Slow Road

Knitting is not a fast hobby. I am a fan of simmering a stew all day, or taking the time to write a meaningful letter. I am OK with slow. As with growing a baby, life can't be rushed. And it can be enhanced by taking the time to enjoy the moments within the hours.

I love knitting for babies. I dream of their little toes and their their sweet stares. This sweater was knit too small for one of our babies, but I knew if I waited, another one would come along. And with it come the blessings of being swaddled in hand knits and wool.

Even when the petals drop, this is my favourite rose. This wild rose grew up from the bottom of one of my nine foot tall Queen Elizabeths that flank my deck. Somewhere in its heart, it wanted to be wild.

The lace weight Featherweight sweater has taken many season. It is harder for me to knit for myself. Partly because I have to knit big sizes and the chances of it making me look smaller are lost in the tears of an adolescent. But I also enjoy thinking about others as I knit. After finishing and blocking, the sleeves were 2 inches too long. This is something I can fix. Rip it back (thank you top down knitting) and just knit it right. By fixing my mistakes, I can learn by them and not load them into the trunk of guilt.

When I am too tired or distracted, my Cozy Memories Blanket is always there for me. I keep it in a basket next to my chair by the TV and can pick it up at any time. This is a project that is loved by the doing and not by the having. I am so grateful to the podcasters who share their blankets and keep this love going.

Our wee pipe band is getting so impressive. DH is the pipe major and it's not easy. But last week, we had gone through all our parade tunes and worked hard and worked together and really enjoyed one another's company. Our season started Victoria Day with our longest parade in Fort Langley and piper friends turned up to support us and march with us.

D had some days off and when asked what he wanted to do, he said, "Go visit the kids". So a fun ferry ride, with time for knitting and reading and some nice moderate weather. 

Instead of shopping for books and wool, we walked around Oak Bay. It was fun.

Supper was a big family affair at a brew pub with great beer and great food. So much fun to just sit around a table and laugh.

Here we are after, reluctant to drive our separate ways.

Emily invited us to her band practice. They are crazy! Crazy talented and crazy fun! Eastern European Gypsy Music. They are called Bucan Bucan (Boochan) and play at festivals and weddings. 

On the way home, we discovered my knitting needle was bent! I'm making a large Waffles Blanket by Tin Can Knits for Emily's boyfriend's graduation gift. It is about the seventh time I'm knitting it because I love the rhythm and the finished object.

So a quick stop at 88 Stitches Yarn Shop in Langley on our way home solved the problem. It's a good thing we left the highway when we did because the long weekend traffic was slow or stopped all the way home. We took the back roads and it probably took about the same long time, but we enjoyed the countryside.

I am finally working on a test knit. With my cold, I didn't feel up to it, but it is an easy sweater pattern and I had the yarn in stash. Love the finished object. I did fight with the yoke a bit, but I blame it on late nights and Dr. Who. Today I am weaving in ends and it can go for a soak.

This Bradbury Shawl took a long time. I was so anxious to have a project for our trip to Israel, but the sock I was already knitting was the one I worked on. Just had to finish something. So I got it done. I thought I wouldn't be able to wear it until fall, but it goes with some of my seasonally transitional clothes too. We normally have very a very long spring and autumn, so it makes sense to have short sleeved tops in dark colours.

I am still enjoying the Pi shawl, though it has been mostly neglected. Won't let myself wind the next yarn for the projects I'm dreaming of until I get more done on it. The weather has been cooler, so the shetland yarn isn't as sticky. But when I have the choice to knit for others.....

With this cold, I have allowed myself some podcast time and highly recommend The Grocery Girls and Soxcetera. They both sell project bags, which I love, but I appreciate that they encourage us to make some of our own. So I joined the swap and am excited to use some of that fun fabric I have been afraid of.

Life is slow for a reason. If you don't push and let the project or idea come to the forefront when it is ready, you can spend less energy struggling and more time engaged in creativity.