Stitch Rabbit

On and Off The Sticks

Just a few photos of what my hands have been busy with so far this week...

 

Blocking Frankie's french cardigan. It's been a project in the making for a long time... I forgot about it awhile back and brought it back out recently.

 

Sewing seams and finishing. Looking for the perfect buttons at the secret sewing wholesale warehouse tomorrow.

 

Immediately casting on another sweater. And then immediately after finding out from the lovely Caitlyn ffrench at Baaad Anna's that Debbie Bliss Como has been discontinued.       WTF Debbie.

Unravel and begin much smaller projects.

 

I even got down here over the weekend!

Hello studio, I love you in the winter.

 

 

 

Why Game of Thrones and Knitting Go Hand In Hand.

 

 

All the good yarn stores have re-purposed the famous line from Game of Thrones, "Winter Is Coming" in some form or another - I mean, how could you resist! Tongue in cheek and oh so clever - Written on their sidewalk sandwich boards, sent out in newsletters and check out this yarn shop in Kamloops BC I discovered a few weeks ago:

 

 

 

Across their front window alongside their own personal handmade "shop banner". I spotted it as we were driving through and let out this weird yelp and made Gabe pull over immediately.

Of course I love the series, and I'm still considered a baby in the game.. I'm just finishing book two right now. I know - shit's gonna get all craaay, I heard. Of course, now that the air is cooler and the sticks are all stacked with projects, I'm finding all kinds of inspiration for you Game of Thrones crafty nerds.

Here are a few of my favorites:

 

House of Stark Knitting Pattern from Shawnallama

(doing it. for my kids, ahem.)

 

 

Photo by KnitPicks Pattern by Freshisle Fibres

(Ah!! Would like to believe I'm gonna do it!)

 

The Starks of Winterfell - Kati at LunasCrafts

(Wanna play with it!)

 

Cross Stitch Pattern at Zahmira

(Perfect for the living room wall)

 

 

 

Sick Days and Suggestions on How To Milk It.

 

I spent the other day sick in bed.

Well.. bedridden might be a bit of an exaggeration, but I had a bit of a cold, and one sleeve left to knit on Frankie's sweater... and it was raining. Well.. it was drizzling.

I'm going to let you in on a little secret. You will never look like a lazy whimp with a tiny cold lying in bed weakly calling out for tea if you are knitting. If you are knitting whilst lying in bed with a cold you look like a champ. Like you can't get a good guy down, even when he's down. Like someone who won't let illness and disease stop you from warming the bodies of your children, stitch by aching cold-and-flu-season stitch. Try to let out a little sigh every know and again - remember, even though you're lying on your death bed - your sheer determination to clothe the wee ones will bring admiration and more tea and possibly some toast to your bedside. For added effect crumpled tissues arranged on each side of your body and around your knitting will really drive it home. Not that you are sick and ought to be in bed... but that EVEN THOUGH you are sick - bedridden (!!) - you are still an unbelievably amazing Mom to sit up in that bed and knit the entire day.

 

The Knitting Club.

I joined a knitting club. But it's not the knitting club you might expect. It has beginners and almost-beginners and some well on their way to finishing beautiful projects, but there is something a little different about this group... mostly that the average age of the members is roughly six to ten years old. It's the knitting club at my daughter's school.

I can't even tell you how excited I was as I waited in the hallway for lunch to begin today. A total geek, clutching my knitting bag and the extra needles and yarn to share with the group. I was blown away by how many kids were there, all sitting around tables in tiny chairs, mounds of yarn in front of them, clutching their bare needles, excited by the possibilities. Some of them have been knitting you know, "for a really long time." Some had picked it up "just recently again" since their Grandmothers had taught them. Some had never picked up a pair of sticks in their life.

There was the usual chatter you'd hear at any good knitting club. "Why are knitting needles so pointy" and, "I really like cats." I settled in on a chair and started casting on for some of the kids and knit and talked the entire lunch hour. I would say the only thing really missing was a bottle of wine or four on the table... but I think that would be deemed innapprpriate and I don't think I'd be invited back.

While talking to my Mom excitedly at approximately 1:02 PM (she is a faithful fellow knitter and will be joining us sometimes) she mentioned how neat it was that here were these kids doing something that has been done by groups of ladies (and men) for hundreds of years. It is really neat. That even in the modern child's world saturated with electronic entertainment and the instant gratification of technology, here is this group of kids, sitting around a table making knots on sticks, talking and laughing and learning, just like their Moms, just like their Grandmas, and all the other generations before.

By the end of the class I think almost every kid was really actually knitting. We're making scarves for those who might need a little handmade winter warmth this year. There was even talk of a little yarn bombing. I think I found the best knitting club I could have ever hoped for.

Frankie in Knitting Club

Coming Home.

I'm a very lucky lady.

