Knitting to Keep My Sanity ... Well, Sort of

Oh, the summer that it has been ... if only I could have knit!!

It has been the most unbelievable summer ... one that I will treasure, but I hope to never repeat.

As I type, we are in the first hours of electricity after Hurricane Ike ~~ we are blessed.  We were without power for five days, we lost our fence and all of the food in our refrigerator. 

While it was a minor event for us, it was still overwhelming.  Our home had flooded in TS Allison and the PTSD from that event came back in a, excuse the expression, flood. 

I was so overwhelmed, I could not knit -- I could only listen to the radio and stare at the damage on the TV (Bless Jeff for buying a generator!!!)  The "if onlys" were so loud in my head - worried about those hurting, knowing what they were going to face, fearful that we would still have some unseen damage.

I plan to write about the events of this summer -

• my eldest son's graduation from high school and moving out of the house to Michigan
• my middle son's graduation into high school
• the death of my beloved Grandmother and the beautiful affirmation of life which surrounded it
• the death of my husband's aunt and deaths that touched my friends

Sometimes I could knit, sometimes I couldn't ~~ sometimes I just needed to sit and stare. 

It is odd to say that going through a hurricane was the easy part --- but that was the course of the summer.

So, I will start writing about my summer ... and by sharing the insanity, I hope to move closer to regaining balance.

What is WRONG with me??????

Here I am, perfectly happy with Isis and Orkney - lacing around the circulars, getting into the rhythm, progressing along.

Isis continues to surprise me with the elegant simplicity of her pattern.  As I think about designing, I think about this design and wonder how to even approach trying to do something this creative.

And then there is Orkney - his design is easier to comprehend.  I can actually see how to wrap my head around designing a Pi shawl.  The motif size is small (not so small that I don't mess it up once it a while) but it isn't overwhelming like Isis.

Anyway, life was peaceful, serene and uncomplicated --- but then, they came into my life.  They were packages in the post.  Yes, I ordered them - but they disordered my order - such that it was.

 

The package on the left came from the Netherlands - specifically Astrid's Dutch Obsessions.  The package on the right came from England - specifically Heirloom Knitting.

Inside the package from Astrid's, yarn for two projects.  The first is the Kauni Cardigan and a sweater from Garn Studio.   From Heirloom Knitting, cobweb yarn to start Unst Bridal Shaw.

So, do I keep with my perfectly satisfying project?  Do I dig into the amazing Heirloom lace project (or the other three in my stash)?  Speaking of stash, what about the other projects waiting, languishing, particularly patiently? 

No, I cast on the Kanui with a particularly unchallenging k1p1 border.  Why would I bypass my beloved lace to start a simple stockingette sweater?  I think it's the color that pulled me away. 

I guess a girl can't live by yarn overs alone!!

And just what does knitting mean.....

I have just begun to become active on Ravelry, quite frankly the most ingenious creation to hit the crafting world since....I don't know....needles and thread.  One of the things that I really, Really, REALLY like about the site is the ease setting up user groups.  I have set up one myself (but that is for another posting), but one I joined right off the bat was a group of alumni and students for the college my eldest son was planning on attending. 

You see, I wanted to have a little taste of the culture, a little taste of his experience ... OK, I will be honest ... I didn't want to let go.  But, my excuse was that I needed to know what kind of clothes and accessories did I need to prepare him with since we were woefully ignorant, down here in the deep South, of the needs of the frigid North.

So I went on my pilgrimage to The Yarn Barn and there I picked up some carefully, thoughtfully, poured over the Lopi yarns and patterns - in which I could just imagine my first born, warmly nestled in the loving stitches of my needles - (if I couldn't make him warm and protected, my knitting would).  And, on the way back to my mum-in-law's house, dreaming about the prayers that I would say while knitting, the joy I would see on his face when I gave him his sweater (alright, this is MY fantasy) and the comfort I would take when hearing about the -1000 degree temperatures in MI, it dawned on me - this child doesn't remember to eat lunch sometimes if not reminded.

