside. Oh well, at least as the weather cools in the fall we'll have a lovely, clean, comfortable screened porch to enjoy.

With all the party prep, I lost steam on my olympics knitting. Closing ceremonies are tonight and I'm not very close to finished. No medal for me!

It's more than halfway done though, and I will finish it and find a person or charity to give it to. I think it will really blossom when I block it.

Now that we have enjoyed and cleaned up from the big party, it's time to get ready for the next "thing," the trip to California for a family Bar Mitzvah. We have to be packed and ready by tomorrow night so we can leave the house the next day before the crack of dawn to catch our very early flight. So today it's laundry, lists, and more organizing. Phew! No wonder the summer always seems so short; we never have time to get bored and lazy!

The Bar Mitzvah is in San Diego, near where we lived when the two older kids were born. The summer weather out there can be hot, but predictions are for fairly comfortable temps this coming week (high 70s and low 80s), and there will be virtually no humidity! Yay! I'm going to really appreciate that, as I need to fit in a 10-mile run sometime during this week in order to stay on my training schedule for the half marathon in September. Our 90% humidity here has really slowed me down lately.

Onward!

Shelley in CT

Olympic Knitting

I had a hard time deciding what project to work on during the Olympics. I never joined a team on Ravelry to compete in the Ravellenic Games on Ravelry (formerly known as the Ravelympics) but wanted to try to start and finish a project during the games as my way of participating. I pored over patterns and pulled yarn out of my stash and looked at projects I have lined up. I finally decided on some gift/charity knitting and some mohair yarn that has been nicely aging in my stash for the past 20 years. Then I pulled out patterns. I started one, and it was a little fussy following the chart, and then after all that focus I wasn't happy with the result. I switched to a different stitch pattern, just using what I had knitted as a big swatch. Wasn't entirely happy with the second option, so I hunted some more and found yet another pattern to try.

Here is my "Olympic trial." I'm sure the first stitch pattern would look better once it's blocked, but I wasn't happy with the way it was knitting up. There's a lacy pattern on top of that, and a different lacy pattern at the very top, which I eventually decided on. The pattern is from knitty.com. Here's the link: http://knitty.com/ISSUEsummer07/PATTwisp.html

Ta da! As I write this the piece is already 3 times as long as it is in this  picture and it's easy to keep track of but interesting enough that I'm not getting bored with the knitting. 

I am thoroughly enjoying watching the Olympics, and find myself cheering for all sorts of athletes from all different countries, though I do cheer for all the Americans, and there is still a special place in my heart for the Canadians, as I lived in Canada for 8 years during my childhood.

Well, back to Olympics coverage and more knitting.

Shelley in CT

Slow Progress

Now that I have just about recovered from jet lag and mostly caught up on work after being away for a week, I'm trying to get to some of those items on my very long to-do list.

I finally got around to weeding the bed in the front yard by the mailbox. It's been needing it for months and every time I picked up the mail or the paper, or went out for a run, I'd look down and say to myself, "I really need to pull the weeds out of that bed," and then I'd go on my merry way and forget all about it. Now that I've finally done it, it looks SO much better!

I also dug into the mending pile. One of mending projects was a skirt to be remade for my daughter. It was given to me last summer, and really only needed a casing stitched in and some waist elastic, but it has been sitting on the sewing table for an entire year now, still waiting. Now it is finally done, and didn't take all that long either.

Here is the lower half of my daughter modelling the aforementioned skirt. She is very happy with it. I can tell because she wore it the next day without any coercion. Really!

More weeding yesterday, in the back yard this time, and I've already started in on our CSA  vegetables (community supported agriculture - we bought a "share" at the beginning of the season and get a box of whatever vegetables are ready in a given week). The beets are steamed and waiting in the fridge for me to figure out what to do with them. A nice big batch of pesto is made and in the freezer. And last night's dinner was a yummy pasta dish using our summer squash. Yay! Maybe I'll manage to use all the vegetables from the box this week before the next box comes!

