What do Friends look like?

What DOES a friend look like? Ever thought of how you would define yourself using a Skein of Yarn? This month i've started my Birthday Blanket AND received my traveling scarf. Both examples of friendship have left me with much to ponder ..... my birthday blanket has been started and i have a basket full of yarn still waiting to be knit. With each row or 2 that is added i'm reminded of the friend that took the time to find the yarn - their choice of color/texture, the memories that each relationship brings to mind, the many ways their love has impacted my life and that of my family!

I started by laying all the yarns out and arranging them in a way that makes me smile - it may not be the most conventional according to the color wheel, but i think it's going to be a precious keepsake to mark and remind me of the blessings of my 1st 50 years! :) I left a 9" tail (for fringe) and cast on 300 stitches and then cut another 9" tail (for fringe). I am KNITTING every single row using this formula - 3 rows of green (me), 2 rows of red bamboo (rachael's choice), 1 row of black Whirligig (Lisa), etc. Rather than just knit a single row with each color i am varying the width of each band of color. Some will be thick, some will be single rows but all rows are knitted and go rather quickly. So far i've got 10" knitted in the width .... and still can't wait to see how it's going to end ..

and as if THAT were not enough to keep me going, i received my traveling scarf that was started 6 months ago and has had a journey and life all it's own! There was a group of knitters formed on Ravelry that worked on a Traveling Lace Scarf .... 5" of a lace pattern added to the previous contributor and before long (ie, 6 months) you have a beautiful lace scarf that will mark adventures from around the world - Australia, Canada, New Jersey, California, Nevada, South Carolina. What a fun project and way to make NEW friends ... or an inspiration for a reunion with some old friends who need to be reconnected! All types of yarns were used - bamboo silk, wool blends, camel/silk hand spun .... log into Ravelry and check out the many posts and pictures .... not a member yet? Check out http://www.ravelry.com/ and see how easy it is to find inspiration!

This month i have learned that knitting is a gift that keeps surprising you .... making things with my hands continues to enrich my life just like the unexplainable ways that my friends touch my every day. My friends, and my knitting, have given me so much MORE than they've taken .. and have opened my eyes to the many blessings that i may have never known. Each day ... and each new yarn ... hold endless possibilities just waiting to be knit together!

Happy St. Patricks Day

Sometimes it's those simple pleasures that capture our hearts and bring memories of long ago right back to the front ... recalling younger days when the priority for the afternoon was which jar was 'adequate' for catching the bees that buzzed through the clover patches that were scattered throughout the front yards of our neighborhood.
Remember those little white flowers that would pop up in the midst of the clover ... we'd collect them during recess at school and string them together to make a necklace.... we'd sneak up on those little bees flitting around those blooms and we were convinced that once in the jar they'd be happy to be there ... of course, we included clover and flowers for their accommodations ... we were very thoughtful!

March memories have to include clover .... the 3 leaf kind because we seldom 'encountered' a 4 leaf one .... so why not capture that in an easy month of lace .... those little Yarn Over's, Knit 2 Together's and Slip, Slip, Knits will soon reveal your very own patch of clover to scatter on your scarf .... Click Here to take a peek in the Pattern Drawer - look for 2010 Lace Calendar Scarf and get started on your own field of clover

I love March ... it's Green!

The older i get the more i realize that there really are some things that will always make me happy.
The month of March is one such thing ... it's green.... everything about the month is green ... and green is my all time favorite color. I don't believe in luck but i do like clover .. 3 leaf clover, 4 leaf clover ... they're green! i've traveled to ireland .. it's green! i have fallen in love with the Celtic knots and braids from past days ... they remind me of Irish traditions ... Irish = green = me smiling!

So this month i've decided to explore more the Irish/Celtic knots and braids, the color green and perhaps a few fun thing in between. So are you ready to tackle knitting and CABLES yet. If you can knit and you can purl then YOU CAN CABLE! Why not start with some worsted weight yarn and appropriate needles and then .... grab a cable needle (or a straw, or a pencil, or a chop stick - or anything that could be used to hold a few extra stitches along the way!) ... Don't panic, small steps and i promise it will all make sense!

