Yarn Along, Interrupted

Joining in with Ginny over at Small Things for this week's Yarn Along.

Last week I accidentally linked to the previous week's Yarn Along (oops) which meant that many of you may have missed an introduction to my rainbow sock! I finished the first one and have started the second. My feline friends decided that the cable of my beautiful Addi needle was yummy, so it now has tooth marks along its length. Which snags the stitches as I pull it through (I use the Magic Loop method for socks). One of my cats hopped up on the couch last night, picked up the ball of yarn with the needles stuck into it, and walked away all nonchalantly, like he'd just bagged the biggest mouse of the year.

If knitting and reading go together, I'd like to add cats into the mix. How many of you knitters out there have a cat, in spite of their yarn-tangling, needle-mangling tendencies?

It seems only fitting that as I set up my little photo session, stacking books (always one non-fiction and one fiction), some friends arrived to join in the shoot. 

Before: 

During:

 Nickolas spies his favourite chew-toy: my Addi Turbo needle.

Or perhaps it's money advice he's seeking?

I received "It's Your Money" by Gail Vaz-Oxlade as a birthday gift. It's hard to face facts when it comes to money woes, but I'm opening my heart to learning about how to truly become a woman of independent means.

 Rosie comes along to pose. She's more into the historical-fiction-dramatic-romance of Diana Gabaldon's latest book, "The Scottish Prisoner". 

For those of you who have read the Outlander series, this book takes place after the Battle of Culloden, when Jamie is a prisoner-of-war working at Helwater as an indentured servant. Intrigue, poetry, horses, lost love, whiskey...it has all the ingredients of a great tale.

For those of you who haven't read the Outlander series, get thee to a bookstore!

 The grey yarn is a skein my globetrotting father brought home from New Zealand. With the inspiration of my friend at Wabi Sabi Wanderings, I'm making a Plain Vest for Violet. She's likely to find it itchy, as she finds all things knitted, but I keep trying.

Pop by Ginny's Yarn Along to add a link to your post, or to check out what others are reading/knitting!

Yarn Along: A Teeny Birthday Surprise!

I'm joining in with Ginny at Small Things to tell you about what I'm knitting and reading these days. Pop over to her blog to check out her Yarn Along, and links to others!

I finally ordered the book Teeny Tiny Mochi Mochis and once I'd finished giggling (I LOVE the teeny caveman!), I started knitting. And finished pretty quickly. Then I started another one, and ended up with this:

The acorn and cherry tomato are to show you exactly how teeny tiny these are!

Don't you love how the teeny elephant looks like she is trying to blow out a candle? The friend this will go to collects elephants...figurines and such. I'm pretty sure she doesn't have one like this! Heehee! I love saying teeny-tiny-teeny-tiny as much as possible.

I'm reading Elizabeth Hay's Alone in the Classroom. It's a love story/family history/murder-mystery set in rural Saskatchewan, as well as in a fictional Ottawa Valley town (which I'm guessing is Renfrew); I'm enjoying it so far. Hay's "Late Nights on Air" is also worth reading.

I'm back to work, so knitting and reading time is at a premium. Teeny tinies are perfect for right now. It's a miracle I can even read a novel...I should be reading short stories. Or sonnets. Or haikus.

Yes, haikus are teeny tiny, aren't they?

I'm going to rest my teeny tiny head on my teeny tiny pillow now...have a wonderful Wednesday!

Yarn Along

Knitters and book-lovers are an obsessive lot. We collect and hoard yarn and favourite books like treasure, skulk around yarn sales and second-hand bookstores, and once we're into a great project or a great book, the world could fall down around our ears and we would see nothing but that stitch we dropped a few rows back or an author's clever turn of phrase.

Or is that just me?

I started this adaptation of the Tea Leaves Cardigan; I had purchased the pattern years ago, but haven't made it for myself. In searching for a pattern for Margot's autumn sweater, I came across the Tiny Tea Leaves, and it was just what I was looking for. However, I couldn't seem to purchase it.

So, I took my adult Tea Leaves pattern and have been adapting it as I go...it seems to be working alright! This yarn (Fleece Artist's Scotian Silk in Jamaica) is a dream to work with: a constant pastel rainbow of silky soft wool slipping through my fingers, the endless fun of watching the next colour building on the colour below it. It is creating a dense, warm fabric that will work as a coat for Margot this Fall and next Spring.

Having just finished Nick Crowe's "A Cold Night for Alligators" (an excellent read), I'm now into "The Woefield Poultry Collective" by Susan Juby. It's laugh-out-loud hilarious, narrated by four different, quirky characters that are reluctantly trying to bring an old, hard-scrabble farm on Vancouver Island back to productivity.

