Stitches therapy

Stitches West was great this year. It's great every year, but this year was different. Special. Amazing.

It was a family affair; Genevieve's whole entourage was there. We had toys. We had "chewies". We had our trusty stroller and our diaper bag. We had our bag lunches and healthy snacks. We had knitting aunties available at every turn. We were ready for anything.

The convention center had plenty of room to run and play, without being underfoot.

Piggyback, with extra pigtails

And a few quiet places for DangerMouse to get her beauty sleep.

Napping at Stitches, under the Love Blanket

Andrew was incredible. He did most of the DangerMouse wrangling all weekend, and I got to take the two classes like we had planned.

It was incredible. I took Lily Chin's Short Rows for Bust Darts class, which took all of the mystery out of short rows and replaced it with completely accessible math. I took notes. I participated. I learned. For three incredible hours, I was a Knitter.

Andrew, as you may have guessed (and are not surprised AT ALL to find out) surpassed all expectations. He had the help of a friend's charming daughter (Dr. Adorable) who was more than happy to play with Genevieve, and it was obvious that Genevieve thought that Dr. Adorable was the cat's meow.

I got to spend a lot of time with friends who I don't get to see nearly enough of, which was the best part. It recharged my batteries in a way that I desperately needed. It was like taking a deep breath of fresh air after being cooped up too long. But better, because there was knitting.

I did a little shopping, and I added to the "good intentions" pile. You know, the one where you buy materials to make stuff for your friends' kids, but sometimes you don't have time to follow through? That's the "good intentions" pile.

A two-sided blanket to go with this one.

What was the most remarkable was what I'm referring to as the "Stitches Miracle". In over a year, Genevieve had only slept through the night once or twice. During Stitches, something happened. With the exception of one night, she has slept through the night every night during (and since). Clearly, this kid has whatever the knitting equivalent of midi-chlorians are.

It has been amazing. I'm feeling almost well-rested. The sun shines a little brighter, Genevieve's laughter is more joyous, and I'm feeling better than I have in ages.

I've always thought that observing traditions is incredibly important. Observing knitting traditions are even more important when you're raising a future knitter.