Problem…Solution

So yesterday was Monday—which meant that, at precisely 4:00, I made my way to the store for another afternoon of knitting with the kids. It was a pretty slow summer, meaning that I was often left kid-less—or perhaps with just poor, faithful Miss A. It’s a good thing Miss A is so much fun—because we spent a heck of a lot of time together this summer.

So anyway, I got there at 4, expecting an army to be waiting for me. Last week, I had six kids, several of whom spent their time wreaking havoc on the store. And they all promised they’d be back next week. But when I got there, the place was empty. So I set down my bags and took to wandering the store, feeling hanks of yarn, as I often do when I’m waiting for kids to show up.

In the back of the store, I ran into Beth. I hadn’t seen Beth in for-freakin’-ever, so I was thrilled to hang out and chat in the back for a while.

“You haven’t been blogging much,” Beth noted.

“I know,” I sighed as I plopped down in a chair. “It’s on my to-do list every single day. I even have some pictures ready. But I’m just so busy…”

Then I explained that there’s another reason: “I just don’t have anything good to show.”

You see, I’d been a bit frustrated when I showed up at the store. The whole thing revolved around this particular top that I’d been working on. I bought the yarn last summer, and the top I had started was a disaster. So I frogged it. This spring, I got an idea for something different—my own design. So I slowly got to work. I was very careful about the design and the shaping. I tried the stupid thing on about every other round (which was why it was getting nowhere fast). Yesterday, I decided to try it on again. And I hated it. I have no idea what happened, but it fit one day, and it looked all weird the next. I was speechless. And totally ticked off. So I took it off again and left the house for knitting.

So what’s the solution, you ask? Simple. I set the top aside (again). And I pulled out some soft, bulky yellow yarn and started another brainless blanket.

Thank goodness for blankets.

This time, I even went up to 10½s instead of 10s, and it’s flying by. Oh, how I love my blanket.

Before I knew it, it was nearly 5:00—but it was so nice to just sit and knit with the girls for a while. It had been one heck of a Monday, and I needed it. But that’s when Sallie went up to the front of the store and called back for me to brace myself. I had kids, who were showing up a whole hour late—and it was the crazy kids. My two boys.

The boys are a ton of fun—especially Mr. A, who is a totally happy little knitter. He was there, working away on a sweater, when my mom came to visit. So Mom always calls Mr. A “My Little Boy.” His little brother, Mr. T (who’s not nearly as big but just as energetic as the original), is a handful.

This week, though, the guys were pretty beat—and midway through sitting around and trying to figure out her new sock pattern, her mom realized that she’d missed lunch (something I can totally relate to)—so they didn’t last very long. Mr. A worked away on a new stuffed animal that he’s making, and Mr. T decided to work on Mr. A’s sweater for a while. That lasted approximately 6 stitches. Then he came over to the couch by me and hung upside-down from it while discussing things that, I’m pretty sure, only make sense in his little world. But I make sure to smile and nod and “uh-huh” and “oh!” at the appropriate times.

Mr. A was intrigued by my blanket, so I explained the whole thing to him. Then he asked who I was making it for.

“I don’t know,” I told him. “I figure one of my friends gets pregnant about every other day, so I’m just kinda working ahead.” When his mother told me that was a really good idea, I told her it was kinda like a pre-emptive strike. I like to be prepared.

When the kids were getting ready to leave (15 minutes or so early), Mr. T seemed very concerned. He looked at me (from his place, upside-down on the couch) and said, “But will you be sad if we leave you here by yourself?” How cute is that? I told him I might—but there’s always next week.

So despite the knitting headache that I had when I arrived at the store, I left feeling cheery and rested. I’d gotten to chat for a while, I started a project that I know will work out (and go really really fast), and the kids didn’t make me want to go home and drink. So it was a good Monday.

I still have some pictures sitting on my hard drive, waiting to be uploaded so I can show you all my fabulous array of blankets. And I swear I’ll do that soon. Really. I’m not kidding. I’ve already gotten to the point of taking them from my camera and putting them on my computer, so that’s a start. I’m working in baby steps here, but I’ll get there eventually.