Hexagons and Instagram

So.....I recently bought an iPad Mini.  For a software engineer, I'm kind of a Luddite.  But, the last time I went to India for work, my daughter lent me her iPod.  Wi-Fi was pretty available, at least in the hotel, and it was really nice to be able to facetime with home.  And I've been kind of borrowing my husband's iPad a lot.  And with two kids, it's nice to have two devices to hand out on car trips.

So, anyway.  I joined Instagram.  One of the neat things has been seeing what's out there in the world.  I've been seeing someone make paper pieced hexagons.  I don't know what she's making with them, but they're great.  (hopefully this embed works.)

Loving this Heather Ross and C+S mashup tonight! 💖 #themassivehexieproject

A photo posted by Kate Basti (@katebasti) on Jul 18, 2015 at 5:48pm PDT

So, I looked up how to do it.   Template and tutorial are here.    Here's what I've made so far:


And here's what's next in line.


Apparently, this is a process project.  I'm not sure what they're going to be.  I've been craving some not-knitting handwork and this is fun so far.  When it gets tedious, I'll sew them together into something.

I'm going to try not to buy fabric for this, but I've kind of been thinking about these w.r.t. grayscale or low volume fabrics.  Or a riot of colors.  We'll see.

My favorite mug

When I got back from India, I posted the following on Facebook:

Nice to be back home again on a Saturday morning. Up early making cupcakes with Ellie, drinking coffee that my husband made, in a cup my mom threw.

This is the cup.


My mom made it in 2007.  She's been doing pottery since I was little (and I am currently in my early to mid 40s).  There's a lot going for this cup other than the fact my mom made it:  it is nicely made, a pretty color and holds a perfect amount of coffee (although some weekend mornings I need 2 cups.)

It's nice to use something that my mom made - it feels connected to her.  And I like that it' is used in everyday life.  This is not something you take out only when it's Thanksgiving.  This is something I try to use (if it's clean) on any day I don't need to use a travel mug.  It may not have been made specifically to be an heirloom, but might end up as one if I don't break it by accident before then.  Actually, maybe I should ask her to make another one just like it so no one has to fight over this one.

My parents are both make things and it is neat to live in a makers' house.  They made things like coffee cups and curtains, desks and shelves.  In almost every room, you can look and see something they figured out and put together.  I remember noticing it one day when I was in high school or college and thinking it was neat.  I brought it with me - I like that you can look around my house and see things that I made and we are using.  You can look around my house and even see things that my mom and dad made and that my grandfather made (I may be stereotyping, but aircraft mechanics are not stingy with the fasteners.  I will show you sometime.)

One of the examples that makers-as-parents set is that trying stuff is good.  They can also set the example that coming up with a plan before you start is good too.  There's a time and a place for each - it depends on if it is important to end up with a certain thing when you're done.   Oh and other lessons:  there are times when neatness counts, sometimes it doesn't matter if you're doing something wrong as long as you stick to being consistently wrong in the same way.

Then there's the practicing the craft.  All through my childhood there would be one or two nights a week for like an 8 or 12 or 16 week session where she would be at pottery or upholstery or something.  I think she started taking pottery with some of her friends at a high school's community education program - probably on a lark.   She stayed with it.  She's studied at a few different studios.  Due to family situations and scheduling, she was on hiatus for a while.  But, she is back to taking pottery again and she enjoys it.  This is great to see.

Fire Starters

I got to make some stuff with my mom over the break -- we made fire starters for an upcoming older girl camp out.

Here's the result:

Here's what one looks like before testing it.

It is:

• Take a toilet paper tube, cut in half, then cut fringes into it.   Press the fringes back to make it look like a flower.
• Crumple up a 1/4 sheet of newspaper (we stayed away from the glossier circulars and stuck with newsprint-y ads.)
• Melt a block of parrafin wax in a double boiler (that is OK to not use again!).  We used a stainless steel bowl over a regular pot.  
• The foil trays were lined with newspaper and the tubes with newspaper were arranged loosely on the paper.  
• Once the parrafin was starting to melt, I used a plastic serving spoon that I don't feel strongly about to ladle the melted wax into/onto the newspaper, getting it pretty thoroughly, but leaving the fringes cardboard. 
• I set the trays outside to cool/dry and then cut apart the starters that were stuck to the newspaper - the wax runs through somewhat.  
• Once you're done with the project, either let the leftover wax cool where it is, if the pan is now dedicated to parafin OR move the leftover wax someplace like a foil pie pan so you can reheat it from there.  

