wonderful weekend

I had a wonderful weekend with darling daughter. She has a job as a dental hygienist 90 miles away. In the last couple years there was a report in a major publication about job happiness and dental hygienists were at the top of the list. She worked  M-W last week and W-F this week (doesn't that schedule make for a happy employee?)  she had a really long weekend so we spent a day shopping in Sioux Falls and had a wonderful lunch, she bought new jeans, I got thread and backing for a quilt, we tried on shoes but didn't buy any, she found a wedding present for a classmate and some kitchen stuff for her apartment and we still had time to go to the yarn shop. I wasn't looking for anything in particular she was picking out yarn for the next pair of socks she thought I was going to knit for her then she saw some bulky yarn for mittens and thought I should knit her another pair of mittens, I knit her a pair last winter. Then I suggested since she has time.... her usual work week is T-Th....and since she would be home until Tuesday I would teach her how to knit socks but then decided on mittens because they use bigger needles and fatter yarn and only have 26 stitches cast on and knit fast. So I bought the yarn  and the needles and told her that her learning to knit mittens would be her birthday present to me. I also bought her size 6 circular square needles to refresh her memory on knitting in general and I knew she needed to learn to purl for the mittens. So Saturday we begin the lesson, refresher on casting on, she immediately got a sliver from the square needles,  but thought she could continue even with an injury.  The wood on the needle was split so her stitches caught (those needles are going back to the shop) we switch knitting she works on mine and I look at hers then start over, she knits a couple rows I show her how to purl, she purls a row then knits then purls. So then we start the mittens and everything went swimmingly. By Sunday afternoon we were finishing the point and starting the second mitten.

I knit a pair right along side to refresh my memory and so she could see what I was doing rather than doing it for her, and I will have another pair of mittens for a Christmas gift. Hers are a Malabrigo yarn and the grey are a Lovikka yarn from Sweden. Next time she comes home or I go visit her we will do the thumbs. Cherishing mother daughter time.--Ann--