Loose Ends....

I finished my mystery project last night.  Who knew it would be a winter like hat for people who like to put their hair up or wear a "hat" and not mess up their hair.  The pattern name is "Quant".  I have no idea why it is called that, but there you have it.  Mandy modeled this really fun mystery for me.

In addition to knitting the mystery knit project, I also knit a pattern called "The Monster Dice Bag Of Doom" for Matt to keep his dice in.  He promptly named it the Cthulu Bag--Cathulu is the name of a mythological deep sea kracken.  He is very happy with it, and I must admit I really had tons of fun knitting all the tentacles and putting the eyes in weird places.  This was a very fun project!!

Most of all I didn't get behind with the massive amount of homework that I had.  If I haven't said it before, online classes are far more difficult than face-to-face classes.  Unfortunately this semester, the classed I needed to take are not offered any other way.  However, all in all, I have to say that it was a really good week.

The Knit Goes On....

Over the years, when I am going through a tough time, I think of my grandmother.  She had a way of making troubles seem not so big.  You could tell her about yours, and she would be sitting in her chair, with her feet up, knitting along.  I used to think "wow, nothing seems to phase her."  Now, with older eyes, I think I get it.  Elizabeth Zimmerman put it best in her statement, “Knit on, through all crises, with confidence and hope.”

I think that is what I have been doing this summer.  We have faced some of our worst trials this summer.  Many of them are still ongoing and quite frankly I am not sure when things will get better.  Through it all I find myself knitting and praying.  It seems that the greater the crisis, the faster I knit, the more fervant the prayer.  I can do this because some really wonderful people have given me large quantities of yarn over the years.  This yarn came from relatives who had passed on, friends who were cleaning out their stash and didn't want some particular yarn, or as a gift because they saw a skein of yarn and thought of me.  If I didn't have this yarn, I would not be able to knit as the cost of buying yarn is beyond me at this time.  I am extremely grateful to all who had contributed to my stash over the years. 

Now, what have I been knitting?

 Pocket book slippers

Assorted Baby Hats

 Assorted Dish Towels and Dish cloths in multiplicity.

A Book Cover



There are a couple of other projects that I haven't taken pictures of yet, and a few that I won't post here as they are "birdcage covers".  I currently have 4 projects on the needles right now, including a prototype of an idea I found.  It is a 1020's doily pattern called Hemlock Ring, that I am knitting with scrap worsted yarn with big needles.  If this works, I think it would make a very pretty baby afghan.  I knit because I love to knit.  However I believe that this summer, I am stress knitting, turning this crisis into beautiful projects that would make wonderful gifts.  I am knitting with hope and praying with faith.



Dear Knitting

Yesterday the thought hit me that I had better knit some dishcloths.  For the past 29 years, my mother-in-law Ethel has knitted all the dishcloths anybody could want.  She was constantly knitting them in all rainbow colors, wherever she went.  Sometimes she sold them, however most often she gave them as gifts. 

When she passed away, I took all of the remaining dishcloths and divided them among my boys.  She had given the girls some special ones just a couple of years ago, so I felt the boys should have some of her work as well. That left me with zero dishcloths on hand, and well the blessed things wear out.  I don't know what I was thinking, like perhaps a cloud would settle over my house and drop finished dishcloths fresh from heaven?? 

I had better get knitting before anymore wear out.....I do miss knitting with her.  I don't have anybody really to knit with anymore.  I am greatful for all the things she blessed my family with over the years.  My home is filled with quilted and knitted things that gave warmth and joy to our family.  But now I knit alone......

Dear Knitting,

I joined a new online knitting group this week on http://www.ravelry.com/. It is a mystery knitting group. 

They gave me the type of yarn, needle size, gage and yardage and now I need to do a gage swatch to make sure it is the right size.  This is very important as I do not have any idea what I am making, only that it will take 220 yards of sport weight yarn. All of the projects for this group take 220 yards or less of yarn, so this fits in nicely with my portable knitting needs and will fit nicely in my purse.  Each week we are given clues to tell us what to knit--then we knit to that point and wait for the next clue.   I am using this as a stash buster solution to help work down some of my stash yarn.  I have to tell you, this is all very exciting to me, like living a mystery novel--I can't wait for the next clue!   Fun!!!!!