Weekend Knitting and Spinning Update

First I must show you my favorite "quick knit" shawl pattern - and a free one at that. The Easy Triangle Shawl by Lion Brand is the best, fastest, and most treasured shawl pattern I own. So I must share it with you. I made one this weekend for Aunt Eve.

Started it on Thursday night, had very little knitting time and still managed to finish it by Sunday. I've made this shawl in as little as 24 hours. Size 13 needles. Chunky yarn. This particular yarn is my favorite "go to" quick shawl yarn called James G. Brett Marble yarn in the colorway "Berries." Berries yarn has luscious shades of dark red, orange, pink - variegated acryllic yarn that cost $12 for nearly 400 yards. You just can't beat it for price, washability and softness.

My mother-in-law, Sylvia loved reds in all shades and so I made one of these shawls. Last weekend when I was in St. Louis, her sister, Eve, wanted one too, so I made her this one this weekend. Whenever she misses her sister, hopefully she can wear it and remember the closeness they shared.


Another relaxing thing I did - spin on my wheel. Yay! Very therapeutic. I originally intended to make the Oatmeal sweater out of a light Shetland brown yarn that was very soft and nice, but the color was rather bland and I didn't like the way it was coming out. So I went to Yarn Barn and bought some really nice roving in an unusual batt of browns, greens, and even some orangish red. It looked like "carrot cake" which happened to be the name of the roving. So by spinning it in 3 ply - using 2 singles of the Shetland Brown and 1 single of the Carrot Cake, I came out with a very nice brown tweedy yarn that I like much better than the plain old boring brown. So I have finally arrived at the yarn I will use for my cardigan - now I just need to spin up about 1000 yards or so of it before Ravelympics starts on February 12th.

Recharging my Battery

Usually in the new year, I feel exhilarated and happy, revving to do new things. But this year, with the hard winter, and a lot of challenging personal circumstances, I'm just feeling tired and drained, much like a battery that has lost its charge.

Unfortunately, I don't have the money or the time to take a vacation. And I'm not really in the vacation frame of mind anyway. Instead, I'm craving spiritual retreat. I'm craving some time at the monastery. Alone. Quiet. Ahhhh. Maybe I'll give myself that luxury sometime in the coming weeks.

But tonight, I'm going to FIND my way the Steam'n Bean and hang out with some knitting friends. I'll talk. I'll laugh. I'll knit. I'll recharge. Not quiet but quite fun.

I'm still planning to do the Ravelymics challenge and I'm thinking that I'll do the Oatmeal sweater that we talked about earlier, from Spin Off magazine. I've been having trouble getting my yarn at just the right gauge. But I think, as of last night, that I've finally got it down pat. So tonight I'll go to the Steam'n Bean and sit down, drink a cup of hot tea or coffee and knit a swatch to make sure the yarn I've spun works up to the right gauge.

What can you do to recharge your battery?

She's With Him Again

Yesterday, we lost her. Well, actually, we lost her a long time ago. She hasn't been herself in many years. My mother-in-law, Sylvia, was once a small but vibrant woman who was quiet, fiercely independent, and was one of the most forward-looking and thinking people I ever met. Instead of focusing on and reminiscing about the past, she was always excited by new technology, new inventions, new fashions, new ideas, new places to travel and visit. She became a widow at a very young age, and finished raising two teenage sons all on her own in the 1970's.

After her boys were grown, she set out to Los Angeles for many years, making a life for herself and starting a career as a medical secretary. She returned to St. Louis after retirement and relished being a grandmother to Mark's daughter Jamie, and our daughter, Emily. She would often travel by train to visit us in Kansas City.

Throughout the last decade, though, she's gradually been losing herself as she slid deeper and deeper into Alzheimer's disease - and away from those she loves most. In the process, she's also given up her independence and had to rely on others in a way that she would have never preferred.

Yesterday, she finally let go of her life here, and returned nearly to the day of her wedding anniversary, to a dear husband she lost long ago. Finally, the two are together again.


We love you Mom. Goodbye for now.

Surprise Yourself

Tonight I've been listening to the old Delialah show that I haven't listened to in years. She's the wonderful evening show host who features heartwarming personal and family stories as well as "gushy love songs." She's a really enlightened person who has a lovely, reassuring voice and uplifting ideas to share.

