Last week I was at knitting group and was having a simple chat with a friend about knitting. I would say that I am the most yarn obsessed person in my group, and this friend would be the least. She knits rectangles in various sizes, garter stitch only. I taught her to knit several years ago and she will not venture past this skill level, even though she is truly capable. That is just fine as knitting is whatever you want it to be. While chatting I said, "I think knitting changes peoples lives." She almost choked on her coffee and proceeded to laugh hysterically at me.
I stand by my statement. But the statement is true for crochet, weaving, beading, scrap booking, needlework, sewing, painting or whatever type art/craft form you choose. I happen to choose several of these.
I was taught to knit by several women I worked with in my first job out of college. I had moved to
Lynchburg, Va with a friend to work in state institution for the physically challenged. Yes, they still had institutions in Virginia, and I believe they still do. It was interesting work and I really liked it. But I was away from home and needed something new. I watched these lovely women knit everyday at lunch so I asked them to teach me. They were ruthless, ripping out every mistake and making me knit it perfectly. I think they took great delight in my awkwardness. I so fell in love with yarn and the knitted stitch and before you know it I was making scarves, blankets and a couple of summer sweaters.
I don't think I really ever stopped knitting after that. I have taken a few months off here and there but it has always been a part of my life. It is a part of who I am and what makes me, me. I have knit to keep myself sane, calm, awake and busy. I have taken refuge in a yarn store to simply be with beautiful yarn. I have taught many, many people to knit . They have in turn told me it helped them get through their divorce, health issues, parenting problems, or work issues. I have been blessed to share this craft with young children and friends, including my Mother-in law. I actually am teaching my Sister-in-law how to crochet.
The only true hiatus I took from knitting was when I was undergoing cancer treatments 10 years ago. I would look at the red sweater in my knitting basket and I just couldn't knit. Every time I looked at that sweater I felt like throwing up, well actually I felt like that a lot anyway. My sister kept asking me to knit, she
knew I was in big trouble if I wasn't knitting. I just didn't have the energy. Finally Claudia, my wonderful sister took me on a field trip to the yarn store, to pick out a new project for me to plan. I think when she saw me planning to knit for the future she knew I was on my road to recovery. I have taught several friends to knit after they have been diagnosed with cancer and they said it helped them
through the process, something new to focus on when everything else is out of your control.
I think in this day and age of computers,
iphones, smart phones,
ipads, text messages, emails and big screen
TV's there is a place for the simple act of creating.Believe me I love technology and all it has to offer. But at the end of a busy day, when I finally sit down I want to pick up my yarn and needles and settle in to the repetition that calms me. I want to search out projects that challenge me, and some that just let me not think at all, but let my fingers do the thinking. I love to give a gift of my time and my creativity to someone I care about, even if they don't understand all the love and planning that went into it.
Why do you create? Do you stand by my statement, too? Those lovely women in
Virginia will never know how the simple act of teaching me how to knit, years ago, has had such an impact on my life. How about you?
Sorry my shoe is in the picture. I think it turned out pretty good for my first attempt at a crochet bag. I tried to line it but decided it wouldn't work the way I wanted it to. This bag will be for light projects, nothing too heavy. 
Since you haven't seen a picture of Max in a while I thought I would show you one of his favorite spots. This is my husband's closet. Max is either in here, or in the laundry room near his crate, when my husband isn't home. I think he likes this spot because it smells like my husband. As I have said before Max is totally obsessed with his Father. He just isn't happy until his Dad is home.
This is my beautiful friend Terri in the scarf I made her on my loom. I made it with Joann's Sensations yarn from my stash. I love the colors, so perfect for Terri. Once again I am amazed at the difference in texture from knit and crochet. It is so much lighter.
I hope Terri liked it and it will keep her nice and warm. It does get pretty cold here in Florida, not as cold as northern states but we bundle up when needed.
So that is finished project number 8. I think this is so much fun keeping track of all these projects. By the way, thanks so much for your wonderful comments on my last post. It is so nice to hear that knitting, crochet, scrap booking, sewing or whatever your passion, is as important to you, as it is to me.
Project number seven is hot off the loom. The yarn for this scarf came right out of my stash. A lovely deep purple silk, mixed with a mohair I have had for years. The texture is light and fluffy and the color amazing.
