It was really slow the first few days this week, so I had time to do this (among other things.)

2 skeins Malabrigo worsted
1 skein Fiesta Purl Drops 100% Silk
Pattern being written…
US13 Addi Turbos 32″

I finished this several weeks ago and just waited to weave the ends in. The whole reason I wanted to knit ms. marigold is because of the great ruffles on the sleeves, but when it was all said and done, I decided to leave them off.

Overall I liked the pattern. I know some people had trouble with it because there was no ending stitch count after the increases. That may be what my problem was or I may have not paid close enough attention the the measurements given.

Things I had to change: As you can see, I seamed up the ribbing at the bottom, it was just way too deep a V for me and there was no way I was going to rip back after it was all done to shorten the V. I also had to seam up around the arm holes before crocheting around the edge. I prefer to have a closer fit around my arm and I think this also gave more definition to the cap sleeve.

I probably picked up too many stitches around the neck/V but I achieved such a nice edge (after MUCH trying) that there was also no way I was going to rip back. That’s pretty much the theme of my knitting life these days, NO RIPPING!

STATS
Pattern: Ms. Marigold
Yarn: Cascade Pima Silk (next time I’d choose Pima Tencel)
Needles: Addi Turbo US5 (I think it was a 5)

Honor plus scissors equals:

yes, that is a handknit sock.

With me working full time while I get things running smoothly at the store, I’ve been experiencing all sorts of rotating emotions about not staying home with the kids. Mostly my emotions switch between enjoyment and guilt. I enjoy my time away from them. I enjoy being in a space that isn’t constantly being destroyed, a space that is quiet and peaceful. I enjoy the fact that I get to be anal about where things go, and those things actually stay where I left them.

But I also feel guilty. I feel guilty for leaving them, but I guess more than anything, I feel guilty because I enjoy not being a stay at home mom. I’ve always had such strong feelings about being a stay at home mom, that I look at myself now and know that four years ago, I would have judged my present self harshly. As I’ve eaten so many judgments thus far in my almost 25 years of living, I’ve come to view the verse in the bible, “Judge not lest you be judged.” differently. It’s more like, “Judge not lest you be judged by yourself.”

How many things have I stood up and loudly declared my opinion on, later to go the exact opposite direction? A lot. And I know that I’m going to do so on a lot more… How many people have I looked down my nose at, only to become that same person? And I wonder… will I remember this in the future? When there is someone just begging to be judged, will I be able to refrain? Or will I be eating my words once again?

In the meantime, I will hope that I am doing the right thing by my children. I know many people that would tell me that I am not, were I to ask them. And many people that would say that I’m finally not wasting my brain by staying home with them (gah!) but I guess, I’m the only one to decide that. And I wish that was something I realized four years ago when I was passing judgments on others for deciding/needing to work.

Things have been going really well at the yarn store. Even with it doing well, there still have been long stretches of time where it was slow. I don’t mind this because it gives me time to knit, work on the books or corral the children. (The kids did great on Friday, by the way, probably mostly because it was fairly slow until Jim picked them up at 3 and I was able to devote most of my attention to them.)

I’ve been surprised at what has sold the most… the one and only novelty yarn that I bought. It’s a nice novelty yarn (GGH Esprit), very fluffy and soft and I bought it to make baby blankets. I just find it’s sales funny because every yarn rep I’ve talked to has told me that Novelty is OUT. I guess it’s not THAT out.

A couple days after the lovely Malabrigo came in, I also got a shipment of some beautiful hand dyed yarn, very similar to Colinette’s Point Five. The colors are perfect and this will work perfect for the every popular two hour hat. Today Be Sweet should arrive and because the store is closed on Monday, I will be obsessively driving past the store from the hours of 10 and 4 to see if the UPS man left me a package.

Several people have been asking about the online store. It’s coming along… S L O W L Y. Jim is just so busy at work that I’m thinking of hiring someone else to build me a website! Although I’m not sure I can bring myself to pay someone else. In the meantime, I can do mail order if there is anything anyone wants.

Now, I’m going to go enjoy my day off by doing things like laundry, dishes and grocery shopping.

“I’m going to be good at the yarn store.”

“You are?”

“Yeah, I’m just going to be naughty at home.”

The kids are here with me today at the store. Wish me luck.

Well, we’re on day 3 of the yarn store and things are going fabulous! I’m having a wonderful time. Yesterday, I got a big shipment of Malabrigo in and, wowie, it is SO amazing. Seriously, I’m in LOVE. Like, I almost packed up the box and took it home to keep to myself, in love.

I don’t have a lot of time to write – the store opens in 5 minutes! I have to say, that while it wasn’t too terribly stressful or extra difficult, the month of July has been the LONGEST month of my life! But I am so pleased with what I accomplished.

Here is the store in all it’s glory, look here for the before pics. I’m still waiting on 3 shipments of yarn, some back orders, some more books and some patterns, but most everything is in.

(click any photo to see bigger)

Eden has been back since Wednesday and she and Honor have quickly fallen back into their usual routine of thoroughly enjoying misbehaving in each others company. Yesterday we were at Kmart picking up some chairs to go with my new table for the shop. (I had to buy chairs at Kmart because Target failed me!!! I’m so devastated that I can’t talk about it… oh, Target!) We were up front checking out when Eden climbed up on the side of the cart and pulled the whole thing, with a chair in it, down on top of her. Honor was in the cart and was not buckled because, of course, there was no buckle, so he took a tumble too.

The clerk came flying over the counter as I quickly grabbed the cart and the chair and threw them out of the way. The kids were very scared but escaped with some minor bumps and bruises. It took me several minutes to stop shaking! That was scary and could have been much worse. When we got back in the car, Eden and I had a good talk about why it’s important to obey your mom when she tells you not to do things like climb on the side of the cart.

The other day I was chatting with Elaine over google chat and she remarked to me, “Lily can do all the cool things that Eden could do when I was there [in October], like pee on the side of the road.”

Yep, that seems about right, the list of my children’s talents will most definitely include some sort of bodily fluid.