Service disruption

I’m completely at the end of it. There was an explosion on our social calendar this year (I assure you, that would be Joe, not me. If these were my parties there would be more knitters.) I’ve eaten so much cheese (you can’t have a party without a cheese tray.) that it makes me a little queasy if you say “brie” within my hearing range.

I’m done. I’m ready to sit in my house with Mr. Washie (how I’ve missed him) get the gingerbread icing off the underside of the kitchen cupboards (young person with a piping bag and too much enthusiasm.) drink the coffee Lu sent me (thanks Lu!) and throw myself onto the chesterfield with some knitting and pretend I am alone in the universe so that I stop answering questions with tears. So far, since the girls are off school until the 10th (sorry…did anybody else feel dizzy there?) I’m having a hard time getting that restorative alone time. I’m thinking about putting this sign on my forehead:

Your mother needs a break. We estimate that this service disruption will take only 2-3 hours. Before you interrupt your mothers attempt to restore her sanity and will to interact, please ask yourself the questions below.

1. Are you about to make a request that your mother has said No to nine hundred times before? If so, you may assume that the answer is still no and be on your way.

2. Have you asked another parent and been told no? If so, please assume this parents answer will be the same.

3. Are you bleeding or on fire? Is your sister? If you cannot produce a flaming/bleeding self or sibling, please go play Cranium until Mummy speaks to you.

4. Are you here not to ask a question, but to report an offense by another child, parent or pet? This is not urgent. I am absolutely certain that your sister will still be bugging you, Joe will be misunderstanding you, and that your lip gloss will still be the wrong shade of pink in two hours. Please wait.

Thank you for your concern. This service disruption should be brief.

I have bribed the girls by finishing their Christmas stuff (which means that it is all fininished a record nine days after the date)

Meg’s mitts and hat….

Meghatmits23

Done. (Fleece Artist Favourite mittens kit, my own pattern.)

Sam’s hat and scarf

Samhatscgcsp

Random stuff from the stash, including Colinette skye that Margaret R. gave to me ages ago, Patons classic merino and Galway. The scarf was 240 stitches knit side to side, leaving ends hanging for fringe. (I’ll have to get a picture on Sam)

The shawl is finished too…

Sshawlctree

but you’ll have to wait for a picture of the whole thing. I don’t want to spoil the surprise for the recipient. I’ll post the pattern then too. (I cannot wait to get that huge tree out of my living room. It’s in my wheel’s spot. I can’t wait to get to the wheel. Wait until you see what That Laurie sent me. I love her.)

For now, I’ve dug this out of the stash,

Surilace1

and I’m getting a pattern, a cup of coffee, printing the sign out and embarking on the first project of 2006. Service should resume shortly. Keep your expectations low.

109 thoughts on “Service disruption

  1. I’m sitting here in shock that a tree was allowed to take the place of the wheel. Are you okay?
    Lovely, happy Meg.

  2. I just ditched my tree yesterday to make space for the wheel that is coming next week! I was so happy, I deliriously chucked the tree and then realized I have a whole week of staring at the blank space that will soon house my wheel. Perhaps I was a little hasty….
    Happy New Year!

  3. Yippee! I think I’m first! Service disruption? I’ll have to try that one when someone makes some comment about the timeliness of laundryland, dusting, dinner, and other assorted tasks that I would rather put off to knit or spin.

  4. Is that laceweight? That looks like laceweight. Don’t tell me that’s not laceweight — I know from laceweight. What’s the laceweight for? (the one-word answer “lace” will result in smacking.) I’m a little lace-hysterical just now because there seems to be a spanner in my quota-production, but there’s noting I’d welcome like a fellow sufferer. Why not put a deadline on that project? I’m sure it would make it more fun.

  5. OK, so not first. Our tree also took my wheel’s place in the living room. It’s coming down very soon. Probably not tonight, as there is a “service disruption” planned by way of a spinning gathering.

  6. I second the motion for the sign, it would work well on my wool room door! I think I will take a service disruption with a coffee right now!
    Cheers.