I am really loving my loom and am trying to make a bit of time for it everyday. A scarf like this take about 5 hours, and 5 hours is sometimes hard to find in my busy schedule. So if I can do a bit here and there it all adds up. 
I finally made a Queen Anne Lace scarf for myself. This very beautiful scarf was made from Cascade Yarns Eco Duo. It is all natural, no dyes and I have to say your fingers are in Heaven when working with this yarn. I made a scarf for my sister with this yarn, then decided that I had to have one for myself. I am slightly less obsessed with this pattern now that I have made 12 of these. But I still feel I have a few more in me that's for sure.
Baby Blanket number 2 makes my fifth completed project of the year. Lion Brand Yarn Organic Cotton is just as good the second time around. I made a little picot edge to make it a bit more girlish. Baby Beatrice should be born in May, hope she feels the love I have for her when this blanket is wrapped around her. Being a Great Aunt is a wonderful thing.
This yarn still reminds me of ice cream. It is really enjoyable to work with and goes very quickly using a size J crochet hook. 2011 might be the year of crochet for me.
Last but not least is number six. I just took this off my loom and couldn't wait to show you. A lovely, long scarf made of Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk from my stash. This is the yarn I made my very fun vest with a few months back. Love the color and the feel of the yarn. I have to give it some time in the tub for the fibers to relax, but I thought I would take a couple of quick photos to include in this post.
Weaving is really fascinating to me. As I love yarn, it is always fun to find something new to do with it. A long scarf like the one above uses about 200 yards of yarn. A scarf of this length that was knitted or crocheted would take many more yards, and would be very heavy. This is light weight and much less dense. It has an airiness about it that you just don't get with using knitting needles or a crochet hook. I love how the texture looks. I think that I will be exploring weaving much more here in the future. Hope you will come along with me for the ride.
My Mother-in-law Gracie is back in Florida for a visit. She is with us again for a couple of weeks from very cold Wisconsin. Gracie is now 92 years young. She is an amazing woman, and I have been fortunate to be part of her family for almost 19 years.
She is an amazing Mother, Mother-in-law, Grandmother and Great Grandmother. She still volunteers, and is a very active member of her church. She actually doesn't like to be here too long as it cuts into her very active schedule.
I taught Gracie to knit when she was about 85. She likes things simple, garter stitch is just fine with her. I cast on, she knits until she is done, I cast off. Simple.
She has made three scarves since her arrival and will be starting number four today. I am falling way behind her in my ability to complete a project. This is what I want to do when I am 92, knit or crochet. Actually there is a lot I want to do like Gracie, she is amazing. 
As one of my New Year's resolutions was to post more pictures of Max....here you go. As you know Max is so wonderful. He gives hugs by pushing into your legs with his nose. It isn't anything personal he is really hugging. And Max loves, loves, loves to hold hands. He loves to sit next to you and hold your hand. He actually puts pressure into your hand. He is the cutest.
He loves getting his little paw pads rubbed, and all of his little fingers. He will almost fall asleep if you rub long enough. He reminds me of a three year old always wanting to hold their Mom's hand. He is so precious. I am trying to get him a bit more used to the camera. Taking pictures is not his strong point that is for sure.
Project number three is complete. I made this scarf on my loom, actually it is the first scarf I have made on my loom. I made it much too long. It can wrap around my neck several times and still have plenty of room to hang down. I made it out of Patons Rumor in the color Hibiscus Heather. Okay, can I tell you how much I love this yarn? It is amazingly soft. A primarily acrylic with alpaca blend. It is gorgeous to work with and the color is lovely. Now I have to ask why is it discontinued? It is no where to be found, I could only find a few skeins in the web, in colors I didn't like. Thank goodness I had this in my stash, I only wish I had a lot more.
I crocheted this with Lion Brand Yarn, Nature's Choice, Organic Cotton. I love the feel of this blanket and the colors remind me of ice cream. A lovely milk chocolate with strawberry and vanilla, and a pinch of mint chocolate chip and pistachio on the side. Really, I could just eat this up. The dyes are organic, too. I used a J crochet hook and a basic granny pattern.
To finish off the very last section of weaving I made this little lace pattern. A nice finish and much easier than trying to pull the last bit of yarn through all these stitches.
I used the lovely yarn I received in my knitting group gift exchange, mohair I already had, and some lovely ribbon I bought at Joann Fabrics. I used a bit of ribbon in the shawl but most of it was used with the other yarns for the fringe.
