Celtic Heart Knot

My new project. My friends should expect Celtic Heart necklaces for Christmas this year. I can't wait to get started knitting the icord from a beautiful green silk yarn I just got from Listia.

Knitting Myself Back Together

I just realized something about a week ago.  I haven't really been knitting much since January.  That means since the worst of my depression I haven't been able to pick up the needles and work the stitches.

Then about a week ago I pulled a book off of my stack of "to be read when I have the time" novels and began to read.  The book just happened to be The Knitting Circle by Ann Hood.  It is a book about knitting and grief.  One woman early on in the book even says "We knit to save our lives."

In an amazing God-incidence, the final character introduced to the knitting circle in the book is a woman named Maggie who is so filled with grief that she can't seem to learn even the most basics of knitting.

After I finished reading the book I read the Author's forward (in the reading group copy, Norton Publishing,). In it Ms. Hood states that during a time of grief in her own life she lost her ability to write.  I too am experiencing a very dry spell in my own writing.  I can't seem to get any ideas from my head into words on the screen.  I am at a total loss.  I barely even write in my journal.  It was such a gift to know that 1) another writer had been where I am now and found her way out of it successfully and 2) knitting helped.

So, I am picking up a project I began last Christmas when my daughter was visiting; a shawl for her to take on airplanes where she is always cold that she can use as a blanket on the plane but wear as a shawl through the airport.  It has a beautiful basket-weave pattern that is very rhythmic and will help me get out of my thoughts.  Each stitch will be a prayer for my daughter and with each stitch I will hopefully be closer and closer to feeling like I can live without the weight of my grief someday.

It feels good to have the needles in my hands again.  The yarn slips through my fingers and with each row the shawl takes shape.  In a very cathartic way it even feels good to tink and frog -- remove mistakes for non knitters.  Tink means to remove stitches one at a time  (knit spelled backward, get it) and frogging means ripping out entire rows or numbers of rows of stitches (rip-it  rip-it rip-it).  And when I finish this project I have already picked out my next one, but I need to make a trip to the yarn store for that because I looked in my needle drawer and I don't have the right needles to make it.  Wonder what treasures I will find when I get there?

Pax

I Finished it.

I finished my sweater on Wednesday and wore it on Thursday. The buttonholes were the biggest worry because I was sure I would have them all over the place and never get them spaced correctly. I sat with the problem for an entire day totally terrified to begin, but then I just thought of it as a math problem (and those of you who know me know that I really hate math -- so I just got through it as quickly and non mathematically as I could).

I got out a piece of graph paper (in this case the graph paper from the blotter on the desk in the office) and graphed out the number of stitches available for the eight buttonholes, then I set the two on either end and divided the remaining number of stitches evenly between the other six buttonholes. I then placed those on the graph with an equal number of stitches between them (because of the math) and made sure it worked out evenly). It took two tries to get it exactly right, but it worked!!!

So all I had to do after knitting the button holes was go back and sew the buttons on the opposite side exactly under the buttonholes on the buttonhole side.

It was really easy once I got over my trepidation that I might do it wrong.

I got so many compliments from people on my sweater, especially when they found out that I had made it myself.

I even have enough of that beautiful yarn left over to make a matching scarf and hat to go with it. I am working on those now.

Pax

If the Third Time's the Charm What Would the Fourth Time Be?

So I decided I wanted to knit a blanket for my friend Deacon John; who had his stem cell transplant on Friday and will be in the hospital for the next few weeks, most of that time in isolation while his stem cells to their job and get to work doing whatever it is they do to put him in remission. I got this really great soft undyed cotton yarn from my favorite yarn shop and started what I thought was a really cool pattern only I couldn't keep it straight in my head and it looked really strange when I got through the first set of pattern stitches, so I frogged the whole thing out (you know ribbet ribbet) and started over.

Then I chose a new pattern and began again and this time I got really far. I got to the end of an entire skein of yarn but somehow it looked really lopsided, so I looked at the pattern more carefully and sure enough I was leaving out one really important stitch at the end of every odd numbered row. so I had to frog the entire piece again.

Attempt number three was going smoothly, or so I thought, until I got to the point where I needed to look at the pattern to see how to turn the edge for the side. It was then that I realized that instead of doing one row of knit and one row of purl, which was what I was doing , I should have been doing two of each, which would have made a pattern of raised ridges, and looked so much better than the stockinette pattern that I was getting. so here I go again frogging out all the stitches to begin for the fourth time!!!

But, now that I have about fifty rows done in the correct pattern, I am glad that I did take the time to do it right, it looks so much better, and I know that it will make a much better blanket. Each stitch has been prayed over so many times that the blanket has to be infused with prayers and love. I just hope I can finish it before I have to leave for Chicago on Thursday to visit with John and his wife. Oh well, if not I will work on it while I am there. This isn't a race, it is a gift, and the gift should be done right, not done quickly.

