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knitting

What Condition My Condition Was In

May 4, 2011 by sue campbell

Ben and I were together for nine years before we had Nora. We spent much of that time watching The Big Lebowski.

Right now, you’re either thinking “Cool! I love that movie,” or “Huh?  Why?”  It’s the kind of movie you either love or couldn’t care less about.

If you’ve never seen the movie, the only thing you know to read this post and make any sense of it is that the main character, played by Jeff Bridges, calls himself “Dude,” and is a complete lazy ass who gets sucked into a complicated kidnapping scenario.  Through much of the movie, he looks like this:

See that sweater?  Let’s take a closer look:

Well, this year is our 10th wedding anniversary*.  I told Ben I’d make him a sweater for the occasion.  I set him down with his laptop at the Ravelry website and made him look through hundreds of sweaters to find the one he wanted.  He literally gasped when he found this one. The search was over.   I would be making the Dude’s sweater.  It’s a reproduction of the Pendleton Cowichan Cardigan that was made in the 60s and 70s.  These things sell on Ebay for hundreds of dollars, thanks to the popularity of the film.

Thankfully, some crazy beautiful knitter named Andrea Rangel wrote a pattern and offered it for free.

So, that’s how I’ll be spending my weekends until the big day on July 14th.  And this is the song that will be going through my head….

*For those of you doing the realtionship math, we’ve been together 13 years, but married for 10.  Thus 13-4=9 years before we had Nora.

Filed Under: Bonding Tagged With: anniversaries, Dude sweater, knitting, The Big Lebowski, Vintage Pendleton Cardigan

How to Prepare for a Waxing

May 2, 2011 by sue campbell

Spring is here and busy moms best hustle to the spa for a leg waxing.  No sense spending valuable blogging time shaving your legs everyday.  Schedule your appointment for a Saturday morning.  There’s nothing your child likes better than to have you leave for an appointment without her first thing Saturday.

Some preparation on Friday night is needed.  You will be tired from a long week’s work and need to unwind with some knitting.  This is the perfect time for your child to bust out the crayola markers and ask to give you a special face painting.  And while you would look great with a rabbit nose and whiskers, it’s better to redirect her towards your ridiculously fuzzy legs.  “But wait,” you may be saying, “Isn’t is a bit stupid to get your legs painted by a nearly four-year-old just hours before a stranger will be seeing them?”  Remember, it’s Friday night.  You’re incapable of remembering anything, especially anything you have scheduled for the next morning.  So, relax, and have a sip of Stella.

When she’s done with your right leg, take a moment to admire her work.  It looks Japanese inspired.  Brown lines are branching up and down your calf, punctuated by orange circles that look blossoms illuminated by sunlight.

If there is more knitting to be done, offer her your left leg.  It’s more creatively fulfilling work for your child.

When that’s done, and you still need a few minutes, ask her to document her efforts, ephemeral as they are, by using your iPhone to take pictures of your legs.

Digitally enhanced to look slightly grosser than they really were.

Now, it’s time for pajamas and snuggles. Rest well.

Saturday morning, express regret as you look at your once fish-belly-white legs covered in marker.  Claim that you are about to shower and scrub it off while continuing to knit.

If you’ve done your work as a parent to this point, your child may offer to wash your legs for you, while you remain seated in the dining room.  Protest slightly and then give in, a few more rows and your project will be complete, you just need another twenty minutes or so.

Your child can gather the necessary materials by herself; this is a good lesson in autonomy.  Hand soap and the plush bathroom hand towel will do nicely.  Just go with it.  Prop your left leg on a dining room chair.  Watch your posture, now.

Not only will your legs be clean and exfoliated before your appointment, you have given your child the following lessons: thinking outside the canvas, photography, autonomy and cleanliness. And cleverly made time to knit a skirt to clothe said child. 

And nobody has to know. 

Unless, of course, you choose to blog about it.

Filed Under: Time Management Tagged With: creative parenting strategies, knitting, washable markers, waxing

Why Make Things?

April 18, 2011 by sue campbell

I’ve been teaching people at work to knit.  I love getting people into knitting.  It’s like getting people addicted to something that’s good for them.  But some folks have a hard time understanding why you’d take the time to knit something you can easily buy.  We were talking about learning how to knit before a meeting started and one woman commented, “I know how to buy socks at the store,” and gave me a look that told me she couldn’t think of anything that could be a bigger waste of time than making your own socks.

My answer to that comment will take a few paragraphs to explain.

With any craft —  sewing, knitting, spinning — you have to learn a few new skills.  This is good for your brain.  You get a feeling of accomplishment and a greater understanding of the way the world works. 

Next, you get to shut the rest of the world out for awhile.  Knitting and spinning are meditative endeavors.  And I’ve almost never come away from a round of knitting without an idea for something to write about.  Activities like this have a way of allowing your mind to start composting all the garbage that’s been floating around in there.  After an hour or two, you can end up with some pretty good stuff.

