Measure of Faith . . . in Silk

Got yarn?  check!
Got needles?  check!
Got pattern?  check!

just waiting ......

so WHY is that "project" still sitting there?  all the skeins of yarn are stacked nice and neat, there's a sticky note to mark the page of the t-shirt style pattern that is just waiting in my new book .... i've even swatched so i know that i prefer my knitpick needles over my bamboo ones .... and yet ..... it's all still sitting there ..... because why?

i'm usually NOT this cautious when i knit .... i jump right in (no swatching or nothing!]) and just grin while i knit ... until i mess up or decide i don't like something ..... and then i rip it out and start over, still grinning and anticipating (and hoping and praying) that THIS time it will be right!   i guess i'm rather easily entertained by the shear process of knitting ... but there are times, like now, that i'm frozen .. and my justifications are almost rational and mature  (yikes!)

Time:  yep!  committing to a garment is going to require Time and .... PLANNING ... yep!  another one of my "strong" points!  and did i mention COUNTING? yep!  i'll have to actually keep track of where i am in the pattern, making notes as i go so that the right side will Match the left side [what a novel thought!]  Now, while all these are valid excuses and perhaps even signs of wisdom, i also recognize them as signs of "immaturity" ... and basically FEAR!  and the best way to overcome Fear is just to plow right through it rather than allow that foothold to creep into my knitting stash!

There is no fear in love; for perfect love casts out ALL fear!  (I John 4:18)   Now i realize that this is just a bit (LOT) out of context, but in some ways it's really not!   I LOVE to knit ... and allowing anything to sidetrack shouldn't even be welcomed in my thought process .... i'm growing each and every day as a knitter by learning something, even if that means doing it wrong and ripping it out ... it's still a lesson that builds, day after day, on what I ALREADY KNOW!

and isn't that just like my Faith in the Lord? !!!  yes and YES and YES!  Every day He gives me 1,440 stitches/minutes to knit with.  Every day!  and as of today, i'm looking at approximately 26, 691,861 stitches TOTAL ... and that's a LOT of skeins of time with which to knit! Even more so, i have all the instructions i need for life, and love and living a Godly life contained within His Master Pattern - my Bible.  ALL the instructions .... no gaps or misprints or mistakes in sizing .... so why do i leave so much on the shelf just staring at me, untouched, unknit ... not even swatched?  Looking back should, and does, remind me of His Faithfulness ... His Mercies are New each morning .... His forgiveness is so sincere that He has removed my sins as far as the east is from the west (ps. 103:12).  These are not hopeful wishes, but clearly documented PROMISES ... so that i can ... and SHOULD. ... jump back into the knitting of TODAY, receiving the gift of His construction and design, and by Faith submit to becoming the fabric that He is knitting .. and labeling as mine!

The care label wrapped around my life reads as follows: 

Needle Size:  Calvary's nails

Care Instructions:  Washed in the Blood of the Lamb

Fiber Content:  Mercy and Forgiveness are plied together, tightly wound and interwoven

Note:  Upon completion, this yarn will be impervious to flames!

           Redemption has fortified this yarn, and left it White as Snow!

 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;

His mercies never come to an end;

 they are new every morning;

great is Your faithfulness!

Lam. 3:22-23

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!