Not ready yet? Well, how about a small scarf to get you atleast thinking about cables .... but i promise no extra needles! PROMISE!!!!

I'm using 1 skein of Moda Dea Washable Wool and i simply love this yarn. Did i mention that it's GREEN also :)

With size 9 needles, cast on 38 stitches using a Cable Cast On.

Row 1: *P3, K2*, repeat to last 3 stitches, P.

Row 2 (WS): *K3, P2*, repeat to last 3 stitches, K3.

Row 3: *P3, K2tog, pulling new stitch back through but don't take the 2 stitches off the left needle, next insert right needle BETWEEN the 2 knit stitches and knit the 1st stitch again, now slipping both stitches off left needle *, repeat to last 3 stitches, P3.

Row 4: Repeat Row 2.

(can you see how the rows have a slight twist in the knit stitches, mimicking a cable but with no extra needle to use.... yet!) Repeat Rows 1 -4 for desired length. End with a WS row. I'm sticking with just one skein and am going to make mine more of a cowl/neck warmer length .. and i've got an amazing celtic stone pin that i'll be using as a shawl pin to keep the scarf closed and my neck nice and toasty.

need more help? Visit the Pattern Drawer for more specifics and help with cast ons, cable techniques and more fun ideas for March.

Happy Valentine's Day

"Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up."
Ecclesiastes 4:9-10



February is a month typically designated for "LOVE" but i have learned that a true friend loves at ALL times .... shares their knitting stash, their knitting experiences, and patterns, and progress ... secrets for ripping out, collecting coupons for sales (in support the SABLE mentality ... Stash Acquisition Beyond Life Expectancy) and any new tricks of the trade that make things easier, fun and/or do-able!

February's lace lessons are much like the life lessons that Love teaches us .. patience ultimately produces good things - whether we are counting stitches, yarn overs, increases or decreases. Holes in knitting (on purpose this time!)are similar to rests in music .... too many notes can create chaos for the listener; too many stitches makes for a solid piece of cloth - but those delicate and deliberately placed holes, dispersed in patterns amongst the knits and purls, soon produces a heart that reflects a journey ... one stitch at a time ...

the joy is so often in the journey or the creation itself .... but knowing that we are loved and that we have friends to share the journey AND the conclusion with makes each day a precious gift. Click Here Check out the Pattern Drawer here to get started on February's addition.

Happy Valentine's Day my friends!

February feelings

2009-12-25 17.34.53.jpg
Originally uploaded by KeepingKnitSimple50

"Knit your heart with an unslipping knot" Shakespeare.

There are so many ways to say I Love You .... and although we should seize every opportunity as it presents itself, i find myself looking for extra time and/or ways to share my heart during this special month designated for those we love ....

One of the most important things i've learned is that Love is often spelled TIME, and what better way to say I Love You than with a knitted gift. The time you spend choosing the yarn, the pattern, completing the project - all reflect a heart set on conveying a simple, basic truth - the treasure of the friendship and love that has grown between you.

Knitting doesn't have to be complicated ... a soft and simple, warm yarn - much like a genuine, reassuring hug - can speak volumes. Why not find a skein or 2 of yarn that reminds you of that special someone you cherish and as you knit, whisper a prayer of blessing and thanksgiving; a prayer that God's love will flow through you as you share your knitting; a prayer that His grace and mercy will be reflections of the very Love He has shared with you ....

February is synonymous with Love and this Kiss Scarf (Keep It Short & Sweet) is a great way to show someone how much you care ... without too much PDA! :)

Grab your favorite yarn and appropriate needles and

Cast on a multiple of 3 stitches + 1 extra stitch.

Row 1: *K2, P1*, repeat across, ending with a K1.
Row 2: P1, *K2, P1*, repeat across.

Repeat Rows 1 & 2 to desired length.
Bind off in pattern.

