Home School Life

It’s not often that I devote an entire weekend to indulgent crafting and home-making. But this October weekend is so rainy I can’t resist (even though my gutters are crying out to be cleaned.) 

Friday morning I suddenly got an impulse to bake bread. Laurel’s Kitchen is the foremost authority on bread baking and I’ve learned a lot from her suggestions. The bread had finished it’s first rise when it was time to leave for school so I packed up the loaf and finished the second rise and baking at school. It turned out really well. The aftercare room smelled delicious and the kids ate it for their snack before I managed to get pics of the finished product. I’m toying with the idea of baking my own bread for sandwiches every week, especially since another mom friend told me her secret to a perfectly risen loaf — vitamin C powder. I guess the acid really helps with the rising. I think I’ll try a french loaf today.

This morning I finished the scarf I promised my mother last Christmas. I loved knitting this scarf, though it’s my first finished lace project (except for socks.) It’s now doing my version of blocking on my bed. I’ve never blocked anything before and I couldn’t find any pins, so I’m hoping my wetting and hand-stretching technique is good enough. I’m actually pretty happy with it, though if you look closely you’ll find all kinds of mistakes. Now that it’s finished I feel like I could actually make it well. It was so fun to knit I could imagine doing it again. The pattern is Fiddlesticks Rippling Waters scarf and the yarn is a bamboo blend I found at my local yarn store.

Next on the agenda is to finish the match to this sock.

I am not at all enjoying knitting these socks. I want to finish them mainly so I can use the needles for something else. I skimped a little bit on the length and as a result they don’t fit me very well so finishing them feels like a chore. At the same time I do not want to rip them out, so I may give them to The Girl. I’ve always thought I’m the only on in the family who appreciates handknit socks, but maybe she’ll surprise me.

I’m also hoping to clean out my loft, which is currently an explosion of yarn, fabric and notions. I bought some fabric to start a quilt but I won’t let myself start it until I get organized. Hopefully there will be some before and after pics to post before the weekend is out. After all, what else am I going to do on this rainy weekend.

Even Lula wants to just lay around.