Grace

I have four books fewer to read for my Newbery quest. (By the way: I realized that I have misspelled Newbery in my previous posts...however, at this point I am not taking the time to go back to change them all. I'm hoping for grace.)

Speaking of grace, which reminds me of love, I have always loved gardenias. Daddy used to give Mom a gardenia corsage every Easter, and the first year I was old enough to wear a flower without trying to eat it, he gave me a gardenia wristlet. Gardenias bring back lovely memories of my parents. I was at a friend's house the other day, and her gardenia bush was thriving. Mine was not. She cut a small bouquet for me, and graced me with memories.

Beneath the gift of grace are the four books- all non-fiction. The two poetry books spoke of insects and the fantastical residents of William Blake's Inn. The folk tale collection told stories of South America, and was written just like a story-teller would speak. The history book was longer than any book I ever read as a child! The book won the first award in 1922. It took me forever to read it- I cannot imagine a young person plowing through over almost 500 pages of the creation and politics and economics and revolutions through millions of years and zillions of kings and battles and governments and treaties up until the Great War! (I did read, however about a certain "disgusting" King Ferdinand VII of Spain who knit garments for statues while in prison! I tried to google more information, but could not find anything.) Subsequent chapters of more recent man since WWI has been updated by other historians. To be honest, I did not read "the rest of the story."

Grace happened again: my gardenia bush bloomed, several weeks after I had given up all hope. Thanks, God.

Now, if someone would just invent an app for a "smell-o-blog," I could share the sweet scent of memories!

Still singin' the blues...

Will it ever end? I cannot believe I have so much blue yarn in my stash- I'm more of a green/teal/autumn/burgundy, but the blues live on! Here is a hat, based on a couple of hats I've seen in person, but I do not have a real pattern for it. Basically, I just knit 4 rows, changed colors, purled 4 rows, changed colors, knit 4 rows, changed colors...until it looked right. Then I did a regular hat decrease pattern, K2togging and knitting (or purling) a decreasing number of stitches each row or so.

Again, I love the almost symmetry of the crown.

 

And here is yet another Ballband hat:

 Again, I still am fascinated with the crown:

And a baby sweater for our Knitting Guild charity project::

(It's based on the 5-hour baby sweater pattern.)

And I unearthed an only-missing-the-arms February Baby Sweater:

And I'm still working on the prayer shawl...it lives in the trunk of my car so that if I ever get stuck somewhere I'll have something to do!!!

As far as I can see, this is what is left to knit so I can stop singing the blues!!

(If there is the least bit of green in a blue yarn, it has been redeemed and does not get my scorn....) Normally I do not organize my stash by color- I use the weight/content method. I started out the year with a goal to use up my acrylic, but now I'm on a rampage to use use up all blue yarn- acrylic or not!! Hopefully this pond will be dry by the end of summer, assuming I don't have to do much frogging!

Old and New

Old:
These Newbery books were read earlier this spring, when Lily of the Valley decked my garden wall...

These books told me about the migration through Asia and Europe of Huns and Magyars and the rise of Atilla; the trials of an orphan from Barbados returning to colonial Connecticut:; the true story of a Dutch family and their Spanish matchlock gun during an Indian uprising in NYC; a boy, his cat, his collection of friends, and adventures in NYC; and a bratty prince, his "punishment stand-in," and their adventures and growing friendship outside the castle.

New:

The pattern is based on a watermelon baby cap. I've seen it does as a strawberry, a tomato, a pumpkin, and an apple. This is a squash. Maybe a blueberry next???

Relentless

ReLentless.

That is how I have been as I worked on the Swirl Shawl. I took a class at the KKQ 2011 in January, using Jojoland melody yarn that was a birthday gift from my daughter, who served the chaplain for the retreat. I started and restarted many times, but finally got the hang of it. Of course, I have a multitude of WIPs, not to mention the UFOs and IMQs (in my queue.) To make sure I completed the shawl in a timely manner, I determined that during Lent I would work only on this project only when I was home. (Since the shawl did require some concentration, I worked on a myriad of stash busting acrylic hats during breaks at work and at sit-n-knits.) I tried to finish one hexagon each evening. I tried to figure out some sort of spiritual aspect to this Lenten "discipline," but could not come up with one. That's OK. I did pray my way through a number of errors and redos! After the leaning curve in January, the getting going in February, the reLentless 40 days in March and April, I finally finished the last of the 82 hexagons on the Fifth Sunday of Easter! I'm pleased with the completed shawl, but will not knit another one. I'm exhausted!!

The blob.

 The bath.

 The blocking. 

The beautiful.

 The shawl was completed in time to take to High Hampton in Cashiers, NC, where I spent a glorious 3 days with 7 other friends who've known each other since nursery school. There is nothing like forever friends!

10, 20, and "to infinity and beyond..."

Wow. Ten more hexagons and my Swirl Shawl will be ready to block.

 Wow. Twenty more books and I will have completed reading the Newberry Award winners.