Here's the collection.  The large one is the bottom of a half-and-half carton.  Mom says they used to use the orange juice cartons from our elementary school to make these.



When I tested it, I got a pretty hot and tall flame and it burned for 12 minutes.

Ingredients:
foil pan or cardboard/newspaper lined old cookie sheet
old newspapers
TP tubes, small milk cartons, small paper cups, etc.
double boiler that is OK to not use for cooking anymore
ladle that is OK to not use for cooking anymore
parrafin wax
someplace to put leftover parrafin wax.  We used a foil pie pan.

More ideas for Girl Scout awards

I posted my first set of ideas here.  3 years ago!  Wow!  So, since then, I've also found the flickr account for our cookie bakery here.  They have some cliparty things (hearts, stars, flowers, peace signs, etc.) that work well if you download, print a bunch on card stock, cut out loosely around the shapes, add some accent coloring and then basically attach them to ribbon and then add the awards to the ribbon.

Last spring, at the bridging ceremony, the girls seemed like they were getting kind of old to be having stuff pinned to their shirts.  But, still have the old problem of making it in to a ceremony/big deal and not having the girls lose their awards before they got home.  We were doing awards again - the bridging awards that were back-ordered, the early bird registration patches and their bronze awards.

Here's what I did:

Ingredients:

• large card stock stars (they also had a few other shapes)
• washi tape
• long lollypop sticks
• ribbon
• awards
• stapler with staples
• 1 bottle/vase

directions:
Use the washi tape to tape the stick to the back of the paper shape.  Write the reciever's name on the back and any notations.  The star means "bronze award".  Staple the awards to the front.  Tie ribbons in contrast colors to the stick.  Put the award wands into the bottle or vase while they are waiting to be awarded.  

the other thing I'm knitting

I thought (because I am completely delusional sometimes) that I would knit Nori from Knitty.  I might have gotten through one repeat when I realized that (a) it is very challenging and (b) the yarn was so dark that it was hard to read the stitches in the best of times.

So, I did the sensible thing and started something new with the same yarn.  Terribly Simple really is super simple.

The rows are really pretty long at this point, and it's become a bit of a slog.  But I like it again (we were on a break while I knit most of my sweater.)  This photo captures the color best of the ones that I took.  My older daughter and I were goofing around with my point and shoot camera and I found some menu choices I didn't know it had (It has filters built in!)

La took this photo - I think it turned out really neat.

Live, 10 things from India

I'm on travel this week in India.  Here are some notes that haven't made it in to my own personal FB updates.

1.  I say everyone's name just a little bit wrong.  I mention someone in conversation and I see my co-worker repeat what I said in their head and then say it out loud correctly.

2.  I'm not as good of a traveler/adapter as my kids are.  If they were here, I'd be adjusted to the 9 1/2 hour time change already.  I'm sure of it.

3.  The thing that I'm so glad I brought is my iPod.  It feels so good to have "my music" with me.

4.  The U2 album All that You Can't Leave Behind really stands the test of time, in my opinion.

5.  I'm thankful now that my mom was never afraid to talk to strangers, even though I was so mortified when she did it.  I flew out by myself and knowing that I could probably ask a question and get some help has been so helpful.

6.  In trying to stay in touch with my family at home, it gives me a greater understanding of what my work peeps go through to stay in sync with the rest of the team that is located in the US.  I'm really impressed.

7.  I totally sent pictures of the hotel bathroom to "my architect".

8.  Reading Hiaasen while on travel (if you're from Florida) can make you a little more homesick, even if the book is excellent.

9.  I'm trying to digest a lot of stuff while I'm here - the "haves and the have nots" are on a scale I'm not used to seeing.

