HALLELUJAH!

It's a touchy topic that has been Cast About, pun completely intended, recently and a topic which interests me greatly.  May we, or may we not, knit during church services with divine dispensation without fear of being put in an overnight pouch and FedEx-ed straight to Heck without passing Go and without collecting $200 for yarn.  I'm putting the question to my faithful readers.

Personally, I am unable to sit for 90 minutes with my hands folded politely in my lap, listening intently to my pastor preach.  Do not get me wrong.  My pastor consistently gives wonderful sermons, well prepared and thought out and riveting to the max.  The problem is mine.  I. Cannot. Sit. Still.  Call it impatience, or not having got past the Wiggly Kid Syndrome or just the fact that my heart rate increases if I am for five minutes or more without the means to knit.  You can say what you like - I absorb more and benefit more from my pastor's sermons when I can knit one, purl two for every prayer request and reference to scripture.

All of this makes it difficult to drink my coffee (which I also must have in church).  I have been known to pass my coffee to my hubby while I work an intricate cable, but I draw the line at having him hold out his hands with yarn wrapped around them while I wind a new skein into a ball.  That's what my swift is for.  And even my long-suffering pastor might raise an eyebrow at that activity.

My question to all of you is, if you do knit in church (and we know you do so don't try to wiggle out of it), do you attempt to hide it or do you just whip it out and start throwing?  Do you resist the urge to cuss if you drop a stitch?  Do you complain if they turn the lights down to project films onto a screen or do you say, "Ahem, helloooo, trying to KNIT over here?!" 

I am expecting comments and replies to this post if for no other reason than to assure me that my eternal salvation is secure despite my inability to lay aside my knitting for 90 minutes of reflection and prayer.  The clock starts ... now.

Joy in knitting ... and prayerful reflection ...
Judith (who is wondering if they would mind if I attach my swift to the pew in front of me...)

Amen.

WHAT DOES YOUR MOTHER SMELL LIKE

Okay, so it's NOT knitting-related but I was using my favourite hand cream this afternoon and the scent reminded me that my mother always smelled of Nivea. You know, the cream in the little blue jar. That is the one defining scent that brings my mother to mind with no effort whatsoever.

Isn't it funny how scents can conjure up the most vivid memories from childhood and why is that? Are they so indelibly etched into our brains that we carry them with us all through our lives?

Dear ol' Dad always smelled of Old Spice because, after all, if you grew up in the 60's, that was the quintessential gift that every kid bought for their dads for every possible occasion.

Mom's gone now but lives on every time I catch a trace of Nivea in the air ... and sometimes, I think she's close enough to touch ...

SHARING YOUR CRAFT WITH YOUR PETS - WHAT A GOOD IDEA... - NOT

My Q-tip would much rather play with (and destroy) my Addi Turbos if given half a chance.

Joy in knitting - and discouraging your kitties from wanting to "help".

IVAN HAS A GOOD SIDE AFTER ALL ...

He made Q-tip stop tearing around the house with my Addi Turbos for 5 minutes...

HATS for tiny GIRLS and BOYS

Recently, I learned to crochet. Well, I say recently - compared that to when I learned to knit more than half a century ago ... I only learned to crochet in the last couple of years and I was given a wonderful pattern for hats which are well received at local hospitals for their newborn population.

The latest bag ready for delivery, and the first bag of the New Year, is pictured here, containing 34 hats, 4 of which were made New Year's Day. So quick and easy.

I like to store them in those nifty plastic bags that sheet sets come in because the hospital staff can see what they're getting and it's easy just to slip a card or note inside saying where they are from and it keeps the hats clean and organized.

There is joy in knitting and crocheting and definitely warming tiny heads.

SEE, THIS IS WHY I CALL HIM "IVAN THE SQUIRRIBLE"


Our squirrels are VERY bold. There is, quite frankly, no way of discouraging them from thieving the bird food when they set their little pea brains on that very task. The picture above is how I found him when I walked into my kitchen to make a cup of Rosie Lee this morning.

Today, it seems, Ivan decided it would be a good day for a suet breakfast. Clearly, this particular rodent's list of new year's resolutions did not include leaving the birds' food alone.

This is his commentary to me after pounding on the window to dislodge his hairy butt.
SPEAK to the TAIL!

Now, normally, I would not be put off by this blatant display of gross disrespect, but I DID give him a good 3 minute grace period munching on the suet so I could photograph the dirty deed before pounding on the window so I think he ought to be grateful. This was very rude, I think.

After jumping from the illicit feast to the window sill and over to the fence where he furiously scratched himself and spun his tail while "regrouping", he decided he was still not full.

This is Ivan coming back for more. It's a good job Q-tip was too busy chewing my Addi Turbos to notice this little mini-drama.





Crafty Squirrel: 1
Irate Woman: 0

He wins the battle - I'm still fighting the war.

Blimey! Roots have invented a #knitting camp chair with #YAR... on Twitpic

Well it's about time, I say! Roots have finally made a camp chair for knitters, complete with yarn holder. What took them so long? Knitters rejoice!

