I am
- I am a bad blogger. I understand this. I am trying to be better. I am also trying to come to grips with it — I don’t have to be fabulous at everything I do! If I can only manage one post a month, then that is okay. Disappointing . . . but okay.
- I am, as of Saturday, the mother of a four-year-old. This is astonishing to me. It does not seem truly possible that it has been four years since my boy came to join me. I am very, very hopeful that the four-year-old year will be easier for all of us than the three-year-old year was.
- I am once again struggling with depression and on antidepressants. Prozac and I made very good friends about eight years ago, and I thought I had truly beaten a lifelong battle with depression. As it turns out, I wasn’t completely done with that battle. It has been a very bad year, and with my inborn tendency toward a chemical imbalance in my brain, I was pulled under and now I’m just struggling to keep my head above water. I have been very, very withdrawn for months now, but with the help of this medication and I am working very hard to climb out of this hole. I’m not looking for sympathy, but offering an explanation for why I have been (and may continue to be) less than pleasant on this blog. Bear with me, and it should (should) get better.
- I am the proud owner of a completed pair of Hederas! I am so so proud of them, and so utterly thrilled to finally have a pair of handknit socks for myself. I finished them ages ago (during Socktober, yay for me!) but did not manage to blog about them until now.
- Pattern: Hedera from Knitty
- Yarn: Fortissima Socka, 75% superwash wool/25% Polyamide
- Needles: US size 2
- Notes: I did not knit the heel as written in the pattern; I tried it twice and could not get it to look decent. It was much longer on one side than the other, and just not working out for me. I substituted a plain knit heel and am very happy with that modificaiton. I love, love, love the fit of these. They’re perfect. I did make an error in the lace pattern, but I repeated it in the second sock so that it looks more like a “feature.” It is a small error and it does not bother me at all. I am very, very, very happy with these socks. Yay for me!
- I am not sure I like the way my very first ever toe-up sock fits me. I finished it a little late for Socktoberfest, but I did accomplish my Socktoberfest goal — to experiment with a new way of making socks. Toe ups, short row toes and heels, picot bind off — definitely all new stuff! But — I just don’t know that I like it. They are simple, plain stockinette socks in a very pretty comfortable yarn — but the fit is just . . . . off. I’m just not sure that the short row heel works for me. It’s a cute sock (though there’s terrible laddering — what is that all about??) and I love the colors — but the truth is I’m not sure I’m going to make the second sock. I may rip this one out and try something different. For right now, I am reserving judgement. Toe up was fun, but I think from here on out I’ll probably be sticking with the top down, heel flap construction. (My apologies for the following photos. Yucky weather leads to indoor crappy flash photos, but I didn’t want to wait any longer to blog about these!)
- I am working on Mother’s bag again! Still achingly slow progress, but I am feeling less like a terrible daughter. When she was here for Nate’s birthday party, she noticed her purse in my knitting bag and got very excited. “Am I go to have my candy cane bag for Christmas?” Well, Mama, I’m going to try! If I can just buckle down and do this, it shouldn’t take THAT much longer to finish. I have about 4 inches of length left to go. That doesn’t sound like much, but WOW this is going so slowly, and so boringly. I’ll have more photos when there’s progress worth showing!
- I am playing single mother this week. My husband is traveling for work, to North Dakota. I’m such a horrible wife that I am getting a great deal of amusement out of this fact — and I’m SO very glad that I’m not him. He’s experiencing real winter, and our high today will be in the 70s. Much better him than me. My son is now paging me to come watch a movie with him, so I’m going to go work on that Mom thing. I hope I’m back with more to say before long. Y’all have a good week.
Click here to see how my four-year-old wanted to help with the photo shoot!
I’m proud of the fact that I’m ghostly white; I’m trying hard to avoid skin cancer! 
The Hederas are gorgeous!
Comment by Amanda — November 7, 2006 @ 4:13 pm
Nate’s birthday is the 11th? So is my grandma’s! Well, was. She’d've been 98 this year.
The Hedera’s look great! So do the “simple” socks. I’ve laddered a pair (or two) something horrible too.
Sorry to hear about your fight with depression. Blog when you can! Remember, it’s a privilege for us to hear from you, not a right.
Comment by Carrie K — November 10, 2006 @ 6:20 pm
Okay, privileges requested. How was the single motherhood? Did the DH survive his ND trip? Ready for Christmas? Is Nate the cutest boy ever?
Comment by Carrie K — December 8, 2006 @ 1:04 pm