Mischief & Madrona Part 1

My friend, Charisa, tells me that red-headed children have a nature all to their own and I for one believe her completely. My daughter, Evelyn, at times confounds me with her odd mischievious behavior and she's so darn cute it stuns me so much that I have trouble scolding her when this behavior causes me grief. I have no intention of babying or spoiling her all her life, and so I feel at some point I'm going to have to get a grip and teach her a few things... like how to put her creative energy into something productive.

At the end of October I discovered they were selling those new fleece-lined Crocs at REI. For those of you who saw the post about my shoe collection and how it essentially consists of Crocs lightweight clogs and shoes like them, you can probably understand how delighted I was with how comfortable and incredibly warm these were. The cold winter chill was already creeping in at that point, and I couldn't resist buying them even though they were a little on the pricey side. I wore these shoes for two glorious weeks before they inexplicably disappeared. I mean, gone. I had lost my shoes before (in that they had mysteriously wandered off by becoming imaginary snow shoes, or boats for Lego men or action figures) but they would always turn up again somewhere in the kids' bedroom or under a bed... But I had looked everywhere and my wonderful new shoes were nowhere to be found. And it was cold - it started snowing every day. I looked and looked, and could not find them. And soon I started getting a little paranoid. I mean, who in the world would take my shoes? But could there be some creepy shoe thief out there? Really... I was beginning to be convinced that they were not going to turn up, that they were gone forever and I was going to have to just accept that they were not in the house and I was possibly going insane.

Six weeks later... Phil called my cell phone while I was at late night knitting to let me know he had a surprise for me. "I hope it's a good one!" I cheekily replied. "Oh, it's good," he promised. And it sure was... He had been building more Legos with Nathan and while looking for one that had been dropped on the floor he noticed that the heating vent was sticking up a little. He pulled it up and lo and behold, it was filled with Lego pieces! We had noticed the house had felt a bit colder lately, so he decided to check out the other vents. Evelyn had apparently figured out how to pull them out and had filled each one with something different before cramming the cover back on... Legos, wooden train tracks, stuffed animals, and...

... my shoes!!!!!! (Note: This photo is a reenactment, since I wasn't actually there to discover this and I'm not exactly sure of the placement of the shoes in the vent, but it's rather brilliant if you think about it... the shoe fits perfectly side to side like that.) We just laughed and laughed about it. I was so glad to get my shoes back, and so relieved to know I hadn't completely lost my mind that I just shook my head and let it go. Besides, if I were to show her the vent and try to communicate how naughty that was... I'm sure it would only encourage her.

She's also developed a rather strange habit of pulling out anything fuzzy (tufts of stuffed animal hair, bits of yarn, fluff from fleece or the carpet...) and stuffing it in the space between her upper lip and her pacifier. It's sort of cute that she finds all things furry and soft so comforting, but it's also pretty hilarious that every night before she goes to bed I have to take a little wet wipe and clear away her little fiber mustache.

On to the next topic... Yesterday I went to the Madrona Fiber Arts Retreat and took a Lace Basics class from Evelyn Clark. Although I've experimented with lace before, the patterns totally kick my behind and I have such trouble concentrating enough to not make a lot of mistakes. The best thing I learned in that class is to not worry so much about using stitch markers to count repeats, and to learn to read my knitting and make sure the yarn overs and decreases line up correctly. Evelyn was really a very nice, down-to-earth person and I hope to take more classes from her in the future. I was delighted to also find out she's a spinner and had connections with the muskox reserve in Alaska - She had recently finished an incredibly beautiful shawl made up of a variety of fibers she had spun herself including silk, camel, quiviut, bison, alpaca, and (of course) wool.

Isn't that stunning?! I was very inspired and came away with a bit more confidence... at least to finish these wristlets which was what we had worked on in class...

... and to jump back into knitting the Mystery Stole 3 which is still less than half-way done at this point. After class, I decided to sneak a peak into the Fiber Marketplace and I'm so glad I did! I ran into several people I had met on the Yarn Train to Portland, some of the Eastside Spinners (we were all wearing the same awesome silk-screened hoodie that Laura's husband designed,) and as I was about to head home to spend some time with my Sweetie - it was Valentine's Day afterall - I entered an almost deserted hallway and who was there but (Oh, my goodness... Stay cool!) the Yarn Harlot herself, Stephanie Pearl-McPhee!I can't believe I was able to carry on a rather normal conversation with someone that famous and talented. She asked me what classes I was taking, and told me who I should try taking classes with. (Yes, Stephanie... Judith MacKenzie... Ok, next year, I'm on it!) I asked her how her flight was and whether she would be at the banquet. I did think it was pretty funny that she totally didn't remember that I was that woman that showed up to her book signing a year and half ago, only a few weeks before my due date.... but who could blame her, honestly? She sees so many people in so many places... Besides, I look way different - All that weight lost, and I don't even wear glasses anymore. Really, I'm not bummed or anything... Even if I did make her a needle case for her Options needles and a handmade card. :)

(No, honestly, she's one of the coolest people I know... She organizes multitudes of knitters for very admirable causes such as Doctors without Borders and large-scale hat drives, and I'm determined to run into her again on Saturday and ask her to sign another book!)