who I would find

I arrived in the forest of New Hampshire

and then I noticed there was something different about these woods

so I took a walk down to the dock 

and set an intention to soak it all in

I looked around at each cabin with it's coordinating dock

and wondered which one was mine and who I would find there

I worried I wouldn't fit in or make connections

on the first night, I returned home late after classes and presentations 

to find a spinner-mama-of-four that inspired me with her tales of mothering, 

a talented blogger, a bad-ass photographing Aussie, one of the smartest women 

I've ever met who will hopefully someday be elected to the House of Representatives 

and two great friends (that are also very good at embroidery)  

we promised ourselves we'd go to bed before midnight, but it was rarely before 2 a.m.

each cozy cabin was historic and simple

a working ice box kept our drinks cold 

with ice harvested from the lake in winter, then stored here 

when I wasn't in class, I was on the dock with my knitting, new friends (although one of them was my bestie going back many years), and great conversation 

on the last night. glowing blocks of ice lead the path towards 

a magnificent Art Fair full of gorgeous wares

and then it was over

 like the luna moth that eventually flew away, so did I
looking back, I am left with

 the memory and luxury of endless hours of laughter
with the woman I feel most comfortable sharing my stories
from the past and the present
all of them and more
a very dear friend

 the surprising quirky humor from my sweater twin, Christine

 (who you may remember seeing here as the inspiration for knitting the antler pattern)

the moving poems of Sarah 

that will have me thinking and dreaming of that

  secret diary she found written by Ester Small in 1886

the artwork by Colleen who encouraged me to work harder and more intensely than I have since my early art school days on an altered book project that pushed me into new territory

the delightful wise cracks and one-liners from Liv and Cheryl that continue to make me chuckle

as I sat on our cabin porch awaiting my ride to the airport, 

my last scene at Squam was full of love, friendship, tears

and the deep, calming feeling that a shift had occurred in my life

I had found more amazing, creative and talented women to add to my tribe

knitting a thneed

Can you see the stitches on this sweater?  They are very small and thin, which is what happens when one knits with yarn that is designed for socks.  Because I am an intermediate knitter, I did not understand when purchasing this pattern or even after buying the yarn what this meant.  Not until I started knitting the first few inches did I realize I would be knitting a LOT of teeny tiny stitches for a LONG time.  I showed up with this project in hand to my knitting circle and one of my dear friends who is a tad bit more knowledgeable about knitting a knitting genius said,

"Oh, wow.  You're knitting an entire sweater in sock weight yarn, huh?"  

She said it without judgement.  She seemed surprised and that's when I knew I might be in trouble.  It is a bit nuts to knit an entire adult sweater in sock weight yarn, however; the results are totally worth it. 

I fretted about my Antler, which is the name of the pattern, the entire time I was knitting it.   I worried it would't fit, I worried the size small would be too tight.  I studied the following post by Christine (my inspiration who found the pattern) hoping there was some chance that mine would fit as well as hers.  When she said, "I fiercely love this sweater.  It’s slouchy yet fitted, stylish and sexy- which is not easy to achieve with hand knits!", I carefully eyed the fit and size of her sweater and thought, "Nevermind, I'll have to give mine away to someone else.  Mine will never fit like that." Woe is me. 

But behold the power of blocking!  After I soaked it and then laid it out to dry, the yarn completely changed.  Although while it was still wet, it sure as heck gave me a scare.  It looked like a thneed from the Lorax, its body was all dangling down to my knees with sleeves that were never-ending.  Once it dried, I put it on and could not have been happier.  So here I stand in my new hand knit with plans to knit another one in a different color scheme because now I want two!  

knitting station

 I'm teaching a knitting station at my daughter's school tomorrow and I'm so curious to see how it goes!  Having a reason to gather old straight needles has been fun since I never knit with them anymore.  I made a few by putting rubber bands on the ends of double points too.  I dug deep into my Grammy's stash of needles and asked to borrow a few from a friend.  I thought about how glad I am that knitting has evolved over the years.  How delightful it is to knit with a modern pattern and knit awesome clothes!

In hopes that some of the students pick up this old fashioned skill and make super modern stuff.  My basket is packed.  I'm trudging along with only one more orange sleeve section to go on my sweater until it's finally finished!

October Stillness

Today I am waiting.  There is a calm in my current flurry of self-promotion and assignments from the Verity Mom contest.  Tomorrow the Top 3 will be announced and there will be a final week of voting so the public can choose their favorite new Verity Mom.  While the Verity Mom Team is narrowing our group of fifteen down from amazing to even more awesome, I wonder what those fabulous ladies are doing on this beautiful day.  The stillness at my house is something to savor today:

• our morning walk in the forest with leaves aflame and blue skies shining above was refreshing to my tired soul
• my boy's new haircut via Mama is looking choppy but cute (even if Papa thinks we need to get it "fixed" at the salon.)
• the dog is tempting me to lie down next to her
• I consider some colorful sock knitting, using magic loop for the first time, but I think I'll choose from above
• while my son slept, I napped for an hour in the sun next to my favorite beast, which was just what I needed.