Love .... can be found when you least expect it .... is it in the giving or the receiving? .... i vote you try giving it away ... and before long you'll come to see that you can't outgive the Lord .... your heart will be full with the joy that only comes in sharing ..

.... now faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Let it Snow!

January pattern
Originally uploaded by KeepingKnitSimple50

Are you ready to begin the journey ... journaling is such a popular trend these days, so why not leave your memories in lace - allowing the yarn overs of the past few days, the increases in joys, the decreases in pounds (if you're lucky!) .... special times captured and revisited for months and years to come ...

I've opted for Bernat Satin in Silk (4 skeins) and plan on adding a crochet edge by year's end with an additional skein of Camel... however, the choices are yours. Visit your stash or your local yarn shop .... but let's mark this new beginning by remembering the snow we all anticipated here in Alabama ... we stocked up on milk and bread, grateful that the blizzard never really formulated .... but being able to see snow for a few hours is still a precious reminder that each snowflake is a custom creation and that together they form a blanket of gentle beauty that seems to whisper in such simplicity the incredible Magnificance of the Maker.

I'm off to re-create my own freshly fallen snow ... hope you'll join me. Please let me know if you have any questions. Ready for the pattern?

Using size 8 needles,

Cast on 35 stitches and knit 4 rows before starting the pattern.

January Snowflakes (Multiple of 8 + 7)

1st & every other row (wrong side): Purl
2nd row (Right Side): K7, sl 1, k1, psso, yo, k1, yo, k2tog, *k3, s11, k1, psso, yo, k1, yo, k2tog, rep from * to last 7 sts, k7.
4th row: k8, yo, sl 2, k1, p2sso, yo, *k5, yo, sl 2, k1, p2sso, yo, rep from * to last 8 sts, k8.
6th row: Repeat 2nd row.
8th row: K3, sl 1, k1, psso, yo, k1, yo, k2tog, *k3, sl 1, k1, psso, yo, k1, yo, k2tog, rep from * to last 3 st, k3.
10th row: k4, yo, sl 2, k1, p2sso, yo, *k5, yo, sl 2, k1, p2sso, yo, rep from * to last 4 sts, k4.
12th row: Repeat 8th row.
Knit Rows 1-12 two complete times.
Knit Rows 1-7 once.

2010 ... blessings

My traveling scarf
Originally uploaded by KeepingKnitSimple50

2010 .... seems to hold so much possibility ..... loose 20 lbs in 10 days (i wish) .... lose 10 pounds in 20 days/months (more likely and/or i wish) ..... simplify things by half (ie 20/10 = start with 20/ end with 10 = 1/2 as much now! i really should have been a math major! NOT! :) so many options, so many lists ..... so NOT FUN!!!!!

i'm really thinking that this will be a good year to slow down a bit, maybe get semi-organized by recording things as i go each week and then by the end of the year have something tangible to show for my journey ....

to leave such a trail i think i'll knit a scarf .... a single strand of silk and wool that will record in yarn overs and decreases, the highlights of each month. Then when December rolls around i'll have a very gorgeous and symbolic record of things i've learned, stories interwoven about each month, the zigs and zags of daily life, the moments i needed to rip it out and start over, the lessons learned from friends who are my lifelines in the lace of my every day living ....

would you care to join me in this endeavor ... each day is as simple or complicated as we allow life to make it ... much like the lessons of lace .... overall, things look incredibly detailed BUT when we slow down and realize that lace, and life, are constructed one row at a time, one stitch at a time ... and often there is the peace and rest of being able to get away from the 'pattern' and just let the needles knit a row, purl a row, find respite in the sanctuary of the familiar...

i'm starting with 2 skeins of a wool/silk blend in my stash .... not too thick, not to thin .... i'll probably do a bit of swatching to just see what feels right and then .... take the plunge. Actually, if you think about this it will be a Swatch Calendar that will be connected and continued from initial cast on ... to final cast off!

Happy 2010!