A 'Managing' and 'Making' Post

What a week.  I've been home for five days with two boys and an icky, sticky feverish illness that won't go away.  Now I have it too.  I'll spare the details but, boy, do I miss getting out and doing things.  It's been beautiful weather but even the shortest walk in the sunshine exhausts all of us.  The good news is that the boys have been sleeping through the nights.    The bad news is that other than that we are completely out of our routine.  It will be hard to re-enter the real world tomorrow.  (We didn't even go to church today.  I didn't think it was fair, people go there for inspiration, not Streptococcus.)

I used to love to stay home for days.  That was back when I was a knitter and not a nurse/waitress.  Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't trade places with anyone.  It's just that sometimes I look back wistfully at all that time on the couch watching two or three BBC mysteries in a row, knitting row after row of some gorgeous scarf or sweater.  I even made socks on size 2 needles!

I thought for sure I'd knit for my child.  It would be so much fun!  So rewarding!  He would look so cute!  Yeah, maybe but who has the time?  Between working full time, cooking, baths, laundry, bedtime stories, dishes.... 

I did knit both boys hats for their newborn heads.  I finished Liam's just before he grew too big to wear it.  Seriously.  I think I snapped one photo and then it was too small.  And that's it.  I haven't knit a single item for either of them since 2009.  (I did knit Henry a sweater when he was a baby--it was much too big.  He wore it when he was three.)  Since then, I've made a two or three baby afghans as gifts and enjoyed the process.  But sweaters for the boys?  Even the cute fire engine scarf that I designed on paper never came to be. 

Hope springs eternal and this season I've chosen to start a new project.  Two actually.  I'm knitting each of my sons a cabled vest to wear on Easter Sunday.  It seemed like a manageable deadline four weeks ago.   However, nightly exhaustion and now this illness caused a work stoppage.  I'm going to press on though.  I can do it if I put my mind (and fingers) to it.

This was made as a gift before I children--I can't believe I had this much free time!

One Christmas I made mittens for everyone on my list

Where's my sweater, Mom?

My latest completed craft project?  Dinosaur patches for the worn knees of Henry's pants.  It's a long way from designer scarves made with $50 skeins of yarn.

Most recently finished gift--much easier than cables!