I'm enjoying the summer flowers. These are my daylilies in the back yard. I have a bunch more in the front yard, but the deer have eaten the buds off of every last one of them. Guess it's time to invest in some of that foul-smelling deer repellent.

Last but not least, an FO! TA DA!

 

2-at-a-time  1x1 ribbed toe-up socks in a lovely hand-dyed variegated yarn. I used the iron heel (here's a description/tutorial: http://pencraftco.wordpress.com/2010/10/13/the-iron-heel/), which puts the heel stitch under my heel, where I tend to wear out the socks. I'm hoping these heels will hold up better than a standard heel. The heel definitely feels different. I'll have to wait until the weather gets cold and I can wear the socks to find out just how good a fit this heel is for me. I also used Jeny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off, http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEfall09/FEATjssbo.php, and it really is surprisingly stretchy, and very easy to do. I'll definitely be using that bind off again on socks, and anything else that needs a stretchy bind off.

Couldn't resist another sock photo - I'm so happy that I finished them. Now I can move on to another project!

Shelley in CT

Home Again

Oregon was beautiful and we got to visit with lots of relatives. My mom organized a big reunion at the house and all of my siblings and their kids, and many cousins, aunts and uncles came out for the day. My husband hadn't been out to visit in 5 years, and my daughter hadn't been out in 3 years. We were missing my oldest son, who has a very good internship in Texas this summer, and between his work and the price of airline tickets, we just couldn't get him out there.

My daughter's favorite part of the trip were the 6 equine lawnmowers living on the property. They belong to a relative who brought them over so they could eat the very high grass, and because they were eating the grass, my dad didn't have to mow the big field. Horses get fed for free, no lawn mowing: win-win.

I was able to deliver the baby quilt to my toddler nephew, in person. He was not terribly impressed, but I think his parents liked it. I spent a couple of late nights before we left finishing up the machine quilting and getting the binding cut and machine-sewn. I brought needle and thread along in my luggage so I could finish handsewing the binding after I arrived. I was so happy to have finally finished it, I forgot to take a picture of the quilt in all its finished glory. I have asked my sister-in-law to do that for me and send it, so maybe I'll be able to show off the finished article in the next post. Here's a pic of the quilt layered up and pin basted:

I really meant to take more pictures when we were there, but somehow I never thought of it. Oh well. Maybe next trip.

We got back home this past Saturday in the wee hours of the morning, after being delayed and then rerouted by storms over Atlanta. We were all exhausted and didn't get much accomplished over the weekend beyond unpacking the suitcases. Today we are all feeling much closer to normal.

I have been trying to get more organized this summer and get a few house projects done as well as some major cleaning. I haven't gotten very far, but I have made a little progress with organizing and with chores. Here's my new "gadget" that I stuck to the fridge:

These are stick-on white boards that are easy to write on and wipe off. I try to plan the meals for the week on the weekly planner, on top. We have joined a CSA (community supported agriculture) and get a "share" of local vegetables each week. Our box often has things I wouldn't buy on my own, but it certainly gets us to try new things, and I have to do my homework to find ways to use up everything each week. The lower board is the chore list for the kids. They are expected to do one chore each day to help out around the house and/or yard. I have found that giving them several options, where they can choose which chore they want to do, or probably more realistically, the lesser of the available evils, I get less complaining. So far it is working fairly well. . . For me. . . Don't ask the kids.

Shelley in CT

Moving On

We've just barely launched into summer vacation (school has been out for 2 weeks) and we're already preparing for the first trip of the summer. We are flying out to Oregon to visit relatives and it should be quite a visit. My mom has organized a big family reunion weekend with my siblings and their spouses, nieces and nephews, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc., etc. I'm really looking forward to seeing everybody.

Looking ahead to the trip also brings to my mind the baby quilt that I started, back when my newest nephew was a baby. Zane is now almost 2-1/2 years old, and the quilt is STILL not finished! This past weekend I decided that I had to finish it once and for all, and if I get my act together and work fast, I can deliver it in person. This weekend I was able to finish up the quilt top.

