A Nice Surprise!

I had a nice surprise when I went out to the mailbox yesterday.  About 6 months ago, I took out a subscription to Knitter's Digest.  I have been very disappointed in it.  The last couple of  issues left much to be desired.  I was not going to renew.  Well, yesterday in the mail, was a new magazine -- apparently Knitter's Digest is no more.  It has been replaced with Creative Knitting.  It reminds me a lot of FCEK now.  There are patterns for a lace stripe sweater, lots of scarves (still obviously big this fall), there is also a sweater out of Melissa Leapman's new book Hot Knits. There are other Melissa Leapman sweaters, along with socks and things for children and afghans.  And my favorite of all -- on page 28, the "Soy Delicious Shell."  It is a long tunic style form fitting sleeveless shell with slits on the side and seed stitch ribbing.  It has definately made it onto my "Must Do" list!  The sweater in the book is made out of Soy Silk Ribbon yarn, hence the name Soy Delicious Shell.  All in all, I liked the new magazine.  It was a definate upgrade from the issue of Knitter's Digest I expected to find in my mailbox!!!!

Warning: Addictive!

That's the warning label that the "No Hair Day Hairy Chemo Cap" pattern should come with!  What fun!  I have made 4 of these so far, knitting at lunchtime at work (which seems to be the only time I have to knit lately!)  They are so much fun to knit, and my coworkers have gone nuts over them.  I have been besieged by requests to sell these caps, but I politely refuse.  I tell everyone that wants one that I will furnish them with a list of needed supplies and gladly teach them how to make their own. My goal is to make a bag of these adorable hats to take to the Hematology/Oncology Center before the onset of the cool fall weather.  Pictures of these caps really don't do them justice -- they are simply the cutest hats I have ever seen!  I have been making them in "hair colors" like white and black and brown, but I think I will branch out a bit and try a few brightly colored ones, too.  And for those thinking ahead to Christmas present knitting, how cute it would be to make a matching hat and scarf -- maybe even put a furry cuff on a pair of gloves to complete the set.  But be warned -- you can't make just one of these hats!!!!!!!!

Pop Quiz!!!!!!!!

Okay class, close your books and pick up your pencils.  It is time for a pop quiz!  The quiz consists of only one question, but any of you that have been reading my blog for a while will have no problem getting it correct.  So, here goes:

"Why hasn't the Santa Fe Shawl turned up in the Completed Projects column yet?"

a)  I am a fickle knitter, constantly flitting back and forth between projects

b)  I suffer from "start-itis", an affliction that compels one to begin new projects

c)  I walked through the novelty yarn isle of Walmart in a weak moment

d)  I dislike the finishing process of a project -- I much prefer the knitting part

e)   All of the above

Okay, quiz over.  Put down your pencils and pass your papers forward.  So how did you do?  If you answered  e)  All of the above, you got an A+!!!!!!!  The shawl finishing is going slowly due to the fact that I dislike the finishing aspect of a knitting project.  Seriously dislike it.  I would much rather be knitting!  The blocking process was a complete sucess!  After all the grunting and muttering and pulling and tugging, I was very afraid that the pieces would go (((Sproing!!!!!!))) back into their original shape when the pins were removed, but to my immense relief, the pieces stayed put in their new dimensions.  Now for that dastardly sewing up part -- but wait a minute, since I missed my mother-in-law's acutal birthday, what is another week or so going to matter, why not begin a new project now???  So that's what I did.  It did not help that I happened to find myself in the yarn department at Walmart on a day that I was feeling a bit down.  The brightly colored, cheerful novelty yarns got the best of me, and some of them found their way into my cart.  Sneaky things!  Some of that cheerful yarn has already begun its new life as "No Hair Day Hairy Chemo Caps!"  I found a link on Spunknits blog (Innane Knitting Babble) for charity crafters, and one of the links on it lead to http://www.headhuggers.org/.  There are so many cute caps on this site, but this furry one with the silly name really caught my eye!  http://www.headhuggers.org/patterns/kpatt10.htm.  A short walk from the hospital where I work is the Lynchburg Hematology / Oncology Center.  Two summers ago, I spent many hours sitting there playing cribbage with my Dad while he was receiving chemo for colon cancer.  When I found this link, I knew instantly that I wanted to make these caps to give to the Oncology center to give to their chemo patients.  As with Conner's prayer blanket, I find that making things to help others feel better actually helps relieve the heaviness in my own heart caused by my own problems.  Charity knitting is a beautiful thing.  Thanks to Spunknit for providing these links!

 

Santa Fe Shawl Update!

