Vacation

After Vacation

We spent two weeks out of town, one with E's family on vacation and the second working at a Christian summer camp. I truly felt blessed by the time away from home. Granted, there's a stack of paperwork to catch up on, but being out of the world for a while definitely helped me to come back to a place of peace.

Since coming back, things have been really busy and not necessarily peaceful. But I think I'm becoming more accepting of the rush, and by taking time to find the blessings and peace in the chaos, I'm doing better. 

Sunset on Lake Michigan

E and I are getting closer to being ready to welcome our little one. The only things not ready are my baby 'knits', but they are nearly there. Hopefully I'll be settled back into the normal routine soon enough to pick up my hooks.  

That's the only 'bad' thing I see about vacations and going away- settling back in. The normal routine became something else while being away, and now readjustment is necessary. But changing things up every once in a while can be good. We just have to handle it properly. Take things one at a time, and always seek out the blessings amidst the chaos. 

Vacation Crafting

Not typically considered the time to craft, vacation is a time to relax. For me, on the first 'family' vacation since getting married, it's a little different. I'm usually one to get in one the action and play around with the kids, but being in my third trimester puts a bit of a damper on that activity (8 kiddos, 8 and under). So I play referee in the corner, with my bag of yarn next to me. 

My first project is the Lagnaippe shawl, though I'm only a third of the way done. I ran into some color coordinating problems so it got put on hold. 

The second project is the Citrus Shawl. It has a really pretty starting motif, followed by a vstitch body. The pattern is soothing to me. 

Both shawls use some KnitPicks WOTA that I dyed for another project, but they coordinated really well with some Shepherd's Wool that I've had in my stash for close to a year. I really love the Shepherd's Wool-it's kinda local to me, which is nice- great colors plus a great feel for a wool yarn. It is very soft, even in the skein before washing. It also has a nice weight to it. If I get the chance, I'm definitely buying more of it. 

The next two days of vacation may prove to be the downfall of my shawls, but I'm really hoping to finish, as the kiddos are taking a day trip today. There might be a bit more quiet and productivity, if I put my mind to it.