moving on, moving out

I have been checked out of blogland for a little while now, and doing very little sewing -- except for a quick little bias-cut skirt made from raspberry Hope Valley "thistle leaf" for my dear friend Freda (yes, I have multiple Fri/edas in my life, as I do Melindas!).  Other than that hour of sewing, my machine have seen very little action.

The semester is gearing up, I have been on campus to do advising over the past two weeks (the university where I work, for those who don't know me well, is a 75-minute commute from my home...and with bad weather or any kind of slow-down on the highway, it can easily take me two hours to make the drive).

It was also my birthday this week and my sweet husband arranged for us to overnight on Algonquin island, which is one of the Toronto islands -- just a ferry ride from the financial core of Canada, but also a million miles away from the hustle and bustle of our city.  We rode our bikes to the docks, took long rides on the island -- illuminated by the full moon, drank a bottle of champagne at lakeside, and had another great bike ride the next morning.

good morning, Toronto!

Once we were back home, we thrown back into the madness that has been brewing (of necessity) chez nous -- prep for my son's move to university.  Eek.

We have a very small house for a family of 5, so we can't maintain a room for Jackson while he's at university; instead, he has had to sort through a lifetime of hoarding, mountains of artwork and computer gear, trying to figure out what he wants/needs in residence, what he would like to store back at home, and what can be tossed or given away.  I have been pretty concerned about his (in)ability to do all this and do it quickly, but he has definitely risen to the challenge.

I will admit that I lost my mommy-cool at one point yesterday, but he is in good shape today -- and now we have very full garbage bins, a few bags of giveaways, and a mountain of stuff in our living room, ready to pack into the car.

And finally, although sewing time has been scarce, I have been dreaming about future projects in fabric and paper, poring over Heather Ross Prints, which is better than I expected, full of project ideas and crafting instructions.  Little Frida adores it.





I also have been knitting a bit -- truly enjoying it again after a long hiatus.  I don't think I want to tackle a large knitting project this Fall: I can't even start to count the number of sweaters I have knit over the past 30 years, and although all were well-made, relatively few were very well-used...many felt more like crafting challenges, intellectual projects -- if that makes any sense -- than processes that produced useful items. I just don't feel like heading down that road again, at least not right now.  So for now, I'm back to making socks!

These are the "diagonal lace" pattern from Wendy Johnson's  Socks from the Toe Up, made from yarn I have had in my stash for over five years.  Stash Love, yarn edition :)

And now it's time to rouse The Boy so he can finish packing up his room.  Best to all!