So Many Pretty Things

I've been in knitting limbo for months! Working nights, trying to make dinner at least twice a week... these are the challenges I'm striving to meet. So knitting has taken a back seat. I'm working on a pretty purse for my mom, which I gave her on the needles at Christmas, poor woman. (I'm on the straps. Getting there) And I lost the purse for two days, so I couldn't work on it while my kids have been sick. (Cobbler rule #46: No coughing on mom) Today I decided to tackle the pile of clean laundry waiting to be folded, and boy do I wish I'd taken a picture. Because there, at the bottom, where the socks hang out, was the purse. Yay! Now that I've located both the purse and the pattern, I can get back to it.

But the point I was trying to write about was, as I was folding the laundry, I got to look at sweaters, and hand-sewn towels, and dishcloths, and I got to missing making pretty things. I want to cast on everything at once, and I can't do any of it. There are costumes to be sewn for drama club, the purse to finish, and a pair of slippers as a Christmas gift that I'm only halfway finished with. And I miss my spinning, which has been catching my eye every time I walk by it on the bookshelf. While looking for a box of clothes the other day, I happened upon an entire box of roving just waiting to be handled. Yikes! I have a sweater that I started for myself last fall, and socks that I wanted to give my daughter for the holiday. (Cobbler rule #47: Don't knit socks with the purls on the outside. Who likes to purl that much??)

But as I ease back into blogland, I'm enjoying looking at your pretty things, and getting back into Ravelry to look around at what's out there. Why, oh why, won't people pay us to knit?

A Little Update

Things sure have been quiet here at my computer. That is totally my fault, since I've been avoiding it like a bad conscience. Has anyone else taken a break from blogland, and the longer you go, the harder it gets to log on? I don't even know if there are any important e-mails in my computer. But I'll make an effort here and hope that this will get me over the hurdle.

What has happened in the last few months? Hmm. The economy sucketh, and my husband lost his job. Rats. While that was going on, I really didn't have much to say, I'm sorry to report. Strange how lives can shift so quickly. But he found another job he likes really well, and the people are great. I took a job at a bakery, which is fun, but the hours are icky. I start at 8:00 at night and work until 4:00 in the morning. What with sleeping and pretending to do housework in the afternoon, I also didn't log on to the computer. My working has been hard on the kids, but I know they'll adjust. The only really bad thing I've noticed is that the youngest is getting bratty, because her sisters are always trying to make her happy so I can sleep. That's a negative. But things shall look up! Because we're a strong family, surrounded by good people, and luckier than many. I can still go to the kids' school functions, though sometimes I forget to brush my hair, and there are lots of dinners that come pre-packaged (who knew?) and that's a bonus to maintaining the facade of normal dinners. And I get to make donuts, for goodness' sake. That's a really fun job, people. Seriously. I likes it. My husband says paying me to bake is like paying Norm to taste-test beer. Heehee.

And there. I feel better already =). I'm was going to leave you with a blog entry my oldest wrote about Thanksgiving. She's trying to be my guest writer, while I'm busy ignoring the blog and most of the knitting, though I do have a nifty purse in the works and some thrummed mittens that have stalled at the cuffs. Sadly, I can't find her entry, but it was really cute. I'd give an overview of it, but I don't want to detract from her first public writing attempt. I'll see if she'll help me find it later on today. Happy New Year to you all! It's going to be a great one =)