Happy Fall!

I realize while looking at this blog that I have not posted anything since April. A large part of the reason is because I didn’t feel like I had much to say, but of course, finding the time to write was a challenge too. It’s been on my mind though, does that count?

Many people around me are sad to see the summer wane, and I too love this season, but honestly, I’m glad it’s over. The summer of 2011 was rough for the Stein household.

Between massages, the food pantry, the church’s summer program, and normal life, it just moved so fast. There was no time for a breather. On top of that, we got robbed in July, the very last day of my work with Magic Mushroom summer program. It could’ve been worse, but it certainly was bad enough. It affected all of us, the violation, the insecurity, the anger…my son especially had some difficulty adjusting. After the incident, he was afraid to sleep in his room, which is on the 2nd floor of our house, if there was no one else occupying the second floor. This lasted for months, and I think it’s only beginning to get better. We’re still waiting for our claim check on that one.

I didn’t like the weather this time around either. It seemed extreme. Too much rain, too much humidity, too many extreme-temperature days. There were so many times where I wanted to go outside, but was cooped up in the house because it was the only place that was bearable. And I consider myself pretty tough when it comes to dealing with heat, so I didn’t understand that.

My son broke his right arm too, which many consider to be a rite of passage, but for us is mainly a pain in the butt because he can’t do half of the things he really loves to do (ride bike, swim, basketball) as well as the things he has to do (like write). Poor guy. Luckily, he’s young, healthy and strong, so he’ll be out of his cast probably by the end of October.

These are just a few of the obstacles that faced us between June and August.
However, some good things happened too. My daughter found the camping/travelling bug in her, and she spent most of her summer doing just that, and had a wonderful time meeting new people, doing different outdoor activities, and generally having fun. My son discovered baseball, and seeing him smile 100% of the time while he played just made both Mitch and I so happy.

Strangely, for the first time in my 6 years of knitting, I had to put down all wool projects this summer. I couldn’t do it! My hands would perspire and stick to the yarn and it was impossible to knit, due to this extreme weather we had. Perhaps that is most what put a sour color on my summer, the inability to knit.

But all that’s over now.

Yesterday a knitting friend and I went to yarncon in Chicago (Pulaski Park) and bought some gorgeous hand-dyed yarn. I’m back on the Norwegian/Russian mitt craze and have some totally gorgeous projects coming soon. I’m also thinking of a new original design for a knit stole. I love it when my brain starts to obsess on creating original work.

I’m currently finishing my projects to sell in the upcoming fine arts fair in November, which is very exciting to me. This will be my first time participating in a craft fair, and all of the proceeds from the sales of my work will go to charity. I will post more specific information as I receive it. In the meantime, feel free to look at my finished projects in the photostream link at the bottom right of this page.

Until next time, which will be a lot sooner than five months. Forgive me! :-)