Basket Living

Basketweave Stitch
(multiple of 6 stitches)
Using size 7 needles, cast on 38 stitches, and knit 3 rows (garter stitch border)

Row 1(RS): Knit

Row 2: Purl

Row 3: k1, *k1, p4, k1*, repeat * * to last stitch, k1.

Row 4: p1, *p1, k4, p1*, repeat * * to last stitch, p1.

Row 5: Repeat Row 3.

Row 6: Repeat Row 4.

Row 7: Knit

Row 8: Purl

Row 9: K1, *p2, k2, p2*, repeat * * to last stitch, k1.

Row 10: P1, *k2, p2, k2*, repeat * * to last stitch, p1.

Row 11: Repeat Row 9.
Row 12: Repeat Row 10.

Repeat Rows 1-12 for desired length.
Knit 3 rows. Bind off.

This simple basketweave pattern has become on of my favorite quick and easy "go-to" patterns because it's a nice variation on the knit and purl square boxes that i first learned to knit.  I like it because the textures seem to jump off of the cloth as the stitch falls away from the needles and for a minute here or there i feel more like i've just woven something, rather than knitted it!  (i know, it doesn't take much to entertain me these days! )

However, one of the best parts of this pattern is that it is easy to memorize and often affords me the time to let my mind work through other parts of my day .. my schedule, my shopping list, my children, my friends .... it's a sweet pattern to sit and knit and pray with .... for health of a sick friend, for school or work issues that my family may be dealing with, for wisdom and guidance for me even . . when my hands are busy i often find that my mind focuses more intently as well ... and the sweet fellowship that i have found in spending time with the Lord and pouring my heart out to Him while i'm knitting .... and to sense His Presence and the Peace of His Replies as He leads me .... instructs me .... forgives me for the things i confess and seek restoration for.

Once again, knitting is so much like my Christian walk .... the good AND the not so good!  the mistakes i make in my knitting can never be dismissed unless i have LOTS of buttons to cover up the holes or patch the missed or dropped stitches ....  and my daily life and time with the Lord are no different!  Sins i've committed don't go away by 'avoiding' them ... burdens i refuse to let go off don't melt away because i refuse to acknowledge them .....  it's only when i come and confess the sin, or lay my burden down at His feet that i find true Peace.

Frogging ... Rip it!  Rip it!  Rip it! was one of the scariest things i have learned to do as a knitter.  Ripping OUT all those stitches i just spent all that time putting IN .. and now i'm removing them because of one dad-gum hole 4 rows down! ~  ~  ~  REALLY!   Yes, Virginia!  REALLY!!!  The freedom and pride as a knitter in a project that is complete and mistake free because i took the time to re-do ... to re-learn ... to correct it ... it's amazing!  and even more so, in my own heart and life ... when i humbly confess the mistakes i've made and ask for His forgiveness i find the sweetest of fellowship, the Peace that really does Pass understanding .... the serenity of knowing i am a project that He will be pleased with and proud to call His workmanship ...

Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior,

who daily bears our burdens.

Ps. 68:19

But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light,

we have fellowship with one another,

and the blood of Jesus, His Son,

purifies us from all sin.

If we claim to be without ins, we deceive ourselves

and the truth is not in us.

I John 1:7-8

Grace and mercy are two wonderful threads that He weaves in and out of my day ... and i can't have one without the other.  So perhaps, i am that simple basket or cloth that He works on each day.  How i long to know the Peace that comes from simple living in the "basket" of His love and forgiveness, steps and stitches that reflect His design for my life ... to be His new creation ... one row at a time!

"overlooking" doesn't make it go away . . . .

Somewhere along my journey it was shared with me that small 'holes' in my project were simply Amish in nature.  When asked what that meant, it was explained that the Amish culture requires them to leave an imperfection or two in any project they are working on - - a quilt, a garment that is sewn, a sampler that it stitched, etc. - -  because only God is perfect and therefore their work shouldn't compete with Him. And perhaps that philosphy may work on a swatch or in the WAY early stages of learning to knit but ... i have found that when i try  to make a mistake 'be okay' by ignoring it, rather than returning to correct  it ... i worry about it ... and i go back and look at it every couple of rows, like i think it may mysteriously melt into the symmetry of the rest of the knitting.

Result?  there's STILL a hole in row 14 of my scarf despite the fact that it is now 6 foot in length.  And somehow that hole now seems to be 5" in diameter .... and 3 rows tall ..... in fact, it's now screaming "hey look everyone!  she can't even knit a row without making a mess of things!" ..... despite my valiant attempts to play it off as a way to 'loop the scarf through and hold it in place' (albeit an awkward placement!) ... there is just NO JUSTIFICATION for an obvious mistake that i should have gone back and corrected before trying to "Hope it would go away" by just conveniently overlooking it!  ... "oops!" is really not a good word in knitting circles, i'm just saying ......

i could try and pick up the stitch, row by row, for all 16 feet of the scarf (which is exactly what it will seem like once it's all said and done!) ... or i could FROG it! ..... you know ... Rip it!  Rip it!  Rip it!   down past where the original stitch was dropped and relax and enjoy the knitting process again! Bottom line:  paying attention and double checking much more periodically makes for a much happier knitter when it's all said and done .... there's NOTHING WRONG with ripping out and starting over, if need be .... mutliple times even! .... and the freedom that comes from ripping back - - maintaining a closer perspective as you are knitting ... sure makes the end of the project a better reflection of the time that you spent.

in fact ....walking with the Lord, each and every day, is much like that knitting process!  there are always messes that i make of things when i fail to acknowledge His leadership and pattern design for my day ... for my hour ... for my every step!  and at the end of the day i could approach Him and simply say "ooops!" but i don't think He's much on my Amish approach to daily living and blatant, obvious holes i may leave ....  when i maintain a closer fellowship and communication with Him, which may even mean Ripping Things Back to clean up the mess i've made, or to learn a lesson from a specific incident or individual, or simply and continually consulting Him on how to Handle a situation BEFORE messing it up - - i.e., which 'decrease' would be best suited for this opportunity, or would He choose a different 'stitch' at this juncture that would highlight Him better at the end of the day .... Because of His faithfulness, He has demonstrated, time and again, that I can trust Him ... He can (and does) read the pattern that He has selected for me ....

  "Therefore we do not lose heart ..... For our light and momentary troubles

are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. 

For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal!"

Rom. 4:16-18

  "A man's steps are directed by the Lord."

Prov. 20:24

 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 

in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your path."

Prov. 3:5-6

He doesn't try to overlook the messes i make or try to justify the imperfections i leave behind ... He has ordered my days .... His atonement for my sin Requires me ... NO, it COMPELS me to check with Him as i'm knitting each step ... so when it's all said and done i will hear Him say ... Well done, my child!