yarn along, july 2023: “Is it over yet? Is it good?”

For the past nearly five months we've been scheduled to our utmost, between activities and house things.  We've been totally consumed by house things: repairs, painting, cleaning, packing, and staging.  But in the last two weeks of June, we listed our house, got it under contract, and had our offer accepted in our new town.  Suddenly there's so little on our calendar!  There are still some logistics to work out, but the enormous pressure to answer some big questions is no longer so...pressing.  My body has thrown in the towel!  Despite napping deeply during the day, I can't keep my eyes open past 9 pm, and I have trouble getting out of bed at my usual time.  Functional reserve is a new phrase, introduced to me by my mother, that I use liberally; my brain currently has a very small functional reserve.

All that to say, knitting and reading don't happen every day in this season, which is a bummer sometimes.  I've committed to making dinner for a friend next Monday, who just welcomed her fourth child.  To accompany the dinner, some handknit socks (from scraps) for the wee one were in order.  The pattern is Perfect Newborn Socks, which is free.  They will absolutely be finished in time!  I've also committed to finishing my Felix Cardigan (in Peace Fleece Worsted, color Kalinka Malinka) by the end of the month.  My functional reserve is currently dedicated to all the low-hanging fruit, like easy-peasy stockinette.  I plan to use up every last inch of the Peace Fleece--I find the concept of "stash and scrap free in 2023" very appealing. (I'm nowhere near that particular goal.  Maybe in 2024 or 2025?)

Inspired by Morgan's lovely project bags, I threw together a book cover yesterday from my stash of fabric and fat quarters.  I think foundation paper piecing is my new favorite way to quilt.  It takes a lot of the guess work out of piecing a block; measurements and cutting are the two most challenging aspects of quilting for me.  Having a visible line to sew over makes the blocks look much more professional.  The rest of the book cover is a mess, but darn it!  That block looks great!

At the pool, I have been indulging in E.B. White's essays from this book when I'm not preparing lessons for the 2023-24 school year.  They're the perfect combination of humor, intellligent commentary, and length (short!!).  

p.s.

 The day after bids on our house were due, my Mom asked me the following questions.    

Almost, and it will be great!