There were intermediaries between Jesus and a man named Bartimaeus.  Mark (chapter 10) called them the crowd.  When Bartimaeus, who was blind, heard that Jesus was passing by, he shouted out to him for mercy.  He could have meant many things by that plea:  maybe he needed a few coins to buy his next meal since he was unable to work; he thought if Jesus paid him some attention maybe others would also; or, he’d heard Jesus was a healer and perhaps he had the faintest hope that he might be healed.

                 The crowd shushed him.  Jesus is too busy for you.  He’s too important for you.  All these people have pressing needs; why do you think he will make time for yours? 

                 They thought they were protecting Jesus.  Maybe they also thought they were protecting Bartimaeus from false hope and disappointment.

                Jesus heard Bartimaeus’s cry, and he heard the crowd’s shushing.  “Tell him to come here,” he said.

                To their credit, the crowd changed their tune right away.  Take heart, Bartimaeus.  He’s calling for you.  Come on,  get up, we’ll help you.

                The man who had sat still by the side of the road asking for alms leapt to his feet.  He threw off his coat and went to see Jesus.  Whether or not he even heard Jesus’ call, it was the words of the crowd, words that had turned from dissuasion to encouragement, that gave him energy to take those first hopeful steps.

                There are intermediaries between God and everyone else.  We are “the crowd,” the ones who either dissuade or encourage.  Sometimes when a person is in any kind of pain, we really don’t want to hear about it.  We may think they whine too much.  We may have heard all about it before.  We may even think  that God, who cares about everyone and everything, just might have other more important things to tend to.  Everyone has pressing needs, we think; why do you think God will have time for you? 

                Over time, we stop listening to the hurt, stop hearing the need.  Over time, the sound of the cries for mercy become tinny to our ears.

                But never to God’s ears.  Just as Jesus stopped in his tracks and asked the crowd to call Bartimaeus to him, God always has time in the middle of tending to the problems of world hunger and peace and global warming to listen to the individual’s cry for mercy.

                Like the crowd, if we are paying attention, we can also turn our notice to those who are in need.  Like the crowd, we realize that the hurting are being called, and we change our tune from trying to downplay their pain to encouragement.  Take heart.  He’s calling for you.  Come on, we’ll help you.

                We just have to pay attention.

                A few months ago our church started a prayer shawl ministry.  You may have heard of this sort of thing.  Individuals knit or crochet shawls or afghans which are then given to those who are experiencing some kind of need:  illness; a loss; loneliness; some difficult turn of events.  When a shawl is delivered, it is a gift from the congregation as well as from the maker.  It is a symbol of the prayers of God’s people, a tangible sign of encouragement.  It wraps the receiver in the hopes of the crowd, the call to take heart.

                When we are paying attention to God’s heart for the individual, then our words and actions will be ones that will help the hurting know they can draw close to God, because God has already turned toward them.   We are God’s intermediaries.

               Give heart, so that others may take heart. 

                                                                        © Melissa Bane Sevier, 2009

Take time during the day to visit your closet, your secret place, and find peace in knowing that He’s already there waiting for you.

Psalm 61:4 (King James Version)

  ⁴I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the covert of thy wings. Selah.

Psalm 61:4 (Amplified Bible)

⁴I will dwell in Your tabernacle forever; let me find refuge and trust in the shelter of Your wings. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!

Psalm 61:4 (The Message)

 ^3-5 You’ve always given me breathing room,
      a place to get away from it all,
   A lifetime pass to your safe-house,
      an open invitation as your guest.
   You’ve always taken me seriously, God,
      made me welcome among those who know and love you.

Have you been called into the ministry of the PRAYER SHAWL?

LEARN ABOUT THIS SACRED CLOTH IT’S USES AND HISTORY

AT

STEP BY STEP

WORLD OUTREACH MINISTRIES

 http://www.step-by-step.org/prayershawl-tallit.htm

Do you guys want to know a secret? Are you sure? Because this secret might blow your mind. You may be in your bedroom on your computer, nodding along to this little blog thing when all of a sudden your mom or dad or great uncle frederick hears a KABOOM. Naturally, they run into your bedroom where your brains are splattered all over the walls. Wow, that was morbid. Anyways, are you sure that you want to know the secret? Oh well, if you’re sure!
Laying on a couch underneath a worn, holey* blanket, with your legs pressed up against an N-Dawg is happiness.

