Dear Knitting

I love to knit the mystery knits.  It is fun to see the faces people knit when they ask what you are making and you look at them and say "I don't know."  Most of all I love that I make things I probably would not make, but are fun to add on to or give as gifts.  My mystery knitting group did one for the end of the year.  A new clue was given every 12 hours over the course of the last 2 days of 2012.  As I was looking at the products that were being knitted, I noticed that the moderators (the ones who knew what we were knitting) were all making this project in multiplicity, and since I had time (being sick) I made 4 as well.  This is what it looked like after 3 clues.

It was all rather fun as we were using pieces leftover from projects gone by...every yarn coming from the ball bin.  All the yarn was supposed to be acrylic, and so it was.

Then the last clue came and after following it, here is what it turned out to be.  

It is called "Fishy Tawashi" which my sister tells me is Japanese for "scrub brush" or in other words a fish shaped scrubby.  It is only 1 sided and works rather like a sponge on the dishes.  A bit of fun!!

I am now currently involved with a couple of other mystery projects.  Any guesses?? I won't know until the last clue is given in the last week of the month.  

The first one is a new technique for me called "enterlac" and is rather scary.   I look at each of the clues and get into overwhelm, so now I cover up the clue except for 1 line at a time.  The tail is interesting.....wonder what it will be.  The other one is just standard knitting, going back and forth.  It is a nice cuddly homespun though.  I love a good mystery!

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.