fast and slow

Some of the things I used to do so well, I do them now very slowly. But I also have a whole set of new doing things quickly skills.

I can knit about 3 rows at a time. Or I can wind a skein of yarn. But only one.

Once I've read an email, it seems to take me at least a week to answer it. Ditto phone messages.

I can read one chapter in a book, if it's a very very short chapter. Lately I've been reading a lot of Willa Cather, because her books are gorgeous and I am really enjoying them, but they're also quite convenient since the chapters are only a few pages each.

Blog posts take me at least a week to write (though most of that time is spent thinking through ideas and then forgetting them).

However, I can eat any meal in under three minutes. I can change a diaper faster than I thought possible, and I can dress a squirmy baby in a minute flat. With HWWLLB at home, I can do a trip to the grocery store, Target or the library in less than 45 minutes (but only one of those places - goodbye to multiple errands at once).

Nothing can be scheduled. Appointments are irrelevant.

Then there are the beautiful, long stretches of time that I spend nursing the Little Pea, rocking her, playing with her when she's awake or peeking at her while she sleeps. In actuality, these times take up most of my day, but when I think about them it seems that they are flying by and I'll never be able to remember all the amazing things that happen during each one. Time moves so painfully quickly now (especially when I'm asleep). I am beginning to understand that it will never slow down again.

finished!

I finished a project!



It's embarrassing how little I've been able to accomplish in the knitting department the last few months. I started this little baby top in May thinking it would be a quick knit, and just finished it today. There are some other unfinished projects sitting around as well, but they take more focus than I have available at the moment between feedings - like the challenging socks that were a much-needed distraction when I was trying not to be impatient at the end of pregnancy, and now seem like a complicated joke. Ah, well.

As for this top, I just sort of made it up after seeing Pixie Purls' Country Kiddie pattern on Ravelry. It was too simple to really use a pattern for; just a basic top-down top. It's made with about half a skein of Tofutsies sock yarn, which has a really nice drape for a garment like this, and I think it will be nice and cool as a summer top, or a cute layer over a long-sleeved shirt in the fall. I added a little button at the neckline, and I'm glad, because we'll need it to accommodate our daughter's rather sizeable noggin.

I can't decide what to knit next - though every time I open the yarn stash and get as far as sifting through a couple of ideas, it's time to nurse the baby again, so maybe fantasizing or the occasional row on the Komet socks are as much knitting as I'll be able to do for a while.

happy independence day!

Happy 4th of July, everyone! I hope you're enjoying a fun summer day with your beloveds.

In honor of Independence Day, here are 5 ways to celebrate your independence today:

1. Spend the day without spending. Try not to buy anything all day today. Leaving the car in the driveway all day would make this a lot easier!

2. Make a special treat with stuff you already have in your cupboards. Some suggestions: popcorn balls, fancy brownies (decorated with those jimmies you've had in the back of the cabinet for eons), or some smashing toppings for your tofu dogs (more here and here!).

3. Spend the day on a "use what you have" craft project. The one on my waiting list is a refashioned shirt, but the list is endless... here are some fun 4th of July suggestions from whipup.

4. Design a knitting project for yourself. Is there something you've been wanting to make, even have the yarn for, but just can't find the right pattern? Now's the time! Check out some design resources to get you started, like Jenna Wilson's great column, "Thinking Beyond the Pattern," on Knitty.

5. Make yourself happy. Make a list of five people that you're grateful to have in your life, and why. You can spread the happiness around by sending one (or all) of them a sweet little note telling them how great they are.

I hope you all have a great day!