Here it is hanging on the line. I am very happy with the way it has turned out, and I didn't have any problems with the pattern, other than how long each star block took to put together. I love the result but I wouldn't make this quilt again because of how fiddly and time consuming those blocks were.

Now I need to put the backing, batting, and top together and baste. I am going to pin baste, and then machine quilt. I'm not sure just how I'm going to quilt it though. I'm leaning toward quilting some stars in the more open sections of the blocks and in the borders, and then random swirly stippling, similar to what the pattern in the magazine suggested. I may outline the stars, or quilt just inside the stars as well. I'll be sure to do LARGE swirls and stippling though, so it doesn't take me forever to finish. My batting is cotton but can be quilted up to 8 inches apart, so I've got a lot of leeway.

Last week we said goodbye to Aya, our exchange student from Japan. She's back in Japan and has sent us emails to let us know she's home safe. It was a very sad few days before we brought her to the hotel where the exchange student group gathered before going home. Hard as it was, I was glad to know that the reason  she was sad was because she had had a good year with us and didn't want to leave (though I know she was also anxious to get back to Japan and see her family and friends whom she hadn't seen in 10 months).

Here are the "sisters" saying a teary goodbye.

We've been trying to add some learning for the kids to the summer this year. They are both learning how to do their own laundry (yay!), though right now, I still need to lead them through it. Our plan was also to have them cook one dinner a week, but it's been difficult to put that one in motion. They also both have part-time jobs this summer, but there is still plenty of time left over for them to spend hours at the computer, texting with their friends, and sleeping until noon when they can get away with it. Today we're going to get out in the sunshine and go to the town craft fair.

Lots to do this week to prepare for the trip. I have hopes of getting a relaxing day or two visiting with my folks, in between the family reunion, meeting up with old friends and possibly even a college visit. I'm not holding my breath though.

Shelley in CT

Summer Sunshine

 I was a wimpy middle-aged amusement park rider and the carousel was just about my speed. So I coerced the kids into riding with me. Here are the girls.

Here's Jason. They didn't really complain. This carousel, by the way, was built in 1909 and all the horses and other animals were made of wood. It's a classic!

We had a gorgeous spring day, not too hot or humid, and the girls like to ride tamer rides and the boys (Jason brought a friend, who did not go on the carousel with us) liked more of a thrill. So they all got to do the things they liked with a friend. I hung out with some other host-parents and met up with the kids for lunch and had them check in on occasion just to make sure everyone was OK. I was still not feeling up to snuff, but it really wasn't a bad day. The biggest drain was the long drive out and back and the noise of the park. Six Flags Amusement Park had a water park section and the water there was very refreshing, and I even went on a couple of rides, in addition to the carousel.

The next day was Father's Day, and I just didn't have much energy to pamper my poor husband, so he got a nice card. I DID give him a whole quiet day at home with no kids the day before. That counts, doesn't it?

Dan and I went for a nice walk on Father's Day, and found some friendly neighbourhood chickens!

We don't know where they came from. As far as we know there are no neighbours keeping chickens. They were very cute, and didn't seem to be afraid of us.

Now that the kids are out of school for the summer, I have a long list of projects that I want to accomplish. (I have a long list every summer and I rarely get through much of it but I remain optimistic.) Last summer I got particularly little accomplished. It was my first summer working part time, included a short visit to family in Oregon, kids flying in and out of the state and country, the arrival of Aya (our exchange student) and hosting a friend's son for a week while his family was out of town. I'll just have to call those accomplishments "less concrete" and move on.

I have done very little knitting or sewing lately, which was my initial reason for starting this blog. Once again, with the advent of summer vacation, I remain optimistic. I have already gotten some of the "must-do's" out of the way, like servicing 2 of the cars, getting the allergy shots out of the way for the month, making doctor's appointments for the kids (annual physicals) and cleaning up and putting away lunchboxes and school papers. I'll keep making daily lists and try to get through them.