10.  The ingenuity and make-do/can do/why not attitudes I'm seeing are something to behold, especially coupled with not waiting for permission, your turn, someone to let you in, etc.  

A little local color

Last summer I noticed that someone planted sunflowers in front of their fence on the way to a main road in my neighborhood.  Every time I drove by, I tried to remember when to look to check on them. 


In the last few months I was delighted to see that they were back!  It didn't take long for them to be super tall and blooming.  I made time this week to take a few pictures of them. 


 





The flowers are probably at their peak or maybe a little past it, but there are a few still in work.








I hope they plant the sunflowers again next summer. 

First Fridays at FAVO - something fun to do in Orlando

FAVO stands for Faith Arts Village Orlando.  Here is their pithy description from their facebook page:

Faith Arts Village Orlando is a ministry of Park Lake Presbyterian Church that provides a place where the faith community and local artists can work together to share their gifts of inspiration, beauty, and spiritual expression to promote peace, understanding, and well-being in the larger community.

It takes place in a former hotel/motel in a really pretty area of downtown Orlando.  There are artists who rent studio space full time and there are artists who use their social network to borrow space and show their work occasionally.  On the first Friday of every month, from 5-9, they have food trucks and an open house/open gallery.  Our family has been once before, when our family friend Lisa was showing her work.  I think it was almost a year ago, but it has been on our calendar ever since and we finally got to go back this month.

 
They have food trucks and tables set up, so we got dinner there.  We ran into Lisa again this time.  One of our friends met up with us and he ran into people he knew there too.  I really like that stuff - running into people we know.

There is a kid craft table.  El started this right after dinner and we nudged her along to go look at art and then she came back to work on it later.  There were not quite enough bags for the number of kids. It is an unhosted project that is on the honor system.


It was around this time that I moved my car to street parking - I had parked in a nearby business' lot, and even though there weren't any sternly worded signs, I moved my car closer to my husband's.  On the way in from moving my car, I saw these.  I think there was a silent auction for these huge pieces - they are each approximately dining room table sized, or larger.



This is the one I wanted to take home with me.  It reminds me of a quilt.  And also of coloring on graph paper.  It is by Michael Braaksma.



Finally we looked at all of the studio shows.  El, the 6 year old is a hilarious art shopper.  Thankfully she collected a lot of business cards in her bag.  She loved the pieces at Uncommon Love, but she ended up buying a bracelet for herself from another studio as her thing to get.  La bought a print from a video game drawing from Parker Sketch.  We also got a birthday present for my sister and a father's day gift for Mike there.  I found notecards for my mom that reminded me of the Florida Highwaymen style that she likes a lot.

We tend to approach the shopping here like we do at the parks - who wants to carry a bunch of stuff around all day.  This strategy failed me - I found prints that I would like for my office.  We went back to their studio and they were gone for the evening.  I know we have the card somewhere, but I can't find it right now.  There are so many different styles of art and mediums and personalities there, that it is easy to find something that speaks to you.


Here's the view from the dining area at the start of the evening....


And at the end.....

Whoopie Pies! (the recipe)

The thing that I would always bring to school for class parties was Whoopie Pies.  When my third grade class made a recipe book, what did I contribute?  Whoopie pies.  (I left out the 4 c. of flour).  For my birthday, I decided to make whoopie pies for the cake.

I have the recipe saved in a text file on my computer.  The time stamp is 12/31/1992.  I graduated from college in 1994.  I wrote "an app" (except for then it was called "a program" because it ran in DOS.)  for recipes - I don't remember why, I think I just wanted one and to see if I could do it.  I had a menu system and categories and the recipes were all saved out in text files where the first letter of the file name matched the letter of the category.  It was pretty awesome.

The recipe itself is pretty terse, and if you didn't grow up cooking your grandmother's recipes, there are some challenges.  Here it is in modern form, for future reference.  