  7. Oh, you are SO singing my song. My kids were due to go back this morning (the bus picks them up at 7:52A, not that I was counting the minutes, or anything), but school was cancelled in anticipation of a snowstorm that didn’t show.
    Mother Nature is cruel. So very, very cruel. If she threatens us again tomorrow, I am going to say some unladylike things.
    Off to make up one of those signs to get me through the rest of the day ….

  8. “”Are you bleeding or on fire?””
    hehehe i thought only my mother and i said that to kidz….lol…
    sometimes when they call, and they are all adult now, i answer by saying “what’s wrong”
    hehehe

  9. May I borrow the sign? The males in my house won’t leave me alone either.
    Everything is lovely. Can’t wait to see the shawl – I’m gearing up to embark on Birch. A little nervous, it will be my first lace. I hope it’s gentle.

  10. I will sound very smug here (and I am) that I have got my 2 raised to grown-up-hood (18 & 19), and to the point that I have had a very quiet, restful New Year’s holiday weekend. Not a lot of knitting since I managed to burn my arm while cooking (which is why I spend so little time in said pursuit) in a spot that make knitting difficult.
    I will say, though, that the interruptions do diminish as age increases. There are some days I even miss the old fights (just a little though).
    Enjoy what little bit of quiet you manage to eke out.

  11. What you need is the bloglines plumber to stand in front of you while you knit and distract the girls with his winsome charm.
    Happy New Year!

  12. Dude, my daughter goes back to school tomorrow and I am sooooo glad. My husband went back to work today after being on vacation since December 23rd. I told him that if he wasn’t already going back to work today, I was going to have to go on a little vacation of my own.

  13. You know, I’m sure I saw you on tv last night. I was watching ‘Restaurant Makeover’ and working on a shawl, and the owner was talking about her son, Hank.
    And I’m sitting there, with my laceweight, thinking to myself ‘boy, just how many kids in Toronto are named Hank?’
    Then I see said Hank, with his mother, and I think ‘boy, that kid looks a lot like the Yarn Harlot’s nephew. The one with the spiderman mittens. The knittening kid.’
    And THEN, at the big reveal, the owner comes in with Hank-who-might-be-Hank’s-double, and then her family comes over, and I’m staring, thinking…is that…is that…is that Stephanie??!!?
    I was so surprised that I dropped a stitch.

  14. I always told Hannah that she could only interrupt me when I’m on the phone if she was either bleeding or on fire. Imagine her glee the day she cut herself (not badly) and came RUNNING to me, shouting, “I’m BLEEDing” while I was on the phone. It’s one of her favorite childhood memories. 😉

  15. I think the bleeding/fire is a universal mama phrase. At least, every mama I know has used it at least once (a day) since their first Thing was born.
    I love the Service Interruption sign. If my oldest hadn’t returned back to school today, I’d be printing it out and taping it to my shirt. I think I’ll save it for Spring Break instead.

  16. Not only has my son not gone back to daycare, I have to take him to work with me this week because his daycare is closed until the 9th. Thank the gods he can operate the VCR, DVD, and his computer without my help.
    I think the “bleeding” thing is universal.

  17. The 10th?! My dd went back today. OK, I’ve still got one homeschooling, but … The 10th?!
    Our tree came down yesterday. Christmas is over. And that’s that.

  18. Sorry to disillusion you all, but the Service Disruption sign doesn’t work. I had one on my loom room door, with the door closed, and all I heard was taptaptap…”mom…” It’s like trying to take a bath with a toddler in the house.

  19. Enjoy the service disruption. I had mine yesterday – husband went to work, son went to sitter’s, and I stayed home, ALONE! I knit lace, I knit socks, I knit whatever I damn well pleased, WITH NO DEADLINES!
    I think I need another day…

  20. I just love the colours of Meg’s scarf and mitts. I have some Fleece Artist that I got for Christmas that I can’t wait to cast on for my first ever shawl.
    Happy New Year!

