Heartmade Blessings

Here is a comfort ghan I assembled for Heartmade Blessings. (See side bar.) The tags bear the names of the many who contributed to this ghan. I mailed it to the widow of an Army 1st Sgt. who was 30 years old. He was killed 12-28-05 when an improvised explosive device (IED) detonated near his Humvee during combat patrol operations south of Asadabad, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 321st Civil Affairs Brigade, Army Reserve, San Antonio, TX. May the Lord bless and comfort his grieving family.

I always enjoy selecting a border to use on each comfort ghan that I assemble.

Each comfort ghan is sent in a tote bag made by other members of the group.

Lord, teach us to pray. --- Luke 11:1

W --> SE

With all the intriguing views of cities and the wonders of nature posted online, I now offer the reality check of my experience while driving in a southeasterly direction. These are the harsh facts, people.

A gripping panorama as seen from a hotel room in Salina, Kansas. Be still my heart!

Things improve in Fort Smith, Arkansas, where spring adds glorious color!

Zooming past Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee. Having already done the tour in years gone by, I just snapped a quickie as we drove by the property.

~~The House Where Elvis Lived ~~

Tiny beauties in Hoover, Alabama

And when I am lifted up on the cross, I will draw everyone to myself. ---John 12:32

cough - cough

Still battling pneumonia and bronchitis here. Hope to be posting again soon.
:)

Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint. --- Mark Twain

Maximum Dog!

My Max!

Max in the Wild!

A rare sight! Max in the water!

Max is our eight-year-old, AKC male Boxer. He's been a part of our family since he was eight weeks old. Love him to pieces!!

Dogs---They always come and wreck a perfectly bad mood. ---Unknown

A Room With a View

Peeking between the curtains, I see...

The bags of bird seed are definitely worth the investment!


I am blessed.




Good Grief by Lolly Winston--Very witty, clever writer who realistically conveys thought processes--at least, to my way of thinking. For example, " 'You can break the rules now,' Dr. Rupert said during our last session, encouraging me to do something entirely different for Thanksgiving. 'The big rule is broken:Your loved one died.' But I'm pretty sure he meant fly to Hawaii or eat roast beef instead of turkey. I don't think he meant break all of my dishes, and I don't think I should leave the house anymore." page 55

Be still and know that I am God. ----Ps46:10

Lookin' Back at Me Tree

This is the sort of thing that I think is hilarious and causes my husband to slowly shake his head! Open the draperies in the morning, and have a backyard tree looking back at me---love it! It always makes me smile, and cackle, and drool.....No really, just smile!

Listening looks easy, but it's not simple. Every head is a world. ---Cuban Proverb

With angels on her shoulders...

The Lord has called His sweetest angel home

My mother

--o--

Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs

God has blessed us with this beautiful earth. I was snap-happy this weekend!

Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs

Scrub pine twisted by years of strong winds

Castle Rock

Sign in the parking lot at a Red Robin Restaurant

As I rode, I knitted my feather and fan throw with the Interlacement yarn that was on the swift in a previous post.

For a change of pace and yarn weight, I worked on my wobbly KAL in Lamb's Pride. (See button at right.)

Failure To Launch is a fun movie! If you haven't seen it and feel like laughing, collect your $200 and go directly to a theatre showing this movie!