This summer we have a trip to Oregon planned as well as a trip to California, both to see family. Aya will be leaving next week (that's going to be hard for all of us) and both Jason and Jessica will be starting part-time summer jobs. Starting in July, Jessica will be able to legally drive Jason places, which will free me up from some of the driving.  With the kids busy, I have hopes of actually getting to some of my projects in between the trips. I just need to get myself, and the kids, organized. Wish me luck.

Shelley in CT

New Shoes! and Finally Summer Vacation!!!

Somehow it always sneaks up on me. My knees start to twinge when I run, then they do it again on the next run, and the next, and finally I start to suspect it's not just my knees. Then I try to remember how long I've been running in my current shoes. This time it had been almost a year, which is way too long. I was in luck though, the newest iteration of my current shoe of choice came with PURPLE stripes! How could I go wrong with purple shoes?

I took them out for the inaugural run and they felt great. Then I didn't run for over a week and a half. I got sick. I never get sick. I couldn't even blame the kids this time; I managed to pick up some virus all by myself. It started out not too bad, a little congestion, a little coughing. Then the headaches. But it was a busy week at work - end of month, with reports to run, accounts to reconcile, revenues to report, etc. So I worked shorter-than-usual days. Then I was beat by the time I got home. And the kids had all their activities and final exams, and Dan had evening work functions that he had to attend. He very rarely had evening work functions, but he managed to have 2 the week I was sick. And I kept getting worse. I couldn't go to tap class because of all the coughing. I had to cancel the run I was supposed to lead on the weekend (the very first time I had a runner signed up to join me!). I finally gave in and took strong medication that knocked me out on Saturday, and Dan took care of kids' activities and cooking dinner. I just vegetated on the couch and napped. The slow day helped a lot, but here I am, almost 2 weeks since it started and I still can't shake the sore throat. At least I'm not coughing anymore. I ran twice this week (short and slow) and I could breathe and I didn't cough, so at least I'm closer to normal. I'm very frustrated though. It's the last week of school for the kids and we have things to do and I just don't have the energy for it all. I probably should have taken a few days of downtime to try to knock this out of my system early on. Ah well, this too shall pass. Eventually.

We have survived finals. I say "we" because even though it was the 3 kids who took all the finals, I was the one who had to make sure they got to bed at a reasonable hour, woke up in time to get ready and catch the bus, remembered books, calculators, pencils, etc. and ate a good breakfast. The last final exam was this morning (whew!) and tomorrow is the very last day of school, mostly social time for the kids. Then on Saturday we are driving out to Six Flags amusement park - a trip that was organized by our AFS (American Field Service, exchange student organization) group. I will be driving 4 or 5 teenagers to the park in Massachusetts. The kids can enjoy their freedom from school right away. I'm going to bring a good book and sit in the sun.

It's been a really full year and I always find myself looking forward to the end of the school year just as much as the kids do. We have a relatively light week next week and will hopefully all get a chance to rest up a bit and organize and put away some of books and papers from the school year. I have projects I'd like to get done during the summer, like painting, some big cleaning projects, building shelves, etc. We'll see how much actually gets done (it's never as much as I think I should get done). I will, however, TRY to enjoy a little relaxation time before I start worrying about summer projects.

Shelley in CT

Socks!

My socks are back on track! Turns out I had missed a decrease on one sock on one side, so my number didn't add up. I had to pull everything off the needles, rearrange, and recount in order to figure out what was going on, but I only had to reknit one round. Yay! I'm using a pattern for Two Toe-Up Socks on a Single Circular Needle, so when I finally am done, the pair is finished - no second sock syndrome.

