Can't Knit a Stitch

Apparently, when I'm under stress I go all mush-brained. I lose things (hello, Tennessee, seen my wallet yet?), I can't keep my house clean (at least that's the current excuse), my back goes out during high-exertion activities like "brushing teeth" and "putting a kid into a car seat" and today's feature "making my bed," and I'm so. Very. Tired. Funerals and dad in the hospital and husband job stress. . . just stuff. Yawn.

Another fun symptom is that when I pick up sticks and yarn and make those weird spell-casty gestures, I get even sleepier. Listening to my lovely spouse read aloud is probably the only thing that makes me more sleepy. Since I tried to knit, thank goodness my sister drove to the funeral in Los Angeles last weekend! Even with five under eight in the car, and "Branching Out" to work on, it was a sleepy trip for me. Yes, I can screw up lace billed as "The Easiest Lace You'll Ever Ever Attempt, And If You Can't Do This, You Are A Dork." Stress is not your friend.

The only fun thing I can do beyond the sketchiest parenting and work -- lots of work -- is spinning. So it's not the fiber itself that makes me sleepy, apparently, it's the needles. That's a theory.

I got a bunch of wool from the Sheep Shed Studio (like a crackhouse for cheap spinners) and put the children to work with some kool-aid drink mix.


I plan to spin it up and maybe knit them something like socks for Christmas. Stop laughing, those of you who know how I feel about sock knitting. This knitting "allergy" has to stop sometime. Besides, I actually love these children and have to do something for them.

And I've been doing some spinning, but not photographing it. I'm nearly done with one of the handpainted Corriedale bunches of roving from Lambtown. It's not the softest wool in the shed, but it's very soothing. Actually, spinning is remarkably soothing without the soporific "knitting needle effect." Thank goodness for small favors!

The Things continue to do. . . many things. This is fall in Northern California.
Thing 1 is working on "growing" as a hobby. It's breaking the bank to keep that child in shoes, cheese, and pants. Eating. Growing. Eating. Growing. Sleeping. And asking me for favors.

Since this one saved me approximately $30, I was happy to oblige:


Now she can wear them at least through one more growth spurt. We got enough to trim three pairs of jeans for her and one for Thing 2, who, while not growing as fast, hates to give up outgrown clothes. I miss sewing. Maybe someday, when my house is not spontaneously messing itself up and I'm not working all the time and making food and cleaning up food and not gardening or working the bees (thank you, windy/cloudy days that I can't get into the hive easily during!), I will actually set up that machine and make. . . something. At that point, probably I'll need something like a cozy for my missing memory because I'll be about 150.