Yarn along -- Baby cardi

Taking inspiration from Ginny over at Small Things, here's this week's Yarn Along update:

I've had a silly week with work (desk work, not farm work, which is actually okay as the weather has been horrid the past few days, so we haven't managed to put plastic on the greenhouse, for if we had I'd rather be out there than in here), but I'm trying to finish off this sweet wee cardigan before a baby shower this weekend. (The pattern is available on Ravelry here.) I only have another 15 rows or so to go and then I can go back and knit the sleeves.

As for books, I have a number on the go right now, but my most recent acquisition from Thomas Allen & Son is "Homegrown Whole Grains: Grow, Harvest and Cook Wheat, Barley, Oats, Rice, Corn & more" by Sara Pitzer.

I've been thinking that I'd like to add small-scale grain growing to our farmstead activities (eventually... not this season, or even the next) and this handy book provides a solid introduction on how to grow, harvest and cook nine nutritious whole grains, from wheat to millet, rice to heirloom grains, including amaranth, quinoa and spelt. There are also a number of tasty recipes, from simple cornmeal dumplings to millet-broccoli souflé.

I'll eventually write a The Bookish Farmer review, but for now I've got to get back to work. Or maybe I'll just knit a few more rows...  

Luuk hat is done!

I finally finished Ella's Luuk hat. It was one of those project that was supposed to be quick and easy that morphed into a miserable mess of wonky pink loops and mismatched twists. Each time I got to the decrease, I had to rip it back -- and I did this four times. Seriously? It's not even like this was an intarsia or Fair Isle knit project. It's a simple hat, for pity's sake.

This project sat stewing in my knitting basket for almost a month (OK, maybe the hat wasn't stewing, but I certainly was) until on Saturday night when Ella said to me, "Mama, I hope you finish my hat before I go back to school on Monday." (The kids have been off since March 9th for their school break.)

Then Jack said, "Of course she will, Ella."

Two hours later and the hat was done. Notes to self: 1.) don't knit while half asleep and, 2.) read the pattern.

I'm thrilled with the result. I think my girl is too.

She didn't want any embellishments on the top (the pattern calls for a wee bobble), so I finished it very simply. (You can find the Ravelry pattern here.)

It has a lovely snug fit and covers her ears nicely, which will be great when the cold weather returns.

Granted it's been 20 degrees Celsius the last two days, so the hat didn't stay on her head long.

However she did wear it to school this morning. Of course she did.

Yarn along -- Ella's Luuk hat (cont.)

Taking inspiration from Ginny over at Small Things, here's this week's Yarn Along update:


I'm still working on Ella's Luuk hat. I would have finished it by now if I had read the pattern, or at least read the pattern correctly for the size that I'm knitting.

It's an easy and fun knit and I'm hoping to have it done before the end of the week so I can start Jack's birthday socks. No, they're not even on the needles yet, but I showed Jack the yarn (Patons Stretch Socks in Pumpkin Spice Jacquard) and he's happy to wait for them as he's still wearing and enjoying last year's pair.

As for reading: In addition to mothering, working and homesteading, I'm also studying to be a yoga teacher. (I'm halfway through a 225-hour teacher training program at Wavelengths Yoga Studio in Norwood, Ont.) While it sounds like one more pursuit in an already-too busy life (and in some respects, it probably is), to me it's a natural progression in a path of study and practice that helps me become more focused, mindful and grounded.

Simply put, yoga makes me a better human being.

Some people do therapy; I do yoga. And this teacher training is allowing me to go deeper in this life's work, and eventually share this learning with others -- in particular kids and teenagers. So one of the books that is currently on my night table is "Health, Healing and Beyond" by T.K.V. Desikachar, son of T. Krishnamacharya, one of the greatest modern-day teachers of yoga. It's a fascinating read and one that helps me deal with my everyday with a bit more clarity, grace and integrity. Well, some days at least.