  21. The 10th??? My sympathies. My kids were supposed to go back to school today but did not because of not more than 3 inches of snow. I’ll bet Torontonians do not even *notice* 3 inches of new snow. So we called the kid up the street (thank heaven for his software habit, which is apparently quite expensive) and went off to work. Tomorrow I have the day off, and there is no snow in the forecast. Time to start washing that fleece I scored…

  22. All I have to say is that I have stash envy. I wish I could pull that out of mine. Lynn

  23. P.S. Do you think if I stare at the picture of the laceweight long enough it will just materialize into real yarn and plop out onto my keyboard? I so love those colors.
    P.P.S. We say “bleeding or on fire” too.

  24. That’s Alchemy Lace weight! Kid mohair and silk! Can’t fool a fellow addict, try as you may. I wound my two balls of Air and Fire this morning (orange, hot pink, red and purple). I lasted a whole week before I succumbed and Jim’s Christmas sweater is still only half finished. Hilarious how I tell my clients how to ride out their cravings and here I am with my swift saying “I’ll just wind it and then put it away until I finish the sweater”. sigh.

  25. Wow! Gorgeous hats and mittens. Tell Meg to watch her step – I might drop by Toronto and mug her for that set. What yarn is that from your stash??

  26. I had to work all last week from home (misunderstanding, daycare closed, husband thought he’d be working) but it turned out he had most of the week off. I spent my whole week trying like crazy to produce documentation, manage the laundry and tidy the kitchen while my baby tried like crazy to make me play (he won out a WHOLE LOT – doc, laundry and dishes don’t scream quite as loud) and my husband napped in the recliner. He stood up later that evening and stretched, and said, “Gee, I’m SO tired.” I was almost a widow that night…
    I would say bleeding or on fire to my husband, too, but the likelihood that one or both was happening at that moment is too great to contemplate.
    I guess we could all arrange a big “trading spouses” swap. Y’all clean up your knitting spot a little, and everyone will swap houses – no way the spouses and children (and pets) would make so many demands on The Stranger In Mama’s Chair. Just for a few hours.

  27. Boy.. If only my kids would read half of that.. and if only more than half of my kids could read!
    I am also stuck with them full time by choice.. and people ask me how in the world I find time to knit.. if they only knew…

  28. Oh, that’s a pretty skein of yarn.
    “Are you on fire?” I’m so saving that for the appropriate time.

  29. Meg’s beautiful! Everything else there makes me need to go grab my knitting and get going, too. Gorgeous. So thank you! I wonder how many projects happen because people get inspired by yours–tons of them, I’m sure.

  30. Did you use Noro yarn for the shawl?? The colours are very similar to a colourway I used when I made Mimi Verylong.

  31. oh. holy. hell.
    It’s that gorgeously colored, laceweight cashmere yarn.
    I need a lie down. All this envy is sucking the oxygen from my body.

  32. We use “Is there blood?”, I am afraid the fire part never occured to me. You would think with a wood stove, it might be a priority. I am home with the 3 year old, the other 3 having escaped to school. We have watched Sesame Street, read books and done puzzles. I still cannot get her to stop hanging on me. Alas, she cannot read signs…

  33. Once at work I had a sign on my desk that said I’m not here! I had so much to do that required uninterrupted time. My secretary also told people I wasn’t there. Even though I was sitting right beside her.
    But I was dealing with big people so they (mostly) listened.
    I suggest ear plugs too. So even if they are talking to you, you can ignore them.
    Glad you’re back.

  34. While taking part in my own service disruption on New Year’s Day, I watched HGTV’s Restaruant Makeover Marathon. Yes, Marathon! I missed the intro to the third one hour episode, so throughout the show I only knew that the restaurant belonged to Erin and she had a 4?5? year old son Hank. In the last 3 minutes of the show they bring in family and friends for the big reveal. I look up from my knitting for the big finish and who do I swear I see but the Harlot! Then it all comes together, they recap the name of the restaurant the Old York (which sounded familiar)Toronto, Hank, of course nephew Hank!, and a vegetarian meal Erin said she’d leave on the menu for her sister. It WAS the Harlot and her sister Erin. Congratulations Erin I hope it was a good experience. Oh and HGTV edits out words like arse and other choice expressive words.

