Fun or funds?

I have many wants.

I want to finish crocheting Marcus' blanket.

I want to make more squares for my Sherlock Holmes blanket.

I want to finish up my mum's old jumper for her.

I want a purple/burgundy striped cardigan for winter.

These are fun projects and I'm in the right head space for them (finally), but they don't bring in the money.

I need to finish off these sleeves so I can pay some bills.

Trying to knit

I could knit, sure.

But Marcus is all squooshy on me, so no.

Sit still, avoid movement

Thanks to Dot having a meltdown over Kinder Surprise Eggs and a sprint to get to Marcus' school bus, I'm on the couch with a back that screams at movement.

Luckily there was crochet next to the couch. I'm determined to finish something this month and Marcus' blanket looks like the chosen sacrifice.

Aspirational knitting

There's a very small section of my brain that looks at something I'm doing, or thinking of doing and says "I don't think I can do that". This is the part of my brain labelled "Common Sense" (despite my family's belief, I do have some common sense). This very small section is generally overruled by a very large section of my brain that looks at something I'm doing, or thinking of doing and says "It can't be that hard". This is the part of my brain labelled "Andrea".

This has caused some consternation for everyone but me over the years (especially when I agreed to marry my co-worker 5 hours into our first date) but it's truly handy when it comes to knitting. A massive lace shawl? Can't be that hard, and it wasn't. Fair isle hot water bottle cover? Can't be that hard, and it was so easy I made a second. Knit a wedding bouquet? Can't be that hard, and it wasn't and the bride loved it.

There are some things to take into consideration, though.

Do I really want to spend a year knitting a wedding ring blanket to cover my entire bed? Probably not.

Am I ever going to wear a massive lace stole anywhere? I mean, when do I ever go out to anything? Again, probably not.

A Victorian lace blouse? Pffffft, probably not.

Instead I'm trying to make realistic choices for my life, and that can work sometimes (my Miette cardigan) and sometimes it really really doesn't.

Have you ever received a catalogue in the mail and briefly imagined yourself in the clothes? You could wear that dress to a party, those pants scream "work presentation" and those mega heels are perfect for lunch with the girls, right? Then you remember that you're an unemployed housewife and none of the above applies (except the mega heels. They're awesome all the time).

I bought three balls of 100% alpaca to make Marcus a jumper. I pictured him in it: dark blue with a contrasting light blue stripe around it; with his hair he'd be extra gorgeous. That was in July last year, and I was planning to start it next month. Then I started thinking about the appropriateness.

Marcus doesn't wear jumpers. I can bribe him into a vest, but not a jumper. Alpaca can be pretty darn itchy too. Marcus freaks out at clothing tags, so how would he do with alpaca against his arms?

I need to learn to knit for the children I have, not the ones I hoped I would have. I think Marcus is getting another vest.

In which Andrea cannot determine if the day is fair or foul

As the parent of two small children, I sometimes wonder if they have made a pact to see how far they can push me. One will start crying, so the second starts yelling. One will fall over and cry, so the second flops down and starts howling.

Foul

Dot will wait until I'm not in the room and put a toy hammer through a window.

Marcus will wait until the window is repaired and then brace against it with his teeny little backside (to shove the couch out) until the window comes out as the glue hadn't set. Five minutes after the lightning storm starts.

Fair

I finished the blanket for my customer.

Purpose with an end

I've been working a blanket for a customer for ages. I was beginning to doubt my speed levels, and then I did some counting.

There's 52 squares joined in three needle cast off, so first I pick up the stitches along one side, then the other side then cast them off together. So each stitch is worked three times, and there are at least 15 stitches per side, closer to 35 on the larger squares. That's a lot of stitches to knit. I felt somewhat better about my abilities.

Then I did another count and realised I've sewn in around 221 ends, and now I'm feeling much better.

Can you spare some time?

This week saw our little Polka Dot head off to an Intensive Early Intervention Program. Four and a half hours on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, with three hours on Wednesday. This leaves her mother with something she hasn't had since Marcus was born: spare time.

I know one of my older sisters is currently in gales of laughter due to my belief that I can get stuff done now, but nur.

One finished Sherlock blanket square. Checkmate.

I don't doubt that any "spare" time will evaporate, but for now, I'll enjoy it while I can.