Yarn along -- New Luuk hat for Ella

It's been ages since I've participated in a Yarn Along (see Ginny over at Small Things if you'd like to join along), and I had a hat for Ella that I was going to share today, but as soon as I finished it, I decided I didn't like it. Not one bit. She wasn't too pleased with it either. It was a bit tight and plain and just not "Ella" enough. So I frogged it, before I even took a photograph.

I love knitting hats for the kids. Each is a small project, so it works up quickly and as they both enjoy wearing hand-knit items (it's even a source of pride as they tell people, "my mum made me this!"), they get good use out of them. To me, a hat, like anything I create with my own hands, is a token of my love for them. But it's important that we all like the finished product.

I really like this one...

And I think Jack looks so smart in his WW2 watchman's cap:

So while it was a drag to unroll an entire hat, I'm happy I did. I've already picked out a new pattern for Ella: the Luuk hat from Raverly. I think it'll look really sweet in a variegated pink Cascade 220 wool that I've been stashing.

As for reading, I just received another shipment of books from publishing house Thomas Allen & Son for my new The Bookish Farmer feature:

I think this'll keep me busy. But then again, maybe I won't have much time for reading over the next few days. It's Jack's birthday next week (his 10th, no less!) and I just picked up some yarn for another pair of birthday socks. (Yes, I am the ultimate last-minute knitter.) It was May before he got his last pair of birthday socks -- I'm hoping I can crank these out before the end of April!

What are you creating and/or reading right now?

Yarn Along -- Jack's socks are done!

Taking inspiration from Ginny over at Small Things, here's this week's Yarn Along update:

I don't have anything new on the needles right now (just give me an hour), but I do have a project freshly off the needles -- yes, Jack's socks are finally done!

Author Malcolm Gladwell discusses in his book Outliers, that the key to success in any field comes from practicing a specific task for a total of around 10,000 hours; also known as the "10,000 hour rule." If this is true, I must be an expert sock knitter now. Just kidding, sort of.

Here's a photo of him modelling the almost-completed pair before school this morning...


... and here's the completed pair (this is also my April Year in Colour project), along with one of the books I'm currently reading: May All Be Fed -- Diet for a New World by John Robbins.

I unearthed this book in a thrift store and as I was flipping through it, found this short passage in the introduction:

"May All Be Fed is an invitation to eating with gratitude for the blessed gift of life -- and to understanding how our food choices affect our health and our world.

In a culture that is as commercialized and depersonalized as ours can be, bringing consciousness and thanfullness to our meals is no small achievement. It is, in fact, an act of liberation."

Part one talks about how we can all benefit from eating lower on the food chain; part two offers a delicious selection of good for you -- and the planet -- recipes. I look forward to sharing some in the future!

Yarn Along & announcing another giveaway!

Taking inspiration from Ginny over at Small Things, here's this week's Yarn Along update:

As we're almost halfway through April (does anyone else feel like time is just flying by?) I thought I should check in with the Year in Colour project -- and this month's colour is green. Perfect. This is the motivation I need to finally get Jack's second sock off the needles and on to his foot!


As for the book I'm reading: When Penguin Canada asked if I'd like to participate in a blog tour for Gillian Deacon's new book, There's Lead in Your Lipstick, I thought it'd be a great opportunity to educate myself -- and readers -- about how to reduce our chemical burden.

Even though I'm a low maintenance kinda girl and we use many natural and homemade body care products, I'm finding this book a fascinating read. Jam packed with loads of information, it helps readers identify what the dangerous ingredients are -- toxins such as phthalates, parabens, triclosan and lead -- and provides alternatives, both store-bought and DIY.

To learn more, check back next Monday, April 18th, for more information and the chance to win a fabulous giveaway!

Yarn along -- baby cardi and a thrift store read

The sun is shining, the thermometer is climbing and I'm itching to seed at least one of the cold frames -- but it's been a quiet day inside. Jack left for school at 8:30 and promptly returned at 9:30 looking greener than my yet-to-be-planted spinach.

