My knitting needles have been a little quiet as of late but they are still making an appearance from outside the weaved basket beside my bed now and again. {Relocations are rough on an ample sense of creative time allotment.}
Just before Christmas I was given a hand written pattern from my grandmother. It was of the baby blanket she has made for every child, grandchild, great-grandchild, friend's baby, and probably friend of a friend's baby over the many years I've witnessed her needles in hand! My own children pull their blanket from the cedar chest every winter with great joy, using them not only to sleep with but also as an extra companion for reading, a tent for secret hideaways, or the perfect cape while defeating a super-villain.
As I watched my daughter one evening, getting newly enraptured with the concept of playing dolls, the thought occurred to me that a smaller version of our beloved blankets would be a splendid coverlet for the new baby crib soon to be sitting under the Christmas tree. It was extremely simple to modify the pattern and came out looking wonderful. So I cast on again for my niece's baby doll and have since devoted two more skeins for another.
I also enjoyed the company of Love in a Time of Homeschooling, by Laura Brodie. It was purchased as an antidote in a moment of home education realities {emphasis intended}. And I actually would recommend its cure to many. It is off the beaten path of my regular dose of inspiration in that it isn't idealistic in the least! But it made me exhale a bit and carry on with a redirected reasoning as to why we've made the choices in education that we have; while also providing a well needed perspective on unpleasant vs amazing moments, which will always be a part of directly tutoring an off-grid, strongly opinionated, excessively brilliant preteen. Isn't that a mouthful! And what a privilege it is too.
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