it's a Wrap!



SWS Soy yarn, in a self striping pattern,
did all the work for me!

 it's the first Monday of the New Year ... officially time to implement new changes!  and yet, if i don't look back on what's been for the past year then it would seem that any forward progress may be slow, or even non-existent.

as i was scrollng down the side of the blog this weekend i spent some time looking at the labels that had been used throughout the past 12 months ... LACE was the highlight and we have a scarf that echoes all the time and hard work! to have something Tangible to commemorate 2010 is really pretty special and i can't wait to wear it out, and share with others the 'process' ... it's my own scrapbook of Creative Memories - minus the stickers and cut outs!

varying your yarns, weights & colors
make for a great way to use your
stash while adding unique
touches and bits of interest!

and now that you've tackled, and actually CONQUERED your excuses for why you can't knit lace, why not consider wrapping the year up with a beautiful shawl .. for yourself, or to share with someone special?  Yarn choices have as much to do with the intricacies . .  bulkier yarn will leave your with a warm hug while a DK weight or a sock yarn will produce a soft whisper of a wrap to throw over your shoulders.  This simple triangle is a great way to feature a self striping yarn, or even consider it as a great stash buster .... options are endless, much like the potential that each day holds for each of us!

i've come to realize more and more that i lock myself in, so often, to what i will allow God to do in my life because of the pre-conceived notions i have.  Just like my knitting, i often find that once i get my mind set on something it really is hard to envision it any other way.  This has its perks at times, but just think of all that i have missed because i have limited God in what He has designed for me - opting to implement my own designs over listening to what He is leading me to do!  He has promised to be my Forever Friend, my Burden Bearer!  He longs to take the Pattern of the Day and use the Yarn of His choice to Wrap me in a Design that will remind me of His Perfect Peace regardless of what else may be going on around me.

"I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace.

In this world you will have trouble.

But take heart!  I have overcome the world!"

John 15:33

and there you Go!  the Pattern that will Always fit!  and with that in mind, the things that the Lord has been laying on my heart for the upcoming year are even more exciting now! 2011 and the word Pair - Pare - Pear .... keep coming to mind and with His leading i'm praying that we will journey into some projects that we can share with others ... that we can Pair Up and be knitting needles that He can use to share His love .. in a family way!  a year of ministry . . simple pleasures ... a few adventuresome projects . . but always gentle reminders to the world of His love, His light and His Life!

i feel like my blog

what's OLD is NEW again!!!! it's been several weeks now since i started on Crystal's shawl and i'm making slow progress ... two stitches forward, 10 rows ripped back! i initially started out with a softer, DK weight yarn and discovered i don't like garter stitch at that weight, with those needles. Although i had invested a good amount of time into trying to convince myself otherwise, i simply had to say it out loud ... I DON'T LIKE GARTER STITCH! (so, i scrapped that creative option and ALL those cute medallions i had crocheted for inserts and edging) ... ripped it all out and rolled it back into a cute little ball, waiting for the next inspiration to hit! ... i trudged onward to the next pattern and found some warm, soft Homespun that was GOING TO BE IT!!! i could feel it my bones AND my needles, found an awesome pattern and hit the road! About 18 rows into it i made a mistake in reading the pattern, but surely noone but ME would notice, so i just kept knitting .... and trying NOT to look back at row 18 ...... i'm now on row 100, so close to the end ... but i'm still looking down at row 18 and that spot is just GLARING ..... ,,,,really, it's okay, i can just bind off and it will be okay ... or NOT!!!! so, while on the way to taking our daughter back to college for another semester i ripped out 100+ rows all because i refused to make the necessary adjustments BACK ON ROW 18!!!!!!!!

yea well ..... nothing lost .... just LOTS LEARNED ..... if you can't rip, don't EVEN start a project! i started, yet again, on a really simple project and believe it or not ... it is GARTER STITCH and i'm loving it! (what a woman ....fickle? or perhaps, just always open for change and new ideas and approaches!) .... a simple triangle, started from the bottom, knit in garter stitch and feeling ever so soft .... i'll finish it off with a simple lace crochet edge and Crystal's hug should be complete .....

so see ... i'm learning - - sometimes I can dictate the pattern, but often times the YARN dictates the pattern and the wisdom comes in learning to listen ... to hear the melody that needles and yarn are ever so softly trying to sing ....

in the rhythm of the needles there is music for the soul ...

and hopefully a hug for Crystal in the not so distant future!