He crawled back into bed and fell asleep almost immediately. I could have slipped outside but I had some editing work to do; besides, I wanted to stay close in case he needed me. He woke up a few hours later, said he was feeling much better and even asked whether he was well enough to go to basketball tonight. Then he threw up. A lot.

So while the poor lad is back sleeping, I thought I'd quickly check-in with this week's Yarn Along.

Here's what I'm reading and knitting this week:

I finished that baby cardigan, sort of. I cast off the main body but simply couldn't get myself excited about knitting the arms or collar. (I think it makes a pretty cute vest anyway and it still counts as this month's Year in Colour project, right?)

I'm happy with the pattern but the yarn (Lion Brand Homespun -- homespun my foot) was horrible! I only used it to see if this cardi would make a good quick-knit gift for a yet-to-be-determined expectant mama, but the bother just wasn't worth the savings. I am so done with synthetic yarn.

There you have it: I've officially become a yarn snob.

I think I'm going to begin my recovery by casting on some wholesome worsted-weight Shetland wool or perhaps that special skein of perfectly delicious baby alpaca. Yes, that will make things right in my knitting world again.

The book I'm reading is "Flight from the city: An experiment in creative living on the land" by Ralph Borsodi, which I recently picked up at a thrift store for 25 cents. First published in 1933, the book chronicles one family's move from the city to the country in search of economic and domestic security. It's dated: a decent salary then was $50 a week and their homestead was purchased for $4,000, with $500 down and monthly installments of $50, but it's a fascinating and thought-provoking read.

What I find truly sobering is to think how far society has come since then -- unfortunately, down the wrong garden path. But no rant today. I'm off to check on the bedridden boy and bring him some ginger & honey tea...

Yarn along -- Sugar snaps and baby sweaters

I've been so preoccupied with thoughts of baby goats this morning that I totally forgot it was Yarn Along Wednesday.

So here's what I'm reading and knitting this week:


I'm still working on last week's chunky baby cardigan. I'd been looking for a 'stock' baby sweater pattern that would be a good quick-knit gift, so I decided to try this one.

Thing is, I'm liking the pattern but not loving the yarn. It's a Lion Brand Homespun yarn synthetic. I wanted to use something inexpensive as I'm just test driving the pattern but it's just not the same as real wool and real homespun. I also think I'm a bit short in yardage, but we'll see.

But the book I just started reading -- that I'm loving! When the folks at publishing company Thomas Allen & Son asked if I'd be interested in a review copy of Andrea Bellamy's new book "Sugar Snaps and Strawberries", I jumped! She's the green thumb behind the lovely Heavy Petal blog, which is devoted to urban organic gardening.

Featuring beautiful photographs and a stylish design, the book offers advice and information on finding, assessing and using even the smallest of growing spaces. Later chapters cover the nitty-gritty basics on garden planning, soil testing, sowing seeds, garden maintenance, making the most of limited space (think succession planting, interplanting, vertical gardening, and so on) plus harvesting and preparing for next year. She also includes a substantial list of edibles from A to Z.

There are also DIY instructions on how to make seed bombs (or balls) (the activist in me loves this idea!), building a raised bed and preparing a container for planting. She also provides handy quick reference lists on the top power plants (aka dynamic accumulators), top 10 easiest edibles and ornamentals for part shade, just to name a few.

Even though this book is about 'simple solutions for creating your own small-space edible garden' (that's the subtitle), I'm looking forward to learning about some better ways to work with my own garden.

Yarn Along

Last week I wrote about Ginny over at Small Things, who has a fun way to share two of my favourite indoor winter activities -- reading and knitting. The idea is to take a single photo of what you're reading and/or knitting right now and share it on your blog. At the bottom of her weekly Yarn Along post, there's one of those Mister Linky's Magical Widgets where you can share your blog post.

Here's what I'm up to this week:

We're adding bees to our farm this year (more on that soon) so I've been reading up on beekeeping. This is an older book -- first published in 1977 -- but it's got loads of practical information. Hence the title... duh.