One thing she was talking about tonight was the importance of pressing yourself to do something you've been putting off or avoiding but would make you feel much better about yourself. She asked the listening audience, "What's one small thing you could do tomorrow that would surprise yourself, and make you feel better about yourself?" She went on to say that whether it's cleaning out a drawer, setting boundaries with someone, declaring something that is important to you - whatever it is, surprise yourself by doing it.

Also on her website, she encourages each of her listeners to do something creative that will inspire them - rather it's saddling up a horse for a ride, or getting out the paintbrushes, there's always something creative each of us can do that will give us a new creative zing.

So in addition to work tomorrow, I'm really going to try to leave time to come home and 1) continue reading the fantastic novel I'm reading The Thirteenth Tale; 2) write in my journal; 3) spin on my spinning wheel.

I'm also going to remember to listen to some more Delilah on the radio. I really enjoy her as well as the stories of those who call in, and the music is nice too.

Friday Finds

Friday's Find this week is all about hats. This week, I finished the Valery hat, a great pattern, but I was dissatisfied with it at first because I had an unattractive nipple/pimple top.


The Hats group on Ravelry suggested that blocking would remove some of this nipple effect and make the hat larger, which it needed to be. I was reluctant to use a bowl, because that's not much like my head shape, and I was reluctant to wear a sopping wet hat around while it dried to a REAL head shape (my own).

Solution? Someone in the Hats group wisely suggested that I visit Sally's Beauty Supply and buy a $4 wig head. I picked one up and it makes the PERFECT hat blocker. So for $4 you, too, can solve all your pointy hat problems.

Another great find in making hats less pointy is an article from the TechKnitting website called, "Avoiding Nipple in the Middle - Some Tricks to Improve Hat, Glove Fingertips and Motif Centers."

Ravelympics Ramblings

Okay, blog readers, here's the thing: Ravelympics 2010 is beginning soon, I think it starts February 16th and runs until February 28th - to coincide with the Winter Olympics. The event was started several years ago by the Yarn Harlot, and has since been taken up by Ravelry forums and spread like wild fire. What it amounts to is that you start casting on and try to complete a set project goal within the 16 days of the Olympics.

Last year, I participated for the first time as part of Team Tardis, because I'm a Dr. Who fan. During that Summer Olympics, I completed a vest. I loved the challenge. It was really fun.

This year, I have joined with Team Tank, which my friends Emily and Karen have spearheaded.


Now my dilemma is this: My ideal project for this time is a cardigan made from handspun. My own handspun. Which I haven't spun yet. Yeah. So I'd have to start spinning right about now in order to get the yarn ready in time for the opening ceremony. Then the next challenge is, could I really finish knitting a complete cardigan in only 16 days? No doubt it would be a "challenge" with a capital C. So make that Challenge. Normally it takes me about a month, maybe 5 or 6 weeks to make a sweater, but that's because I usually knit several items at once and tend to poke along. So if the cardigan were easy enough AND the focus was on only one project, could I do it? I'd love to try anyway.

My other option is to knit a hat and thrummed mittens out of handspun that is already spun up. I think I could get that done in 16 days without too much trouble.

So . . . . if I go with the cardigan option, here are the three choices I'm currently considering:


This one is Oatmeal Cardigan in this month's Spin Off magazine. It is a fairly straight-forward project from worsted weight yarn. It also seems to look nice in handspun yarn. The roving I've chosen is very NATURAL, it's a light/medium brown color. Here's a photo of it.







Option 2 Cardigan would be Espresso from the book A Fine Fleece by Lisa Lloyd. I love, love, love this sweater. Now remember, the roving I'm choosing a the natural brown. So would that natural color look good in this style? Not sure.




Option 3 Cardigan is this Garter Yoke Cardigan from the Knit1 Vogue magazine Fall/Winter of 2008.

Any thoughts? Ideas? Feedback? Input?

And are any of you participating in Ravelympics?

Friday's Find

Okay, since my word guiding me this year is FIND, I decided to start a new blog feature called "Friday's Find." Each Friday, I will post something that I have FOUND to be helpful and perhaps valuable to others, as well. It might be a product, it might be an observation, it might be a method, it might be a book. It might be . . . . well almost anything. It might even be more than one thing, as is the case this week.

