Something to Strive For

Its a long weekend in Ontario. Family day is a new holiday for us, so we don't have any traditions for it at our house. This year we decided to dedicate the long weekend to serious relaxation, which for this family means we are mostly together in our solitary pursuits: video games, TV, reading, spinning and knitting. We did dedicate an hour this morning to cleaning the house. SOME people complained (those under twenty), but the rest of us (those of us with real jobs) thought that one hour was nothing out of a whole weekend.

A new pair of socks has come to live with us, making Jim's feet pretty happy:

Rascally things. More pictures and details on Ravelry.

One of the reasons I like spinning is because I want to use yarn that no one else has. Yarn that other people may covet, but can never get. I remember at the K-W Knitter's Fair one year, admiring a woman's shawl and asking her what the yarn was. The shawl was deep green at the edge and gradually faded to pure white at the top. She replied that it was her handspun and when she saw my disappointed face, she laughed and told me that I would just have to learn how. At the time, it seemed an unattainable goal.

Well, it finally happened for me. At Friday night knitting someone was watching me work on these socks and she said in just that tone "Where did you get that yarn?" I was very naughty because I replied smugly "It's my hand spun."

And, I have finally gotten comfortable doing long draw! I had such a mental block on this technique, but now I can do it with one hand. Sweet. I'm just plying my floofy, chunky yarn and I feel ready to try something finer next time. There's some (if you call 19oz some) Shetland in the stash calling to me...

In other news, my mother-in-law is still trucking on her sweater. She's decided to tackle the shaping herself. Hooray! I may have whined a bit about work being stressful and wanting to knit my own projects. But I honestly believe it will be good for her to puzzle it out and I totally believe she is capable of it. She has knit many a sweater in her day. Besides, I'll be there once a week to hold her hand. And don't we all need something to strive for?