Knit While They Nap presents....a Magic Yarn Ball Swap!

  So a while back I started a group on Ravelry called Knit While They Nap (not to be confused with Knit While He Naps, my store). I know it's a little redundant but I was pregnant and distracted and couldn't be super creative with names twice in a row. You should've seen how long it took me, and my husband, to pick the baby's name. Besides the sentiment behind the name remains the same for the group and my Etsy store. The reason I started the group was because I figured there were many new moms like me who were so committed to creativity that they would rather knit (or crochet) while the kids napped then take a nap themselves. I would rather look like H, E, double hockey sticks from lack of sleep than forgo a nice new pair of handknit socks or have Max go without a scrummy, soft, sweater (wrapped in wool and love *sigh*). All these reasons, and because I was trapped in my house with a colicky newborn and too post-prego fat too waddle anywhere in the summer heat were why I started a fiberphile group. I also had no new mom friends and no knitting company. Don't bring out that violin yet though. I'm not whining, not this time anyway, I went online to do what any other recluse would do....find friends. 

I have met the most fantastic, intelligent, hilarious, and creative group of women ever gathered together, through our group on Ravelry. Although we have never met in person, I feel as if I've finally found the Stitch and B*tch group I never had.  There are about 80 members from all over the world, with a varied interest in all things fiberific (knitting, crochet, spinning yarn, hand dyeing, and weaving). It's amazing to explore the knitting culture and mom demographic in places such as Germany, Iceland, Finland, Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, the UK, Zimbabwe, France, and all over the USA. 

One of the ways that we keep in touch is through Knit Alongs and Crochet Alongs (KAL/CAL), knitting for local charities, contributing to each other's Yarn Bombing projects, and a Magic Yarn Ball Swap (suggested by member CrochetBelle). 

A magic yarn ball swap is where you take a ball of nice yarn and wrap it around little presents and surprises so as the person knits with it or un winds it the surprises all come out. You can also tuck the nice yarn inside and use scrap yarn to wrap it all up so it's even more of a surprise (or in my case you put feather surprise in it too which will be annoying to clean but FUN!).  Then you ship it off to your swap partner and wait impatiently for yours to come in the mail. Click the link above to see more about this. I forgot to take pictures of mine before I sent it but I'm sharing pictures below of the one that I received. You can also make one of these as a children's birthday gift or stocking stuffer to help them get into a crafty/handmade mode. The gifts tucked inside will help them finish their project and not be haunted by an unfinished, lumpy, acrylic, half-a-scarf mess from 10 years ago as I am. :)

Ooooh a package! for me?!?!

Yay! An H&M bag...oh wait there's stuff underneath....

Hooray! Knitting Christmas has come! 

A shovel for Max, nice organic cotton yarn, adorable pet theme buttons (one has a flocked puppy face on it!),  Knit While They Nap letters ( to make a yarn project tote bag), fun knit pins (to decorate said tote bag), an Eucalan sample, and a delicious donut gift card to make up for the chocolate one that got away *sigh* crafty heaven!

He may be worth it, but can I afford it?

Look at that face. A-DOR-A-BLE! Of course, he's worth it. A blind mole in a paper bag could tell you that much. That's a question I've been asked a lot lately. Every time I complain about some "joy of motherhood" someone inevitably holds my son up and says, "but isn't he worth it?". Well, yes of course he is. His worth is immeasurable. He is single handedly the biggest and most important thing that has ever happened to me, and yet there are times when I find myself pondering over the price I paid for such happiness. Here I pause and feel overly cautious about my next words. I'm striving to put the right tone here because I worry that people will find me ungrateful or unworthy. New moms are judged so harshly when it comes to the type of parent people perceive them to be. People are always saying they know exactly what you're going through but they still don't want to hear you complain. If you even begin to hint that there is trouble in newborn paradise, they insist that it's irrelevant because, "isn't he worth it"? I understand that they are just trying to help me put things in perspective. I read the pamphlet on Postpartum Depression, I know what you're worried is happening here and I assure you it's not that. I just can't help running over the list of things I traded in for the opportunity to call this angel faced lovey mine.

In my case, the price of motherhood was;

1. A now defunct thyroid. It turns out that it wasn't just me and my menage-a-trois with Cheetos and Chocolate. Somewhere in my third trimester by body decided to wage an auto-immune war on my thyroid and killed it. The result? A metabolism on permanent holiday, the kind of fatigue and joint pain found in retirement communities, and the inability to lose weight.  Even a renewed commitment to the commandments of the almighty D&E (diet and exercise) won't help now. It seems that the only way I'll be losing the baby weight is through more blood tests and medication than a guinea pig sees on a workday. Joy.

2. A completely battle scarred body. I won't get into what happened to my body. Nobody is interested in hearing that same old pregnancy/birth sob story, not even me. Let's just say that if I were an apartment and the baby was a previous renter...he wouldn't be getting his deposit back. Not the way he left the place looking when he moved out.

3. What was left of my "youth". Most moms today are in their 30's. They lived through their 20's, enjoying the single life then relived their 20's again when 30 became the "New 20". I got to about 25 and was skipped ahead ten years in a game of Chutes and Ladders that I call marriage. I go in my closet and laugh at the absurd wardrobe belonging to some 20 something girl that, supposedly, I used to be. The only purpose that toddler sized collection of party dresses and miniskirts will serve, is as dress up clothes for my daughter's social studies projects. Kind of like when I wore stuff from my mom's closet to Disco Days at school. In August I turned 27 but it felt much closer to 49.

4. Losing touch with all my friends that don't have babies. I can't blame them. I don't have anything in common with myself anymore either.

5. Losing all the free time I used to spend with my husband and myself. If ever there is even one spare second not involving the baby I am usually so exhausted I fall asleep just thinking about the ways I will spend it. Getting a manicure involves more phone calls and planning than planning my wedding did.  And now you have to multiply the cost of any night out with the number of hours you will have to pay the babysitter for. There's also the complex mathematics involved in figuring out how many extra hours you have to schedule in for the old 10 minute trip to the grocery store. Today it took me 3 hours to clean the kitchen. In wasn't particularly messy (Robert had even triaged the dirty dish situation the night before) but when you factor in the 2 minutes of work I get done for every hour of baby drama interruption, 30 minutes of cleanup turns into an all day affair. I quit my job so I could spend all day working for the man. The man that is 6 months old and doesn't even talk yet. Romance and relaxation are words that left my vocabulary when high heels and lingerie left my closet.

So there's the bill. The total payment due for the thrill of holding the world's best baby in my arms (that's right...you read that bold claim correctly... WORLD'S BEST :p). So is it worth it? That's become an entirely irrelevant question. I had no choice in the matter. They dropped the check after I had already fallen madly in love. I didn't even glance at the total when I handed over my card and told them to charge it. I might have over paid. I probably could have got more for less somewhere else. But just look at that face! Luxury like this is always worth it.