we got home late last night from our austin family trip and it’s good to be home.
there’s just one problem.
it’s WAY too quiet.
i’m sure we’ll get used to it, but right now it makes us miss them.
it’s always the same—when we first see them it’s like getting hit by a kid tornado . . . the avalanche of energy, noise, and activity sort-of just sweeps over us like a runaway train. after a while, we begin to sort out which voice belongs to who, and what they are actually saying and doing. over a few days, it becomes a rhythm (not so much like the rhythm of a knit row; more like the rhythm of van halen)
there was an adorable little girl behind us on the plane that was happy to furnish several octaves of screeching to get us through the first flight (in fact, she sounded SO much like mary that it was a bit disconcerting). but after that it was total, cold-turkey withdrawal . . .
seriously, i never dreamed i’d miss the screaming.
our last few days were great; the weather was gorgeous so we played outside a lot. and we took a trip to the IMAX theater to see the sea monsters movie, along with a short DIY tour of the capitol building. and then on the way home, my SIL, deborah, insisted that i should see hill country weavers (more about that later).
and wow, we did get a bunch of snow while we were gone.
happily though, the sun has also been very accommodating and our car was clear of it. since it was after midnight when we got in, i was incredibly grateful for this seemingly small favor on mother nature’s part.
with two flights and a 4-hour stopover in denver between them, i got a ton of knitting done on the return trip. most of it was on my secret project, so it’s hard to prove just how much it amounts to.
but i got a little bored with it and worked on tesserae two for a while
it’s always nice to take a break from a complex lace pattern to knit on something like this—nice, easy knits and purls, but more interesting than ribbing.
and i have to say, i got a surprising amount of sock knitting done during the week. i knit every day for at least a couple of hours. first thing in the morning while it was quiet was a good time. then after breakfast while the kids went nuts for a while. and evenings also proved a good time; susan and i would knit for a while while the younger kids played before bed.
i got my new sock almost done
i’m going to call this one school sock because the texture and color combined remind me so much of a school uniform (secretly, i adore the various plaids of school uniforms and i even like a lot of the styles i see. in reality, i hated wearing one for eight years of grammar school, but that was more about how it looked on me; i thought it was really cute on some kids).
at first i was concerned that the texture might not stand up to the variegation of this yarn but i went ahead with it for several reasons.
first, denial. you can’t underestimate the power of laziness—i mean, who wants to start all over once they are settled in? secondly, i didn’t have plain yarn with me, or a stitch book for compulsive searching of an alternate pattern. and thirdly, i wanted to knit something with this yarn. and i had already determined at home that this pattern would be great. anyway, david will wear whatever socks i knit whether i like them or not, so it wouldn’t go to waste.
as you can see, my design decisions are firmly grounded in a commitment to aesthetic excellence and the classic principles of line, structure, and form. heh.
actually, this is one good example of why we sometime take a wait-and-see approach to our knitting. after about 20 rows, the sock did not look as i expected, nor did i believe with conviction that it would ever look great. the busyness of the colorway paired with the texture did not seem right at that point.
but i resisted the temptation to rip back because i know that many times, the strength of an allover pattern is revealed only after larger mass of knitting has been completed. it’s as if the quantity of repetitions is directly related to the impact the pattern has on the eye.
in other words, more IS more. now i love it.
the ranco sock yarn is very nice too (and oooh, look, it’s on sale at that place). as i said, it does not have the luxuriant hand of some other yarns i use a lot, but it does offer nice, clean stitch definition and promises to be sturdy and comfortable, especially for the guys, who are so hard on their socks. it’s a LOT like lorna’s laces and is very reasonably priced. it has the added attraction of being available in a full range of nearly solids as well as handpaints. the only problem is deciding which one to buy.
how do i know?
well, i couldn’t leave austin without dropping a little cash at a yarn shop, now could i??
33 thoughts on “the silence is deafening”
Welcome home! Hey – I’ll send over a noisy daughter if you are desparate!
See you Monday!
Glad you had a good trip Anne, and hopefully you’ll get used to the quiet soon 😉
I’m working on a pair of socks in the Ranco right now, and I really love it! It’s such nice yarn with an amazing price, and it works up very nicely. It looks great in the School Sock pattern!
Welcome back! And look how productive you were even on holiday. 🙂 The new sock is gorgeous (I want to see how it looks in a plain solid yarn, too) and I think I can see some interesting construction in the foot…?
I know what you mean about that deafening silence… I’ve experienced it quite a few times, and it always amazes me!
Good thing you kept going with the school sock: it looks great!
awww. That photo of the hands is just too cute.
