Slippery Slope

I've discovered knitting slippers is dangerously addictive. The darn things knit up so quickly. (Epecially compared to socks which I use US #0 needles for!) It's fun to watch the colors develop. (Just like socks!) I know they will keep my nephews' feet warm. (Also like socks!) Did I mention how quick they are to knit??? Very, very tempting to just keep going....such a sense of accomplishment!

The largest pair along the bottom are for my soon to be 17 yr old nephew who plans on joining the army post-high school. The camo pattern with blue is for his brother Josh, who has blue eyes. The smallest pair is for the youngest nephew in that family (because I learned that when I knit things I think only the older boys will like, like fingerless gloves for instance, Zack really likes them as well and wishes to have his own. So he will not be left out on the slippers campaign! I picked his yarn out FIRST.)

Anyway, that's what I did last week. Four pairs of slippers. (I actually gave away the smallest pair which were knit for my niece in burgundy already, so no picture.)
Oh, and a hat that I don't blame my brother if he never puts on my baby nephew's head after Uncle Doug said it made him look like Lunette the clown on The Big Comfy Couch on public tv. (Lunette is a girl clown. Logan is definitely a BOY nephew. Thus the major problem with the hat.)

Back to work for me.

Happy Knitting & Shooting!

Knitting Lives

One of the sad things about modern living is how scattered families have often become in this mobile society. It is rare to find two or three generations of family living within a few miles of one another or even in the same city or state. My sister lives in the same small town as my mother, grandmother and uncle. But the sad truth is that even they don't see one another that often. Lives get busy. The small choices we make on a daily basis tend to become habit. People and circumstances change. Occasionally conflict occurs and relationships grow distant no matter the physical proximity.

These things happen to family who have actually moved to places far removed from one another too. Where you are in the stages of life often dictates that your own lifestyle may not be the same as those of your parents or children. I have seen this not only in my own life, but also in the lives of those with whom I have worked.

It takes work and intentional effort to maintain familial bonds.

You wouldn' t think this was the case. Most of us assume that being family comes naturally and easily. Not so. We choose to make our relationships what they are, even (and perhaps especially) those which are nearest and dearest to us.

So that's why I gave up knitting time on Sunday. I chose to spend some time making sure I was knitting lives together instead. We visited my brother and his family.

He cooked THE most delicious meal I've had in quite some time. (Everyone should get a copy of the Famous Dave's cookbook!) I enjoyed kicking back, visiting and watching our children build their collective life together while watching movies, building snow forts and generally having a good time together.



I hope and pray that they will always consider themselves "close" in a way I don't with my cousins. I hope and pray that I can maintain close, healthy relationships with my siblings (just as I hope my two will remain close in their adult years as well).

And mostly I hope that my niece and nephew (like my two children) will know how very, very much Aunt Kim loves them!

Sunshine

We're aiming for uplifting today.

The sun is out. The sky is blue. The temp is 4* Farenheit and falling.
The wind is blowing straight out of the north, northwest like you wouldn't believe.
We are heading to -30*F windchills tonight.

So, enjoy the sunshine.

Blue Day

We had a lovely day of bright sunshine, blue skies and temps in the mid to upper 30s yesterday. Something kept telling me, "Get out and enjoy it while you can." So I did get out a few times yesterday.

Today we woke up to a blizzard warning.

I was supposed to drive a couple hours west to visit my brother's family and I whimped out due to the weather. (Turns out it was mostly over by 2 pm and we would have made it home just fine and I feel like a total fool and have the winter blues SOOOOOOO bad today that making that bonehead decision to call off the trip makes me even more depressed.)

At least me kids bounced back ok. This is what they did.




I'm sure any subtle resemblance to any person, living or dead, named "Adolf" in no way reflects on their unconscious feelings about their mother on the day she deeply disappointed them by depriving them of cousins, aunt/uncle, and delicious Kahlua Fudge Brownies............ (It does look like it's smiling at any rate....doesn't it?)

Yarn Love

When life hands you people who are busy (and therefore can't spend time simply chatting on the telephone, which is totally understandable. Some people work for a living for crying out loud!) turn to your stash and think "extra knitting time." (Because, let's face it: no one wants to clean their house for a Valentine's treat, now do they?)

I'll be the first to confess that walking into my guest room is almost as good as walking into a yarn shop. I've got stash. Big stash. Overflowing stash. It's amazing.
(And my DH still bought me the sock yarn kit from Knit Picks for Christmas! That's real love, that is!)

I love my stash. Here are some photos I shot for the magazine. (I've written a Knitting 101 article for March.)









Enjoy the yarn love.....I'm going to go knit!

A Little "Pick Me Up"

Today was a crazy day with a few stress-filled moments of sheer frenzy.
It follows a few too many days of grey, foggy, overcast, cold, icy, slushiness.

So I got out some of my stash to fondle and photograph for illustrations for one of the magazine articles I've been working on: Knitting 101. Yes, I needed a little pick me up. Maybe you do too.

Enjoy!