Yarn Along: Christmas projects, and the Knit for Victory Sweater

I've gotten some knitting done this week, and so have progress to show!  I've shelved my Vintage Cardigan for the moment, as I'm sort of tired of it, and I'm not happy with how the neckline came out.  It might end up in a UFO (unfinished objects) pile.  I'm half finished with one sleeve, but can't quite make myself get to it.  probably I'll be fine with it once I finish the sleeves and block the whole thing, but right now, meh.

In other knitting news, I'm starting to shape the shoulders on my Knit for Victory sweater, and I'm starting to see it shaping up nicely.  With sweaters, I always feel the beginning goes terribly slow, and then it seems to fly along.  I did decide to use the "wrong" side of the pattern as the outside, and I'm liking it very much.  Reminds me of some 1940s knitting patterns I have saved on my computer.  And yes, those are straight needles.  Knitting in the round drives me kind of crazy, even though it would make it easier for the long length.

I also received my yarn order from Joann.com (they had a great yarn sale plus free shipping a week or so ago!), and I had bought some Caron Joy bamboo yarn without a specific intention for it.  I decided to make the girls matching pilot caps for Christmas, and am hoping to have enough left over to squeak a pair of booties for Ponchik as well.  I started the cap and had to frog it back 8 rows because I did the inital M1 increase incorrectly and had to go back and fix it (after watching a YouTube video to remind me how to do it!)  The yarn is actually a much prettier shade of blue in person.

I'm reading Game of Thrones for the first time and I'm liking it.  I started watching the HBO series this fall, and couldn't get through the first episode, I was so bored.  I may give it another try later, when I'm more enmeshed in the books.  The series does follow the book faithfully, at least so far.  The book isn't particularly fast going, but I find myself better able to get lost in the book than I did with the visual version.

I also just finished reading The Bloodletter's Daughter, which was quite fascinating.  It is a fictionalized version of a story that happened in Bohemia (modern day Czech Republic) concerning a mad Hapsburg prince in the early 1600s.  My only complaint is that the author made a few howling historical mistakes, such as identifying the monarch of England as Elizabeth the I (who was dead three years at that point, and James on the throne).  But as most of the story takes place in central Europe, I was able to overlook it, and simply enjoy the book for the most part.  It was also the first book I read entirely on an e-reader.  We had a loaner iPad from my husband's work for a few weeks, so I downloaded my kindle app onto it, and read the book on the iPad.  I like it better than reading books on my iPod, that's for sure!  I still do like the feel of a real book in my hand, but I'm warming to the e-reader idea, especially since I can carry so many books with me at once.  I read very fast, and this is a great feature for me, especially on trips.

 Join us for Yarn Along!

Talking Tuesday: Elder Paisios and Children in the Church

"For children who have been watered from a young age on piety: do not have fear for them, and if they stray 

a little due to their age or because of temptations, they will come back..."

~Elder Paisios of Mt. Athos

Confession Time: Housekeeping and the Proverbs 31 Woman

I have a house cleaner.  

This is a hard thing for me to say out loud, especially on a public forum like a blog.  I'm from self-sufficient Upper Midwestern stock, and having someone come into my house every other week to clean, much less admitting to it, is very difficult for me.  But I do it, because the alternative is either a very dirty house, or a house that gets cleaned under extreme duress.  I know I'm probably in the minority in feeling weird about this, as it seems to be something a lot of city people do without batting an eye.  But I feel that if I'm detailing our lives in the city accurately, I need to come clean (ha!) about this little fact.

That's not to say that I don't clean--I clean every day. (I am from Crazy-Clean Dutch stock after all!) But the sort of cleaning I do involves quick counters and stove top wipes, sweeps, hand-vacs of the floor, and picking up toys all the live long day. Blitz cleaning, if you will.  (Please, someone tell me that children get past the fill and spill stage of toys? Even if they don't, lie to me. Just for today, mkay? Thanks). Deep cleaning involves a bit more involvement from me, and with all our stairs and multiple floor levels, it just isn't possible to do the sort of cleaning that my cleaning crew does without leaving my fearless-climbs-everything-in-sight toddler unattended for long stretches of time. I'm doing well to get meals on every day without mishap, frankly. And then there are the allergy issues--dusting gives me headaches, literally, and I'm stuffy and miserable for hours afterward. My cleaning crew can do my whole house in 90 minutes, and do a better job that I can do on my own in several hours.