This is a video I stumbled upon on YouTube and thought I would share. It seems that some folk think I am the star in the video. Although the person in this video is, in my humble estimation, a mechanical wizard with her fingers, I am not she and she is not me! I appreciate her efforts, though, to share this talent with the world and I am just providing friends who read my blog with a sample of some of the talent available on YouTube and elsewhere on the WWW. Enjoy!



Here's the work in progress! I'm getting excited just thinking of it. Keep your hands warm AND end up with a finished product. Life is good.

Okay, been lurking for awhile but just became aware of a new talent. Now, I admit I have never met a craft I didn't like - I like them all. Some, however, I am really horrendous at, but I can't wait to try my "hand" at this...

Cat Bordhi - Part 1: wrapping & turning, concealing wraps

By far, the very best demonstration of wrap and turn I have seen. Thanks, Cat Bordhi, for publishing the informative and very helpful video!

Cat Bordhi - Part 2: wrapping & turning, concealing wraps

Okay, knitters can sometimes be a wee bit obsessive...

Startitis Strikes Mississauga Knitter

I am sick with a terrible case of Startitis. If left unchecked, this can lead to a chronic case of Finishaphobia. I've already got some of the tell-tale symptoms of this ghastly malaise. I have currently on the go - a pair of socks, no. 1/2 and I'm not liking the chances of casting on the second - this is a whole other illness - "Onesockitis" - I have a hat in modified rib which I really like, but it's boring. So much yarn, so little time and I want to use it all! Bless me!

This lady is my hero - I think!

IN THE WANING OF THE DAY

In the waning of the day when embers warmly glowing lay within my hearth
the stresses that had taken hold no longer seem to be so bold
They don their cloaks and quickly flee, and yield to wools enfolding me,
As I sit clicking, clicking, softly knitting
in the waning of the day.

In the waning of the day when all around me sleeping lay
No sleep can find me as I sit before the fire and quietly knit
My soul finds solace in the act, the quiet, lovely fibrous act of one stitch over, two left back
Wrap the yarn, take up the slack.
A sock, a hat, a baby sweater
End result? It doesn't matter
Just the act of quiet solace worry-free of come what may
in the waning of the day.

Copyright 2010 - Judith Somersett

Tweet

Just so there is no confusion, the "Judy" in this video is not me. I do not know this Judy but I think I love her! Her instructions are clear and concise and extremely helpful. I think anyone who wants to know how to perform this task should watch and learn! Enjoy, and thanks, Judy, for your much appreciated assistance! :)

The Last Knit

Enjoy, all you Knit-a-holics!

Not exactly knitting related, but hey - this is one of my all-time favourite recipes which I originally found in the 1987 (!!!) Milk Calendar and have not seen since until this morning when, after having spent 2 hours crawling through the crawl space and digging through boxes and making a right mess of the crawl space, not to mention myself, I gave up and Googled it and some precious person had posted it to their blog and yes, it is the same one! It is a milk-based sauce as opposed to the standard tomato-based sauce, so for those of you who may suffer tomato allergies, make this with confidence... Oh! And if any of you actually HAVE the 1987 milk calendar, and are of a mind to share the recipes in it (it was a stellar year for the MC), I would be ever so grateful!

Oh, and if you want to check out the blog where I found this long-lost recipe, go here:

thoroughlymodernvintage.blogspot.com/2009/05/my-creative-space-completed-wips-and.html

COUNTRY STYLE SPAGHETTI

Country Style Spaghetti -serve 4 to 6

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. salt
1 onion, chopped
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. hot red chili flakes (opt.)
1/4 c. chopped pimento or sweet red pepper
1 lb. sausages (sweet or hot Italian) removed from casing and broken up
2 Tbsp. flour ( or tapioca starch)
2 1/2 c. milk
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 lb. spaghetti
1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese
3 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

1. Heat oil in a large skillet and brown sausage as you break it into chunks. When the sausage is getting brown, add the garlic, onions and hot pepper flakes. Drain off any excess fat.
2. Sprinkle meat with flour and cook a few minutes, stirring. Add milk and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and add nutmeg, salt, pepper and pimentos. Simmer gently for 15 minutes.
3. While sauce is cooking, cook spaghetti in a large pot of boiling, salted water. Cook until tender 10 to 12 minutes and drain.
4. Toss spaghetti with sauce, cheese and parsley. Taste and season if necessary.

Serve with any green vegetable and if you wish, garlic bread.

Prep. Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes

LAZY DAISY STITCHERY

Good morning all! Okay, for those of us who like to embellish our knitted pieces with embroidery, I found a neat little tutorial video on how to do a lazy daisy stitch. Now I know what you are probably thinking - I've made hundreds of those - but for those of us who are visually needy, I thought I'd post a link because after all, this person's site is really quite good and the video is really quite clear.
You will need to scroll down past the picture of the multiple strand daisies in action (which, incidentally, I think are a marvellous idea and look nifty).

Let me know what you think if you're inclined to visit!

Here's the link.

http://www.needlenthread.com/2006/11/daisy-stitch-video-tutorial.html

Joy in Knitting ... and stitchery!