For once, I’m not going to talk about anything. I want you guys to tell me a story. Tell me something beautiful. No pressure, of course.
No, no, you don’t have to tell me a story. But I think it would be amazing if you did.

*Not to be confused with a holy blanket, of course. Hold on, let me ask N something. I asked her, “Is that prayer shawl your mom made you considered a holy blanket?” She replied with a resounding, “I hope not” and went back to chin comments. Ahhh, friendship.

Another prayer shawl is completed and I will be sending it to someone who recently lost her husband in an auto accident. She was injured as well and I’m sure the physical and emotional healing will require much strength and support.

I include a card with each shawl given that is appropriate to their particular situation whether it be illness, a new baby, a birthday, bereavement, etc. Following is a sample of the card given to someone who was going through chemotherapy:

This shawl was made just for you

To bring comfort

To know you are loved

To share in your joy

This shawl is to wrap you up

When you’re cold

When you’re hurting

When you need to snuggle

This shawl was knitted

With Blessings

With Love

With Prayers

Another verse I like to use:

This is a prayer shawl

but it’s also a hug

Thousands of stitches

each made with love

 So wrap it around you

and let yourself feel

the love of your friends

every day of the year!

This prayer shawl is a combination of lace rib and stockinette stitch stripes on the knitting machine and the border was crocheted by hand.

Tan Prayer Shawl

If you are interested in a prayer shawl ministry or how it came about, click here. Many churches and charitable organizations are now embracing the prayer shawl ministry. It’s a beautiful thing!

The prayer shawl I’ve been crocheting for my aunt is finished. I added a Celtic knot heart charm and wove the ends in last night.

I’m working on a note and a prayer to include in the basket with the shawl when I give it to her.

I signed up for a prayer shawl swap on Ravelry. Before I start that shawl, though, I have another one to do. This one will be for my cousin. I got the yarn for it at Hobby Lobby yesterday and I’ve already started it.

And I know you’re wondering… No, it’s not impossible to have a prayer shawl swap. You know who your partner is and you pray for them as you make the shawl.

Then after the swap, there are another couple people I want to make shawls for. With those, there isn’t the urgency there is with the one for my aunt and now the one for my cousin.

I have been working on an enrichment project (see my school blog) and dealing with trying to get the right insulin levels for the cat.  Add to that the stomach bug we got and the general business of summertime with children home from school and I have not been getting that much done in the way of fibery things.  I’ve spun with my spindle and I finished a prayer shawl.  Not much else.  I’ll get back to it.  Really!

I’ve been working on the prayer shawl I mentioned in the last post. Despite coming to the decision to make it, I’vee found myself still a bit resistant to it. And, yes, I know why, but that’s not really the point of this post.

The picture to the right was taken earlier today. At the time, I had seven rows done. It’s not very wide, but it’s supposed to be very long. I’ve been concerned that it wasn’t wide enough. After I finished the eighth row, I checked my guage again.

According to the pattern, 11 stitches equals 4 1/2 inches and eight rows also equals 4 1/2 inches. Both checked out, so it’s going the way it’s supposed to. The pattern alternates rows of single crochet and double crochet with spaces. It works up rather quickly. I pray for the person it’s being made for as I go.

I love the color. I think she will love the color. I wish I had chsen a softer yarn. Be that as it may, it is getting done.

If anyone else is interested in making a prayer shawl, I recommend two sources. The first is the book The Prayer Shawl Ministry: Reaching Out to Those in Need. The other is the Prayer Shawl group on Ravelry.

In the book, the pattern I’m using is the Crochet Rectangular Stole. It’s a short pattern, relying on repetition for the length, and beginner-friendly.

I will share a picture of the finished project when I am done.

Dear Bill,

Pictured below are three shawls. In fact, I’ve knitted many more than three–as prayer shawls and also just as soft and comforting wraps. I’ve even knitted one (a prayer shawl in this case) in gold, red, blue, and purple for my sweetie husband. Those are the colors stipulated in the Old Testament for the tabernacle, something I thought he’d appreciate and enjoy. I like using Lion’s Homespun. Some people complain that it’s hard to knit with, but I think its very comfy result is worth it. Also, the colors are always interesting. Generally I’ve used US# 11, casting on 63 stitches and then knitting 3 plain and 3 purl (to represent the Trinity) on one side, the same on the other. The stitches are alternating in threes, not creating a rib. This is the pattern originated by Victoria Galo.

