Such a good time I had.  A reunion in Minnesota, seeing people, some of whom I remembered, some of whom I did not remember, but it didn’t seem to matter.  We were all quite pleased to see each other and to see that, even though outer changes were apparent, we really were older versions of ourselves and that was real swell.

 I was also able to track down some priests, nuns, and monks I had not seen in some time and it was a joy.  One of them had an art show that featured his paintings from one of his trips to Italy.  He specializes in red roofs, which hold a dear spot in my heart.  I even recognized a Romanesque church in a place called St. Benoit sur Loire that we had toured together.  Such a quiet, cooling little place, much humbler than the grand Gothic cathedrals we were seeing elsewhere and in Chartres.  One of my assignments was to research and speak about some of the sculpture in the east side of Chartres Cathedral.  I remember well the statues of St. George and St. Stephen who were standing above the form of torture that led to their sainthoods.  Such dramatic, visual, thrilling stuff!

So, how does this translate into my knitting experience?  I think that my knitting at this point in my life, allows me to look back and ponder some of my experiences and think about how they might fit into the present moments of my life.    I was working on a Wavy Scarf pattern on the plane and you had to keep pretty careful attention in order not to miss a stitch that would lead you out of the pattern.  Attention to detail, most necessary. 

Today, I was reading Psalm 139, Lines 13-14.  “You found my being, you knit me in my mother’s womb.  I praise you, so wonderfully you made me; wonderful are your works!  My very self you knew. . . “  What wonderful, serendipital stuff!  Never before had I seen the word KNIT in the Bible, and there it was.  And it was in a grand context!  I was humbled to read that and went over it a few times to really understand that it was real and that the message was enlightening and totally pertinent.  What a lovely moment it was, coming upon that Psalm.

Onto part II of my wavy scarf . . .

I am about to go away for the weekend and have reached my usual dilemma point when packing:  which knitting/crocheting projects should I take along?

Of course, I could go with the big things for the girls, the long sleeved sweater and the coat.  Then again, I could continue try to find the right size for the garter stitch sweaters that Im making for our two pups.  I made an extra small and think it is too little for our littlest, so have to pull the yarn out and start again, leave it for a future template, or felt it for an odd looking potholder.

I am also committed to making hats, mittens, and scarves for each daughter and I could start on one of those.  I have an adorable mitten pattern that is, unfortunately, under some heap somewhere.  The good news is that I am going to tackle some of those heaps after class.  I just hope that I search through the right heap.

Yesterday I was most pleased with comments and responses I had written and then, instead of SAVE, I hit EDIT and the thing disappeared.  I was so mad that I didn’t return to the computer all day.  Today is different, sort of, so I’ll try again.

 Thanks for all of your interest in this passion of mine.  I am now working on the right side of my youner daughter’s coat.  It’s made of 5 pieces:  the back, two fronts, and two sleeves.  It also has a collar that you attach later, two pockets that are knitted in, and 5-6 buttons down the front, so I need to make buttonholes to match down the other front.

 I am also in the middle of a long-sleeved turtleneck for my older daughter.  I am about to start the second sleeve.  After I sew the pieces together, I need to put it into some hot water in the washing machine to felt it a bit-felting means to shrink it a bit and it makes the sweater sturdier and warmer.

 We have two dachshunds and the recent cold weather has made them snuggle even deeper under their covers.  I found a couple of sweater patterns for them and need to get them going ASAP.  I have vowed to not turn the heat on until October, but I may have to break it if things don’t warm up a bit.

The craft of knitting is undergoing a ressurection, so to speak.  A team member asked, to paraphrase, if knitting had gone out of style because of the manic ways in which we’re living now that doesn’t allow much time for a bubble bath, let alone a passtime!  Of course, the rediscovery of knitting will not happen in the midwest for a while, being the midwest, but on either coast, it is hot.  Celebrities like Darryl Hannah are writing pattern books for charity and it has become very hip to knit.  They now have an annual day of knitting called a KNIT OUT in NYC and it has caught on in other cities too.

 I lived in NYC for a dozen years and was a proud member of  the Big Apple Knitting Guild.  Even carried a card!

I’d like you to experience some of the creativity that is going into this notion of knitting.  If you go here:  www.knitty.com  , you’ll see some blogging, photos, and plenty of patterns for sweaters, hats, socks, and even lingerie.  You’ll see that men are knitting too.  I saw a picture of Russell Crowe, on another site, holding two knitting needles with a skein of yarn attached and he was absolutely adorable.  See, even gladiators do it!

Great to share.  Best, Fool For Yarn.

Ripped out, my favorite thing, several inches of SSZ’s coat and got it back to normal.  Started on the armholes and measured it against her, so I think it is not to be so long.

 Almost done with BLZ’s first sleeve.  Watched “Moonstruck” and about finished the sleeve, she said hopefully.

 Found some dazzling Fandango in one of the boxes in the BR.  Maybe it’s Burnt Umber.  Scarf?  Need to find pattern.  Also for little scarf with furry yarn from Utah.  I could write a travelogue on the yarn stores and bins I’ve visited.

I did not buy any yarn this week.  I did work on a sleeve for my daughter’s warm sweater, but that’s about it.

 I have reached a juncture with the coat I have been knitting for another daughter, a mistake, really.  My gauge turned out to be wrong and I had knitted too much for where it should have been.  Now I need to do a rip out and try and incorporate the decreases into the piece while knitting it considerably shorter.  And it’s moss stitch, so the yarn is continually going forward and backward, and not as speedy as stockinette.  Oh well, Nike, just do it.

 I also need to pick out something to knit for me for a special weekend coming up.  Choosing for me is always the hardest.  This could be the topic of another blog.  Adieu for now.

Right now, I am sitting in my basement and writing to the world.  I am in an environment rich in spun fiber:  wool, nylon, cotton, acrylic, glitz, and more.  The colors bounce out of the plastic cartons or bags:  peacock, teal, blood red, kelly green, tangerine, acid pink, heathered purple, robin’s egg blue.

Sounds a bit like textile heaven, but it’s become a sort of hell, albeit gentle and lovely, but hell, nevertheless.

For years, yarn was my obsession and I never saw a yarn shop that I didn’t enter and upon entering, rarely left without buying.  I was especially attracted to the sale bins.  The gem skeins, never great in number, rose to the top as if they were fuzzy cream.  Usually not having the funds to buy a sufficient amount of yarn for a complete project, buying this stuff allowed me to feel that I was part of the buying game, that I was not left out, that I had something gorgeous in my freshly opened shopping bag.