I've just purchased paint for my kitchen; I may have to get my husband to hide both book and knitting so I can get started on that monumental task! But not today...today, I'll be knitting, with a bit of reading on the side.

GratiTuesday: Busy

When I started GratiTuesday, it was to create an opportunity for stream-of-consciousness gratitude in the midst of my busy life. I don't always take pictures of what is on my list, because it usually just flows out as I write it. Gratitude isn't something we should PLAN, but something we should just naturally feel in the presence of the many blessings in our lives.

Here's my list, in no particular order...

.: my parents' generosity in helping us purchase a second vehicle (thus saving my sanity), and in the gift of tickets to see the Lion King at the National Arts Centre. It was unforgettable, for my kids and for me, and something I would never have been able to afford.

.: the gift of music, especially since it's something I can share with my husband, with so much joy. We had our first performance together in a long while, at the Bonnechere Caves, sharing the stage with many other local talents. Later, we recorded a video INSIDE the Caves! Amazing! Visiting with friends I haven't seen in ages, listening to the water going over the Fourth Chute of the river, and seeing the almost-full moon rise conspired to create an unforgettable evening.

.: getting together with a dear friend, whose children love my children. One older, reading child plus four smaller, book-loving children equals a beautiful storytime!

.: creating my first "stock"...piles of hats, felt crowns, knitted snails, and small cotton dolls to sell at a arts/crafts show this coming weekend.

.: having captured this moment: my mother fitting Violet for a handmade dress. I can remember standing on a chair in this same kitchen, my mother expertly holding pins in her mouth as she created a hem. The added beauty of this dress is that the darker fabric is from a dress my mother made for ME when I was in Grade Two. She'll be selling dresses like these at the craft show mentioned above!

.: the joy of a really great, can't-put-it-down read: "One Day" by David Nicholls.

.: always, always, the first sip of coffee in the morning

.: Brad Pitt as Tristan in "Legends of the Fall" which I watched last night AGAIN!

.: the cool nights that follow a wicked thunderstorm

.: bellydancing outside at a local farmers' market, settling back into my body, loving the breeze swirling my skirt and the warmth of the grass beneath my feet

.: looking at my husband in the early morning as he sleeps, marvelling that he looks EXACTLY as he did 10 years ago when we met: hands crossed across his chest, so peaceful, and so beautiful.

.: as always: Jude's freckles, Violet's cartoon-character voice, and Margot's fingers holding a paintbrush.

What I'm getting around to saying is that gratitude is not some polished stone that should be taken out and admired once a week. It's something I want to feel sifting into my soul throughout the week, at random moments, especially when I'm worrying about money, or the mess of my house, or how I can get everything done "on time". Because really: there is abundant EVERYTHING in my life right now.

Grab that button and link back to me: what are YOU grateful for this week?

GratiTuesday in July

It is so bleedin' hot and humid right now. I'm sweating just sitting in front of the computer, moving my fingers. I cooked pancakes at seven this morning before it really set in, and that's the last cooked food my children have eaten today. It's all about veggies, tortilla chips, hummus, and frozen fruit treats when the thermometer reads close to 30 degrees Celsius (and the weather people say it "feels like" 40 degrees with the humidity...)

So, let me think about this gratitude thing. Because I am wicked in the heat. Wicked like Miss Hannigan in "Annie", cooling off in her bathtub full of gin, shrieking "Kill, kill, KILL!" at those sweet little girls.

Okay. Let's begin.

I am grateful for

• Carol Burnette, in her role as Miss Hannigan. Skinny legs, saggy stockings, a boa, those pencilled-on eyebrows...I'd copy her look if I could pull it off. I howl with laughter every time I see her in this movie.

• This old quilt. I made it when I was 19, and it has travelled to many beaches and picnics over the years. It is torn. It is what I lie on when I read outside. And apparently, my children have invented a game called Quilt Monster...the quilt runs around the yard on little legs, growling with menace and a few giggles thrown in.

• The joy of a really great read. This week it was "A Black Englishman" by Carolyn Slaughter. It explores so many themes that guarantee a good read: colonialism, racism, eroticism, marriage, the conflict between classes, travel...I felt like I was in 1920s England, and it is an unforgettable place.
• While I'm at it, why not express gratitude for that skinny little feline that always finds herself in front of my camera? Camino (named for the fair trade chocolate!) came to us as a wild kitten, and I almost gave up on her because she seemed so untameable. Well, let's just say she's been tamed.

