Back to school

Today was the first day of school and I have to say, I'm so glad! It means that my life has a bit more of a routine now. I like knowing what days I leave early to meet the girls off the bus, and what days I can stay at work late, since they have after school care. The summer was fun, but different camps each week... that's probably not how I'll do it next year.

But wow! First day of FOURTH grade! Time has gone by so quickly. The girls were only 2 1/2 years old when I opened the shop. Now they're 9.

This past weekend was gorgeous here in Vermont. And it's about time! I think it was the most summery weekend we've had all summer. But we did have some colder temperatures last week, and that cold weather brought in a lot of folks looking for knitting projects. The most popular items last week were the Plymouth Happy Choices yarn, and the Be Sweet Magic Balls. The Happy Choices sock flats are a lot of fun! You unravel the pre-knitted "flat" and don't really know what your sock will look like until you get going. But look how cool!

And the Magic Balls, well they are truly my favorite. I took one home on Friday night to make a cute little hat for a shop sample. I started it Friday night, but didn't make much progress - because I had a 10k race on Saturday morning and I went to bed early. Unfortunately, I woke up at 5am to some very persistent and LOUD cats. Turns out my cats, who have never been outdoor cats, "catch" what they think are mice in my basement at night. But they're not really mice. The cats just think they are. They're some kind of rubbery Polly Pocket dolls and outfits that - of course - my children leave all over the place. The cats pick them up, carry them around like prey, and then deposit them on the top step, and meow for us to come and see their "kill." This is what I found Saturday morning.

It's okay. Given my fear of real mice, I'll take Polly Pockets any day.

Okay, so up at 5am I knit my Be Sweet hat while I had my coffee, and it totally took my mind off the race. Love how knitting does that! When I got to the race I saw several of our customers, and I did better than I expected, so it was all good. The woman behind me in the blue shirt is Amy - a customer of ours from Bakersfield. We had a great time chatting before and after the race. It was so fun to get to know her better!

After the race, I couldn't wait to work on the Be Sweet Hat. I finished it - and am all set to knit another one, but this time, FOR ME.