  35. I always ask my kids if someone is dead or bleeding? If not, fight amongst yourselves.
    I like the shawl because it has such an interesting color mix.
    I will have to print my own copy of your sign.

  36. If my children were old enough to read, maybe that would help. I could do ideograms, right?
    Bwah. The thought of a drawing of a bleeding child in flames almost makes up for having them in my face.
    Almost.
    Great gifts, by the way. Here’s to much peace for making more things like them.

  37. The 10th?? The girls go back on the tenth??? My kids went back on the 2nd. Banks are closed, public offices are closed, everything was closed except public school apparently!! I hope you have some sanity left by the 10th. I know mine was almost gone yesterday. 🙂

  38. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a time of day when no one was even allowed to look at you? (sigh) I think we need some legislation on this. I also think that seperate vacations should be written into marriage vows. I don’t expect to get either anytime soon.

  39. Thought of the Hank-man on Xmas, as I gleefully unwrapped (at last!) my ballwinder and swift. Envy me, for not only do the men of my family have a penchant for handknit socks and Small Feet, but I get to spend tonight winding like the wind.
    Love the laceweight. Have cleared away all sharp & hard things from my desk area, for safer swooning once you start knitting it up.

  40. Wow! 2-3 hours – there are days I’d willingly settle for 5 seconds – a couple of weeks off school, with the excitement of Christmas, visits with relatives and then coming back down to earth with a bump has my 3 year old in full on “relentless” mode – the “bleeding or on fire” line will get thoroughly overused very soon!!

  41. My phrase used to be “bleeding or broken.” It worked, too, until the day my son really was bleeding.
    The holiday knitting looks wonderful. Hopefully the girls will, in appreciation for same, leave you the heck alone so that you can regain some sanity.

  42. AH….back to reading blogs and not knitting like a crazy person to finish christmas gifts. I love the service interuption idea…I am all for it. The girls gifts are fabulous. I can’t wait to see the shawl, I am all about lace knitting and shawls lately…yet another is up my sleeve, well, not really…

  43. Mine went back to school today. Amazingly, we were only 10 minutes late. The silence is so overwhelming that I’ve actually had trouble getting my bearings and getting work done.
    Also, rules: If I can’t see blood or bones and the building’s not on fire, then either wait or go bug your father. Predictably, this works approximately 10% of the time. The other 90% I end up either rolling my eyes and giving up, or losing my temper and snapping out things a loving mother really shouldn’t say. I’m working on doing the “giving up” thing more often …
    Happy New Year!

  44. Ah, Service Interruption sounds grand. I don’t have children (envy me!) but I do have full-time work and full-time school of my own to demand my attention.
    Although…my boss has left for the day … no one to see me leave … I might just skip this last hour of work in favour of a cup of tea and some knitting time. Maybe lace, while I dream of something in that beautiful blue colorway you’ve got there.

  45. My little critter’s not back at school until the 9th, so I took this week off to play with him (guilt ridden working outside the home to pay the freakin’ mortgage Mummy that I am). So. Where does he want to go today? My Office. To meet my friends and my boss. Sigh… (Happy surprise though – one of them whose work I’d covered for her 3 week vacation last month brought me 2 380 metre balls of something soft and probably fingering weight and very much Russian in the palest of all possible greys. May just leave it out to fondle for a while. Hee)

  46. My mother used to declare, “The complaint department is closed.” Now that *I’m* a grown up, I understand exactly what she meant.

  47. Beautiful hat sets! I should get one of those service interuption cards. I don’t have any kids, but I do have a husband (the other day I said, just because I’m sitting right next to you doesn’t mean you can ask me questions every 2 seconds–I was trying to read), and annoying coworkers (no, I don’t know where that is and I’m not going to help you find it). And yet, I still actually want to have children. I must be insane……

  48. Enjoy the time you can eke out. My little darlings are 5, 3 and 5 months, I hid in the bathroom yesterday and sat on the floor turning the heel of a sock till said 3 yo’s little fingers reached under with a pityful “Mommy are you ever going to come out?” (Don’t worry daddy had the baby, they were both asleep in the easy chair.)