And it made me think - how much of this is about ME - wanting to have a little piece to go with him, to hold him, to comfort him, to protect him.  After all, this is my baby ... my first-born moving out of my nest, away from my protection - where I can dab his boo-boos, wipe his tears and promise with a kiss that "Mama will make it better".

When he puts on a sweater, scarf or mittens that I knit - will he realize that I am there with him, helping him through this transition - standing, not with him, but behind him.  A young man cannot ask for help from his mother - no, that is not right.  But a son wants his mother to see him grow into a man.  Maybe I want the clothes I make for him to be the hugs he can't ask for, but he may just need. 

Or maybe, just maybe --- I need them to be more than just knit and purl stitches.

Easter .... A New Beginning ... in the most superficial sense

Well .. When last we last we left, I was heading to a very sad pilgrimage to The Yarn Barn of San Antonio, thinking that it would be the last trip to my ideal LYS - old triangular building, slightly mildewing scent to the building - no slam to Bobbi, just to the age of the building - and said with the love of someone who adores clawing into old library stacks.  True research cannot be done without allergies :-)

So I pick out some Lopi from my son's sweater, some fantastic Barraco Folliage and some wonderful bamboo yarns as well as loads of notions and books.  And with HEAVY heart (and basket), I make my way to the check out counter - to talk to Marge.  Where I hear the enlightening news that the shop has been sold ---- it will continue ---- and while we try to get my gift card worked through, I reflect on why this matters so much.

I don't really know.  Was it the odd shaped building - not really, I would be back whether the building was triangular or square or circular.  Was it the vintage storefront - that was part of it - I can't lie.  There is something about going into an older storefront.  That was also true with the original location for the Houston location for Yarns 2 Ewe.  It is not to say it is a necessity, but, for me it is a plus.

But LONG STORY SHORT  ---  There is a fabulous new owner for The Yarn Barn of San Antonio, and thus there will be a continuity of my potential dream LYS.  While they were working out my gift card issues (don't worry, they have it all sorted out!!), we visited, and she is absolutely fabulous!!  I am so excited.  I am also so excited for Bobbi as she moves to the next phase of her life --- she should get sooooo much koooddooos for what she has built in SA.  She is an amazing entrepreneur and I don't believe that she gets the snaps that she deserves.

Sooo - I bought more yarn that I needed and I found out that YBSA will be there as the "mothership" for years to come.  I hope that I am not being a complete blaspheme when I say "Yarn-wise === It is a good Easter"

Non-yarnwise === He has Risen !!!  Proclaim His Victory!!!

Happy Easter!!

Not knitting, but I do want to share

I am blessed with three amazing children, Christopher (18), Nicholas (14) and Elizabeth (9).  On occasion, I will share gifts that they give me in this space because they can be my greatest source of peace, serenity and reflection.  (Of course, on other occasions, they can be the reasons I need to knit so that I don't inflict harm to them or myself)

But today, I share a gift from Nicholas, a poem that raised the hairs on my arms and brought tears to my eyes.  Enjoy!

Adam's Apple by Nicholas

all rights reserved

As I walk this ancient road
On my back, the heaviest load
Not of weight, but of my mind
The path of truth was for me to find

I tried to seek the answers untold
On this path, my quest unfolds
Looking for the way of right
Trying to end my unholy plight

Infected was I, by lies of old
Listening to the words the demon told
Trying to be great, to be the best
Only to fail my greatest test

I cannot excuse what I did
Nor this curse, will I be rid
Live on forever, in my dread
For eating the fruit, the color of red

The snake came to her as she walked
And her mistake was that she talked
But I could have stopped her, stopped it all
But instead I followed her on the fall

The human race will have to pay
For the choice I made that day
No songs to be sung when I die
For the apple was eaten, by Eve and I

Enough said....