Chickenlips Knitting

Girl, age 18. Blonde hair, blue eyes. Extremely bright and gifted, but has had an enormous 'tude with her mother for the past four days.

Seriously, WTF? We went through some stuff at age 15 and 16, but right now it's worse than ever, even though she's turning 19 next month. Everything I say is stupid and everything I do is inadequate. I embarrass and repulse her no matter what. Yet I can't ever go anywhere without her. Her wants are endless; it's like attaching a vacuum hose to my bank account, and then none of it makes her happy.

So I'm trying to figure out, is this hormonal? Or anxiety-related because she starts college classes next week? I've tied a knot to the end of my rope and am hanging on, but am starting to lose my grip!

***

Enough about that. One thing I've learned since I became a mother, is that the situation always gets different. But man, is this a tough one to ride out.

Yarn is the constant in my life; it's always there. Either I have made it as beautiful as I can, or others have, and knitting just a few rows helps so much to calm inner chaos. My long-awaited order of Glam Sock base yarn was on the doorstep when I got back from a day's drive down to Manzanita at the beach--I had the aforementioned kid in tow, so it wasn't as great as it could have been, but I sold some sock yarn to the wonderful Olga, who owns T-Spot Yarns, Teas and Chocolates.

I was invited to teach a class at that shop next month, and I'm so proud because it's on my original design!

Introducing the Dream Tote (Ravelry link).

This is a knitted, not felted, tote bag that can be made with any worsted weight yarn. It was intended to be a stash buster, so because the sides are squares of log cabin the color combinations are endless. The bag gusset is just a garter stitch strip and the handle is (oh I'm a feckin' genius, if I do say so myself) Purl-Twist fabric, a stitch pattern I found in the first Barbara Walker treasury. It creates a fabric that naturally rolls under, but is textured and much stronger than stockinette stitch or I-cord. Works perfectly for this purpose.

Sample details: about 600 yards total of worsted weight yarn; I used 2 hanks Punta Yarns Merisoft Handpainted for the sides and 1 skein Lamb's Pride Worsted for the gusset and handle. My gauge is very loose so I used a size 5 needle, although a 6 would probably work for most knitters, just so long as you're knitting a bit more tightly than worsted gauge. The finished size is 13" wide, 12" high and 2" deep. Fabric lining is optional, instructions included. I posted the pattern for sale on Ravelry and also in my Etsy shop.

I had more to blog about, unfortunately sleep was elusive last night and I'm a little muzzy. I think I'll finish the essential chores and go to bed!

# posted by Sharon @ 6:11 PM