I was going to post a link to the pattern, but I can't remember where I got it. I've googled everything I can think of and it's not coming up. As I look more closely at my printouts,I think I used a basic toe-up two-at-a-time on one circular needle pattern, and substituted in the iron heel instead of the heel that was written in the basic pattern, which is why it's not coming up on the search. The information on the iron heel can be found here: http://pencraftco.wordpress.com/category/completed-projects/socks/  The sock itself is fairly plain, with stockinette sole and 1x1 rib for the top of the foot and everything above the heel. The heel shaping gets a little tricky, and the decreasing above the heel (to decrease the gusset stitches away) is every 3 rounds rather than every 2 rounds. I'm having to focus more on this heel, but it is likely because it's the first time I'm trying this technique. I had to really focus on the standard top-down heel flap the first couple of times I knitted socks but they're old hat now. I'm hoping this heel will give me a good fit. It's also supposed to wear well, ergo the name "iron heel."

I may even find some time to knit some more on these socks this week: we have prom gowns for both girls (borrowed and second-hand), work is settling back down to manageable levels, and AP tests are over! Not only that, we had a beautiful sunny warm day today for Mother's Day and my wonderful husband grilled me dinner and the kids cleaned up afterward. Life is good.

Shelley in CT

So tired...

It's spring, the flowers are blooming and the weather is lovely (when it's not raining) so why am I so tired? Well, Jessica and Aya have AP tests that they have been studying for during the past couple weeks (with the obligatory teenage angst), Jason has track practices and meets and a part-time job that he needs to be driven to and picked up from on a regular basis, we've had another AFS (Aya's exchange program) mandatory event that took place way over on the other side of Connecticut, that took 2 hours to drive to and 2 hours to drive home from (yes, I did carpool to make it easier), and proms for all three are coming up and we've had to help rent the tux and are still hunting for gowns to buy or borrow, not to mention shoes, wraps, flowers, etc. Work has been busy too, especially since our biller quit with no notice and I ended up helping fill in (learning on the job!) and am pitching in again to help the office staff get our books up to date before statements go out this month. Jessica is volunteering for AFS (as an experienced exchange student), and is needed at an orientation this weekend on Mother's Day, to which I will end up helping her drive because it's too far away and in a big city and she's just not ready for that kind of solo driving yet. Did I mention that that one is scheduled for Mother's Day?? Aya has dance rehearsals for a big spring performance this month, also, I might add, with a rehearsal on Mother's Day. Did I forget anything? In order to stay sane and attempt to ease the stress of all that we have going on, I have given myself a break and wisely ignored the housework (if I ignored the cooking of dinners the children and husband would rise up in revolt). Okay, enough kvetching, just had to get that off my chest.

Soon the AP tests will be over, we'll have everything ready for the proms, which will be enjoyed by all, and the kids will finish school and we just may be able sit back and maybe relax for a day or two before something new pops up on the schedule.

I have gotten virtually no knitting done, and haven't progressed at all on the baby quilt since the last post. Maybe on the prom nights I'll be able to get back to the sewing machine. Once again, this will require excavation of the office/craft/sewing room in order to physically reach the sewing machine. The socks I have been knitting have a big mistake in the decrease section above the heels. I've been knitting them toe-up, two-at-a-time on one long circular needle, so taking them off the needle and ripping back will involve keeping careful track of both socks so I can put them back on the needle at the same section of both socks. That's going to take more energy and thinking than I've been willing to give to my knitting lately. My cardigan sweater just needs a good try-on so I can decide where the buttons and buttonholes should go, and then I can finish it up. That's hung me up as well. Guess it's the brain work that I'm avoiding.


In other parts of my life, I seem to be taking after both of my parents these days. I've been working as a bookkeeper for the past year, and my mother did bookkeeping for many years; and recently I was asked to lead some runs for the spring/summer outdoor activities program run by the gym I used to belong to. My dad has always been leading and organizing races and running groups for almost as long as I can remember, so now I can take after him too. I was very flattered to be considered an experienced and serious enough runner to lead a group. And I get free gym access out of it. My first run is on May 19, and I've already tried out my route to check my mileage and my turnaround points. I'm starting easy with a flat 5-mile route that runs along the ocean and through part of a state park. Hopefully a few people will show up so I'll have some folks to lead. Wish me luck.