I had the luck and the loving support of my family to take a trip out east this last week to be at a friend's wedding. It was a chance for me to see friends I hadn't seen in five and ten years, a chance to witness two people I adore get married, get my arm marathon-tattooed in to the wee hours by my dear friend in Toronto, stay up late, eat whenever I wanted to, stay in hotels, travel alone, knit and read uninterrupted, do some actual writing (!!)  and generally get a good healthy dose of freedom and independence... something that doesn't come around too often when you are a parent of young children. It was a weekend of total indulgence, many hugs and tears, and a whole lot of love.

Getting the chance to get away and solo trip is something I would encourage any parent to do. That independence that comes along with choosing what you want to do and when you want to is something that we forget about when our lives are almost always about taking care of the needs of one, two, three or more lovelies in our lives. I cherish the moments that I can sit and knit or talk uninterrupted over a table with friends. And knowing that my three favorite people are back home doing a fantastic job of getting along without me, having fun and (somewhat) keeping the house in one piece gives me the confidence that I can go out and be my own person feeling loved and supported and encouraged by the ones who need me the most. I feel fantastic.

 

When I left the sun was shining and we were picking pumpkins in our tshirts... funny what five days in fall can do... the colors are truly autumn now that I'm back:

While I was away Gabe made me this awesome new coffee shelf over our espresso cabinet:

 

The kitchen table is still in the living room from Thanksgiving, but we kind of like it there:

 

My home feels cozy and ready for winter. Best of all, I'm home with my family...

Who make the best part of going away the part when you come home.

 

Thankful For Mornings Like These...

When the crafts come out before there's even breakfast...

 

When the littlest one is captivated and quiet...

 

When little bits of fall are in every corner...

 

And an idea takes flight...

 

 

Since September Began.

Since September began I have breathed some new life back into my knitting.

 

As the summer ended and the days rolled into autumn, new stashes of yarn came up from the studio and took over all the corners of my home.

 

I've been working on new patterns for cowls with my trusty side-kick.

 

 

And experimenting with new yarns for a new collection...

 

 

I've been filling order requests from the little ones with grand ideas.

 

 

And filling early fall orders from my shop... and for Paper BlueJay's bridesmaid gifts!

 

 

Frankie crawled in beside me one morning and asked how to knit... I actually can't believe how quickly she understood it. She's making a pink scarf for her Dad.

 

 

And I'm slowly but surely working on whittling down the stash of unfinished projects.. a couple of cardigans, some socks and hats and cowls.

 

What are some of your fall projects (question mark)

(i think i will need a new keyboard soon)

 

 

Testing... Testing...

Oh my Gosh... hello. It's been a long, long time since I've banged out some words on this keyboard, and I'm telling you.... I certainly have had a lot to say. I'm picking up from last June... when my daughter finished Kindergarden and I cried in the hall like a baby, and a lot more has happened since then. To tell you the truth, it feels like that was years ago.

So, without really meaning to, I took the summer off from Stitch Rabbit. I came to the keyboard more than a few times... intent on letting you know how I was, what I was up to... but when it came down to it, I just didn't know what to say. I kind of lost my words. Part of me had way too much to try and tell you and part of me was.. well, sick of hearing my own voice. I don't know how many bloggers are out there reading this... but I'm sure you've had those moments in your blogging life where you've really questioned your content.. and being that your content is primarily yourself, your mind, your soul... you really end up questioning yourself. That's a hard thing to look at somethimes.

One very small but very profound deterrent, and also somewhat of an epiphany began with the unfortunate incident of me spilling a glass of red wine across this very keyboard. The spill affected almost nothing except for one thing. I ended up losing my question mark. I essentially ended up losing the ability to ask a question. Deep right (question mark)

But it came at a very opportune time because... I've had a lot of questions that I've had to answer these last few months, about myself, about my values, my boundaries, my goals. And I really needed to take that inventory on the inside, rather than bang it out here, for all to read. I think it's important that we all take private inventory of where we are... and how to meet ourselves wherever that place is. Sometimes you just have to stop talking and listen to what your heart is trying to say.

So... a few months of pretty deep, heavy introspective consideration... a summer of questions, a summer of NOT always finding the right answers.. has led me to a place of acceptance. And it's also led me back here. Because, as I asked myself, what is my point here, what am I trying to get across... I think I have come to discover the answer is authenticity. No matter where I am in my life, I can only and I want to always be me. And if that means a few months of silence, so be it. If that means not picking up a pair of sticks till September 1st, so what (question mark) If that means resting my fingers on the keyboard and not typing a thing till I'm sure I'm ready.. well, I guess that's why I'm here tonight. Because the answer to most everything I've been asking myself... is to be authentic, sure and true.

So, it is with deep gratitude that I thank you for reading, for checking in, and for staying close.. I truly appreciate the ears and the eyes out there that have read this blog and watched this perfectly imperfect human being fly and fall and make her way through this oh-so complicated and beautiful life. I am so very happy to be back.