  49. School not starting (in the fall) until after Labour Day sounded so neat…in the fall. I think it has shifted the whole seasons thing. This is good for many of my friends, who are Ukrainian enough to shop Boxing Week and then celebrate the whole thing on January 6. I think next year, I will return to my roots…big time! (That’s an extra week or so for deadline knitting!)

  50. I use the words “Is there blood?” One 3 year old respondant said “LOTS!” and we were off to the emergency room for stitches caused by running around and around the “circle” of my living room, dining room and kitchen. (Who designs houses like that? Not a Mom!)
    I had a service disruption last night. Told my kids I was going to sit, knit, and yell at Notre Dame. They went to the hockey game with their dad. He’s much funnier to watch yell. Finished my daughters Christmas socks!! Only the SIL pair to go!

  51. My son’s first grade teacher had a sign she would wear around her neck about once a day,or as needed, it said
    “The teacher is closed”
    The children were not allowed to ask her anything until she turned the sign back to “The teacher is open”
    I thought this was BRILLIANT and can and should be used by overtired, overextended, stressed out females in any profession.

  52. Good heaven’s- they’re home until the 10th! Argh… and I was feeling sorry for myself that mine got a snow day today. I consoled myself by knitting mohair- my first time with mohair, god that stuff is addictive. Why didn’t someone warn me? Well, you’ve only another week to go. Just don’t forget to breath.

  53. I so share your feelings with your teenage girls. Your sign reminds me of the time when mine were small… Once a day I would take out my Moomin Mamma Coffee Cup and it was a sign for the girls, that Mom is reading and drinking coffee and does not want to be disturbed. It worked then.
    Happy New Knitting Year.

  54. LOL! The sign…I need one! Luckily my daughter wasn’t out of school til the 10th, but it was a loooooong winter break.

  55. I must need a service interruption too, because the sight of the Fleece Artist yarn was so beautiful I almost cried.

  56. Are you kidding me? Keeep the expectations low?
    The fact that all four persons living at chez Harlot are still amongst the living and receiving gifts is proof positive that you are stronger than you know! As wonderful as the sign that you are going to affix to your forehead is, I’m afraid that the girls will not appreciate it until they are mothers and have children of their own; who will try their patience and sanity, to which you can sit back and gloat! Paybak can be awful sweet!

  57. I think the wee ungratefuls should have to work their digits to the bone, writing a guest blog for their tired and weepy momma…
    That, or wash all the walls in the house. Keep ’em tired out!

  58. You know, I’m not blown away by the reported quantity of stash you have, but I am completely bowled over by the quality. To have “dug this out of the stash” as if this little jewel is commonplace in most people’s stash – wow! Enjoy whatever moments you can get with it (noting that I’ve been disrupted 3x while trying to write this brief comment – arghhhhh).
    As for me, a little something just arrived from KnitPicks… I go to open it now ;~}

  59. I keep getting an error… “Your comment could not be submitted due to questionable content”.

  60. The gifts look lovely, and worth the wait of course. The sign is just so classic.
    On another note, I have a complaint to file with you. Feel free to ignore it until your 3 hours are up. Check my latest post (1/3/06) if you’re curious 🙂

  61. Happy New Year !
    After the 10th [great break girls !],when the house is empty and quiet you’ll probably miss them. Maybe.
    ;-]

  62. I went back to work today at daycare! Being home with a 14 year old and a 12 year old so so much more relaxing. I can knit while I put up with the questions at home. Got to make me a “Teacher is closed” sign though. What a great idea! Love the yarn Stephanie!

  63. Whoa! I wish I could be knitting like you. Tidy and beautiful works! Oh, well, I guess ‘practice makes perfect’. 😉 Lovely hank of yarn, I love the colour!