First to talk about is Loreal's "Telescopic Explosion Mascara." I bought this at Walgreens for $8 or $9. My Mom actually is the one who found it, and then she urged me to try it. I really LOVE this mascara. It made me sparse, very fine eyelashes really bloom without looky clumpy. The secret is the round brush inside. It seems to distribute the mascara evenly. Best of all, it only takes a few quick swipes to make my lashes look fuller.



And guess what I found while cleaning and sorting last week? My silver pendant that had been missing for 2 years. It's a favorite little necklace I like to wear because it seems to go with everything and now I've uncovered it again. Makes me want to sort and clean more drawers and see what else I can discover that has been given up for lost!

What have you found this week?

Cropped Knit Cardigan

Most people who read my blog probably realize that I don't usually like to knit sweaters. They are time-consuming, they take a lot of yarn and attention, plus require gauge mastery and/or swatching.

But this time I bit the bullet. Made a cardigan. I started it just before Thanksgiving and finished it just after New Years. It's a free pattern called "Cropped Knit Cardigan" by Barbara Breiter made with the yarn called for in the pattern, which is Merino Stripes yarn.

The pattern was easy and fast. Most people who aren't "sweater adverse" (like me) could probably make it in a week or two. I recommend the yarn and the pattern.

Though it may not be visible, there's lace at the sleeve cuff and bottom edging. Yay! A sweater finished just in time for Casual Friday at work.

Brutually Cold

Although I had big ambitions for getting started on my basement sorting and organizing, that has been delayed, like so many other things, by the brutal cold weather we've been experiencing. I am chilled to the bone, even when I'm upstairs and the thought of going down there to the basement and getting even colder just isn't something I've been able to talk myself into doing.

We'd had temperatures at 0 and even a few degrees below for the whole weekend. I think the high didn't even reach 15 degrees for several days. The snow from the last few storms is still on our driveway in blocks of inpentratable ice. We had more snow last night, and now you can't even see our subdivision's road. They say we will be having another big storm coming mid-week in a few days. Ughhh!!!

I already can't wait until Spring. This is a really depressing winter already. I don't even know how I'll get to work tomorrow and I sure dread it. It seems as if the street crews have already run out of money because they aren't even attempting to plow the streets, especially when the snow comes on the weekend, and then it just becomes impossible to plow once they do it. There are big drifts of snow everywhere - in parking lots, along the sides of the road. Pretty soon we'll need a flag to find our mailbox like they do in Minneapolis.

Last night Bob and I were going to go out to our favorite comedy club to see a show and get cheered up, but it started snowing and we could see they weren't even treating the highways, so we chickened out and drove back home.

Not motivated to do anything. Think I'll grab a cup of coffee and go back to bed. It's one of those "hide your head in a pillow" kind of days.

Later Note: Since doing the basement was too cold, I decided to start right where I am and start organizing my under-the-bed, dresser and nightstand areas. That has already perked me up. It will make getting up in the mornings for work SO much easier. I'm throwing away stuff that I no use and am finding several great little items that I'd forgotten all about.

Starting where you are seems like a good place to start in trying to find your way to a better place.

I Found My Word For 2010

I have been torn this year about what word to select to guide the next year (2010). Since doing this word selection process for the past several years, it has really helped me focus and direct my energies toward a theme. Last year's word which was "Priorities" worked pretty well all year long until the Fall, when I seemed to lose my priorities in a flurry of bus-y-ness and problems, and allowed myself to get swept away into doing URGENT things that didn't necessarily match with my priorities. So it worked, but sometimes juggling my priorities and the expectations of the rest of the world required some Flexibilty. By year's end, I was just scrambling to get stuff down however it could get done, one day at a time, and I let my own priorities go to hell in a hand basket, which is one reason my life feels a bit chaotic and out of control right now.

So what about this year? I've had the feeling that this coming year is going to be about making MORE from what I already have, or finding something valuable in myself or my surroundings that I'd long buried or forgotten about. Hidden Treasures. I have this feeling that there's all sorts of hidden treasure in what I already have.

My word to guide me in finding this hidden treasure is FIND. Not SEARCH because it's already there. I just need to open my eyes and find it.