Whoopie Pies (the recipe my mom uses)

1 c. vegetable shortening or margarine
2 c. sugar
2 eggs & 2 yolks
1 c. sour milk (1 tbsp lemon juice or vinegar and milk to make 1 cup)
1 c. hot water
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
4 c. flour
1 c. cocoa
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla

Combine dry ingredients on a piece of waxed paper or in a mixing bowl - baking soda, baking powder, flour, cocoa, salt.  Cream together the shortening/margarine, sugar and eggs.  Add the milk and water, stir to combine.  Then gradually mix in the dry ingredients.  Once they are combined, add the vanilla.
Drop by teaspoon on greased cookie sheet.  Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.

Filling

2 egg whites (do not beat) (you can use powdered egg whites, following directions on the label)
1 tsp vanilla
4 tsp flour
2 tbsp confectioner's sugar
2 tbsp milk
1/2 c. shortening
1/2 c. margarine

Now beat; then add 1 (1 lb) box of confectioner's sugar.  Spread
on bottom of cookie and place bottom of another on top.

makes 40-50 pies

On the list...

Five things on the list in no particular order:

1. Making pickled Brussels Sprouts.  Source:  Coconut & Lime.
2. Try using mylar coffee bags instead of chip bags in baby toys.  Source:  Sew Mama Sew.
3. Use up some of the old bread in the fridge by making a strata for dinner this week.  Source:  Allrecipes.
4. Also need to make some more oatmeal muffins.  Source:  Quaker.  Last time, I used a whole egg instead of just the white (what do you do with the yolk?), left off the topping, and added a chopped apple.  Next time:  I'll use blueberries and less cinnamon.
5. Making a quick dump cake/cobbler.  In a 9x9 pan add in a mix of good fruit (I used apples and blackberries), toss in a little flour, cover with a box of Jiffy cake mix and dots of 1/2 a stick of butter.  Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.  

10 on Tuesday: Ten things that make me feel like a grownup.

This is kind of a strange topic.  There are the "ever" kinds of things - milestones that only happen rarely, but you are definitely a grownup (or the moment comes with big responsibilities whether you are a grownup or not) when it happens.  Then there are the day-to-day kinds of things - they happen enough that you kind of get used to them, but still, when you stop and think about it, they are the things grown ups do.  Here's what I've got.  Not surprisingly, a lot of it is money related.  The other half seems to be parental.

1. Financial stuff that has long term consequences:  paying taxes every year, 
2. Closing (or refinancing) on the house.  
3. Filling out the US Census forms.  
4. Doing open enrollment for work - picking out the various benefit levels and making sure the choices make mathematical sense (is the $500 in additional orthodontic benefit more or less than the delta for the year in dental premiums?)  
5. Parent/teacher conferences.  Childbirth classes were in this category too.
6. Making Halloween costumes for my kids.  And teaching them how to make their own.
7. Making schooling decisions:  touring daycares, touring magnet schools, helping register for college classes for the first time.
8. Healthcare decisions for kids - taking them to get shots and well child checkups, taking care of them when they are sick, and dealing with household accidents and injuries.
9. Being too tired the next day when I stay up late the night before.
10. Most of the time, the reason I'm not sleeping is not because I'm up doing my own homework or out having fun, but because I'm up helping a kid - either a sick kid or one with a homework project.

Stuff I haven't told you about yet.

So.  This semester has been a whirlwind.  Here's a digest of some stuff I've been up to.

1.  I made a dress for a birthday present.  It's the Popover Sundress from the Oliver+S blog.  Easy, fun, nice dress.


2.  I unsewed the shoulders of a Junior vest for a leader-friend so she could put it in a shadow box for her daughter.  I haven't given it to her yet, so I don't want to show the picture.  I also reinforced some of the badges that were threatening to fall off.  This will get a blog post one day.

3.  I did a service project with my Girl Scout troop.  As a thank-you gesture to the church where we've met since kindergarten, we planted some flowers in the courtyard.  The girls really wanted to do a project that involved painting.  I'm glad we did planting, not painting.


4.  The girls played a lot of soccer and we watched a lot of soccer.  We got to go see the US Women's National Team play against Brazil.  My daughter the goal keeper got a lot of photos of Hope Solo playing the game.