I think at the root of my discomfort are several things.  Mostly, though, it is a basic sensibility about employing others to do jobs I know I can do perfectly well myself (setting the economics of the matter aside). I feel less self-sufficient--like I should be able to do All The Things by myself and still put on heels and lipstick at the end of the day to welcome my husband home, when the reality is that my hair is usually standing on end, my make up long worn off, the kids are all shrieking and crying, toys are all over the living room floor, dinner is slapped together, and I'm waiting for my husband to get home so I can whisk myself and the baby upstairs to nurse her in peace while he eats dinner with the older kids. 

Not exactly the picture of a self-sufficient woman.

I read an excellent article last week about the myth of the Proverbs 31 woman, and how we must consider one of the great factors in her cultivation of virtue: servants.  She had them, had lots of them, and that is how she managed her day and her life.  And it wasn't strange because everyone had them.  We've come to this strange place in the Western World of Parenthood where women are expected to do it all: work, have children, raise children, keep the house, pursue virtue and self-actualization, and theosis all by themselves.  We live apart from our families, in busy communities where it takes a lot to maintain relationships, and wonder why life is just so hard.  It is unfortunate that my husband's job placed us in a city far from family, and while we are really starting to feel rooted here and have good friends in the area, it isn't a stand-in for help in the home on a day-to-day basis.  I love my mom friends, and rely on them for much emotional support in this mothering journey, but but we are all busy with kids and households and tend to be scattered around the city, so we aren't in much of a position regularly to relieve the physical burden for one another in this way.

So, I'm going to keep my cleaning help.  I'm going to keep my babysitters, and work on feeling grateful that we can afford it and not feeling guilty that I can't do it all.  Self-sufficiency is a myth, and frankly, pursuing it isn't spiritually healthy.  I'm not supposed to be self-sufficient.  I'm supposed to rely on the Body of Christ in my journey to theosis. My job is to figure out my place in the Body, and to do what I can with the gifts I've been given.  And that is enough.

7QT: On Advent, Plumbing, Fasting Crack, and Gifts

--1--

This year, I'm trying to introduce some kid-oriented Advent activities, as it seems like the boys are old enough to kind of get what is going on with the season.  In an effort not to stress myself out too much, however, I'm keeping it simple.  The Cradle to Cross candle wreath was kind of a bust, which is a shame, because it is beautiful, and well made.  It is simply too big for our table.  Boo nearly set himself on fire the first day we tried to use it, so I don't think we'll be using it while our kids are small and we have our current set up.  Unfortunately, we don't have a lot of horizontal surfaces in the house, and certainly none that big that can handle a lot of live flame.  I kept the donkey figure out, though, and pulled out the jury-rigged advent wreath from last year (to accomodate 6 candles instead of four, since our Fast is 40 days).  We've been lighting the first candle every night before supper and singing "O Come O Come Emmanuel" during the lighting.  It feels appropriate and good.

--2--

I love Nativity sets, and while I think I have a nice little collection for myself, they are mostly fragile and/or not at all kid-friendly.  I had in mind to buy the Melissa and Doug wooden set at some point, and decided this year was the year.  It is great!  Sturdy and well made, like all M&D toys, and has been getting a lot of play this week.  I kept the baby Jesus out of the set for now, and will add Him in after the Feast, like I do with all my sets.  

--3--

We're also doing a Jesse Tree this year.  We always did one when I was growing up, and I loved it!  I didn't have time to get all the materials from my mom to make the version we did as kids, but I found some free printables online, and just made something to get started this year.  I ordered a wooden dowel Jesse Tree from amazon to hang the ornaments on.  Maybe by next year I can make something better.  Or not.  We will start the readings on the 14th so that we end on Russian Orthodox Christmas on January 7.  We did start the Jesse Box readings last Sunday, but since those are only done on Sundays, I think we can stretch two 

Sundays out of it.

