Hands

So, it has been a rough week for me. Been a little under the weather, so I haven't done a lot of crafts, cooking, or much of anything really! I have managed to keep up with the laundry and house work though. Shew! That's a plus. So, bare with me as I do some catching up in this one post. Which happens to be relevant to Hands :)

Hands are an important part of our lives. I take care of my home, myself and my family with them. They brush tears off of my little man's cheeks. They rub his back and neck as he is falling asleep. They cook. They clean. They create. They love! So, what better way to show the importance of those hands, than by framing them...or traces of them, anyway :)

Lucas, Daddy, Mommy <3

I'm on my 5th attempt to trace Lucas' hand, as my husband comes over to help hold his little hand down (which is why his little pinkie looks like it's a little off! lol) and I inform him that I'm going to need his hand print as well. He looked at me like I was kind of crazy, asked his ever pressing question, 'why?', then quickly got to it after I told him that I 'just need it!'. His next response was, 'but my fingers are all crooked and stuff.'. It's okay, that's what makes them YOUR hands! Anyway, I finally get all of them cut out, twice, since I first did them all on plain white paper. My right hand was not liking me!! Hubs had picked up a $4 gold frame at Wal-mart that he spray painted black, some light blue construction paper for a background, and voila!! My favorite piece of art in our home thus far. :) I so look forward to the days when Lucas starts drawing pictures for us to display. Pinterest has shown me some great ideas for that as well!

Memories are stitched with love.

Hawkeye: Margaret, wasn’t this potholder supposed to be a scarf?
Margaret: It hasn’t been a scarf in weeks. I’m knitting a sweater for a pilot I met in Tokyo.
- M*A*S*H (TV) (1980)

I have decided to learn to knit. My husband's remark to this? 'What are you, 60?'. Ha! Love him and all his smart ass remarks. Sometimes. Kidding.
Been a little over a week now and I have quite a mess of a "scarf" going on.

The second attempt with a different, more fuzzy yarn.

 I originally wanted to try the Continental version, in which the yarn is held in the left hand, rather than the right as with English knitting. English being the most popular in the U.S. and yes, England. Me, being the ever impatient person that I am, quickly became frustrated and had to take a break. Then, I decided to try the English version and what do ya know?! MUCH easier to pick up on. The most difficult thing I have found so far, is holding the yarn and manipulating the needles to be comfortable to my hands (and right arm!). The online videos I have watched show these ladies effortlessly and gracefully holding and wrapping the yard so quickly, I could barely keep up. Practice makes perfect, right? Clearly. So, I feel I have finally gotten somewhat decent at this whole knitting thing, and I want to do a cap or cowl next. Off to look for patterns I go. WOW! Who knew there would be so many in's and outs, different stitches, different sized needles, different rolls and skeins of yarn, different materials of yarn and holy crap at the abbreviations!! Dang. I am feeling NOT so decent at it now. I am definitely a hands-on learner, but there are A LOT of different things I need to learn first before trying to tackle anything more than a simple scarf.

There is definitely a hold towards the bottom that shouldn't be there. Whoops :)

I will tell you, it IS relaxing. I can sit back and get lost for a bit turning a string into a loop and then into a square. I finally found a free printable at www.lionbrand.com (PDF version is 60 pages long!) that I will be printing later today and reading. I can't say how excited I am to get good at this, though! I love the slouchy hats, scarves and cowls and look forward to creating them from a single string :)

I think that is all for now. Time to go to bed and snuggle with my husband. :)

xo