5.  I knit a set of 6 hats with teddy bear ears.  Once you start, it's hard to stop.  Except for hats #5 and 6.  Those are hard to keep knitting. 


6.  My aunt asked me about fixing a sweater that my grandma is wearing a lot.  My great aunt knit it for my grandfather (her brother).  It's acrylic and made of steel.  Except a few wear spots.  I've got it so that the ribbing on the bottom is back to where it is all good and now need to do the actual repair.  Also something that will get its own blog post one day.


7.  Oh, yeah.  And I started taking apart this quilt top.  down to the individual block level.  It's just not right.


That's it for now.  I think there's a knitting project that I haven't mentioned yet.  One day. 

Ten on Tuesday, except for it's Wednesday. 10 things on a day off

So, the prompt was 10 things I love to do when I get an unexpected day off.

Well.  Yesterday I took PTO.  My only obligations were an appointment at 9 and one at 6.

Here's what I did once I got home from the morning appointment.  It turns out, my life is not glamorous.

1.  Put dinner in the crockpot.  La says this is one of the 10 meals she wants to know how to make:  Slow Cooker Pulled Pork.

2.  Figure out some Girl Scout stuff.  We're in the middle of the fall product fundraiser (nuts, candy and magazines), and I had some swaps to prep and get the deposits ready from the booth.

3.  Stopped at the yarn store.  I only needed a longer size 4 circular needle, but I also got 3 skeins of yarn and a bottle of Soak.  I don't know how that happens.

4.  Had lunch with my husband.  He sketched out a proposed addition on to the house on the place mat.



5.  Went to the bank to deposit one troop's booth money.  Made arrangements to the other troop's money to someone on their bank account.

6.  Dropped off my overdue library book.

7.  Got a hair cut.

8.  Stopped by the house real fast to check email and put stuff away.

9.  Picked the girls up early from Extended Day.

10.  Hang out around the house until it is time for everyone to go to their next thing.

10 on Tuesday: Ten foods that you eat regularly now that were exotic or unheard of when I was a kid

As I mix granola into my Greek yogurt.....

First, let me say that I watched the Jamie Oliver TED talk this morning and now one of my goals is to make sure the girls each have 10 meals that they can make for themselves before they finish high school.  Also, to keep trying to introduce new vegetables because you never know which ones they will like.  And finally, I was ever so thankful that I decided to pack my lunch today.

Also, the things that I eat now that I had never heard of when I was a kid - thinking about why I had never heard of them or eaten before.  Globalization and the inter-webs?  Being a picky eater?  Living in a small town (seriously - we had 2 stoplights until after I finished college)?  Being a kid?

1.  The Greek Yogurt phenomenon.  Where did that come from?  We've had yogurt in the supermarket a long time.  How did Greek yogurt turn into such a major thing?  I'm not offended by it, just amazed.

2.  Summer/Garden rolls.  Delicious.  We made these at Girl Scouts a few weeks ago.

3.  Caesar Salad.  I still do not completely understand salad that is all lettuce.

4.  Iced coffee.  I had heard of it through someone at church (a retiree).  I didn't understand it - this whole putting milk in an iced drink concept sounded just wrong.

5.  Cuban sandwiches (It seems so limiting to have it be set to  pork, ham, Swiss, pickles, mustard)

6.  Hummus.  Now they sell it in the deli part of the grocery store and it is one of the "vegetables" that La will eat.

7.  Chicken pot pie.  Might have had this at like Morrison's Cafeteria or similar, but probably not.

8.  Gyoza.  We usually order dumplings to make sure the girls will get some food in their belly.

9. Applesauce cake.  My mom made oatmeal cake pretty regularly.  Applesauce cake is similar, but without the fabulous frosting.

10.   Chex Muddy Buddy.  My kids told me about this.  Now it is a semi-regular thing to have either for school snacks or to bring to Thanksgiving.