• This ridiculous riot of a garden, known as the Rainbow Garden. It is at its peak right this moment, with colours of the full spectrum competing for centre stage. It is breathtaking, eye-catching, and completely full of weeds. Who'd notice them in the centre of all this colour?
• Having a bit of one-on-one time with Jude by letting him stay up later than the girls! We played a boardgame (The Ladybug Game, great for kids 3-6), then drew silly pictures of us out in the rain and played "knots and crosses" (tic-tac-toe). He blossoms under this individual attention that he so rarely gets in the midst of his little sisters' demands.

Now, grab this groovy button, paste it on your blog with a link to mine, then add your name to the GratiTuesday list below! Share the love!

A Week of Clean

Oh! I spent a luxurious weekend with my sister and her family, eating copious amounts of amazing food, drinking cold wine and coolers, and reading. A lot. A whole novel, in one day to be exact. Roberta Rich's "The Midwife of Venice"...get thee to a bookstore if you haven't read it, but make sure you book childcare so you can dive right in!

Now I'm feeling bloated, and my suspicion that I share my son's (and my sister's) intolerance to gluten is staring me in the face...or rather, punching me in the gut.

I've had the busiest two months of my life, and that is really saying something. My skin looks dull and my eyes look baggy.

So, starting tomorrow, I am going to begin my week of CLEAN...clean eating, exercising a bit, and getting into bed by 9 p.m. I'm only booking a week so as not to overwhelm myself!

I have this habit of rebelling against any expectations/restrictions I place on myself. Basically, I say, "F you!" ...to myself whenever I try to eat healthily, exercise regularly, or sleep more. Like my intelligent, intuitive self that is saying "You'll feel better, you'll lose weight and get fit, you might even LIVE LONGER!" is some controlling parent, and my ego is the cocky teenager that says, "You're not the boss of me!!"

Okay, I know teenagers probably say ruder things than that to their parents nowadays. But you get the picture.

I sabotage myself.

Just visit http://www.controlfreakproject.blogspot.com/ to follow my determined path from January 1st...when I declared that this is IT, I'm DEFINITELY losing weight, getting my finances in order, and decluttering my house!! Back then, I had six months till my brother's wedding, sort of a halfway goal. Then it was seven weeks. Then one week. I knew when the wedding was 3 days away that I was sunk, at least in terms of that goal.

My dear friend Maureen is kicking ASS when it comes to transforming herself, and I am so inspired by her, but in a faraway, good-for-her-but-I-could-never-do-that kind of way. The funny thing is, she told me recently that she was inspired by my weight-loss in the fall (when I was tremendously busy and stressed)...ha!

SO. Here I am. It's the first week of July, and the summer is spread out before me like a pretty picnic blanket. And I have set some more goals for myself:

• eat healthy
• exercise
• go to bed early
• be nice to yourself!!

It's only for a week. We'll see how I feel after that, and maybe I'll just continue. But only if I don't nag myself...


Wish me luck. Again.

Caution: Artist at Work

Our home has been overtaken by an unsavoury lot of characters.

Pirates and their treasure chests.

This boy of mine is into drawing, creating booby traps with yarn and masking tape, taking old appliances apart to create inventions, and dancing to "I Like to Move It". I've been struggling lately with the notion that in September he'll start going to school full-time. Struggling for lots of reasons: it's the first time he'll spend more time with people other than family members. Although he is considerate, funny, and gentle, he often plays alone in the schoolyard. He often needs reminders to "focus" and "pay attention".

Dragons full of the people they've devoured.

Many-limbed aliens from another planet.

This boy's head is right where it should be: in the clouds (not to mention on pirate ships, in underground caves and outer space, and inside robots). He is the proverbial square peg. I suspect many children, little boys in particular, are square pegs when it comes to the school system. I've seen him focus and pay attention for hours to his drawings and inventions. I've seen him reading and writing when it is meaningful for him. I've seen him absorbing math concepts, making connections between stories we've read and experiences he's had, and reading between the lines.

Robots that shoot arrows and wash dishes.

...and more robots.

I'm presently reading Ten Ways to Destroy the Imagination of Your Child.You know when you read something that articulates what you knew all along in your gut? This is one of those books. My struggle lies within the fear that the confines of a classroom will not allow for this little boy's mind to reach the distant places to which it naturally longs to travel. There's a conflict between my intuitive desire to keep my boy home to learn at his own pace, and the fact that my income as a school teacher allows us to live on our little farm (not to mention the fact that I love my job). I struggle with what I see as the school system's unintentional (?) habit of creating tiny cogs to fit into the giant wheel of industry...eat and pee on schedule, play outside only at specified times, learn what everyone else is learning whether it interests you or not.

