Onward

Remember when I said I’d be back?

Months ago?

It feels like eons.

I feel like these last 5 months have moved at light-speed and at a snail’s pace. I look up and weeks have flown by. Then I get back to my classroom on a Tuesday at 11:53 and my day has moved maybe a centimeter.

I spent time this weekend standing by one of my best friend’s while she married her new best friend. That’s the way it is supposed to go. This is the second time in the last 4 months that this has happened. Once to a friend in November, and now only a short 72 hours ago to another. My group of friends from college (6 of us), the ones you can drop off and pick up with in an instant, are moving through this transition. I started the ball rolling in 2013 when my husband and I made it official…another friend the following year, then a break…these next three are all happening in less than a year’s time.

With each one I’m so excited and happy that they are starting the next chapter of their lives with the people who are now their biggest support and best friend. But I’m also a little sad that our group is changing…my  marriage didn’t seem like such a big change…my husband had been around since 6 months after I met these girls…it just feels like the end of an era.

But for the best. I know we all have to grow up. And it may be the best thing in the entire world to see the people you love the most the happiest they’ve ever been…at least since I’ve known them.

Being around them reminds me of what friendship is supposed to feel like. It also reminds me of how rare it is to find these types of friends in life…I’m also faced with the challenge of trying to cultivate friendships with new people…people who are geographically close to me…so I don’t become a hermit who lives their life on the phone or through tests or the internet…but with real people. In real life. At real coffee dates or knitting dates or volleyball games or on patios or at secret family dinners…

Just thoughts. Maybe being 30 has lead to some insights and good changes beyond feeling like my body is aging and my clock is ticking and time is just marching on. Where does it leave me? How do I keep time?

How do I make the most of my time here?

Sounds like a new challenge and a new thing to focus on…besides all the amazing people I need to befriend and the new people that I need to let in…stop holding at an arms length for fear of being hurt or being found out or disappointing…hoping that when they do know me they are happy they know me, and I them. These moments of being vulnerable and wanting to connect. Not letting them pass me by but taking advantage and trying my best.

Woah! Sappy and cliche.

Maybe tomorrow I can share some knitting…I won’t ask you to hold your breath but maybe you should just go to instagram… @hardknitlife

Crazy Sock Knitting

Since it’s Wednesday, I thought I’d share one of the things I’ve been diligently stitching on every day, my Squishy Socks. I’m using the Schachenmayr Regia Adventure Color 6 ply on some US 2 (3.00mm) Addi Sock Rockets. I’m working off of the Paton’s Basic Sock pattern from a booklet I bought a few years ago (loving my library). If you think back to maybe a few posts ago, they looked like this:

They may have even looked a little longer. I posted some of their progress over on Instagram (@hardknitlife) and I really love how they are coming along and I love that I was working them two-at-a-time style.

Confession: While I have worked 4 of my 6 completed socks two-at-a-time, I have never done so ON THE SAME NEEDLES! Previously I have used either two sets of double-pointed needles or two sets of two circular needles.

Well this time, I braved sticking them on the same two circulars and everything was buzzing along just fine. I knit the leg. I knit the heel flap.

 

I “turned” the heel. I even picked up my gusset stitches. Here is where the tricky part began. I fiddled a bit with the craziness of all those stitches on the two circulars, but I just couldn’t figure out how I was going to actually KNIT! So I wandered over to my bag-o-needles and pulled out some double points. Luck must have really been on my side because I found two sets!!

Doing what any sensible knitter would do, I used them both and transferred each sock to it’s new needle home. I started knitting on the left one (using bamboo needles) and thought that they felt a little smaller than my Sock Rockets. I picked up the right sock (using metal needles) and thought the same thing. So I pulled out the packaging of all three and noticed while each set of needle is labeled as a US 2, the Sock Rockets are 3.00mm while both sets of my DPNs are 2.75mm.

Oh well. I guess that will make for a nice firm fabric in the heel!

You may find yourself wondering where all those other planned WIPs are. Don’t worry, they are still floating around in their little bags, just waiting to be worked on. I have just been feeling the sock mojo lately and I was amused by my adventures using double points. Aren’t they just lovely?

A contributing factor to wanting to work on socks? Knitting Sarah just finished up her year long KAL last week called Socks with Sarah. I didn’t come across the knit-along until maybe November, but I really love that it’s main goal is to promote daily sock knitting. How many socks could you knit in a year if you did a little each day? Even though the KAL is over, Sarah is still keeping the group open on her Ravelry group. I know I set forth some goals a few weeks ago and I’d like to add daily sock stitching to it. Maybe this is just the kick start I need to get my sock drawer into shape!

Linking up with some great people:
Emily for Love Your Library
Tammy for her Stitch Along Wednesday
Ginny for Yarn Along
Nicole for Keep Calm Craft On
iknead2knit’s Whatcha Workin’ On Wednesday

Until Friday 🙂

v’s & bumps,

Jenna