Why do I try, try again???

Despite my very good attempts, I'm aweful at lace-knitting. The problem I have, among other things, is that I love, love, LOVE the look of it. I love the airy-ness, the holes (darn yo's!) and I just love how delicate and intricate it looks. HOWEVER, I lack the focus and concentration to complete lace projects and I think that it all comes down to why I knit.
I knit for the relaxation it gives me after a busy day with my girls. I love how it feels on my fingers and I love that for the most part, I can knit w/o having to think too much. It's like the feeling I used to get when I run (which I really need to pick up again-obviously, all of this knitting is having a HUGE effect on my rear!)-my mind goes to a calmer place and I feel so much better. I can think more clearly and tend to work out any issues/problems that I may have while I knit. I come away with a calmer, clearer head and a project that I made with my own hands! How gratifying, right?
So why then do I go and try lace?? Lace knitting, however pretty it may be, is not the type of knitting I like at all. It requires great focus and concentration and it also requires knowing how stitches work with each other to create a pattern. Mess up this pattern and you'll be sorry. Ripping out lace is like folding a load of whites only to drop it in a puddle of mud soon after.
This is all stemming from a teeny tiny project that I decided had to be done for this weekend-actually today-a wedding garter. Found on the OldLaceKnitter's website, it is a very pretty pattern and I thought would be a quick one. No...no it wasn't. I was knitting with 00 size needles and had to do 22 repeats of this seamingly simple lace. It wasn't. My hands felt huge and clumsy and my level of frustration was building quick. The cotton crochet thread I had chosen was super-slippery and even though I was doing a pretty good job, it was going to require a pretty good amount of spray starch blocking for it to look anything like the picture-IF I made it in time....no such luck....
I gave up on that halfway through yesterday, opting to "design" my own garter instead. I thought I would prefer simpler lines on this garter-thinking that the pattern was a little too old-fashioned looking/cheesy. I switched yarns to some cleckheaton mohair-blend stuff (I know, what was I thinking???) and began again. My intention was to knit it all, block it and then add beads. Ambitious?? Yep...Oh, did I mention also that during all this I am sick with yet another virus caught from my youngest who insists on being super cuddly during the most snottiest of times?? Did I also mention that I still have to finish a pair of booties for hubby's coworker AND a HUGE amount of pre-work for an upcoming knitting class that I'm taking? Yes......ahhhhh....the stresses of knitting?
Which brings me back to my first thought-why do I knit anyway??
I laugh a little when I allow myself to get all bent out of shape and stressed over all of the knitting projects that I place upon myself. Will the world really end if hubby's coworker gets her booties at the end of the week? Is it really going to kill me to knit up 18 6 inch squares by 3/14?? I really need to calm down...
Which is what I'm doing now. My darling husband, who was sick-as-a-dog last week, has taken over the household-he even vacuummed!!! He has already fed the kids, brought me coffee, vacuumed the upstairs and is right now doing an activity with the kids while I lay here in bed typing out this post. Yesterday, I caught him folding the girls' laundry.....God, I love this man!!
So, for the rest of the day, I am supposed to catch up on much-needed sleep, drink tea, knit...read some magazines from last month that I never got to...knit...drink tea.....have soup and sleep. Not bad for a lazy Sunday...
Oh-about that garter...finished it and hubby declared it the most unsexy thing he'd ever seen. Good thing I didn't make it to the shower after all. It was today...:0)

Whoa, the wind!!!

Man! It's crazy windy here today in NEPA. Been a crazy few days, actually, most of the week. Got many things done though, including Valentine's Day gifts for daughter's pre-k class and her teachers. Of course, I forgot to take pictures of any of it so just believe me that it was a whole lot of stuff. The kiddos (29 of them!?!) got crayon heart necklaces, stickers, a valentine notepad, and some hershey kisses. We made the crayon heart necklaces by peeling, breaking, melting and then cutting with heart cookie cutters. They came out pretty and here is a pic of the extra ones...

I also knit up 2 beaded bracelets for the teachers-being a former teacher of little ones, I know and have a lot of respect for people who do a good job teaching this age group-it's exhausting. I wanted them to know how much I appreciate all of their hard work and quite frankly, who doesn't like a little jewelry on V-day?? Wish I had taken a pic but it was soooo busy here-it escaped me! Daughter decorated the box for the bracelets with sparkly stickers-she did a really good job too-but again, no pic.
We also made Valentines for Daddy-here is the one younger daughter worked on. She worked so hard!!