The first thing I'm going to do to find stuff (inner stuff) is to do some serious reflecting, in the way of meditation and journaling. And the outer stuff, that will be found by doing some sorting and organzing, starting this long weekend.

So if you can't FIND me, watch for my head to pop out of a pile - because there's a lot of buried stuff I hope to be sifting through. I'll let you know what I FIND.

Now what's your word/phrase or guiding idea for this coming year?

White Christmas Blizzard

It can stop snowing. Anytime now.

What started off as dreamy and fun yesterday is getting really OLD today, especially when the street crews have done such a terrible job of clearing the roads.

I enjoyed staying inside for several days but ended up a little cabin feverish and after eating a few too many homemade Christmas cookies, I got ahold of myself and got back in control again. I got a lot of exercise shoveling the driveway.


We went to see the new Sherlock Holmes movie with Robert Downey Jr. It was TERRIFIC. I loved it. The Victorian time period is my favorite, and I've always been a fan of Sherlock. And this Sherlock in particular. The plot is fast-paced and interesting, and the casting of Holmes and Watson are first rate.



Oh, I also made a pair of these French Press Slippers. Yarn Harlot blogged about them and made them a huge sensation and after making a pair, I see why. What's not to love about something you can knit in just a few hours? Seriously? They are adorable and easy.

Size 15 needles!! If you watch two movies in a row, you can have them finished, including seaming. Then you just felt them. I made mine with Plymouth Galway yarn in medium green. It took 4 washings to get them the size I want. My feet are really small. In the photo, the slippers look light green, but that's just because of the flash. They are actually a medium tweedy green.

Happy (Belated) Birthday, Elysbeth!!!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

We are having a big ice and now snow storm here in the Midwest. We kept expecting it to hit earlier today, but it came tonight instead. Not sure how much we will get, but it will definitely be a white Christmas. Yeah! It's nice to be cozy and stuck inside on a holiday night like this where we really don't have to be anywhere. Home is the best place to be.

We had my Mom over for a wonderful meal together and we all sat around enjoying being together. What fun! It was great being off work today all day, so we had an early Christmas Eve so Emily could go to work.

I received some really neat Christmas presents.

I adore these really cute pair of Dansko shoes Bob bought me. What I like about it is the fact that I looked at a similar pair two years ago last fall and ended up not getting them. He remembered that I liked them and found a darling pair in black, brown and glitzy with litttle paisley designs on them. How did he remember that paisleys are a favorite? Very sweet. And they are SO comfortable. I love these shoes. They are funky, cute, and comfortable.


I also got a fabulous bath set from Emmy as well as a cute little fountain that will help me avoid workplace stress.

The best gift of all is simply being together.

This is Why I Like a Portable Wheel

It gets no better than this - being able to share my love of spinning with my Grammy Ferne who first taught me to appreciate crafts of all kinds. She loves knitting, spinning, weaving, painting, soapmaking, paper mache, sewing. Gosh, I can't think of a craft she didn't at least explore. You name it, she did it!

These photos were taken last week when I went to the nursing home to visit her. She celebrated her 94th birthday last Tuesday.



To the left of my shoulder in the last photo, you may be able to see a small woven wallhanging that she made years ago. She absolutely loves both spinning and weaving. And maybe I shouldn't mention it now, but I've been bitten a bit by the weaving bug myself lately.

Love you Grammy.

Taking off the Gloves

The Holidays can be really conflict-ridden and this year, I thought I'd FOR ONCE cleared the hurdle and not gotten in any heated incidents on the homefront, but alas, we didn't quite escape.

With the pressure of two birthdays and the holidays to plan, my daughter and I had an argument the night before her birthday. I must say though, we resolved it and all is well now.

Still, I am convinced that holidays lend themselves especially to conflict because they often involve typical stress-producing landmines such as: 1) time deadlines; 2) inflated expectations, 3) mix up in communication due to the frenzy of rushing around trying to meet those inflated expectations; and last but not least, 4) taking whatever miscommunication that occurs personally and overreacting to whatever slight the other person may or may not have intended.

There are also a few communication bugaboos that OFTEN get us in trouble in communicating with others, regardless of what time of year we use them.