Send some positive mojo my way and hopefully I can get back on track. I'm hoping to finish up the knitting projects that are close to completion. I should probably write it into my schedule, a dedicated knitting-at-home day.

This Saturday is shopping with the girls. Send me some good thoughts for that as well, I'm going to need it.

Shelley in CT

Progress!

The quilt top is finally all put together! Well, mostly put together. I still have to put on the borders. I haven't decided yet how to quilt it, but I'm leaning toward stippling. Or maybe just outlining the stars and stippling the checkerboard sections. Hmmmm.

Today I also finally got myself out to do a track workout - interval training. (Yuck!) It's so much easier with a partner to suffer alongside me help me get through it. I have to say, though, that my daughter helped me out with motivation. She forgot her chemistry notebook, and I had to take it down to the school for her. And the track is right next to the school. So I got dressed to run and dropped her book at the school on my way to the track. I tried a different formula for my intervals this time: timing instead of just sprinting the straightaways and walking/jogging the curves. I had found a workout online that suggested 30 seconds hard and 90 seconds recovery, so I set my watch timer for 30 seconds. It's a little fiddly, using the watch timer, but it was a good workout. I think in the future I can blend the 30/90 with the straightaway/curve and come up with a middle ground that's easier to keep track of. I do like the longer recovery, and the 30 second sprint is longer than just the 100 meter straightaway so it makes me work a little harder. I'm going to feel this tomorrow.

Well, that all feels like a fair amount of accomplishment this week. Perhaps I can get the quilt bordered and basted this weekend, and get it finished and sent off to my nephew before he graduates from high school! (I started it before he was born and he's already 2 years old. I've really got to explore simpler quilt patterns...)

Hope you're getting some lovely spring sunshine wherever you are!

Shelley in CT

Looking Good

...if I do say so myself. Take a look:

Zany Stars Quilt in Progress

I've decided on placements for all the different star blocks, and I still need to sew up some more of the checkerboard filler, but I really like the way it's coming together. My sister-in-law tells me that my nephew is really into stars these days, so I have incentive to finish it quickly before he moves out of that phase!

I've got my sewing table all set up with the ironing board right next to it, so I can sit down and sew some pieces together whenever I have a spare 5 minutes or so. That has really helped my productivity. Of course, I would much rather spend larger blocks of time and see more progress, but I'll take what I can get.

On the home front, kids have recovered from the school musical and the SATs, and mandatory state standardized testing is finally over. We may actually have a calmer week ahead of us.

I am still running, and trying to bump my running schedule up to 3 runs per week. I was doing pretty well with that, 2 weeks in a row with 3 runs, and then this past week I hosted knitting group on my running day, so the run went out the window. Oh well, I'll try to pick it back up this week.

My local dance studio expanded their classes recently and are now offering an adult tap class. I had taken tap for a number of years, but had to stop about 5 or 6 years ago when the class was cancelled due to scheduling issues. I had been dancing with the high-schoolers, which was often a stretch for me, but it was a lot of fun and a really good workout. This new class is all adults, most of whom tapped as kids and are trying to pick it back up. I find myself the most experienced tapper in the class (besides the teacher), which is a first for me. We are starting slowly, but I do love tapping, so I am going to use this opportunity to work on my technique, which could certainly use some work, and hope that the others will be able to move forward quickly so we can get to the fun stuff.

The sun's been out lately and spring flowers are popping up. Everyone's healthy. Life is good.

Shelley in CT

Zany Stars!!!