While I'm still working on Jack's second sock, I wanted to cast on this month's Year in Colour project. There's another pattern in Judith Durant's One-Skein Wonders book that I've been wanting to try -- a quick-knit baby sweater that uses chunky wool and 6.5 mm needles.

Everyone relax -- it's for a mama-to-be, not me! More on this project soon, too.

I must dash. The farrier is coming today to trim the equines' feet and I've got to catch them before he gets here. It's astonishing how fast those lugs can move (in the wrong direction, of course) when they see his truck pull up to the barnyard!

Eating my words

Remember when I wrote that blog post last week about how knitting provides me with some important life lessons -- that starting and sticking to one project at a time fosters patience, focus and finishing what you start?

Yeah, I'm over that.

I mean really, life is just way too short to "should" myself over something like knitting, for goodness sake. And there is far too much beautiful fibre in the world -- two words: baby alpaca -- for me to stay stuck to one project!

So while I did finish the first of Jack's socks this past weekend and cast on the second, I also started and finished this oh-so-sweet quick-knit doll sweater that I found at Small Things using this free Little Kina pattern.


I used only one skein of super soft bamboo (in pink, of course) and finished it with a tiny sparkly vintage button.

When I woke Ella this morning and showed her the completed sweater, she gasped and said, "Mama, you finished it? It's beautiful... Thank you!"

With spring just around the corner, the farm is finally showing signs of waking from its long, long, l-o-n-g winter sleep. Very soon I'll be starting seeds, clearing the barn and tackling my lengthy 'to do' list. With all this upcoming busyness, I'm thinking I might have to pack away the needles for the season. Or will I?

When I put away my 'shoulds' (which are rather arbitrary to begin with, come to think of it) and simply created the time and acceptance to do something that was Good, i.e. making something my little girl would adore, well... it's a peaceful easy feeling, that.

This isn't to say that I -- or anyone -- should shuck responsibility for the things that need to be done. But I do think my overdeveloped sense of uber-responsibility could use a bit of an adjustment, that's all. As author Marie Beynon Ray wrote*:

"Begin doing what you want to do now.
We are not living in eternity.
We have only this moment,
sparkling like a star in our hand,
and melting like a snowflake.
Let us use it before it is too late."

That's the kind of life lesson I'd like more of. Now where did I put that skein of baby alpaca...

* Thanks to blogger Mama Pea for first sharing this quote.

Knitting therapy

Yesterday I had a Bad Day. There was no catastrophic event or anything; just a series of small horrible ones... work bothers, family spats, a bad case of mummy guilt and a soupy mucky flooded mess in the barnyard brought on by two days of monsoon-like rain/slush/sleet.

The children were away at school and I was feeling a wee bit sorry for myself. So I threw a pity party. While some women turn to drink or chocolate, I stoked up the woodstove, brewed a big pot of strong tea, turned on some music and knit.


At least it was a productive pity party.

Yarn Along

Blogger Ginny over at Small Things has a fun way to share two of my favourite indoor winter activities -- reading and knitting. The idea is to take a single photo of what you're reading and/or knitting right now and share it on your blog. At the bottom of her weekly Yarn Along post, there's one of those Mister Linky's Magical Widgets where you can share your blog post.

Here's mine:

I'm still working on Jack's now very overdue birthday socks, but as he's enjoying his dream pillow, I'm not getting too worked up over my tardiness. I'm at the pick-up-the-gusset-stitches stage, so this one should be off the needles in a day or two.

I might have finished before now if I hadn't been distracted by some beautiful wool my dad brought me, or the two cardigan patterns I just downloaded from Madelinetosh (Tea Leaves for mama, Tiny Tea Leaves for Ella), or the mitts I promised Lucas, or what I'd like to knit for this month's Year in Colour project, or...