Plans for snowball attacks a la Calvin and Hobbes.

Daddy and Jude on the toboggan, on their way to ATTACK!

I don't believe that school is all bad, or that it isn't suitable for any child. But it certainly isn't ideal for every child, and therein lies my struggle. Although I have been a teacher in "the system" for the past 14 years, I feel concerned that it isn't right for my child. I want him to tap every bit of creativity that exists in his growing mind and heart, without the interference of what he is "supposed" to learn in Grade One (or Two or Three...)

And my favourite: a geriatric robot with his cane.

I've had extreme fantasies of selling all we own so that we can live more cheaply in order for me to homeschool or unschool our children. In my more rational moments, I remember my parenting mantra: 

faith and patience.

I am choosing to have faith that if school does not suit our boy, we will find alternatives. If that means I eventually work full time so my husband can stay home to build pirate ships and draw maps with him, that is what will happen. Or maybe by then his interest will lie in gardening or astronomy or music. I sometimes wonder what I might have become if I'd been encouraged to seriously pursue my passions for writing, textiles, painting, and music rather than perceiving them as "hobbies" secondary to my school studies.

I want to find out what might happen to my child if we encourage him to pursue his passions, wherever they may take him.

Unconditional

Remember when you were pregnant with your first child, and you made all those sweet promises to your unborn baby...about how you'd always share the wonders of the world with them? You couldn't imagine being impatient with them, raising your voice at them, being impatient or frustrated with them. We all think we're going to be better than "those mothers"...

The trouble with parenting is that you have no idea what you're getting into, until you're irrevocably INTO it. When you made those promises, you didn't imagine holding a screaming baby for hours, or dealing with a toddler who bites, or trying to get three kids out the door on time on a winter morning. You'd turn to books, but when your kids are small, it's hard to find the time to read anything, let alone some dry how-to-raise-amazing-kids-with-this-magical-three-step-process type of book.

Because here's the rub: There is no magic trick. Children don't come with instruction manuals, and the advice we get from our own parents, TVs latest guru, or well-meaning strangers doesn't often help, because your children are unique: they're YOURS.

The expectant mama...blissfully unaware.

But giving them lots of love is a good start. Setting reasonable boundaries, listening to them, tuning in to their needs, and giving them many opportunities to learn and explore safely take you further down the road to your goal of raising healthy human beings.

We can be so hard on ourselves. I reflect a lot, and wake up often in the middle of the night replaying a scene from the previous day, wondering what I could have done differently or better, worrying that I've irrevocably damaged my child's sense of trust or self-esteem (because I yelled at them in a moment of impatience, or said "No" too many times). I know that every parent loses their cool. But it seems the worst of ironies that we so often reprimand our children for impulsive behaviour, losing control, or being impatient when we are such good role models of these behaviours!

Innocent beauty and ultimate trust rolled into one sweet being.

About a year ago, I started reading Alfie Kohn's "Unconditional Parenting". Every once in awhile, you come across a book that just resonates with your soul, finds communion with your intuition, and reassures you that what you felt in your heart was just right. I don't recommend reading loads of parenting how-to books, as they can make it hard to figure out what YOUR stance is. You may sense what you feel is best, but it cab be challenging to articulate. People think you're wishy-washy, or airy-fairy, or artsy-fartsy. Yes, I've been called all of the above.

Patience and good role-modelling starts early.

I often found myself giving in to things my own parents said or did ("If you don't stop that right now, I'm turning this van around and we're NOT going to Aunt Lana's house!!") I cringe internally when I hear myself saying things like this: coercion, bribes, empty threats, "because I said so!" kind of statements. They just unsettle me, but in the heat of those moments where you're surrounded by screaming kids, or you're late for work, or overtired, sometimes you feel like you have no other option.

Learning to be human in this world.

Forget that these techniques actually don't do a whole lot. Ditto for timeouts. When my older children went through the hitting/biting stage, I'd give them a timeout. They'd do it again within an hour, and I'd give them another timeout. The next day I'd give them more. So...duh. Obviously the timeout doesn't work. Growing out of a stage does. By the time we had our third child, we started recognising developmental patterns and have eased up on the "discipline". Gentle reminders, distraction, and removing a toddler from a situation (without isolating them) seem to be more effective in the long run.