My nephew Zane's 2nd birthday has come and gone, and the baby quilt I started for him over 2 years ago is still sitting, half made, on my sewing table. Well, it's time to finish it! I must say, Helen's posts (one of the blogs I follow: runquiltknitwrite) with pictures of her Wonky Stars certainly helped motivate me to pick up this languishing project. This pattern comes from the Sew Many Quilts magazine, nov/dec 1998 issue, and is actually called Ph.D. Stars, for Personally Hand-Designed Stars. Here's the pic of the pattern:

Each star is drawn by hand on a square piece of freezer paper and cut apart. Each star piece is ironed on to a piece of fabric, and the star is sewn together. I loved the look of the quilt and the idea, but after about half a dozen stars, I was finding it rather tedious. Thus, the long hiatus. Now I finally have all the stars sewn and have started on the checkerboard pieces (heavenly easy!). I think I'll be able to finish it up fairly quickly now that all the fussy piecing is done. It would be good to get this baby quilt sent to him before he turns 3! This should be the very last of the baby quilts for nieces and nephews. The quilt for my penultimate nephew got to him for his 2nd birthday. Apparently I'm getting lazier less efficient in my old age.

Kids are now (finally!) finished with the school play. The last performance was this evening so Dan and Aya and I went to see it, and brought along a friend and neighbour as well. They all did a great job! I know the kids worked hard and really enjoyed the process, but it got so hectic and time-consuming by performance time that they are both kind of relieved that it's over. So are we.

I'm elected to stay up until the kids get home from the cast party, so it's time to settle in with an episode of Inspector Morse, my knitting, and a glass of wine. And on top of that, tonight we lose an hour because we switch to Daylight Savings Time. At least there's not much going on tomorrow and I can try to catch up.

Shelley in CT

Getting back on Track

Well, the new year has had a rough start for me and the family, but I'm finding my way again and getting back on track.

Shortly after my last post my mother-in-law passed away. We knew it was coming and was only a matter of time, and she suffered from dementia to a degree where she no longer recognized anybody and didn't appear to find enjoyment any longer in her life, but nevertheless it was hard to say goodbye.

We gathered the troops and prepared to drive down to Pennsylvania for the funeral. There were a lot of little things to take care of, like appropriate clothing for the kids (the boys have been growing so quickly that we didn't have suits that fit them) and what to do with Aya (our Japanese exchange student), as I felt there was no need to drag her to a family funeral and make her miss 3 days of school. We got the call just in time to pull our oldest son off the plane (he was on his way back to college for his second semester) with about 15 minutes to spare. In a way, it helped me to focus on all the little details until I was ready to experience the funeral and the sadness. It was a difficult time, but as my husband's Aunt K said, the silver lining was that all the family was together.

Since then, we've been back at school and work, kids have survived midterms, and DH and I have caught up with our work too. I've been feeling really up and down over the last couple months and haven't blogged because I was afraid it would turn out sad and whiney. But here are some highlights of the beginning of 2012:

I drove up with a vanload of ladies from my knitting group to visit Susan, my running partner and fellow knitter, in her new house outside of Boston. It was a great visit, but of course it ended too soon. We made it a day trip, leaving as soon as our kids had left for school, but with a 2-hour drive each way the visit couldn't be terribly long, and we ran out of time before we ran out of conversation!

I've almost finished knitting a top-down raglan cardigan that I've been working on for ME! I just have buttonbands to finish knitting, and buttons to buy. I have pulled out my notes from a class on buttonbands that I took at Stitches a couple of years ago with Leslye Solomon (who is an excellent teacher, but the way!). So glad I kept the notes. I am just about out of yarn, and have unravelled my gauge swatches and now I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that I'll have enough yarn to finish. At least with a top-down sweater, I can pull out an inch from the bottom of the ribbing if I really need more yarn and the sweater will still look good and I won't have to reknit anything.

Cardigan ready to bind off

close-up of yarn - more accurate color

The other project I have been working on is clearing up my office. My desk has been a disaster area for way too long. Last fall I bought some boards and the hardware to put up some wall shelves above the desk. I have finally cut, sanded and painted the last shelf and it's up. I spent last weekend clearing my desktop and organizing and throwing out the stuff I don't need. I can now see the wood on the desktop and it feels so good!

Maybe I'll be able to accomplish more now that I have space to work and think! It has certainly helped me find more energy - I've gotten my dresser top cleared off too! There are more areas of the house to go, but I do feel like I'm making progress, and it feels good to get rid of the clutter.