  64. NOT FAIR! I have to go back to school tomorrow! I guess I am the sort of child a knitter would want to have, as I am a knitter myself. I’ll leave my mom alone if I have my bass guitar…

  65. hee hee hee! Glad that my boys are grown (22 & 24) Tho I do miss those days sometimes now that they aren’t lap sized. We didn’t use fire… Are there bones sticking out where they shouldn’t? Do you need stitiches yet? Definate stash envy here. 🙁 ah well. Must increase the stash! Hope you get the needed few hours of peace.
    Happy knitting! Lana

  66. I once asked my friend: “Am I reading too loud for you over here???” She kept asking me questions every other minute and I just reached my limit… 🙂

  67. May I pretty please use your sign? Trouble is, only one can read- the others are 2 and 4- if I declared a service disruption goodness only knows what I would come out of it to find! What I use on the 7 year old is “Are you bleeding out of your eyes?” Graphic enough?
    Meg has the most beautiful smile. And that laceweight… want it!
    Tree got chucked Saturday- it is now snacks for the goaties. Maybe I’ll have lovely pine-scented mohair…

  68. The colors you have chosen are just gorgeous. I wish I had your eye for color. 🙁
    Happy New Year.

  69. When Mom wanted her own space, she’d turn on opera. None of us could stand it.
    Nummy yarn Steph. Heavy on the covet.

  70. I need that sign, but only 1 of 4 is currently literate. Oh well. That blue laceweight will serve really nicely as dessert for all that Christmas knitting! Way to save up for something that yummy! Happy New Year to you and yours.

  71. Gorgeous projects, gorgeous kid! Such a sweet kid couldn’t possibly be a pain (oops, “disruptive to knitting time!”). Solution: Run away from home!!

  72. Hmm, I’ve been missing some blue yarn, and I was VERY surprised to see it appear on your blog. I have no idea how it got from Atlanta to Canada, though. (check out my Dec. 13 post to see my/your blue yarn) Ah well, you’ll do it more justice than I could. Hee hee

  73. Re: Question #1
    OMG. I am so with you with that one. My goddaughter kept asking for the same thing OVER AND OVER on Sunday until both her mom and I were ready to meltdown and sell her into slavery.

  74. Love the sign! I definitely need one with the two I have. In the meantime I’m going to sit and dream about what to make out of my soysilk roving. It’ll be something for Mom this time to be sure!

  75. Too funny. I think that sign would be a marvelous idea around here… if I could only teach The Toddler to read.
    Hope you get a quiet hour or two.

  76. Tell me about it! I can’t seem to get away from all the pestering for things that we have discussed only 485 times.

  77. Is there copywrite on that sign of yours? Just askin’… My tree was gone before the New Year, Kids (all 3) went back to school today, and did you see what I go for Christmas??? I assure you, I am not bragging (ok, maybe a little!).

  78. We grew up with the No Blood – Don’t bother me rule. And then my older brother slipped in an above ground pool and tore is leg up really good, required 30+ stitches. Well Mom was on the phone and my brother (who was 13 at the time) yelled, “Mom! I’m bleeding…I need help!” Her response, which is now legend in our family, “DON’T BLEED ON THE CARPET!!! Get in the tub!”
    She did get him to the hospital,but it was pretty funny.

  79. I *love* the hat with the pom-pom on top of it!! If I understand you correctly, this was done with multiple yarns? How??? I understand the concept of the shawl (knit rows lengthwise, leave the ends loose for a fringe), but how does this apply to the hat? Specifically, what do you do with the ends when you change colors?
    I make hats for The Ships Project, and this hat (minus the pom-pom), would be perfect!

  80. I’m a long time reader of your blog, and I’m trying to get better at posting.
    I love your list — mind if I borrow it? Your kids are really great. That picture of Meg is just gorgeous.

  81. Oh man, that sign is a fantastic idea, however it wouldn’t work for me since my kids can’t yet read. Darnit! I love your kids xmas stuff. Very nice. I like the idea of knitting a scarf side to side and leaving the ends for fringe — I will have to try that someday. 🙂
    Happy New Year!

  82. Ooooh! Ooooh! I’m working with some Colinette Skye, too! It’s in the entrelac project you admired on the last trip to TO. (Name link goes to a photo)

  83. Four sons, they have learned not to bother me when knitting or I will give them a detailed description of what I am doing – they can’t stand that! Your knitting rants are the bright spot of my day – alone in a house with 5 males and no other knitters nearby.
    Happy New Year.