But first, I'll finish his socks. It's another good life lesson in patience, focus and finishing what you start, even with things get tough/boring/stale or something more exciting comes along. (There's also a lesson in acceptance: a skein of delicious wool and/or an inspiring pattern can throw the most steadfast knitter off course!) Not that I think there's anything wrong with having multiple projects on the go -- knitting diva the Yarn Harlot (aka Stephanie Pearl-McPhee) writes in her book Knitting Rules that socks are a great distraction when she's deep in a sweater pattern. I just know that for me, I'm really good at starting projects but it's very easy for me to lose interest and momentum.

Not so when it comes to reading. When I get hooked on a book, I will burn through the pages with a voracious hunger for what happens next and how the story ends (if it's a happy ending, all the better.) But with Kristin Kimball's book, The Dirty Life: On Food, Farming and Love, I'm trying to slow down and savour each page. It's not easy, because her lyrical writing and compelling story of her intense love affair with a man (who would become her husband) and their farm, drew me in from the first page -- and I'm not one for romance novels. Despite the romantic overtones, she doesn't sugar coat her journey from freelance writer to farmer, either. She writes:

"The people we met kept telling us, with varying degrees of tact, that we'd fail. They said nobody in the area was interested in local or organic food, or even if they were interested, they wouldn't be able to afford it. And if we did find people to buy out food we'd still fail, because the farm was too wet and nothing would grow. And if we managed to grow something and sell it, well, then, it was only a matter of time before we'd fail, farming being farming..."

I get this. I've heard it myself. So I took some solace in this passage:

"When we would talk about our future in private, I would ask Mark [her fiancee, later husband] if he really thought we had a chance. Of course we had a chance, he'd say, and anyway, it didn't really matter if this venture failed. In his view, we were already a success, because we were doing something hard and it was something that mattered to us. You don't measure things like that with words like success or failure, he said. Satisfaction comes from trying hard things and then going on to the next hard thing, regardless of the outcome.What mattered was not whether or not you were moving in a direction you thought was right.

This sounded extremely fishy to me."

I love that last sentence. I see myself as a hybrid of these two people -- full of Zen-inspired possibility and hope at one moment, then skeptical and fearful in another.

I'm only halfway through their story and what I find so compelling is despite their many hardships and setbacks, they keep at it. I know how their story ends -- their ambitious idea to grow everything needed to feed a community worked, and today Essex Farm provides weekly "whole diet" shares to 100 people -- but I'm still looking forward to reading the happy ending.

So what book or books are on your nightstand? What project are you knitting/crocheting/sewing/wood working/creating? If you'd like to, head over to Small Things and share your story with Mister Linky or simply leave a comment below. I'd love to hear from you!

Not just a knitted dishcloth

"The quality of a thing comes from the knowledge and beauty it carries more than from its expense." ~ William Coperthwaite, author of "A Handmade Life"

I'd hope to make a pair of socks for February's 'Year in Colour' challenge project -- I even cast on a pair using a funky orange twist yarn -- but I put those aside as I'd like to get Jack's birthday socks finished first.

But I still needed a project for this month. While I think orange looks beautiful on pumpkins and monarch butterflies, it's not really a colour that we wear much of. As we hand wash all our dishes and I needed to make up some more dishcloths, I thought this cotton yarn would make a colourful addition to our linen drawer. At least this one will be easy to find!


I've mentioned my love for quick-knit projects and dishcloths are the ultimate in quick knits. I like to always have something on the go and these are items I can start and finish in one sitting. They're easy, inexpensive and you can play with colourful yarns you might not otherwise consider.

But I haven't always make dishcloths, nor did I appreciate their intrinsic goodness. I remember saying 'thank you' as I received a set of handmade cloths as a wedding shower gift, while feeling some disdain as if I really wanted to say "that's it?" The time the gift-giver took to handcraft those cloths, imbuing those simple things with love and blessings as Lucas and I began a new life together was completely lost on my 23-year-old self.

Since then, I've distanced myself from that girl who cared too much about matching dish sets and expensive crystal. Now I admire people who take the time to craft the tools of daily life and I find ways to make or use those items with care. I've even become the person who gives handmade dishcloths as gifts.