Two of the kids are participating in the school spring musical: one in the chorus and the other playing in the pit orchestra. They've been staying late at the school for rehearsals every night this week and they opened last night. I know the kids have been enjoying the experience, but they are getting tired and fighting to keep up with homework, so I suspect they'll be a little relieved when all the performances are done. I went to see them on opening night and it looks good. I'll go see it again next weekend too.

Time to go finish up a sweater, or work on a quilt, or (more likely) do more of the never-ending laundry.

Shelley in CT

Fresh starts are always good

I don't really make New Year's Resolutions. Too much guilt and feelings of failure involved if I have trouble following through. I do love a fresh start though, and goals. Septembers always feel like a fresh start too, at least they do while I have kids in school. Anyway, I started off this year with a bang - a 7-mile run with my old running partner, who was visiting the area for the weekend. It felt really good to get out and run (and talk!) with her; just like old times. Neither of us had run as far as 7 miles since she moved away in August. At least she's only up the coast, outside of Boston. Next week it's my turn to visit up her way. As she was also in my knitting group (what a deal, eh? We could run and talk knitting at the same time!), a small group of knitters is driving up to her place next week for knitting group in Massachusetts. It will be a bit tricky to clear the better part of a day for it, but it will be worth it.

As far as knitting goes, my push this year is to finish up all my UFOs, or if they're not worth finishing, frog them and repurpose the yarn. I am not a monogamous knitter, and often go through bouts of startitis, and end up with way too many started projects that then languish in a basket or corner, never to be seen again. I'm close to the end of a project right now, and I have pulled out a few partially knitted projects to put in the queue. Wish me luck.

I haven't done too well in the sewing arena this past year. My main problem is excavating the sewing machine. I don't have a dedicated studio; I have a room that serves as office, sewing room, piano room, and yarn repository. The iron board is usually set up in there too (ostensibly so it is available while sewing), and "stuff" gets dumped there - on the ironing board, on my desk, and on the work table next to the sewing machine. Mending gets laid over the sewing machine. Ergo, I have to "excavate" in order to use the machine. I do this every so often, but there is always more mending and sewing projects that I would like to do and just never make the time. I will keep working at it.

Probably the biggest time issue this past year has been taking on a part-time job. It kind of fell in my lap, and is close to home, and the timing is very flexible. Those are all the pluses. It is, however, not in my field (I worked in publishing - proofreading, editing, typesetting) so I am learning the basics of accounting/bookkeeping as I work. I mostly work alone, which is also not really what I was looking for. That may change, but that would involve a longer commute. And, of course, while adding 8 to 10  hours (or more some weeks) of work time into my week, I have not given up anything else.

This past year we also added Aya, our exchange student from Japan, to the family. She came in August. With her in the family, I have 3 kids at the high school and 1 away at college. Bumping up from 3 to 4 doesn't sound like much, and it is helpful that she goes to the same school as the other kids, but it has required time and energy. If I had it to do over, we would still have chosen to have her come for the year. I just have to give myself a break and acknowledge the extra time and energy required and not beat myself up for not staying on top of the housework or cooking as well as I'd have liked.

It's been a busy, and often a rough year. Dan's father passed away last May, and in the months leading up to his death, Dan was spending almost every other week down in Philadelphia with his brother, so he could be near his father to help put affairs in order and spend time with him. It was a rough spring, and we still miss Dan's father. Now his mother is starting to fail. I don't know how much longer she might have, but it could be a matter of weeks. Another rough time, but we will get through it, and all the family will be there and we will help each other through.

Didn't mean to get so serious. But I guess I needed this time to reflect on the past year so I can proceed with the new one. So now I'm as ready as I will ever be. Ready to finish up projects, clear out the basement, get rid of extra "junk" and organize room by room. Now I just need to get through this week---end-of-month and end-of-year reports at work, and Jeff's last week before he flies back to college. Maybe I'll slip in a lunch date with my son while I can.

May your New Year bring you new energy and focus!

Shelley in CT

Happy New Year!

Wishing you all the best for 2012!