  84. Please, oh wise one-how the heck do you get the family to stop long enough to read the damn sign that is posted on the forehead of the “mother unit who wishes to be alone”??????????????????????? Help is appreciated!

  85. That sign is beyond funny, I love it. I’m thinking the “are you bleeding or on fire?” is universal. It’s funny until they actually tell you that the house isn’t really ON fire, it’s “just smoking”.
    My tree stays up in honor of my father until his birthday January 16th. It’s a tradition because my mom didn’t like decorating for his birthday, which is what she told us, or else she’s like me and just hates to un-decorate… Dad’s been gone 10 years, but I still keep the tree up and have pineapple upside down cake (which I really don’t like) for dessert that day.
    My one son has gone back to college, my daughter is leaving on Saturday for school, and my high schooler goes back the 10th. It’s true, you do miss them a little when they are gone. But I have arranged a Twisted Stitchers Knitting Retreat for Jan 18-20th. We rented out a bed and breakfast in the mountains, and plan on having a fabulous time. My biggest problem is which or how many projects to take.
    My husband learned a while ago that if I don’t go away for a couple days a year by myself or on something like this retreat, I am really not a lot of fun to live with.

  86. Happy New Year! The yarn is lovely, the gifts are lovely. My mom used to go in the bedroom and close the door. Which was a signal that if it wasn’t important don’t come in no pain of death. hahahaah no I’m serious. hahahahha

  87. Let me know if it works, STeph– at this point I can’t get quiet time to myself if I retreat to the bathroom with a (knitting) magazine and my i-pod. I know. I’ve tried.

  88. LOL, How I do enjoy the insanity of it all. Just my 2 cents worth on the whole kid thing (mine is now a soph in college). My mother’s favorite saying was…. you are now paying for your raising! Meaning, remember all that that grief you gave me…well here it is – back at ya!
    Wonderful projects. Yummy yarn! I too had to move my loom to make way for the the Christmas Tree. Sacrifices – a mother’s plight.

  89. Oh! Blue! PURTY!! I want! It’s sad that most kids don’t recognize when their parents need peace (I’m not excluding myself here).
    Have lots of fun!

  90. Hi,
    Could someone (anyone)please help me out ehre? I love love love the color of Megs mittens and hat from the Fleece artist. Can anyone tell me what color that is and where to get it? It’s fabulous!
    Thanks in advance, Judy Benner
    jbenner3@verizon.net

  91. I LOVE the sign but don’t really have the sibling problem, never had. Mine are 22(!) and (almost) 19!
    I have yet to throw the last two (Christmas)projects in the machine to felt them.But they got their gifts (ponchos) last year at Thanksgiving so if you average out the days, I’m still early-right? 🙂 I have also started on my first goal for the year: socks. Yes, I have never made socks! I GET THE FIRST PAIR!!

  92. I agree, that hat and mitten set *is* gorgeous! If I ever find that colorway, I will knit it up so fast everyone will want a hat for themselves! And the sign is hilarious as well 🙂

  93. Steph, you finished the girls’ Christmas stuff in plenty of time… There’s a large community of Amish near us. They celebrate OLD Christmas — the day the Wise Men reached the stable. Today was Christmas for them! So see, you were done before Christmas after all.

  94. I’m so sorry your kids are off til the 10th. Mine (and my DH) went back on Monday the 3rd and it wasn’t a moment too soon. I was SO ready to have my house back!

  95. I see that Erma Bombeck’s terrific parameters (bleeding or on fire) have been recommended already.
    Your projects are gorgeous. Can’t wait to see what the beautiful blue hank grows into.
    Have you had any problems with Cherry Tree Hill sock yarn colorfastness? Or piling? I’m not to the washing stage, just the knitting stage. On pair two (in my lifetime) of socks. it knits beautifully…. I’d hate to be betrayed later.

  96. Your are very welcome 🙂
    My kids went back to school today, not a moment too soon, especially considering that jet lag and kids do not mix well.

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