Pax

Knitting Wool Socks in the Florida Sun

This is what I have accomplished in the last three weeks. The brown pair was my first pair of socks EVER! If you could get a closer look you can really tell that they are my first pair ever. They are totally cozy warm though and I love the way they feel.

The purple pair are a child size version of the same pattern that I made for the angelbaby. They are much nicer quality wool, and I did a much nicer job in the stitching. She loves them and even sleeps in them down here!

The blue pair is a variation on the same pattern I made for my beautiful autistic daughter. They are in a microfiber blend that she chose from Walmart (very inexpensive yarn, but one that she liked the feel of very much). Considering she will probably run a hole in the sole of one or the other of her socks in less than a month most likely the inexpense of her socks will be a good value. The next pair I make for her I am going to try a trick I read about where you use a smaller size needle on the sole of the sock to get a tighter gauge which is supposed to make the sock last longer. With all the pacing she does longer lasting socks will come in very handy.

Anyway, Now that I am done with these socks I am back working on my sweater, which is a daunting task because the yarn I chose, while very beautiful, is very difficult to work with, and I am still not sure I know what I am doing. I think I prefer socks, At least you see success a lot more quickly with them.

An interesting side note: The three Crane wives that are down here are all knitters. One is actually a lot better than the other two of us, and one hadn't knitted in years before she came down here but we all love it. In fact they have promised to teach me how to do cable stitch, something I have always wanted to learn. So I bought some cable needles and am looking forward to learning how to do that. I wll post more pictures when I have something else to show you.

Pax

GO: Theology Thursday: Spirituality and Knitting

I have been doing quite a bit of knitting since mrangelmeg began his new job and has had to travel so much. It really gives me a sense of purpose and keeps me calm and centered. It also gives me something other to focus on than being without him. The fact that eventually I have something to show for my work helps as well.

I started out making simple scarves and then ventured into even more adventurous items like shawls that had patterned stitching and intricate instructions that had to be followed.

Then when I got more confidence in my ability I even attempted a hat using circular needles. My first attempt was less of a hat and more of a mobius strip though, because I forgot to take care in making sure that I didn't twist the stitches when I knitted the first round.

What does all of this have to do with theology or spirituality you might ask? I discovered that when I am knitting I am in the same state of mind that I am in when I am practicing meditation or contemplative prayer. I am mindful of nothing in my surroundings except for the needles in my hand and the yarn passing through my fingers. My mind becomes free to engage in prayer (I often pray for the person who created the yarn I am using and the person who will use the garment I am making.)

Sometimes I am overcome by a deep wordless connection to God in the act of creation that is happening as I manipulate the needles.

I wanted to explore this a little further, so I did what any. literate person would do, I went to the library. There I discovered a wonderful book by Bernadette Murphy called Zen and the Art of Knitting. Mrs. Murphy, a knitter and writer (I love this woman already) talked to many knitters from many faith traditions and many backgrounds about the connection between knitting and spirituality. Within the pages of this book my own feelings have been confirmed.

If you love the creative needle arts, and want to discover how they fit into your spiritual life this book is a great read. I need to get back to my praying/knitting, I want to try to get the sweater done for daughter's graduation at the end of the month. With God's help and mrangelmeg's travel schedule I may just have enough prayer time to fill to get it done in time.

Pax

The Spirituality of Needlework

I have taken up knitting and crocheting. I may have blogged about it before but over the past few years I have actually created a few things, like scarves that people can actually wear in public without shame. Who Knew?

I took it up because someone told me that it was a good exercise to stimulate the brain, and I am always looking for things to keep my brain nimble. I don't want to end up like my mom in that sad purgatory on earth of Alzheimer's disease.

What I have found about knitting that I never would have imagined is that there is a great spiritual element to knitting and crocheting, actually to needlework in general. I believe it probably has to do with the creative aspect of the endeavor, but there is something more.

While I am working on a piece I am slowed down. I am usually in one place, not frantically on-the-go. And while i do have to concentrate on the pattern to some extent, I do have time for quiet meditation. Sometimes I pray for the person to whom I am intending to give the item I am working on, sometimes I think about those who labored to create the yarns that I am working with. Sometimes my meditations are about things that have nothing to do with the work at hand.

Regardless, I am always very peaceful when I am at my knitting (I will stay with that word since I am presently working on a knitted shawl). Even when I make a mistake and have to unravel the work I have done I never seem to feel frustration. I just think about the joy I will feel at getting it right the next time.

When I complete a piece I marvel at the patience and skill that went into the work. I feel blessed that God was with me as I worked. Then I begin to plan for my next project, trying to find something that will be just a bit more challenging than the one I did before.

I have truly found a hobby that brings me great peace, serenity and joy; all spiritual gifts.

Want to join my Crafting Circle?

Pax