Then, there are the longer term benefits.  You are surrounded by items that you made.  They are exactly what you wanted.  They keep you and your loved ones warm.  They look  impressive to strangers.

Then, there are the very longest term benefits.

The other day, Ben’s parents sent us a package.  Inside was a small quilt sewn by Nora’s great grandmother.  Mary Safratowich died of cancer more than ten years ago.  She was a crafter-extraodinaire.  My mother-in-law, Deb, has saved many things she made.  Nearly every year, she passes a handmade item down to one her children, or to Nora.  A decade later, we are still enjoying things Mary made: quilts, Christmas ornaments, tapestries, hand puppets, you name it.

And these items give us an opportunity to talk about Mary with her great-granddaughter.  We tell Nora how Mary was one of the sweetest people we have ever known, and how if she were still alive, she would be doing crafts and baking yummy things with Nora every chance she got.

Shortly after I showed Nora the quilt, Nora said, “When Hoover dies, he can be my great-grandma’s dog and it will sorta be like a farm.”  I’m guessing in her little brain, our departed chickens are already in Mary’s care.  Nora is able to understand who her great-grandma was when she looks at something she made. 

So, naturally, as I sit in a chair in my living room while Nora naps, working on a lace scarf for my mom, I take comfort in knowing that, should I end up in my mom’s shoes one day — with Alzheimer’s — or, of course,  just eventually dead and gone, the items I made will remind my family of me.   They will have something I took the time to make, not something I casually purchased.  And they will remember my love for them.

Filed Under: Sentimentality Tagged With: crafting, knitting, legacy, quilting, spinning, why make things

The Case for Doing More

January 28, 2011 by sue campbell

I know.  You’re busy.  I’m busy.  I’m not disputing that.  But I propose that the things you’re busy doing are not necessarily those things that fulfill you.

I know the feeling of wanting to collapse at the end of a long day.  But I can tell you from experience that attending only to those tasks that scream your name — groceries, cooking, laundry, work — leaves you exhausted and unfulfilled.

So, what if you decide to do a little bit more?  Something you WANT to do, but feel like you don’t have time for?

In the spring 2009, I was working on a software implementation project.  It was the most stressful thing I’ve ever done. The hours were long, the stakes were high.  I had a VERY young child at home.  There were many days I came home, did as little as I could before falling asleep.  But I made damn sure I planted my 800-square-foot vegetable garden.  No one would have faulted me for not planting anything that year.  But it wasn’t something I was willing to sacrifice.

No matter how tough things got, I could come home, hug my daughter and walk out to the garden and pick a cucumber or a head of lettuce.  That meant the world to me.

Fast foward to today.  I’m still working full time.  I also knit, write freelance articles, blog, and volunteer at Nora’s school.  I’m not telling you this as a “look how great I am”  kind of thing.  Sometimes it feels a bit selfish.  But I know it’s necessary.  If all I did was work, cook, clean and parent, I know I would slip away from myself.  I’d get depressed and start looking for a way out of the grind.  I might even do something stupid like blame my husband for my misery.

If you’re feeling this way, I urge you to start doing more*.  More of the things you love.  Take a yoga class, raise some chickens, go wine tasting, volunteer. You may find you end up with more energy, not less.

*And by all means, do less of the things you don’t want to do, if you can swing it!

Filed Under: Time Management Tagged With: gardening, hobbies, knitting, the grind, time for yourself, volunteering

Elephants to Slippers

January 26, 2011 by sue campbell

Last week it was an elephant.  This week: slippers.  A pair for me and a pair for Nora. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nora chose her own yarn and buttons.

 

Filed Under: Wordless Tagged With: felting, knit-a-thon, knitting, slippers

What I’ve Been Doing Instead of Blogging

January 18, 2011 by sue campbell

There are few things more satifying than making something your child loves.  Whether it’s a knitted elephant or a bowl of cioppino with extra shrimp.  I spend most of last week cooking and this weekend doing crafty stuff.
 
Cute, but a Complete Time Suck

And this week, I’ll be putting the finishing touches on a new article for Metro Parent magazine.  This one is about bullying.

Posting may be a but light this week, but I’ll be back soon.

Filed Under: Time Management Tagged With: cioppino, cooking, crafting, flo the elephant, knitting, knitty

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What kind of blog is this?

This is a blog for PARENTS. True, the writer, Sue Campbell, writes books for kids. But this blog is for grown-ups. It has some swearing and would be super boring for kids. Except for the swearing.

The PODCAST is for KIDS and PARENTS. In fact, my twelve-year-old daughter is my co-host.

If your kids like Sue's books, send them over to suecampbellbooks.com where there's some kid-friendly content. EVEN BETTER, join the mailing list. You get stuff for grown-ups and printable stuff for kids. And sometimes there will be super ill-advised giveaways or coloring contests for free books.

MORE ABOUT SUE: She makes an ACTUAL LIVING from writing words and marketing books and lives with her husband, two daughters, six chickens and one messy house rabbit in Portland, Oregon. And yes, Portland IS that weird. She really couldn't be any luckier.

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