Very true about the wait-and-see approach. I was having that problem with my Tesserae but now that I’m more than two repeats into it, it’s beautiful! (Though, not quite as beautiful as yours)
The holding hands pic is precious!
The socks are to die for! but I’m so glad you’re back. It’s impossible for me to walk, sit, or run (er, walk fast) draped in a fitted queen-size sheet!!!! 🙂 Sharon McQuistion
Hill Country Spinners and Weavers is a favorite of mine when we visit Austin each late Winter 🙂 Congress is quite the street!
If you want some noise, you’re always welcome here. :g:
Anne….it’s so good to have you back! It is such a time warp coming home from a vacation, isn’t it? It sounds like the time you spent with your family was extra special.
I love all of the socks, but then you know what a fan of your sock patterns I am.
Welcome back! I’d be happy to loan you my girls sometime, if you’re feeling in need of noise 😉 I am lovin’ those socks — maybe Younger Daughter needs a pair to go with her uniform? Hmmm… Better finish Rick’s pair first…
I like the picture of holding hands. It is tender, and loving, and …. special.
Welcome home!
Welcome home – and I love the photo of all your hands… it is just simply perfect!
You can have my 6 and 3 year old anytime if you are craving some loudness- they are always ready to provide!!! Love the ranco sock yarn. Happy knitting!!!
I think I forgot to mention HCW in my last comments.
(I got some Ranco at a sale a few months ago)
Welcome home, I love your new sock, I brought back some of that sock yarn from my trip to Scotland to try it out. I am glad to hear you like it.
I am finding the opposite on my return, I spent a very quiet week with my mum and have come home to 3 very noisy boys, guitars, music, yelling, I had forgotten what it was like for a little while. ;0)
I understand what you mean about missing the noise of kids once you get used to it. I am a mother of 2 boys, 3 years and 4 years old. I like when the spend the night because I look forward to the peace and quiet (and the knitting time without interruptions). But then after a couple hours, I am bored. After the evening is over and I wake up to silence, I miss them terrible and must go pick them up right away. And most of the time they hate this because they want more time with their cousins! heh heh.
I knit some socks in the Rancho, possibly the green you have. They are one of my favorite pairs to wear. …very cushy. However, I do not machine wash them, as I do my Opal and Regia socks. They do just fine hand washed, though.
Welcome back! I always feel a little odd and lonely when get home from visiting my sister’s family. But then I remember how nice it can be to have my free time be my own.
Anne- When kids are small, they have so much to say. Then they become teenagers, and they won’t talk to you.
I like your “souvenirs”.
Welcome back! I’m always astounded that family members without kids of their own ever want to visit us. The noise, the mess, the chaos. I always wonder if they’re faking it. It’s good to know that some people actually do enjoy a (brief?) stay in bedlam.
oh – that sweet little hand! My 5 year old still has chubby little hands and it’s usually the only part of him I can find that still has a “baby” look! Therefore I kiss the chubby hands frequently 🙂
That picture of you and your hubby holding hands and the little hand on top is priceless!
Oh, how I love that first photo. And how I love the snow shawl. Although, I’m totally out of love for snow itself at this point!
Welcome home – sorry ’bout the homesick feelings for missing the little ones… it happens to all of us – every time.. (if that’s any consolation)
Your projects look grand – and dang grrrl.. talk about keeping us in suspense over the mystery one… can’t wait to see what you have up your sleeve – I hope it’s one for publication!
I love the photo of the hands. And I do know about the deafening silence. It’s all or nothing, isn’t it?
AS always, your projects look fantastic, I may have to break down and get me some Ranco to play with.
Weldome home!
Love the hands photo, brought tears to this granmama’s eyes thinking of my practically perfect granddaughters.
Question…..what is that beautiful skein of yarn atop the gorgeous “Snow” shawl??? I must have some!
:0)
Carla
Lovely photo of the hands, and the HEB sticker brought back a flood of memories of spending a summer with my maternal grandmother in San Antonio and running over to the HEB for her. My sister and I would dissolve in gales of laughter over the fact that the B stands for Butts.
that photo is priceless! There’s something about the comfort of a wee-small hand resting atop a grownup, worldy, tired, hand that sums it all up sin’t there?! I love it 🙂
Glad to see you’re back home safe and sound.
The hands photo is so sweet! And I can’t believe someone else mentioned the HEB sticker — of all the things I thought I’d miss about San Antonio, it never occurred to me that I’d miss my HEB — but I do!
Well Damn! I wish I had known you were here. I was in HCW last week during SXSWi. Please let me know the next time you’re in town. We can call a gathering of kntiters together pretty fast in this little burg.
nice work, brother
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