NEVER/ALWAYS - these words seem to create a negative climate with ourselves and others. And plus they just aren't true. When was the last time you ALWAYS or NEVER experienced anything? They are exaggerations at best; at worst, they often lead to judgmental statements and views of another person, and they make the whole situation seem hopeless.

SHOULD - this points the finger and gives other people added things on THEIR "to do" list which can create a real blow up. Regardless of whether you are "shoulding" all over yourself or someone else, it only adds emotional pressure and doesn't help performance one iota.

You Statements - Saying, "You did this to me", instead of motivating change in another, often creates defensiveness and hostility. Instead, use "I" statements, since you can really only know what's going on inside your own head and not anyone else's.

In summary, to survive the holidays:

Don't take things personally.

Don't expect too much.

Keep it simple.

If you or anyone else has a holiday meltdown, forgive and forget as soon as possible.

Happy Birthday - Is she REALLY 18?

Happy Birthday Emily. I really really really can't believe it.

18?

Oh gosh, you're officially grown up.

We had a great party at Dave and Busters with all her friends and it was a blast for everyone.

A Mental Snapshot of Hope

After living nearly fifty years, I've come to the conclusion that it's not the big things in life that really make a difference. It's the small everyday things. What gives me the most hope are things like what I witnessed today while on my lunch break from work:

Lunch at a fast food restaurant - a major chain that serves Mexican food. A little old ancient man who was so frail he could barely lift his taco to his mouth. A young man, maybe college age at most, was eating with what I presume was an outing with his Grandfather. The little old gentleman was dressed up in a sport coat, with a little bow tie at his neck. As the two ate together, the man pulled out his grocery list as well as his Christmas gift list and discussed it with his grandson who was apparently taking him shopping for his items.

The young man was so patient and loving with the older man. It really made emotions well within me. I fought the urge to go up to the young man and say, "You are so kind and decent." But I held back.

I remain mesmerized as they finally made their way out of the restaurant, the older man linked to a portable oxygen tank and the young one kindly leading his Grandfather out, clinging to his arm to the car.

What's a more holiday honoring sight than that? A showing of real kindness and caring that is such a gift no one can buy?

So I hold a mental snapshot of those two men in my mind's eye to shore up hope on days when I see a less charming side of humanity. There's hope. It's there. You just have to look.

Mr. Piano Man

When Bob had this extra time on his hands recently, aside from job hunting, which he is doing plenty of, he mentioned that he'd really like to learn to play the piano. We've had a piano sitting around for many years gathering dust. He's always wanted to play piano but never did. I always wanted to play piano and did it briefly when we were first married, many years ago, but I only took lessons for about a year and then my music teacher retired. That's why we had the piano in the first place. And then Emily took lessons for a while, but she too, didn't stick with it.

So I signed Bob up for lessons about a month ago. He really loves it. As he was practicing, I too was drawn in and now we are BOTH taking lessons together. It's really really fun!

We're both still at the "kiddy song" stage of learning, although I remember a bit from before, so I probably have an easier time than he does. But still, we're both fairly raw in our music knowledge. We are learning to read notes and chords together and everything. We have flashcards.

We also have been watching music lessons on the internet. Much of the stuff we're finding is just an extended sales ploy, but we landed on one young man who does a terrific job of teaching, and he has a whole series of free lessons which have been very helpful in advancing our understanding of music theory. His name is Andrew Furmanczyk http://www.howtoplaypiano.ca .

This guy is a genius and a fantastic teacher. Wow are we impressed with these lessons. He makes learning even more fun - the enthusiasm he shows for piano is absolutely infectious. So I recommend these lessons to anyone who is interested in piano - especially for beginners.


So now I ask: what have you always wanted to do? For me, on the Bucket List remains: learning Spanish, learning how to play Bridge. Maybe there are things you'd like to try to. There are many others, but I won't bore you with the whole list! Now that we have the Internet to guide us, it's even easier to learn a new skill or hobby. What's left in your Bucket?

It's Time for "Grateful"

Thanksgiving is and has ALWAYS been one of my favorite times of year. Why? Because is a simple holiday where you get dedicated time off with family and friends to just be together, share a good meal and talk. There are no gift expectations - though many start their shopping over that long weekend. Again, a choice. You can choose to stay home or visit relatives near or far. You can make the holiday however simple or elaborate you choose, and I use choose simple. Very simple.