On tap for knitting now is the shop sample hat in Arauncania's Limari, which I am still trying to convince Wendy is NOT ugly. Hope the hat works....
Swatches for upcoming finishing class...
booties to finally sell on etsy (hoping to get these done soon)
bunnies for Easter for the girls...
Oh-been meaning to post a pic of this!! I made this little doggie collar from a book that I absolutely love called, "Bend the Rules Sewing" by Amy Karol! This book actually makes me feel like I can sew!! I have had experience sewing garments, handbag liners but am never really happy with the turnout, but this little doggie collar made me happy! Check it out:

This was given to my sis-in-law for her doggie, Samantha.
Also hoping to squeeze in a little needle felting but that may be awhile from now...
Just finished Stephanie Pearl-Mcphee's book, "Things I learned from knitting (whether I wanted to or not)"-LOVED IT!!! So funny so true!! I laughed out loud a lot!! Highly recommend this book for all knitters who are not too snotty to admit when they've just been idiots with their knitting!! This weekend, I hope to crack "Knitting, a novel by Anne Bartlett. I'll be in just the right setting-heading up to Vt!! I'm hoping to sit by the fire and read...knit...play with friends, eat.....sleep.....wake up and do it again!!
Sorry for quick post but I've still got a lot to do before this!! Yes, FINALLY-I am seeing improvments in the girls' health-knock on wood, ya'll!!!

Painting the snow!!

Yep-this is what we did yesterday on a rather mild 36 degree day here in NEPA. The girls were sick but I didn't think they were too sick to go outside for a little bit of color. They loved it!!

However, this AM proved me wrong (about them not being too sick). One doctor's visit later, and my youngest has pneumonia (!) and a double ear infection (!!) and the oldest has another sinus infection. I'm soooooo sick of being sick. Can you actually be allergic to your home?? Maybe we need to move here?



Anywhoo-going to sit with a good cup of tea for a bit and my needles-hoping to finish the baseball tee asap and CO for that arauncania hat I owe the yarn shop. Here's hoping! At least there is entertaining tv on tonight-AMerican Idol-holds my attention just enough to keep knitting through it. We shall see....

Sick....AGAIN!

Yep-we are!! This time, I believe it's my fault. I've had a very bad cold since last week (actually started two Friday's ago) and I think, due to the fact that the girls are with me all of the time, they couldn't avoid getting it. So, now they are home with green boogies and yucky coughs and I'm so, no pun intended, sick of us being SICK!! If anyone has any tips on how we can stay healthy, please comment! I'll take any tips I can get at this point!

Today feels rather mild out so I lowered the heat a bit and cracked the windows-yes, it's Feb 2nd, we live in Pa, and I have two windows cracked in my house right now. I'm hoping it airs out the germs...I keep checking the weather for this so-called "big storm" we are supposed to have and so far, all it says is, "snow showers???" So what? We get them almost every day?? What happened to "at least a foot or more???" Ugh....I was bankin' on another snow day for the hubby....oh well...Groundhog did see his shadow so I'm sure we'll have more days to come. Today we are going to make groundhog masks and pretend we see our shadows/we don't, make jello jigglers, use food coloring/water/squirt bottles outside in the snow to draw....hoping this is enough to keep them busy!! Pics to come later!

Onto knitting news....
Tonight is Scranton sit-n-knit. I think I'm going-as of right now, but we'll see how I feel later. I've been getting so tired (i.e GRUMPY) come 5pm that I don't know if they're going to want me there...I'm currently working on Tracy Ulman's Baby Baseball Tee for my husband's cousin's baby boy and I'm loving it so far!! I've made a few modifications, including a rolled hem at the bottom-I think it looks more baseball-shirt like....also am knitting in the round, using EZ's Knitting without Tears book as a guide. I really enjoy seamless knitting!
Also to be put on the needles:
2 beaded bracelets for DD's teachers at her new school (Valentine's Day)
Hat for yarn shop sample using Arauncania Limari....
booties to sell on etsy
booties for DH's coworkers

That's enough for now....more to come maybe later.