wrist warmers – check

Yippee, my wrist warmers are done! I got the knitting finished on Tuesday but it took me a few days to get around to sewing in the loose ends (my least favourite part of knitting). These wrist warmers were slow to take form, initially because of my injury and more recently because I’ve been striving for perfection and thus pulling out rows of work and starting again.

They’re quite snug – just the way I like them. I really hope that my current jacket will make it another winter so that my wrist warmers can look good for at least one winter. And as much as I like the snow the idea of a milder winter is sounding quite nice to me these days.

My stool is coming along nicely, my boxes went in the mail last week and since I am not camping this weekend, I’ll get working on how to make everything fit in my two pieces of checked luggage. So much for living small – I’m pretty sure I’ll have yet another box to put in the mail.

On a completely different note, we had some interesting homework this week and I actually liked the quick sketch I did so I thought I would share.

crafting, socializing and supporting

These past two weekends have been full of time with friends. I so cherish this part of the winter season.

Last weekend marked the 10 year “Water Girls Cookie Bake Reunion” and was it ever good!

Unlike the days of old where we would take a 2 hour study break during exams and cut cookies assembly line style, this years event consisted of a good deal of snacking, catching up, entertaining little ones and dinner on top of the cookie bake itself. We’ve had mini reunions when I’ve been out this way before but between weddings, brand new babies, mamas that are about to give birth and the limited time we have to be together they’ve all been rushed. It was so nice to relax and I think the mama’s really appreciated getting out and having help with their little ones. That and so much has changed within our group in the past year. We really needed this time together and I feel like we made the most of it.

This weekend, my socializing was with some of my current classmates. It started with dinner and sharing a new craft on Friday and then more of the same sort of thing yesterday. The trip to the yarn store on Saturday was so pleasant and then we had a cozy little dinner of left overs before moving onto folding kite paper window stars. We prepped a LOT of them for decorating our classroom!

We also got started on our new knitting projects all the while sharing some important things – from the challenges that led us here to the struggles we’re facing with some of what we’re meeting hear and also what our futures hold; what, in more detail has led us to this place, and how satisfying to our souls this evening togetherness has been. Yet again, some very important reminders of what’s important and plenty of heart felt smiles. Yes this time of year is definitely good!

a great week!

My “turkey” weekend was great – time relaxing around the house, getting together with friends, catching up on sleep and getting started on a non-school related book: Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell.

It was challenging to get back in the rhythm on Tuesday though as we started school earlier than normal so that we could experience spacial dynamics.  Was it ever cool!

Tuesday was really different. In addition to spacial dynamics we split wood for making stools in our wood work class and made our own knitting needles in handwork class.  We also learned a different way to cast on. It was an exhausting day and thankfully I had yoga that night so I could work some of the kinks out and relax.

The rest of this week has been going well too.  Yesterday was lecture heavy but a surprisingly good complement to Tuesday and then today we had a bit of a mix with some heavy discussions, drawing and painting.  Who knows what tomorrow will bring!

I hope you’re having a great week but before I disappear for another few days here is a photo of my knitting needles. I’ll try to remember the camera next Tuesday!

distracted

Work on my sweater vest is progressing slowly, as expected.  I’m still moving ahead on it but I needed to take a bit of a hiatus last week so I could finish another project that was already on another set of needles.  The only knitting thing I brought her with me was a spring/fall tuque that was just needing the ends finished but I decided that the brim was way to wide.  I decided to try knitting from the top down and by knitting through a telephone conversation, lunch break and the walk home from school I finished this:

From start to finish, the revamped hat took a smidgen more than a day and was readyjust in time for my day in the nursery school.  Imitation is the game at that age so adults must have a hat on outside too.  The new hat is not near as warm as the lined winter tuque I made a few winters ago but this wind and cooler weather definitely necessitates the use of a hat and the winter one would be too much right now.  I’m just hoping I can use this tuque for a good long while yet!

handwork

It’s only been two weeks since I made this temporary move to smaller quarters with only only a fraction of my stuff but it’s been liberating to see how much more I can do with my time.  I’m still in shock that I’ve turned to hand sewing so often!

I already wrote about the bags I made the first week: the second one fits my eurythmy slippers perfectly and the other one has been used even more.  Sometimes I use it to carry all my tins of “colours” and other times my birks.  Then there were the leaf faeries we had for homework last week.

This weekend I returned to another one of my favourite handwork arts: KNITTING!

When I was first packing I thought I might have the opportunity to work on a 90% complete sweater that I started 3 or 4 Christmases ago.  In the end it didn’t fit in my bags. It’s a Christmas project anyways so to work on it at that time of year again will actually be quite nice and perhaps will help me relax and rest like I should! Here’s hoping I can block it will still fit:)

The mainstay of my knitting has been toques, especially the ear flap ones. I’ve been doing fewer and fewer every year – and none last year – so it has definitely felt like time for something new.

On Saturday I ventured to the yarn store and fell in love with yarn after yarn. I was craving something a bit bigger than a toque but smaller than a whole sweater and after much debating of patterns and yarns I settled on a sweater vest in this Manos blend of rich fall colours.

Working on it will force me to schedule some relax time but also keep my hands busy when I take a bit of a break to watch Bones once a week….

Have a great week!