Muddling through

What is there to say about the last few days? I have remained fairly strong and avoided the news as much as I can. It's not that I can't face what happened in Newtown, but more that the media coverage bothers me, the need for some of these outlets to report on a development first, even if that development is based on hearsay and ends up being completely wrong. So right now my thoughts and prayers are with the families in Connecticut who have suffered unbearable losses one can hardly comprehend. My watching or listening to the news doesn't change anything.

It was a quiet weekend around here, needless to say ... lots of snuggling with O, and a nice visit with my brother, who came up from Staten Island, where he was doing relief work, to finish up his classes here in Boston before he leaves for three months in Arizona where he'll be learning how to leap from puddlejumpers and put our fires. Yeah, he's a stud. His visit coincided with our buying some "new" dining room furniture on Saturday, so he was kind enough to let us borrow his truck (and muscles) to get it all inside. Big reveal TK after I finish organizing.

Then yesterday O and I went for a walk in the snowy woods to collect greenery for swags and garland. We ended up finding the best winter greenery in our own backyard -- Norway spruce and holly!

Today I've been mulling how much cellophane tape one family needs:



 

Last week, after some fits and starts, I earnestly dug into my big project for the winter, an aran sweater:

 



I'm hoping that the knitting of this cardigan will give me an injection of self-confidence. I've been feeling very talent-less for the past year, even though I've done lots of knitting and completed some lovely projects. This sweater tests my abilities, I can assure you. But even I can see the improvement on this back panel. My knitting just past the ribbing is uneven in places, but as I gained confidence in following the pattern, my stitches have evened out. (Of course, I know that with blocking, the knitting will look 1000x better.)

Other things I've learned:

• How to knit without a cable needle. Oh. My! Learning this skill will save me hours of time knitting this sweater. I was spending up to 30 minutes on some of the more complicated rows -- now I can finish a row in about 10 minutes, and my time improves with each knitting session. Cable knitting is a lot more enjoyable, for sure!


• Notetaking is not for sissies. I learned this the hard way. I had to rip back a few times before I got it through my thick skull that some projects need thoughtful planning. Once I worked out some of the trouble spots on paper, it wasn't such a trial following a confusing pattern.


• I really, really love charted patterns. This pattern is not charted. But it's pretty so I shall persevere.

How has your weekend been?