Airplane (and conference) knitting

I just got back from Minneapolis - the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing, put on by the Anita Borg Institute.  It's a really neat conference - the part that I like best (but also find the most exhausting) is meeting talented women in the industry.  I met a bunch of PhD candidates, some undergrads, and some professional women in the industry.  Not all were software developers, the audience has expanded to just about all women working in the computer industry - from hardware to marketing.  If you have a chance to go sometime, you should go.  Aside from the content of the trip itself, one of the fringe benefits is airplane knitting (and conference knitting).

I finished these construction paper socks just before I left and wore them on the plane.  I'm so pleased that the stripes match pretty well.


This was my non-kindle airplane knitting.  I got through the page of instructions I was on, but there are still a few more to go.  I'm at a point in the knitting where it seems not surprising what the next row is, but I wouldn't be able to tell you what the next row is.


During the conference itself, I got these green socks mostly finished and wrapped them up once I got home.  I still feel like the only thing they have going for them is that they are functional as socks.

Cheap Thrills

Things have been crazy.  Girl Scouts.  School.  Kindergarten.  5th grade.  Soccer.  Teenagers.  The usual.

Yesterday I had a moment of goodness that I wanted to share.  Here's the caveat:  at the same time that I'm so delighted that I have to share it, I don't want to sound bragalicious.  There is plenty of "this is not my best work" that I could be talking about instead.

1.  La got the 2nd highest grade on a science test out of the two classrooms that team-teach together (and the highest out of her "homeroom") and sent it in to work with me to hang up.  As I was hanging it up on my cabinet at work, I realized that my office is a great place to be hanging up good science scores.  They'll really appreciate that here.



2.  As El has been working hard to adjust to kindergarten, we've been writing little sticky notes/pictures to put in her lunch.  Yesterday, she wrote a note for my lunch.



Today, this is why I'm glad I didn't eat my young.

Ten Things I like about Girl Scouts.

Our elementary school recruiting night is tomorrow.  I wrote this for last year's recruiting night.  It's still true, but with more examples.

10 things I like about Girl Scouts.

10. Lifelong friendships.  I'm playing words with friends with two girls from my Brownie troop.  We were in 2nd and third grade in the late 70s.  I'm facebook-friends with a lot of girls from my troop and some of the moms.

9.  Learning new things.  Through girl scouts (as a youth), we went camping, toured a sugar factory, learned how computer punch cards work, learned about orienteering and knife safety.

8.  Doing service.  I didn't think much of it as a kid - we spent a lot of time making Christmas ornaments to give to Meals on Wheels, which was fun to do.  I'd like to think that it brightened someone's day.  I really enjoy the service projects that our troop does, probably as much as they do.

7.  Sharing my knowledge.  In my troop, some of the badges are ones that I want to do, some are ones that the girls want to do.  I usually pick the math ones.  They enjoy them until they realize they are working on a math badge.

6.  Seeing the girls grow.  They have really changed a lot since kindergarten.  They are starting 4th grade and they are not little anymore.  It's really just amazing to see.

5.  Seeing the girls enjoy themselves.  One of the highlights last year was a trip to a pottery studio.  When Tracy demonstrated throwing a pot, you could hear a pin drop.  They were so absorbed in their own projects that no one noticed that we skipped snack.

4.  Seeing the girls learn.  Every year we've done some age appropriate service project.  It was the most recent one, where we took one meeting and cleaned up around a lake that the girls realized that service projects are pretty fun when we're all working together.

3.  Seeing the girls solve problems.  They work through things like, "If I had $30 to buy healthy food from this Publix ad, what would I buy?"  As well as working out who gets to use the green sparkly gel pen first.  Rock Paper Scissors, flipping a coin or other neutral conflict resolution techniques are an important life skill.

2.  Seeing the girls friendships develop.  They don't always see eye to eye on things and that's OK.  But they are always fair and respectful to each other.  They hang out together when they're not in Girl Scouts.  My daughter and two or three of her friends from Daisys would always go to breakfast together, sometimes unbeknownst to the other girls' mom.  They are still hanging out before school together - at running club or chorus or breakfast.

1.  Seeing the girls just be girls.  Girl Scouts is one of the few places that you are just you.  You are not bound by how well you are doing in school, how athletic you are, your socio economic situation, or your parents situation.  You are just you, on equal footing with everyone else at the meeting.

