Needle Haiku

stitching some stitches

sewing, knitting, crocheting

creating heirlooms

Inspired by the prompt at

Tweet

7 Things I Must Do Every Day

I am taking part in “The Write Tribe Festival of Words 1st to 7th September 2013". 

1)      Every day that happens to be a school day I have to get up at the butt crack of dawn and wake each of my children, one by one.  Now that my oldest is in junior high that means my alarm goes off at 5:30 in the morning.  Almost a month into the school year and I am sorry, 5:30 in the morning is entirely too early for anyone to be up looking about let alone rushing out in the dark chilly air.  I wonder if as the year unfolds if I am still as bleary eyed at 5:30 in say December as I am now.  Even the sun has the sense not to be up, so why must I?  I am not a morning person; I am more of a night owl.  My son is getting to be more of a challenge to wake.  He is also a night owl.  Where my daughter grudgingly bounces out of bed and gets on with it, my son stays in bed as long as he can.   I entice him out of bed with promises of cereal and a game of cards.  It works every time.  Lately we play a game I got recently called GUBS.  We love it!!  Being the protective mother hen I am, I walk each of them out to their bus stop.  I walk my oldest half way and wave from afar before heading home because staying longer makes me feel like a stalker in that large group of teenagers and is so NOT cool.  My son is a lot younger so it is still cool for me to stand at the bus stop with him and hug and kiss him goodbye in front of God, everyone, and our neighbors. 

2)      I wash dishes every single day.  You would think that there wouldn’t be such a mountain of dirty dishes when all I get done doing is washing dishes.  There always is.  I love to cook, so you have to pay the price around the waist line and at the sink.   

 3)       With two kids in the house and sometimes a husband that has been gone several weeks at a time accumulating dirty laundry in abundance for yours truly, I do laundry every single day without fail.  Into the washer, into the drier, then folding, and putting away.

4)      I let the dogs out and back in.   Who let the dogs out?  If my husband is home, we take turns.  He is obsessive about it.   I have 4 and believe me, it is a necessity.  Our oldest dog Puppy Love needs to go out every single time I sit down.  Then he looks at me in a pleading way and bounces up and down doing the doggie pee-pee dance.  Puppy Love is the potty barometer in our house.  If he goes out, they all go out.  I usually listen when he insists because one time I was sitting on the floor watching television and didn’t jump when he thought I should and that dog raised his leg and pissed on my back!

5)       I read every single day.  Whether it is other blogs or books, I am reading and loving every minute of it.

6)      I do something creative every day.  I write, I take pictures, I knit, I cook, and sometimes I crochet.  When I am in the mood, I draw or paint although those things don’t happen often anymore. 

7)      I cook every single day.  Even if I get a much appreciated break and get treated out for a meal, I still prepare the other meals.  Now that my daughter is older she is my partner in crime and helps a great deal.

What about you?  What do you do every single day?

Y is for Yarn!

    I have always been fascinated by yarn ever since I was little.  Even today I love to browse the yarn aisles in local stores in awe of all the colors, textures, and variegated patterns.  My mother used to knit and crochet proficiently.  I used to love to watch her work the needles and create afghans and clothes from a simple ball of yarn.



         When I was around 10 I made up my mind I wanted to learn to crochet.  I wanted more than anything to be like her.  It seemed she could do anything!  My mother bought me a book that I studied diligently entitled "How to Crochet", a crochet hook, and yarn and with practice I learned and became proficient.  Over the years I have made countless afghans, baby blankets, clothes, dish cloths, and pot holders.

          Finally I challenged myself a little more and taught myself to knit.  Unfortunately several years back while knitting an afghan carpal tunnel struck and the pain kept me from continuing.  Recently I bought a bunch of knitting 
looms and made up my mind to learn to knit with a loom.  So far I love my looms and have renewed my passion for yarn in a whole new way.  I am determined to learn how to knit socks with a sock loom.  Until then I will practice and transform balls of yarn into colorful panels of fabric which I will sew together to create warm, cozy blankets.

K is for Knitting Looms

     While I know how to knit using straight and circular needles, I had never used a knitting loom until recently.  Every time I went to Michaels I found myself pulled to the yarn section where all the knitting looms could be found as if by a gravitational force.  They intrigued me.  Still for the longest time I held back from buying any.  I had taught myself to knit several years back and knitted several projects before giving up when carpal tunnel flared.  My knitting projects were left unfinished and forgotten.  I brought out my crochet hooks and crocheted instead.

      The knitting looms continued to pull me andfinally I broke down and bought myself a set of round looms.  There were 4 different sizes in a set, a special tool, and instructions.  I bought some yarn and hurried home and went to work learning how to use my new purchase.  After I made my first hat, I decided I had to have one of the straight looms.  Away I went back to the store to buy one and then I started straight away to knit a panel.  So far the plan is to knit the panel till the ball of yarn is gone and then either change colors and keep going or start a new panel with a fresh color.  Eventually when I have many brightly colored panels I intend to sew or crochet them together to make a blanket.  At least that is the plan.

       It is weird.  For the longest time I went through a period in my life where I had no desire to test the waters of anything new.  I reveled

in my children and their successes.  For a while it was enough and then it wasn’t.  I needed more.  All of sudden I am embarking on new horizons, learning new things, exploring photography, and taking web design classes.  It makes me feel as if maybe life isn’t over after all even if I am almost 45.  Maybe there is more to life than wiping snot noses, butts, and cleaning up vomit!