Emma’s purple hat of curls

How did you do this??? I had to laugh when my 5-year-old daughter blurted this out upon examining the hat I was knitting.  I had just pulled out a skein and was knitting on a whim when this apparently magical creation began to form.  She loves her purple hat with curls.  Well, not actual curls, but cables.  I do like her description better but it might be because I am partial to her.  The pattern is originally intended for babies and knit with dk yarn, but I changed it up and grabbed my size 9 needles and whipped out some worsted weight yarn.  I love the results, better yet my daughter loves the results.  I wish I had snapped a picture of her walking into Michael’s with her purple sweater dress, courtesy of Justice and coincidentally matching purple cable knit hat.  The stop was of course for the convenience of their restrooms and the lovely yarn we just had to walk past on our way out.  We couldn’t use the restroom without purchasing something, and my older daughter, Ruth, really wants her own hat, so yarn HAD to be purchased, really.  With my husband’s help, he found his way in to browse and of course purchase some dipping pens, nibs and ink, ( He will have to get his own blog to explain that obsession. ) Ruth was able to find the correct yarn.  It was choosing a color that consumed most of the time, which shade of pink would be best??  Needless to say, she is happy to see her pink hat cast on my needles and hopefully, patiently awaits its finish.   I hope she likes her pink hat of curls!

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Frustrated Day

Have you ever had days that were just frustrating for no specific reason, just frustrating. Today is that day. I know my foot pain is part of it. For no apparent reason, it has decided to get worse through out the day, not better, no matter how long I keep it elevated or which pain reliever I take. Maybe it is because I am tired. It doesn’t really matter, the day is about over and I am not pleased with what I have accomplished. I had high hopes for the knitting I would finish, the projects I would start and the movies I would watch. After reruns, a partially knitted dishcloth, and some games on Facebook, here I sit. Where do I turn when I am frustrated, apparently my blog….haha. I have turned to prayer, I realize not always as seriously as I should, but then I also realize how many others out there must feel the same too. So out of a need to belong, I am sharing my frustrations knowing that somewhere out there someone else is having a frustrating day. Knitting or not, some days are strange for all of us, even those who don’t take the time to read my blog. I will take comfort in the fact that I am not alone, and hope that I haven’t made too many of you drop my blog on your list of must reads, just because of my off day. Hope tomorrow is better….for all of us!

the dish cloth

 

Bountiful Baskets!!!

I made baskets!  I love these baskets.  I bought myself a pound of off-white cotton yarn and I have been whipping up these baskets.  Three different sizes, and at this point I should admit to only making three, but I am well on my way to stocking my soon to be 5 bathrooms with baskets.  The coolest thing about these baskets is that I can throw them in the wash when they are dirty and I don’t have to worry about ruining them.   They can get wet!  How cool is that?  Have I done a good job marketing these yet????  They really are fun little baskets.  I am actually down to two baskets, because I gave one to my mom.  As it turns out, the middle size basket fit perfectly into my mom’s very expensive woven basket.  I don’t know the name of the basket, but for those basket lovers out there,  it is that expensive kind, haha, obviously I don’t collect them.  I will be collecting my knit ones though, if I don’t give them all away.  Notice a theme here, I am not so good at holding on to my knitting, don’t you wish you were my neighbor???

Really??

Okay, now I have sunk to a new insane low point. I have finished knitting my first double-knitting project, my checkerboard. Now for the most ridiculous part of it. I don’t like to play checkers. It did not occur to me how silly it is that I actually knit something I really do not like to do. I have a long history of this. If you only knew how many doilies I have crocheted, wash cloths I have knit and sweaters I have made. Practically none of which I have used myself. I say practically, because I must admit to have using a wash cloth or two, and maybe one or two doilies. But in comparison to the quantity I have made and the degree to which I really don’t like them myself, I have to ask myself why do I make them??? To be honest, I don’t even know why. If anyone out there has any suggestions as to why, I am very curious, please let me know!!!! All right, sorry for my momentary, slip into insanity. I just had to share this. It hit me when I showed my niece my checkerboard, and I blurted out that I do not even like to play checkers. Maybe there is safety in knitting things I do not enjoy to begin with, in case I fail, then I did not put too much of myself into it and won’t be too heart broken. Who knows, at least I finished it.

finishing projects

I have been busy! Busy tying up a lot of loose ends, well, maybe more like sewing in a lot of loose ends. My least favorite part of projects has always been the finishing. I hated sewing in all those loose ends. This week, I actually enjoyed it. I had a nice little pile and it felt really good to see what I had accomplished. It was good for my soul to see the finished product, instead of a stack reminding me of my procrastination. Maybe it is worth it to finish a bunch at once. I seem to have forgotten the mistakes I saw in the projects, the portions my tension may have loosened or tightened, I couldn’t recognize them as quickly. Finally, I could look at my projects as a whole finished work of art, rather than seeing my flaws. I sometimes wonder if our own flaws distract us from closer relationship with God and others, and if we could just step back and appreciate the whole image and be thankful for what we have. I have been very focused on my foot this past week, as it has caused me a great deal of pain. Now, I want to rest in the assurance of how far I’ve come this summer, instead of comparing to where I’ve been. Not an easy task. For now I will enjoy my stack of finished knitting, and appreciate that it’s not my hands that are hurting, just my foot.

the finished projects

a couple of my favorite visitors while in the hospital…boy did I miss my kids those few days.

Finally finished hoodie for Eli

My mom’s doll outfit she has been asking for

the blanket in the background I’ve been working on….I just love the yarn, it was wonderful to work with