This time I read a bevy of biographies: Daniel Boone, a trail breaker who never was lost, except for one time when he was "right bewildered" for 3 days; Amos Fortune, a man who was, as written on his epitaph, "born free in Africa, a slave in America, purchased liberty, professed Christianity, and died hopefully at age 91;" Abraham Lincoln, a backwoods boy who went from living in a log cabin to living in the White House; and Louisa May Alcott, a writer who endured many family hardships but lived with joy, determination, and the maxim that no matter how poor you are, you always have something to give away.

Wow. A zillion more hats to knit out of stash acrylic.....

Once again, I enjoyed figuring out the top decreases...

There will be more...and more...and more...

Resistance is futile

I have never participated in a KAL. (I'm not part of the "In" crowd.)
I rarely comment on a blog or in a Ravelry group. (I'm shy- even anonymously.)
I'm on a no-new-yarn diet. (My stash is high and my funds are low.)
I'm on a no-new-books diet. (See above.)
Lent is over. (Happy Easter!)
I've walked past a pattern in my LYS too many times. (Resistance is futile.)
I've seen a book/pattern/KAL too many times. (Resistance is still futile.)
I went to two yarn shops today. (I made someone at Exxon richer.)

One of the patterns is a ______ for someone who reads this blog. (Top secret.)
One of the patterns is a baby sweater. (Charity knitting is my excuse.)

Updates later.

In the meantime, I have been working on  ballband hats.

  (I struggled, but finally figured out a nice decrease)

And reading

about a Florida  flatwoods girl's cane-grinding, book-learning and organ-playing in the early 1900's; a 13 year girl's flight from an arranged marriage that lead her to living among the wolves and learning to appreciate her Eskimo heritage; another young girl and her siblings learning to adjust to settling with their grandmother on Chesapeake Bay after long journey; yet another girl's journal dealing with father's remarriage, a runaway slave, death of a playmate, and rigors of early American farm life in New England; still another young girl looking for miracles at a maple sugaring camp; and finally a young girl going through the grieving process with her uncle after the death of her aunt. The last book in this series is the story of a young Incan Indian boy who learns to read his heart.

Books and Baby Bibs

In my quest for reading all the Newberry Award books, I have 7 more to add.

This time, I learned about having courage, craftsmanship, and spirit while searching for the metaphoric door in a long wall; an Arabian horse, who eventually becomes the sire of legendary thoroughbreds, and his journey to England with his stable boy; runaway siblings camping out in the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the compelling statue of an angel; a young boy caring for a runaway, abused dog; a princess trying to prove herself by seeking and fighting a ferocious dragon; a sharecropper family waiting the return of their father and the return of their dog; and a young orphan boy's legendary feats that awe and astound his contemporaries.

In my charity knitting for our Knitting Guild, I completed two bibs from the "Perfect Baby Bib'" pattern on Ravelry using yarn from a newly discovered stash of Sugar and Cream. I thought I was out (finally!) but found 6 more skeins plus some partial skeins. Unfortunately, only 2 were baby bib color-worthy.

 There may be a few more dishcloths in my future...

Holy, Holy, Holy

Lent is the season in the church when we examine our souls.

Does light shine through me? I have put up so many barriers...Do I let God shine through and fill the holes in my life?
~~~~~~~~~
On a light-er note,

Hole-y, hole-y, hole-y.
This is also the season to examine my soles (and toes.) What a mess.

Even my store-bought socks are bare.

What can I do about the holes in my soul/soles? Some things are fixable, by spending time mending mistakes and mending life's little irritations. This is the link to Mrs. Darn Knit.

Some things have to be dealt with as they are, but I have to pay close attention to them.

Some things need to be given up...even the "things" I love.

 

I did not realize socks could be a metaphor for life!

Looking back 6: pollen shawls

This is yet another previously-conceived-but never-published post. It actually began almost a year ago with the spring pollen season...

Last spring, 2010, I was inspired by the yuck  lovely greenish/yellow colors and began 2 green prayer shawls. The first one was knit with Bernat Softee Chunky.

The second one was knit with Lion Brand Homespun "Meadow."

And now it is October 2010. The shawls are finally finished. I used the generic prayer shawl pattern  They were begun in the spring allergy season and completed in the fall allergy season. Ah-choo!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And now ( March 2011) it is the spring allergy season again! This time I'm going for the beautiful blue sky... Homespun "Montana Sky" to be exact! It is the next color of my Kpstaatcoh project.

 A lovely greening hill, with the bright blue sky above...

Looking back 5: Tradition-surprise balls

 (This is another one of the conceived-but-never-published posts from 2010.)

Just how long (both in inches/feet and years) should I keep scrap yarn? I have quarter-balls and eighth-balls and bobbins and 18 inch lengths of needlepoint wool...most with no wrapper or indication of content. Previous posts have shown how scraps of cotton make colorful dishcloths and scraps of sock yarn make adorable miniature ornaments. But how do I use the scratchy acrylic and ugly colors? I tie them together, grab some coins and candy and party favors and start wrapping!

 

 How many repeats does it take to create a tradition? For me, it all revolves around a grandson's comment of "Gee, Bana, you should make this a tradition!" Thus, this is the third year of the Christmas Surprise Ball. (Sadly, I did not take a picture the first year.)

The boys have had a wonderful time with these for the past 3 years, although their parents may have been a little concerned with the mess!

 I've already started to collect a few things for Christmas 2011!