Taking the time to make something as simple as a dishcloth in a busy life filled with competing demands can be a tough sell. If you can buy dishcloths at the dollar store, does it even make sense to make them anymore? I think so.

"Nothing is too small or insignificant to be well designed," writes Coperthwaite. "Paying attention to what is small and subtle can make a great deal of difference in the world around us."

We still have factory-made dishcloths in our linen drawer, but when it comes time to wash up, I love that the kids chose my handmade creations over the store-bought ones. It's heartening to know that a simple act like knitting dishcloths is helping to cultivate their appreciation for finding beauty and worth in the simple things.

And maybe when they're all grown up and they receive handmade things, they'll look the gift-giver in the eye, say thank you -- and mean it.

P.S. There are still a few days left in the Valentine's Day Giveaway, so if you haven't left a comment yet, it's not too late!

Done!

I got over my case of finishupitis and completed this quick-knit mitten project. Just don't ask me how late I stayed up to do it.

Next up on the needles: I've got an uber quick idea for the Year in Colour challenge and I've got the perfect yarn to to make some socks for Jack's birthday, which is, incidentally, in eight days. Have I mentioned I tend to leave things to the last minute?

P.S. Remember to check in tomorrow for my first giveaway!

Gettin' knitty with it -- Mittens!

I love quick-knit projects. Like Stephanie Pearl-McPhee (a.k.a. The Yarn Harlot), I often get a case of Startitis, only to be stricken with a worse case of Finishitupitis. Translation -- I'm often really good at starting, not so good at finishing.

In some cases, this is a good thing -- when I get too frazzled or invested in any project, sometimes it's just best to walk away, take a break, breathe.

But I love the simple pleasure of looking at a finished project, even something easy like Jack's ribbed hat, and saying, "I did that." And then to see my family enjoying the item I made for them -- it's like love incarnate, but in woolly form.

I know I said I'd be working on the Year in Colour challenge but it's still early in the month, and I've yet to find some orange wool that inspires me. (Maybe if I got off the farm more, I'd find inspiration. Yes, I'm a winter hermit. A procrastinating winter hermit, at that.)

In the meantime, I loved working with the wool for Jack's hat, so I started a pair of mittens using a pattern from the same book, Judith Durant's One-Skein Wonders, in the green wool that I used for the stripe.

And here's what I've discovered: Knitting mittens is addictive... especially when it's minus 200 degrees outside.

It's small projects like this that grab me, that have me uttering things like, "I can't stop now, I've just started the gusset"...


or "Yes, I know I haven't moved in over an hour and we should really get supper started, but let me just finish the hand!"


(I know this is inside-out. It's a bad habit I've developed when working with DPNs and circular needles. I sought help in YouTube and I'm much better now, thanks.)

or "Yes, I know it's well past my bedtime and I'll be a total troll in the morning, but look at how great this thumb is shaping up!"



At least with a hobby/preoccupation/obsession like this one, I can preserve our matrimonial and family bliss with promises that the next pair will be "just for you."

What inspires you?

Ed. update: Here's a lovely and related post from homesteading/quilting/lady extraordinaire Mama Pea at A Home Grown Journal about the joy of creativity and the challenge of making time for this kind of good-for-the-soul activity...

Sock monkey love

While I can assure you that I haven't been spending all my waking hours crafting (though that'd be much more fun that what I have been doing too much of -- working, shoveling, thawing, moping), in the spirit of Monday's post on 'Making time for creativity', I'd like to share how I spent the first day of 2011.

Many moons ago, I’d spend New Year’s Day in a prone position with a bottle of Tylenol, some ginger tea to soothe a queasy belly and a disjointed collection of hazy memories of the shenanigans from the night before.

This year, I made a sock monkey.


I have a fairly intense aversion to all the plastic crap, I mean toys, on the market nowadays and while my kids don't have too much of that stuff, I've been trying to instill an appreciation of "simpler" toys.

Ok, truth be told, I'm obsessed with llama and alpaca wool and when I found this sock monkey "kit" (two 'flawed' socks, plus instructions) at Rancho Tranquilo, a local alpaca farm, I had to make one... or two... or...