Beethoven's Hair by Russell Martin was a challenging read, but one that I ultimately enjoyed. It is part documentary, part forensics report, less a novel, yet held my interest despite the lull in the description of the WWII years. The lingering sense from this novel is that there is no privacy-- even in death. A striking journal note written while reading this work is "huge improbabilities and little miracles that...link lives." One month before his death, Beethoven scrawled, "Plaudite, amici, comedia finita est" --Applaud friends, the comedy is finished.

~~~~~~~

Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves. ---Carl Jung

Is crocheting a snore?

Is that what Max is conveying here? This is my mandatory beside-my-computer project today. That project whimsically changes at any moment. To use up worsted weight bits and pieces, I chained a length for a lap ghan and sc three rows of color. Then, a row of what I call "ivory" into the second row below. The huge question in my mind is WHY did I start this in sc?? I mean, hdc is my absolute favorite crochet stitch!! So, why? Dunno. Doesn't everyone have a favorite crochet stitch? Do you? What IS your favorite? This is a long term commitment---this ghan and me--over the years, we'll knot up many bits and pieces.

Finished reading a book from the stack that I got at the library book sale, Lake News by Barbara Delinsky. It's a charming little story set on a lake in New Hampshire. The story is compelling and satisfying...a nice escape read.

You will discover that you have two hands. One is for helping yourself and the other is for helping others.  ---Audrey Hepburn

Back Yard Greetings!

An invitation on http://countrygirlzine.us/knit/ asks everyone to post a back yard pic this morning. Fun idea! So, out the back door, to the deck, and my well-worn, favorite spot...

Back and forth, restful respite, soothing swing.

Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it only saps today of its joy. --- Leo Buscaglia

A Year by the Sea

My yarn has arrived for the Wobbly Circles Tote KAL. Aren't these colors luscious? Mmm-mmm! They are resting in an antique sewing box that belonged to my sweet mother. So precious to me. She has the matching one that belonged to her mother.

It will be felted and sent to one of my sisters. Another project and ready to start! Imagine this bag in the above colors---simply stunning!

Time to get ready for another fun book swap at the Knit the Classics! This time it is a mystery swap for April's Fools Day.  So, I'm thinking about a good classic mystery for my swap partner. Suggestions, anyone?

Here are some favorite passages from the incredible writer Joan Anderson in her book, A Year by the Sea:

p.136 "When you see those you love infrequently, it takes time to reestablish honest connection....Adjusting the level...In search of perfect harmony."

p. 137 "'Don't you know feelings aren't thoughts? They're not always something you can talk about or explain. They're just what they are -- feelings!'"

p. 138 "Just let whatever comes flow through you and then away."

"Oh, God, let me enjoy the pleasure of being graceful."

The point is not to pay back kindness but to pass it on. --- Julia Alvarez

Operation Purple Heart

I assembled an Operation Purple Heart afghan to be sent to a grieving mother who lost her 19-year-old son serving in the Army in Mosul, Iraq. The young PFc. was awarded a Purple Heart posthumously. I do this to honor him and in memory of my father who was awarded a Purple Heart in WWII. The crocheted squares were sent to me from across the country to honor this young man and to comfort his family. Heartmade Blessings has reached to many in times of need. 

It has a picot edging.

The ghan is folded and ready to send to the family in South Dakota. May the Lord bless them in their mourning. Thank you, Father, for the life and patriotism of this young man.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. ---2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Crochet on the Rocks

Today is a sub-zero, stay in the house day!

Snow on the bird house

Snow on the hot tub.

A perfect day to nest and knit!

And enjoy crochet on the rocks! These squares plus one more are for the Warm the World project hosted at Knit the Classics. See the KTC blanket link in the sidebar.

Oddly enough, I reread parts of Rereadings edited by Anne Fadiman after picking it up at the library. Seventeen authors share books that they have reread as adults and contrast the experience to their youthful impressions of the books. I particularly enjoyed Allegra Goodman's review of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen and her thoughts on rereading, " I return to it not because it is the best novel I have ever read, or the most important, but because of the memories and wishes I've folded in its pages--because on every reading I see old things in it."

It is one thing to show a man that he is in error, and another to put him in possession of the truth.--- John Locke

Speaking of Valentine's Day...

Since it's hearts and flowers day...and yes my dearest-dearest gave me hearts (a huge balloon), a heart shaped box of Russell Stover chocolate, and a rose....Have you seen the knitted wedding site? No, really!! Have you? Here's the link: http://www.castoff.info/wedding.asp

My five-hour sweater is now into the second week. I'm no mathematician, but I think that's way beyond the requisite five hours. Mini-Max models the little bit that is complete.

The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.
---Hans Hofmann

Swift Action

Here is the swift swiftly swifting the Interlacements yarn.

One hank of the yarn yielded three balls.

A trip to the Friends of the Library book sale with A yielded this nice stack of books for me. I stopped looking before I saw everything because I was finding SO many books to purchase! At $.50 per inch, I purchased all these books for a mere $4.50. Amazon is going to miss me for a while!

To read without reflecting is like eating without digesting. --Edmund Burke