First for the recap of yesterday. This year, we stayed home and shared Thanksgiving with Bob, my Mom and Emily. We made turkey, dressing, gravy, roasted veggies, rolls, Ambrosia salad, and au grautin potatoes. We forgot all about the sweet potatoes until - too late. Ah well, maybe we'll whip some up today (the day after). We also had Pumpkin pie. Then after we ate, we took a big plate over to Grammy at the nursing home and spent some time visiting and catching up with her.

Perhaps the best part, the very best part, of Thanksgiving is the opportunity for reflection. Opposite of rushing out and raiding the malls. Instead of Black Friday, I do Quiet Friday - Look Within Weekend. Starting with Gratitude. Being grateful, and for starting to wrap up the year that has just passed and to focus on the one ahead. What has happened in 2009? And soon I will focus on how I wish to shape 2010.

Now a 2009 recap: It's been a very unusual year - there have been many highs and lows, but it is definitely a significant year. I started off hoping that the recession wouldn't be as prolonged and as severe as it has proven to be. Changing jobs in the midst of a recession was scary, even for me, a job hopper. It was a temp-to-perm position, but I was excited about it enough, that I took it. I do indeed love the job and the people I work with. It does seem like a great fit. For the most part, instead of dreading each work day, I look forward to it. It's been huge growth experience. So that has been an unexpected GREAT thing that I didn't even envision this time last Fall.

What I expected: My word for the year was "priorities" and for the most part, it helped guide me to keep my top priorities but I've also learned the lesson that priorities tend to SHIFT and need to shift when life events throw you a curve. So I've been pretty darn good at being flexible and going with the flow without letting go of my intentions. I've still met my intentions, but sometimes the route to them has been a winding one rather than a straight shot! So the Word was "Priorities" and it was achieved by another word "Flexible."

Grateful: I am grateful for many things including:

My Job - this has to be my number one gratitude this year because it was truly unexpected, needed, and a prosperity blessing at a time of great need. I feel it was God directly giving me a hand that I needed to pull me up during a difficult time.

My Husband - Bob. He's always my rock in life. My best friend. The one who knows me best and loves me in spite of my worst. I also have more fun with him than anyone else.

My daughter Emily. Our relationship has improved this year. Mainly because we've both been trying more to overcome the bumps in the road by reaching out to one another. Also because I learned that I've probably been overparenting and need to transform my role to one of Mentor because she truly is going to be an adult soon and next year is college. I will be here when asked, but stepping back has been a painful step.

My Mom - grateful she retired this year and will be spending more time with me and our family. Yay! She's a wonderful grandmother to Emmy and she's always been a friend to me. I can tell her everything.

My Friends. This is a BIG one. Both my real and my online friends. The friends in my knitting group. The friends on Ravelry - though they are an online community, they sometimes get me through my worst days and make my best days brighter.

Finding my retreat place, St. Scholastica. The Sisters there and their whole monastery - my discovery of their community was a HUGE blessing to me this year. Whenever I get stressed out, all I have to do is close my eyes and regain that serene feeling I experienced on their campus, and I'm back to my spiritual center again. They are a profound blessing to me, and I hope to retreat at their monastery whenever I feel a spiritual thirst like I've been feeling all through 2009. It's been truly a transforming year. St. Scholastica and their community of nuns is a gift of Serenity. I am THERE Sisters more often than you know. Not always physically, but my spirit is with you.

A Special Arrival

As many of you know, I've been knitting Prayer Shawls all throughout 2009. It has been a real pleasure for me to undertake making shawls for others when they are most in crisis or need. I'm not a big producer, and have only knit a few, yet making and giving them has been extremely meaningful to me.

Well, I have belonged to a Prayer Shawl group on Ravelry. Several months ago, we all decided to do an exchange between those in our group - a partner swap kind of thing. And we prayed for our partner and their special challenges over those 2-3 months that we were making their gift. During that process, we got to know one another much better.

My partner is Cindy Carter from Florida. Some of you who know me in "real life" saw me knitting on this shawl for her over the past few months. So the first two photos here are of the Boxleaf Stole, a design by Anne Hanson that I made for her.



At any rate, I was very happy with the way the shawl I knit her turned out, except it was a little long, but she didn't seem to mind that. She liked the colors and the stole's rectangular shape.