They're fun and really easy, too. Start with a sock...


Turn it inside out, cut down the centre and sew up two legs...


Turn the sock right-side out and stuff with filling. I wish I'd had some natural fleece or fibre, but I only had synthetic on hand.

Then cut pieces from the second sock to make the face, tail...

... arms and ears. Sew on a mouth and some button eyes and you're done! Well, almost.

Keeping in mind I didn't start this project until 4:00 p.m., due to multiple kid requests, ("Can I help?"), questions ("Are you almost done?"), whimpers ("Is there anything to eat around here?") and barn chores, it was almost midnight before I got the monkey finished. But knowing my daughter's penchant for flair, it just didn't seem right giving her a "naked" monkey.

Even sock monkeys need accessories.

Seeing the look on Ella's face the next morning when she brought monkey down for breakfast (I tucked it into bed with her as she slept -- so sweet!) was worth staying up until 2 a.m. knitting an itty, bitty pink scarf and making a floppy garden-style hat with matching fringe. Yes, I actually did that.

Of course, Ella being Ella, she'd already embellished the monkey with her own sense of style.

So without further ado, meet Rosemary Rosebud Butterfly, the sock monkey.


And yes, I do fully appreciate that she's surrounded by plastic crap, I mean toys. Sigh.

Making time for creativity

February is a tough month for me. It's around this time every year that I am done with winter. Don't get me wrong -- there's a lot that I truly love about the snowy season, such as:

: walks in the woods


: snowmen and snowballs


: warming up by the woodstove


: baking with the kids

But with yin, there is a yang, and the list of what I'm tired of is growing: rationing wood, rationing hay, shovelling snow, thawing frozen barn pipes & water buckets, frozen duck poo (don't ask), treacherous driving, 14 hours of darkness, and so on.

While I usually have some pretty serious cabin fever by now, this year I'm trying my hand at enjoying the downtime and doing creative activities that I might not otherwise make time to do. It feels like a guilty pleasure, like there are always more "important" things that I "should" be doing -- you know, things like vacuuming or laundry or taxes. But life is more than a "to do" list, and I've learned that I need to include creativity in my everyday.

It's not always easy. I am a very "goal" fixated person, always busying myself with the outcome. You know Ralph Waldo Emerson's saying, "Life is a journey, not the destination"? Well, my tendency is to focus on the destination, which often stops me even starting on the journey.

But when I nurture my creative spirit, make time and space to create something by hand, I am able to tap into such an immense sense of peace and satisfaction. The usual triggers are still there -- is this "worthwhile" or "should" I be doing something else -- and that nasty inner critic that haunts my writing life shouts just as loudly when I'm holding a needle instead of a pen. But I'm learning to ignore that voice. And besides, creating is all about the journey.

Take knitting: knit one, purl one creates a rhythmic dance for my fingers that only exists for as long as the needles are moving. When I start the dance, I may not see how the pattern will play out, how this ball of wool will transform into a hat or mitten, but each row takes me one step closer to the finish. As the pattern changes and a new shape takes form, I experience a childlike sense of bliss and wonder.

Take the (recent) time I knit my first sock. Even though the pattern was labelled "easy," I admit to being a bit anxious. Knitting patterns always remind me of math, and math scares me. What's more, I'm a perfectionist, I frustrate easily and I don't do "failure" well. But quoting Emerson (again), I believe to live a full life one should "Always do what you are afraid to do." And you don't learn much by watching from the sidelines, do you?

The first part of the sock pattern was easy. Using four double-pointed needles, I began knitting in the round.


Around and around I went, my confidence growing with each row. Then it came time to make the heel flap. First, you shift some of the stitches off one needle onto the others, so you're only working with a set number of stitches on one needle. I admit to feeling a bit lost at this point -- I wanted to know, why was I doing this and am I doing this "right" -- but then I said to myself, trust in the pattern.