I finished reading "Unconditional Parenting" this morning, covering the part I'd been waiting for: alternatives to traditional parenting. Kohn doesn't offer a band-aid solution. He does, however, offer a beautiful list that will be posted on my refrigerator. This sang to my mother's soul:

1.  Be reflective.
2.  Reconsider your requests.
3.  Keep your eye on the long-term goals.
4.  Put the relationship first.
5.  Change how you see, not just how you act.
6.  R-E-S-P-E-C-T
7.  Be authentic.
8.  Talk less, ask more.
9.  Keep their ages in mind.
10. Attribute to children the best possible motive consistent with the facts.
11. Don't stick your no's in unnecessarily.
12. Don't be rigid.
13. Don't be in a hurry.

Parenting is hard work. No one ever said it would be easy. It is overwhelming, underrated, unpaid, and often thankless.

But important? You betcha. Get thee to a bookstore and  buy this book, then read it. It may confirm what you already know. It may support you in questioning those practices that you find unsettling. It will certainly open your mind, and perhaps give you some backup support when someone questions your approach.

You're wonderful. Your children are wonderful. And your relationship is so worth it.

Yarn Along

Are you getting sick of my colour-effects (to brighten up my webcam photos) yet?

It's been so long since I participated in the Yarn Along, as I work on Wednesdays and rarely find the time to write a post the night before. But here I am!

The twin loves of knitting and reading go together like...well, like Hansel and Gretel. We just picked up this copy of the beloved story, adapted by Cynthia Rylant. It is beautifully illustrated by Jen Corace. If you love textiles, you'll love the details in this book: the beauty of the clothing, curtains, tablecloth is simply stunning. Little red shoes, a yellow sweater with cherries on it, shawls, and quilts...who could resist?

Who doesn't love this story? When I had it in hand at the store, I asked my husband if he thought it might be too scary for our kids. He replied that it's that delicious kind of scary that kids love. And he was right. What's wonderful about this adaptation is that it focuses on the courage and intelligence of the children, AND includes Gretel as a heroine in her own right. We love it and read it nightly.

And that other book? Oh my goodness. "The Invention of Hugo Cabret" by Brian Selznick is an absolute must-read for book lovers of all ages in your family. It's part mystery, part graphic novel, and all engrossing. It's a tale peopled by a young orphan boy who lives in the walls of a Paris train station, a girl with a mysterious key for a necklace, and a bitter old toymaker. Fate brings them together in this unforgettable story. My husband and I were wrestling it out of each other's hands when first brought it home from the library. I googled it recently in order to find a copy for my sister and her daughters, (as well as one for us to keep, for when our kids are older!) and found out that it will be released as a movie this fall. So get thee to a bookstore or a library and read it in its most beautiful form!

I'm still knitting eggs. Sigh. Oh, and that's the Baby Sophisticate, in Tahki Yarn's Donegal Tweed, for a friend who is having a baby in April...because every little man needs a dashing cardigan, n'est-ce pas? Just needs buttons now...

Yarn Along!

I am not organised enough, generally, to participate in any blog-hop type things...I always think of it the day after, then remind myself to do it the next week, then I forget...my blogging habits are sporadic, at best. But this week I'm doing it! I'm joining in on the Yarn Along (visit Small Things!)...I know I did more than the indicated one photo. But I just had to give y'all a closer look at my Scrap Cardigan.

I must say I am absolutely delighted with how it is coming along; I started it less than a week ago and am already at the point where I'll set the sleeve stitches on some waste yarn in order to work on the body. It's quick and stimulating (all those changes in colour, texture, and stitch patterns!), and quite easy, actually. I'm using bits from my stash: Studio Donegal, Tahki's Donegal Tweed, Briggs and Little, and lots of unnamed stuff that has collected over the years! This sweater is a great stash-buster...you can find the pattern on Ravelry.

If you haven't read "The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie" by Alan Bradley, get thee to a bookstore! I've just finished the sequel, "The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag", and Flavia DeLuce is among my top 10 favourite book characters of all time. I've just started "The Outlander" by Gil Adamson (not to be confused with Diana Gabaldon's "Outlander", which I've read several times!)...it kept me up later than usual last night, and I only put it down when I realised I'd read a whole page with well....my eyes closed. Ahem.

We're reading lots of winter-inspired stories with the kids; two of our favourites, being Canadian and all, are "The Hockey Sweater" by Roch Carrier, and "The Lonely Inukshuk" which was written by the students at Inuglak School. My wee ones love learning the Inuktittut names of the animals in the story! Of course, "The Snowy Day" by Ezra Jack Keats is getting lots of read-time these days, too...

What better way to pass the winter, than by knitting and reading?