--4--

And since you asked, yes, we do have another toilet sitting in our living room.  The second floor toilet began acting up yesterday.  I snaked and plunged it as best I could, but ended up having to call Roto Rooter anyway, and my husband said, let's just replace it before it does it again.  So he stopped at Lowe's yesterday and picked up another toilet.  Our regular plumber will come next week to install it, hopefully.  Until then, we are just classy like that.

--5--

Speaking of Advent, let's talk quick a minute about fasting food.  I bought these chick'n nuggets from Whole Foods, since we like the patties, and boy, they are good.  Like, fasting crack good.  Like, I almost don't mind being allergic to chicken good.  I made them last night, and the kids liked them (huh--usually they don't go for normal "kid" fare), so I promptly bought some more this morning when I ran down to Whole Foods for a smoothies.

--6--

And smoothies.  I'm having a bit of a gastroparesis flare at the moment, so I'm sort of living on Naked Protein Double Berry smoothies until it passes.  Although, after two weeks, it is wearing a bit thin.  However, I am thankful for the mental break from food that a flare gives me, so that has to count for something, right?

--7--

I sent our Christmas cards this week, and also got my act together with gift cards and notes for teachers, babysitters, and delivery guys (we order a ton of stuff online, so we keep the post office and UPS guys busy--I feel like they should get a little something, especially as our regular postman and UPS guys are so nice and good at their jobs).  I made some of the cards in MDS, but I also made some gift card holders after I saw Alisha's version.  Mine is just adapted a tidge from hers.  They are so easy and fast to make!  I used Many Merry Messages, Perfect Blend and Gorgeous Grunge, and paired them with the dsp stack from last year.  (Incidentally, I wish GG came with a water ring stamp--then it would be the ideal grunging up stamp set!)

Go see Jen for more Quick Takes!

5 Favorites: Christmas Music Edition

Every year I try to buy a few Christmas albums, to add to our growing collection.  I try to steer away from contemporary artists and look for religious recordings.  Anonymous4 has some lovely sacred music for Christmas (The Cherry Tree, Wolcum Yule, and a couple other albums come to mind), but there are certain albums that just seem to herald the season for me.  I have favorites across all genres, and I wanted to list some of them, old and new.

--1--

Advent at Ephesus

When Jen reviewed the Angels and Saints at Ephesus album earlier this year, I promptly bought it like the good little lemming I am, and it is stunning.  Reminds me of the music I grew up listening to (as a Protestant, no less!).  I put their Advent album in my Amazon queue, waiting until November to purchase it.  We've been listening to it in rotation for the last week and it is gorgeous.  What I really love about the album is that all the songs are geared for Advent (the preparation) as opposed to the Feast.  Even my husband can get into this album during this time.

--2--

The King's Singers Christmas

I've had this album for several years, and it always gets heavy play during Advent because of the tone of the music, and the fact that it features several Advent hymns.  I love the King's Singers generally, and this album does not disappoint.  One of my favorite songs of all time is You Are the New Day (from an older album in the 1970s) and this album has a lovely rendition of it, with the lyrics made over for the Nativity.

--3--

The Piano Guys Christmas

I enjoyed their first album when it came out, and we listen to it frequently in the car.  They just released this Christmas album, and while I've yet to receive my CD copy, I've been listening to tracks on YouTube and it is phenomenal.  Angels We Have Heard on High is a treat, especially to watch.  

--4--

If On A Winter's Night

Technically, this isn't a Christmas album so much as a winter-themed album with some Christmas songs woven in.  It is so intimate and lovely.  The whole album begs you to cozy up to the fire with a mug of something hot while wearing thick socks and a heavy sweater.  

--5--

The Carpenter's Christmas Portrait album

This album just says Christmas to me, and it doesn't feel like Christmas until I've played it at least once.  I grew up listening to the record version, and the digital remaster doesn't disappoint.  There is some instrumental padding on the front end, but the LP is all there, with Karen's throaty vocals whisking me away to Christmases past.

