Rip . . Rewind . . ReNew

checking in the bag .... wishing it was organized and neat .... but am facing the reality of the tangled mess of 'creativity' ....  these days are filled with lots of hurry up and wait ... and my bag is most certainly a reflection of that mindset!

plans for the past saturday, spent in albertville at a show choir competition, were to get TWO scarves done!  my bag was packed with SIX skeins of yarn, crochet hooks and knitting needles, magazines/patterns/pictures, water bottle and snacks!  the bus ride was designated, in my mind, as the perfect amount of time to whip out a ripple wave scarf . . . and the 1st 200 stitches were easy!  but THEN .. there was the whole 'follow the pattern' thing ......  crochet a while ... rip it out!   try again .... rip it out!  it clearly turned into a sit and RIP rather than a sit and knit!  so i packed that option up and got out the options for scarf #2!  the best/worst part of the process is that i had a picture in my head ... but nothing in my bag!  so ..... cast on .... knit a while .... frowned!  ripped out!  cast on .... knit a while longer ..... TRIED to talk myself into satisfaction .... frowned!  ripped it out!  i have learned over the years that honesty IS the best policy so ripping out really isn't a big deal when you're not happy with your project .... but honestly!  i was starting to sound like the infamous FROG!!!!  Rip it!  Rip it!  Rip it! 



FINALLY - -
i LIKE it!

still working through my stash .... trying to knit an Alabama fan a scarf that will keep her warm and smiling for quite a long time.  Houndstooth HAS to be integrated ... and after doing some searching i found this Tweed Slip stitch pattern ... and i'm LOVING it!  it's a quick and easy knit, despite the 2 colors being used ... and i can see this one being added to the 12 months of scarves ... later in the year!   Now, if i can just find something equally as cute for the Auburn sister .. we'll have a whole family full of smiles!

Valentine options?

i found several patterns on Ravelry for some cute little hearts to knit ... or crochet ... so i pulled out my trusty crochet hook yesterday and whipped just a few of these out during choir practice yesterday morning (ooops!)  .... and STILL managed to play when i was needed, crochet while they were working on their dances ... and EVERYONE was happy!  

With a week that seemed to be filled with more Re-doing than actually forward progress i find that it's hard NOT to be discouraged at times.  Two rows added ..... Two INCHES ripped out!  the ebb and flow of my knitting so closely parallels most of the days of my life .... Two steps forward .. one GIANT bump backwards ..... and yet the one constant is that i am never alone!  Regardless of my direction, i know that the Lord is with me.  Regardless of my knitting mishaps, i know i've still got my yarn, i just have to figure out what the best options are .....  and i guess, the lesson here is to maintain the "REGARDless" mindset .... Sometimes i have the 'pattern' laid before me clear as day .. other times, not so much.  But i can . and will continue to choose to rest in His promise .... even if i have to speak in Frog-eze while i'm working! 

  I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; 

I will counsel you and watch over you. 

Psa. 32:8

"Can you hear Me now?"

my mom often recounts of a time when she was walking past my bedroom - i still quite small - but she heard me pleading with my dolls which were lined up all across my bed:  "if i could Just have 5 minutes of peace and quiet!" ..... HUMMMM!  Wonder where i had heard THAT from as a small child?  Personally, i see that i have the 'gift of gab' though i haven't been able to find the verse in my King James Bible that actually deems that gift as God given (but i'll be glad to tell that i'm sure it probably is.....  )

and although i have seen the eyeroll from my mom many times for talking WAY too much or too long into the wee hours of the night when my parents were trying to sleep... or watching bubba TRY to listen when i know, bless his heart, he was so hoping to watch his football/hockey/race on tv in peace and quiet .... yea well ... i can't help but wonder, and be convicted even, as i read ps. 46:10 this morning .....

Be still        and know        that I Am God.

Do you think that's God version of "if I could have have 5 minutes of peace and quiet" to all my relentless whining or questions or doubts or just idle rattling?  Or perhaps that's His promise to me, if'd i be still (and quiet), i could KNOW that He is God and i would have 5 minutes of peace and quiet .... which would drive me to sit and be still and taste and see that i long for 5 MORE minutes of His peace and quiet!!!!  Appears there's a pattern here .... and i do LOVE a good pattern!

So often i buy yarn with a specific pattern in mind - - determined to make it work i find myself knitting and ripping, my tension becomes tighter and tighter as i sit and try to convince myself that IT IS GOING TO WORK ... but finally (once my shoulders are up into my ears and my neck is hurting from fighting with these needles and string) i have to surrender and just sit .. and let the yarn tell ME what is appropriate ..... and sometimes, LESS is MORE!  I have discovered a really beautiful pattern for a wool scarf for my daughter... the simplicity has made it easy to memorize which has allowed me some precious time to sit and pray for her while i'm knitting and watching the yarn unfold ... and i can see all the potential falling right into a gentle coil in my lap as the scarf grows a row at a time...

cast on a multiple of 4 stitches, plus 2

Row 1 (WS)  *K2, P2*, repeat * *, end with K2.

Row 2 (RS)   *P2, w/ yarn in front, Slip 2 stitches purlwise * , repeat * *, end with P2.

perhaps this will be my Be Still and Know scarf ..... to find His peace and quiet in the stillness of the simple repetition of obedience, stitch by stitch, row by row ..... How His grace unfolds!