Duct Tape: Light Side. Dark Side. Universe Together.

Some of us have been crafting with Duct Tape recently.

Inspired by Pinterest (I can't find the pin.  Sorry.), El and I made some pens for her daycare - They have a dish for pens by the sign-in book and traditionally, they have had those pens with silk flowers attached with green floral tape.  They change seasonally or when the pens wear out.  Once I got used to them being there, they were good because they didn't seem to walk away as much as plain pens.  El and I cut little rectangles (2 1/2" long?) of duct tape, wrapped them around the end of a regular ball point pen (to make a flag) and then cut "designs" into the edge.  El cut an E into one and made other designs, I went with either fringes or a triangle indent.  Frankly, duct tape is an unforgiving craft medium, even on a project as small in scale as this.




La watched some YouTube videos of how to make duct tape wallets recently, so she borrowed my husband's exacto knife and my rotary mat and went to town.  She learned how to use the grid on the mat to measure the tape.  She got to the point where she was pretty much doing the project on her own and then had an epiphany on if she did this and this and this and then this happened.... She asked me if she could do it (it's her project.  Why did she ask me?)  My advice was:  What's the worst that can happen?  It doesn't work and you have to start over?  If you're OK with that, then yes.  This is a true thing for pretty much any kind of crafting - if you're OK with it getting bunged up and having to start over, then go for it.

I have no idea if her idea held up or if she had to evolve it a little.  She went to town making wallets for herself, our neighbor, a friend who is also summering at daycare and one of the teachers there.

Ten on Tuesday: 10 reasons why I knit

1.  To give me something to do while I'm waiting for a kid.  I spend a lot of time at soccer practice, games, for our turn at the pediatrician or counselor.

2.  To give me something to do during a meeting.  My snarky answer for why I knit during meetings is, "So I have something to show for my time."  Otherwise I'll be doodling or thinking or something.  Stockinette socks are good for this.

3.  As an exercise to figure out how to do something.  I like the puzzle of how to get the thing in my head into a thing I can use.  Sometimes it doesn't work.  This is not usually portable knitting.  But it is something I will work on at home while watching TV.

4.  While I am keeping someone company.  The youngest is at an age when she still needs a lot of company.  One thing that I found while watching the Cold Spagetti Western a lot with my older daughter is knitting helps me put up with the repetition of watching the same show over and over.

5.  Because we need something specific.  Like a sweater for a little kid.  Or a hat for a bald baby.  I think I am a process knitter - I knit things for the exersize of knitting it and am not driven by needing the end result.  So, unless the pattern I picked fits in one of the above categories (e.g. it is interesting or it is  boring and small), it doesn't get finished quickly. 

6. To feel like I'm doing something helpful.  It's hard to volunteer my time at a place without finding baby sitting or time off from work.  But I have time to knit a square or a hat or a pair of mittens.  Hopefully they will be used, but I've gotten to the point where it's OK with me if they don't.

7.  For a new baby.  I like to knit at least a little hat for a new baby.  They don't take too long and the cotton/elastic blend is useful and wearable here in Florida.  If I have the time, a sweater or blanket is nice to make too.

Maybe I only have 7.  shrug.

10 things I know to be true.

1A lot of days, I wake up before my alarm clock.


2A few minutes later, my younger daughter usually wakes up and either calls me or hops into bed with me.

3I used to be upset about missing that last 5 or 10 minutes of sleep.

4Now, I look at it as a quiet I get to have before the day really starts.

5She will probably always wake up a little before her alarm clock, too.

6But she won't always be calling for me or hopping into my bed in the morning. This is a limited time offer.

7In fact, it probably won't last that much longer. Once she learns how to use the remote herself.

8Even though the kids are 5, 10, and 19, the days are long and the weeks, months, and years are fast.

9If scientists could bottle that phenomenon they'd make some real money.

10This is kind of a weird thing to have on my blog. But you know whatever.   Inspired by this (Sarah Kay - TED talk.)