Bonus:

Steve Green's Joy to the World is another perennial favorite, as is Glad's Christmas album. The Steve Green album I just have in an old old cassette that has seen better days, but I see I can get it now in mp3 format! 

Go see Hallie for more Favorites!

Make Do and Mend Blouse

Pattern of the fabric up close

I actually made this blouse several weeks ago, but haven't had a chance to blog about it yet.  I'm dubbing it the Make Do and Mend blouse because it was a very small yardage, so I just squeaked the blouse out.  I had to cut some corners and get creative to get a whole blouse out though.  It is vintage fabric, but I don't think it is feedsack--the hand is too smooth, and the fabric feels newer.  I'd guess 1950s or 1960s, maybe.  I love the Simplicity 1590 pattern (this is the third blouse I've made with it!), and I'm super pleased with how this came out.  The yellow buttons came from my grandma's stash and I'm so pleased to be able to use her things.


So, my short cuts: This blouse calls for a peplum, but I don't actually like the way it looks on me (and it limits how I can wear the blouse) so I've been cutting this blouse longer and skipping the peplum.  I didn't have enough fabric to add the 6" I needed on the bottom, so I lengthened the fabric by sewing leftover fabric strips to the bottom, going horizontally.  The blouse is a little shorter than I usually go for (probably 23" instead of 26"), but definitely a vintage 40s length!  It does tend to want to untuck itself as a result, though.  I didn't have enough fabric to do a proper facing, and I didn't want to use contrasting fabric because sometimes facing tends to peek out on my narrow shoulders.  So I took a page from my Simplicity 1880 blouse pattern and applied the fusible directly to the blouse and then rolled the edges and top-stitched to finish.  On the button placket, I ended up with excess fabric on the edge, so I turned it under and top stitched the edge before adding the buttons and snaps (I know, I know!  I need to get over my button hole phobia).

The nice thing about the pattern on the fabric is that is goes with a variety of things--the lines are dark blue, but can read black at a distance, so it works with a navy or black skirt.  I also have a kelly green pleated skirt that it looks well with, and I've got a heathered blue cardigan that coordinates well to make it winter friendly.  The fabric is pretty thin (think sheets), so I think it will be a lovely summer blouse too!

Thankful Thursday

So it begins.

Today is the first day of the Nativity Fast for Orthodox Christians on the Julian Calendar (Orthodox on the Gregorian calendar have been fasting for 2 weeks already and will celebrate Christ's birth on December 25 with the rest of the West), and we commence watchful waiting for 40 days.  As I wrote a week ago, this year I don't have the time or the energy for a lot of things during this season, so I'm scaling back a little.  

Our new Cradle-to-Cross candle wreath arrived just in time and I set it up this morning so we can light the first candle at supper time tonight.    Our Jesse box also arrived yesterday (I got it on crazy sale thanks to a nice code from Ana's blog) and I am planning to put that together this afternoon or tomorrow sometime.  

I dug out an Orthodox Advent calendar that I bought years ago but we never seem to remember to use because I decorate the house later in the season.  My husband took the older three kids to church for a Thanksgiving Molieben this morning at our parish in New Jersey, so I had a few hours to putter around in the basement and do some sorting.  While Ponchik napped for an hour this morning, I shop vac'd the concrete floor (our 19th century floor joists tend to shed little bits of debris over time) and moved some things around to access the under stair area where my Christmas decorations are stored.  I sorted through the boxes and bins and pulled out the things I plan to put up on the eve of St. Nicholas Day on the 18th and then put everything back as it was.  Most of my decorations consist of ornaments and garland to hang them on, and since I don't plan to put up either this year, it was easy to pull out the other things I wanted.  I found my harvest wreath, tucked away in a forgotten box under the stairs and hung it up too.  It felt good to have the time to do these things.

We had our official Thanksgiving meal on Tuesday so that we could have the turkey and potatoes with all the fixings.  Tonight will be a vegan Thanksgiving meal.  Nice, but not quite the same.  I'm thankful for many things today, too many to list, so I won't start.  

Blessings for the Fast.