Next photos are of the shawl I received from her which is "Tis a Gift to Be Simple" Shawl that she designed and knit for me.


Well, I came home on Tuesday night to find the most amazing gift, made from Malabrigo's "Stonechat" colorway. When I opened the package, and unwrapped the shawl, it absolutely took my breath away. To say that it was WAY MORE than I'd expected is quite an understatement! I immediately wrapped the shawl around me, and I chose to wear it doubled up. Wrap it around you and the feeling it creates is a mantle of love, warmth and well being.


This magnificent rectangular shawl, one of the loveliest knitted items I've ever seen in my entire life, is called "Tis a Gift to Be Simple" after one of my very favorite hymns of all time. I always thought it was Quaker song, but Cindy says the song is actually Shaker.

I found that Cindy is a remarkable person who is extremely intelligent, and who is quite talented in music as well needle arts. She's the type of knitter that Elizabeth Zimmermann would have loved to knit with because she doesn't follow a pattern to the letter - but is creative enough to branch out on her own - to see how she wants to make something in her head, and to translate that in her knitting.
This is how Cindy explains the shawl's creation in her own words:

The basic construction of the shawl follows Elizabeth Zimmermann’s Stonington Shawl. I chose lace patterns for the center panel, borders and edging.

The design for this shawl came to me in a dream. I had stayed up late on Ravelry looking at ideas for a pattern (right, like you never do that!). I love the pattern browser. Anyway, nothing seemed to really fit what I wanted to do for Chelle. The next morning, I woke up knowing exactly what the shawl would look like. I wanted something that would express the simplicity of faith, inspired by the Shaker song “Simple Gifts” and the Shaker aesthetic. Strong, geometric, functional and straightforward.

The center panel is adapted from a lace pattern in Eugen Beugler’s Symmetry in Silk. The border pattern of alternating triangles is from Barbara Walker’s Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns, page 264, Pyramidal Lace Check. The 4 sides of the square shawl, and the square center lace motif represent the 4 Gospels. The triangles in the border are a reminder of the Trinity. The shawl is edged in Godmother’s Edging, traditionally used on christening shawls, and chosen as a reminder of our baptism. The Godmother’s Edging pattern is also from Walker’s Second Treasury, page 361.

Simple Gifts at St. Gregory of Nyssa

‘Tis the gift to be simple,
‘tis the gift to be free,
‘tis the gift to come down where you ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
It will be in the valley of love and delight.

Refrain:

When true simplicity is gained,
To bow and to bend we shan’t be ashamed.
To turn, turn will be our delight,
‘Til by turning, turning we come round right

‘Tis the gift to be loved and that love to return,
‘Tis the gift to be taught and a richer gift to learn,
And when we expect of others what we try to live each day,
Then we’ll all live together and we’ll all learn to say,

Refrain:

‘Tis the gift to have friends and a true friend to be,
‘Tis the gift to think of others not to only think of “me”,
And when we hear what others really think and really feel,
Then we’ll all live together with a love that is real.

Spinning Progress

As I mentioned last week, I got a new spinning wheel and after experiencing some initial frustration with plying (see the rat's nest I created here):


But I went to two different spinners' groups - one in St. Joseph last week and one on Tuesday here in my area that really really helped!! They clarified what I was doing wrong. Basically, whenever you ply, you are supposed to spin the wheel counterclockwise but I was occasionally plying clockwise out of habit. I didn't realize what I was doing, so I was really messing it up.

But I'm doing much better now. In fact, I'm getting excited now about the possibility of dyeing my yarn with Kool-Aid dyes. I haven't done that yet, but am collecting Kool-Aid packets and starting to read about it on Ravelry.

I have been trying to spin every single day for at least a little while so that I stay in practice. I started spinning over a year ago, but there were so many things I didn't know how to do, especially plying, that I just let it go and didn't do much with it. Now I'm really eager to plow ahead, try to do a little bit every day and gradually branch into doing new things like yarn dyeing. It will be fun.


I am still knitting a little bit too. I am working on a short cardigan out of Crystal Palace Merino stripes yarn in an autumnal colorway. Here's the completed back. That's all I have finished so far. 2 fronts and 2 sleeves left to go.

Have a good week everyone.