Not Too Swift! or Why do I keep starting new projects?

Five hangers holding Interlacements Rick Rack have been waiting for some attention since last June. Finally, finally I decided to use it to make throws. The first one will be feather and fan with a five inch garter border all around.
Here's a closer look at this 100% rayon hand dyed fiber with approximately 1100 yards per 16 ounce skein.

Then came the battle with the swift, untwisting, tangling the yarn, arms flying in all directions. At long last, we have the yarn subdued on the swift! Victory!

I'm now casting on 208 stitches with size 6 needles and placing markers every 18 stitches minus the 5 stitches for the border on each side. The website for this yarn maker is www.interlacementsyarns.com

In my reading life, I completed Extra Virgin by Annie Hawes who moved to a small village on the Italian Riviera. The author and her sister moved from England to be seasonal workers grafting rose plants. They purchase a battered rustico on terraced land covered with olive trees. Their adventures as they attempt to develop it into a livable home is the stuff of this memoir that encompasses village life as well. I was challenged by some of the British terms used in this book about Italy, which made me chuckle. An interesting knitting aside in the story involved their trip to a we-sell-everything store in the village. The store offered hand knitted socks with an extra set of heels and toes to be sewn on when the originals wear thin. Clever! Practical!

Some people walk in the rain, others just get wet. ---Roger Miller

Yes, The World IS Flat!

One fourth of the world is now pinned to a folded quilt to serve as a reference point for Strip Two. Incidentally, Strip Two is not going so well. It was started. The shaping was off. It was ripped. Now there's an itty-bitty bit of it on the needles---as in only a few rows. I just haven't felt like picking it up again in the last day or two.

With the approach of Valentine's Day, knitting and crocheting patterns are offered up. Here are a couple of links with quickie patterns for the Hearty Day. In the world of crochet, there is
http://www.crochetme.com/?emc=&m=47436&v=104273&l=3

And, with a mix of pattern offerings is http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art8160.asp/zzz

In the same holiday vein, my gifts arrived from my generous partner for the Book Swap at Knit The Classics. I received the lovely items from Canada: my very own copy of Wuthering Heights complete with a double hearted book mark that I really-really like! Of course, the requisite chocolate candy came in the form of chocolate hearts made by Shakespeare Candy Company. How perfect is that, I ask! My swap package is winging its way to Hawaii. If I could have figured out how to jump in that package myself, I too would by on my way to Hawaii! I wonder if the postage for me would be less than the price of a plane trip...hmmmmm....Something to further ponder.

This is just lovely!! Thank you-thank you, Jamie!!

The Passion of Reverend Nash by Rachel Basek is a gripping story of a female pastor as she grapples with the passions of her private and professional life and finds her way to her true calling. The author supplies a surprising yet altogether satisfying end to this beautifully told story.

I believe that there is a plan and a purpose for each person's life and that there are forces working in the universe to bring about good and to create a community of love and brotherhood. Those who can attune themselves to these forces - to God's purpose - can become special instruments of his will.--- Coretta Scott King

A Strip of the World

Finishing the trim on Strip One, three more to go! Since I am first and foremost a teacher, let's review...Can you locate the USA, Mexico, Canada, and a bit of Asia? How about Alaska? I hope to start the second section tonight. The larger paper is Chart One. The smaller is a world map colored by J so that I can make it to his color specifications. I'm going to frame his map to give to him when I finish his ghan.


Evening Class by Maeve Binchy is the story about an Irish lady living in a small Italian town. As the mistress to the man across the street, she remains mysterious to the people of the village who know her only for her delicate lacework. After many years, as old age encroaches, the love of her life dies leading her to return to Ireland. While teaching Italian in her small Irish village, she has great and lasting impact upon the lives of many. This is an inspiring story of the incalculable value of individuals upon one another.

The point is not to pay back kindness but to pass it on. --- Julia Alvarez

WIVSP

Work In Very Slow Progress is this short sleeve sweater from Knitting the New Classics by Kristin Nicholas. This sensational book contains 60...count 'em....60 gorgeous sweater patterns. There are so many that I want to make and probably never will!! I am using Millefili Fine mercerized cotton to make this one in a rich brown.

From this pattern book

Here are a couple views of the edging detail. The short sleeves will have this pattern over the entire sleeve.

Presenting a few of my favorite baskets

I have several done in this style by a Colorado basketeer...er...basket maker.

Do you ever have trouble deciding on your next project? How about a tree sweater? No, really! Take a look at this! http://flickr.com/photos/fotogrotto/71566432 Talk about using up your stash!!

Balzac and the Little Princess by Dai Sijie educated me about the ways of China's reeducation program through a fictional work. The reeducation program targeted the learned class with information about western culture as well as in the intended Maoist doctrine. The Little Seamstress becomes a well educated, modern woman who leaves her father. Through her pregnancy and abortion shines the tale of desire of the indominatable human spirit that seeks to learn and know.

The ancestor of every action is a thought. --- Ralph Waldo Emerson