Swap Mitts

My swap partner received her package safe and sound. I did mail it priority, but it still amazes me how quickly it traveled from New Mexico to Georgia. Sure beats the Pony Express! Anyway, here are the mitts and stats:

The mitts came from the spring 2006 edition of IK under the pattern, "Pom-Pom Fingerless Mitts." I've always liked the geometry of the pattern, and I had a lot of fun making them. I used DK Swish from Knit Picks in "cornflower." My gauge was a little too big, so I omitted one of the 12-stitch cable panels. I also made the thumb-hole on the bottom of one of the mitts so that the mitts would be symmetrical (the cable going in opposite directions instead of the same direction as originally found in the pattern).

In other knitting news, yesterday I finished a felted bag for a friend. It turned out a lot bigger than other bags I've made from the same pattern. I even kept it in the washer for a longer amount of time. I wonder if it had anything to do with yarn being black? Now that the bag is done, as well as the mitts, I'm feeling a little more confident about finishing all of my Christmas gifts on time. I started some mittens last night for a very special somebody and am already half-way done with one. I have several stocking patterns here, but love this one for Matthew. I'm pretty sure I'm going to order the pattern. One issue I always have is getting yarn. It's a 45 minute drive to a yarn shop in Santa Fe, and it's just a bigger ordeal now that I have Matthew. It's a little late to order from Knit Picks, especially since my last order took almost two weeks to arrive! Oh well, we'll figure something out.

Speaking (typing) of Matthew, he's on the verge of crawling!!! He is now supporting himself on all fours and rocking back and forth, sometimes pretty vigorously. When he tries to move forward, though, he falls flat on his belly. It doesn't seem to phase him, and he just gets up and tries again. He was six months old yesterday, and he really is growing so quickly. Everyone told me he would, and now I can really see it!

As far as the lonliness issue goes, I'm feeling much better right now. On Monday Pat came home right after work (instead of going to the gym), and I went for a swim. It felt so good! Swimming is one of the few athletic activities I actually ENJOY doing and can do for a while. It was a good workout, and I'm looking forward to going again. I also went to a play group at our church yesterday. Matthew enjoyed getting out and doing something different, and it was really good for me to have some social interaction with other moms. I ran into one of the La Leche League leaders yesterday and she told me, "moms aren't meant to be at home by themselves all day. They were meant to sit around the soup pot together and talk while the little ones play together." Oh, how I wish it were that simple! We're having some friends over Friday evening, so I'm having fun planning for that. I think that I'm just going to have to make a conscious effort to get out of the house and do some things for myself sometimes. It really does make me a happier person and a better mother and wife.