Then it came time to shape the heel. The pattern said, "Slip one, knit 10, decrease one, TURN". What do you mean, turn? I'm only halfway through the row? I was about to call it quits at this point but then I said, just try it. Trust in the pattern. And in YouTube.

I knit one row, and then another, and another, and I could see the pattern changing. Then there it was -- the heel cup, the feature that makes a sock, a sock, and not just a tube.


After that, the rest was shockingly easy, even thought I'd never picked up stitches or shaped an instep.


So I knit a simple sock -- big deal, right? Yes, actually.


The destination might just be a sock, but on my way I had an amazing journey: I shushed my anxiety, trusted in my abilities, risked making a mistake and gained confidence and experience for the next challenge. Good life lessons, I'd say, gained from something as simple as some knitting needles and yarn. And to think that I struggle with making room for creativity in my life.

So the next time you tell yourself you don't have time for your creative muse, whether it manifests in knitting or painting, singing or basket weaving, baking or gardening, song writing or wood carving, I invite you to reconsider; allow yourself the room to play and open yourself to all the many benefits of a creative life.

To quote Ralph one last time: "There are no days in life so memorable as those which vibrated to some stroke of the imagination."

So how do you -- or might you -- nourish your creative spirit?

Done!

It took knitting into the wee hours of the morning (Ok, it was midnight... but that's really late for me. I'm a 'need my sleep' kinda girl!) but I got Jack's hat done. Phew!

I'm doubly pleased because I recently found this knitting challenge issued by Bridget Allin, owner of Needles in the Hay, a new yarn shop in Peterborough, Ont. I haven't been to her store yet, but I've been oogling it from afar.

So what's the challenge? A year in colour. In her own words: "To knit at least one item in a designated colour for each month of 2011. It can be any project, any size; the point is to broaden my colour horizons, so to speak, and encourage myself to embrace colours I normally wouldn’t choose."

Here's the colour palette and look, January's colour is red!


To be honest, I suck at challenges. I start and usually flake out pretty soon thereafter (anyone remember KinderGARDENS? Me neither.) Life gets busy, I get frazzled and I let goals like this quietly fall to the wayside.

So what's different this time? Maybe nothing. Like most humans, I am a creature of habit, good and bad. I just know that I want to fit more knitting into my life and give myself some quiet space to be creative while making beautiful things for me and my family. I have a lot of projects that I'd like to try, and I thought this could be a fun way to keep me motivated. Or not. I've vowed to be kind to myself if this intention falls apart, but I love the idea of finishing the year with at least 12 completed projects in a rainbow of colours -- even if I make 12 dishcloths! I'll keep you posted.

So on to February: orange. Socks maybe?

P.S. Speaking of socks: If you're looking for some knitting inspiration, check out Bridget's challenge from last year -- Summer of Socks challenge 2010. She knit 14 pairs of socks using different patterns. And we're not talking simple tube socks... these are really fancy dancy socks!

Almost done...

Must... knit... faster!

Gettin' knitty with it -- A ribbed hat for Jack

Last Christmas, my dad gave me four hanks of lovely hand-spun wool that he'd purchased from a Port Hope, Ont.-based based family farm: Osland Sheep & Beef Farm, home of Cindy's homegrown yarn.


Jack has been asking for a new ribbed hat, so I thought this would be the perfect yarn for it. I found this pattern in Judith Durant's lovely One-Skein Wonders book, which has "101 original and charming solutions to the perpetual one-skein problem."



The pattern calls for a Cascade 220, 100% Peruvian highland merino wool, 3.5 oz (100g)/220 yards (201 m), but this worsted weight wool should sub in just fine.

Jack wasn't sure what colour he wanted, so we decided on a red main colour with a green stripe near the bottom. I started it last night and it's knitting up quickly on 4.5mm (US 7) circular needles.

His birthday isn't until the end of the month, so I should have no trouble getting it done well before then -- as long as I don't get too distracted by those new socks that I just cast on, or that simple oh-so-warm bulky cardi pattern I just found on Ravelry.com, or...