Patience

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Lately, I have been needing patience. 

Some days a little, some days a lot.

It started a couple of weeks ago when a couple of my friends commented that they liked the ear warmer I was wearing when the exchange group gathered in the school parking lot to exchange our bags.

Oooh! I immediately thought of Christmas gifts! I went home and searched my small yarn stash and found nothing that would work, so I ordered some. I had to have patience while I searched for just the right colors and had trouble finding them. Then I had to have patience while I waited for the yarn to arrive. Then I had to have patience while I searched for the end of the yarn inside the skein. If you are a knitter you might know what I mean. 

That end is usually hard for me to find and I end up with a snarled mess right at the start. This happened with all three skeins of yarn. Patience.

I got right to knitting but didn't like the way the stripes were forming. I took it out and decided to try a different pattern. I happily knit away but soon began thinking that it seemed bigger/looser than mine.

It was. It just didn't fit right. I took it out again. I decided to try a different yarn for this person. It was bulkier yarn than the others, but I thought I could adjust the number of stitches used. I knew fairly soon into it that it was too wide, but Husband insisted that wide was good, it would cover the ears well. 

But it was too wide. It didn't fit well. So... patience.

I cast on again with fewer stitches and that worked just right. On to the next two. I had sock yarn for both of them and cast on the first one using a single strand of yarn.

 

I realized quickly that knitting with one strand on tiny needles would take forever. So, out it came. (This drives Husband crazy, BTW. He just doesn't understand that it is better to take it out and redo something that isn't going to fit so I tried to do the unknitting when he wasn't around!) I cast on using two strands on larger needles. But, since I only had one skein of yarn I had to use one strand from the inside and one from the outside of the skein. That got a little messy sometimes. Patience. 

The knitting did go faster and I like the finished ear warmers.

I hope my friends like them, too.

I will include the bands from the skeins of yarn so they will know how to wash them.

I have been piecing a Double 4-Patch quilt. I had found some 4-patch blocks with I was doing some organizing in my sewing room. I have been trying to finish up projects that have been hanging around for too long. I cut more in both sizes. I have stitched and stitched and was getting close to finishing, then I realized I didn't have enough squares. 

Patience. I cut some more.

 

Still didn't have enough squares. At this point, I was becoming IMpatient. If I hadn't been so close to a finish I probably would have put it away for another day.  It is a flimsy now, though.

While working in my sewing room and I noticed these projects patiently waiting their turn.

Churn Dash,

Crimson Poppy

and A Sparkling Sampler Exchange.

Husband has been wondering when I was going to finish the double 4-patch and get started on his quilt, Crimson Poppy. So I pulled that one to get started on. But before I did that I decided to rearrange my little sewing corner in the living room. The way it was I was looking at a wall and had to turn my head to see the TV.

This was causing my neck to hurt. Now I can just look up and see the TV. 

 

I can still see out the bay window and the window to the front of the house is just behind me. 

You can see that I got the very center units of Crimson Poppy sewn. This is a Quiltworx pattern and is paper pieced. I do like paper piecing, but it takes longer and requires more attention. Patience.

Husband had seen this quilt pop up on Facebook. I follow Quiltworx and there are beautiful quilts posted all the time. I think I may need to unfollow since he keeps seeing quilts he insists I need to make. He recently had me order the fabric kit for the newest one - Coral Reef. The pattern hasn't even been published yet. It won't be available until mid-January, but the fabric is on its way to my house so I better hurry and get Crimson Poppy finished. I guess my UFOs will have to wait a while longer. Patience.

I wish I could see more of my parents and Son.

I wish family drama would resolve.

I am so ready for Covid to end.

Patience.

Stay safe and well.