For anyone who read my old blog, you know that the Santa Fe Shawl has been an ongoing project for some time now.  It was a knit-a-long with Bron (see her link on my sidebar -- Bron's Blog II).  The knitting stopped for a while in March when my life took an unexpected "detour."  Bron graciously agreed to put the project on hold until I was ready to pick it back up.  If you read her blog, you will realize that she has lots of other projects to keep her busy!  Recently, I dug the shawl back out of its knitting bag.  It is a birthday present for my mother-in-law whose birthday is this month.  I really wanted to get it done.  I contacted Bron who gave me the nod to go ahead.  Alas, she is not completely happy with her Santa Fe Shawl  and is not sure if she will complete it or send it to the frogpond.  I await the verdict on its fate in one of her future blog entries.  I finished knitting the shawl yesterday.  I gave it a bath an stretched it out on the blocking board.  Easier said than done!  The directions warn that there will be a bit of a battle with this shawl, and they are not kidding!  But I won, and the largest piece of the shawl is blocked to a perfect 24" X 48".  Today it is the smaller piece's turn.  Once blocked, I will sew the two pieces together in an "L" shape and then crochet on the beads along the edges.  I promise pictures of the completed shawl!  So, there will be another finished project on my sidebar soon!

My "Start-itis" is Acting Up Again!

Now that Conner's Prayer Blanket is in the completed projects column, it is time to maybe start another project???  I know, I know.  I already have 3 incomplete projects in the WIP column.  But still, why not add another!  I have been thinking of knitting a tank top (seems I've bitten by the same bug that the rest of blogdom has).  I just want something kind of plain with a "v" neckline -- something simple and mindless that I could work on at lunchtime.  I decided on the tank top in the FCEK Spring/Summer issue on pg. 27, but decided to omit the triangle design in the middle.  I already had several balls of a yarn in my stash from Reynolds called Sedona, a variagated egyptian cotton.  It is shades of puple and teal and very silky and pretty.  I am having trouble with the gauge swatch, though.  It seems I have to go down a couple of needle sizes from the recommended one.  I tend to knit very loosely.  Unfortunately, it makes my hands ache to use small needles so we will see if this project actually makes it past the "beginning stage" or gets sent to the "frog pond".  Speaking of the rest of blogdom, I have been struggling to resist the lure of the fabulous "Charlotte's Web" shawl that so many other knitting bloggers seem to have fallen prey to.  Those Koigu colors are simply gorgeous!  I fear I am beginning to lose the battle!  I can already come up with more reason to knit this than reasons not to knit it!  Maybe as a reward!  Yesterday I went into Michael's for some paints and of course I had to check out the yarns.  They have some new stuff there, and it was tempting, but I ended up leaving with the paints I went in there for, and nothing else.  Then I went to Walmart for some groceries.  Of course I had to look at the yarns, and they also have some really cool new stuff!  But I left with the groceries I went in for and nothing else.  All that self-control deserves a Koigu reward, don't you think????  Hmmmmmmmmmmmm............

The Finished Prayer Blanket

Here it is, as promised!  The picture of the finished Prayer Blanket for Conner.  Cindy (Conner's grandmother) came by the hospital this weekend to visit, and I presented her with the blanket to take with her when she leaves for Florida on June13th.  She has had to resign from Lynchburg General for awhile until it is certain that Conner's surgery has been successful -- at which point she plans to return to us.  We miss her.  Conner's surgery is set for June 15th.  The blanket was finished just in time.  Her son's mother in law is an avid knitter, but had never heard of Prayer blankets or Prayer shawls.  She is very interested in finding out more about them.  I told Cindy about the book, "Knitting Into the Mystery"  and asked her to pass along the info.  As I said in my previous entry, knitting one of these was a very uplifting experience for me, but that was nothing compared to the feeling I got when Cindy opened the bag and I told her what it was.  She hugged it closely and cried and said that it was the most beautiful and comforting thing that she had ever heard of.  Now, I believe that that is because these blankets (or shawls) are visual, tangible objects that someone can hold and they are visual reminders of the love and prayers that the knitter has poured out for that person.  It is something that the person can wrap around themselves and "feel the love." Now maybe that sounds overly sappy, but the fact remains that that was one of the most powerful spiritual moments I have ever had.  Knit (or crochet) one for someone, and see for yourself!

Conner's Prayer Blanket is Finished!

Today I put the finishing touches on Conner's Prayer Blanket.  I wove in all those ends from the stripes and crocheted an edging all the way around the blanket in blue.  I am pleased with how it came out!  I sort of made it up as I went along, so I wasn't sure how it would all turn out in the end.  All in all, knitting this blanket was a unique experience.  I had read about prayer shawls in a book I recently bought,  "Knitting Into the Mystery: A Guide to the Shawl Knitting Ministry."  While reading it, I thought that I would take the shawl idea from the book and adapt it to blanket for a 22 month old baby boy that has been plagued with seizures since he was 1 month old.  He is the grandson of Cindy, a friend and coworker of mine.  What I experienced while knitting this blanket is sort of remarkable.  I am going through some difficult things in my own life right now, and it is easy to sink into self pity and depression when faced with so many difficult life-altering problems all at once.  I found that praying for Conner and his family while knitting this blanket sort of took me out of myself.  I discovered that as I was concentrating on praying for Conner, I felt much better.  I felt strengthened and hopeful and much more positive.  I will miss knitting on this blanket!  It was a sort of a therapy for me.  Luckily, Cindy is in town at the moment and will be here until June 13th when she returns to Florida to be there for Conner's surgery.  I will give the blanket to her to take back with her.