Here’s the first in Hepplewhite. (The photo looks iridescent because it’s second generation. Really it’s just a nice white.):

The second is navy blue:

And here’s the third in a color Lion calls Tudor:

OK, boring. You get the idea.

I have one final story to tell you about my sweetie husband’s Grandpa Miller–or rather it’s a story Grandpa told. He was a Church of Scotland minister in Glasgow through the 1920s and also chaplain to Duke Street  Prison. In a little book he self-published he wrote that he had to leave Glasgow because of ill-health in the end. It might have been lung problems as the city suffered terrible coal-dust smog at this time, just as London did. It was only when coal fires became illegal in the city that the air cleared up. (Colder houses, though.) 

As an aside–my husband, when he was a seminary student, used to work at Glasgow Cathedral.  The minister was a Dr. Davidson, and he used to tell the story of his visiting people in his parish in the early days of his ministry there. He often found all their furniture had been covered in newspapers to keep it clean from the coal dust in the air. One day he went to visit an old Glasgow woman, and she met him at the door with newspaper wrapped tight around her hair as well!

So Grandpa, Grandma, and their family moved to the country parish of Orwell at Milnathort. Here’s a photo of the church:

It overlooks Loch Leven. Loch Leven has a small island in the middle of it, with a castle in the middle of that. It was here that Mary, Queen of Scots, was kept prisoner until she rather unwisely decided to appeal to her cousin, Queen Elizabeth, to the south. We all know what happened then.

Here’s a final picture of Grandma and Grandpa Miller. This is the last one I have of them. It looks to me as if they were pretty old and retired by this time. (No, Grandpa never took off his clerical collar during the day.):

Behind them are the Ochil Hills (Uchel meaning ‘high’ in Celtic). They’re bordered by the  towns of Stirling, Alloa (Grandpa’s birthplace) Kinross, and Perth (my sweetie’s and elder son’s birthplace). My sweetie attended the boarding school of Dollar Academy, which is also situated beside these hills. He played rugby there, and one of the workouts for the team was to run up to the summit of the hills and down the other side. A bus would be waiting there to drive them back to the school. This isn’t a happy memory.

Now, here’s the story Grandpa used to tell. It concerned a vacancy at neighboring Dunscobie Kirk. As far as I know there’s no such church so I think Grandpa was just being diplomatic here. A vacancy occurs in a church when the current minister moves or retires. In this case there had been a guy in place for years, and he’d finally hung it up. A committee was formed to look for a new man, and a sole nominee was chosen. This fellow had only to preach before the congregation–an event that generally was just a formality–and the church was his. It seems that the former minister had been getting up in years, and his housekeeper had got into the habit of wedging an egg-box on the pulpit floor. Into this she’d put two hot bricks to keep the old man’s feet warm while he preached. No heating in these old churches. Well, this Sunday “the box wis there” as Grandpa put it, “but nae briks.”

The sole nominee was in the midst of giving a rousing sermon, meant to impress. I quote directly from Grandpa’s little book now:

“When a’ at ance there wis sic a crash o’ splintered wood! The egg-box couldna stand up to the strain o’ sic oratory. The meenister fair bobbed oot o’ sicht.” 

He reappeared shortly, hobbling down the pulpit steps with the egg-box around his ankle. His shoe was taken off, and two men had to strain hard to pull the box free. It was carried out of the kirk with some ceremony.

P.G. Wodehouse has written, ”It’s never difficult to distinguish between a Scotsman with a grievance and a ray of sunshine.”

I feel the observation might well apply in this particular case.  The sole nominee was not a happy man. He continued his sermon, though with less verve and enthusiasm. Grandpa doesn’t mention if he ultimately became the new minister of the parish. If I had to guess, I’d  say not.

Love!

Momma

I’ve decided on my next project.

I debated between several different projects: “funky” gloves, another hat, a scarf, a baby blanket for charity…..

Last night, I went to Wal-Mart where I bought several varietyies of yarn. I also bought The Prayer Shawl Ministry put out by Lion Brand Yarn. I had thought that I would do that “someday.”

Last night, I kept thinking about it. I have been feeling very strongly led to make a prayer shawl. Why?

Two weeks ago, one of my cousins committed suicide. Many of us blame ourselves for not seeing the signs, for not reaching out to him more, for whatever reason. I am going to make a prayer shawl for his mother. SHe can use it as a wrap, as a throw, as a prayer shawl, or not at all, however she prefers.

It doesn’t matter what she does with it. What matters is that I make it.

Just a quick post to let you know what I’m up to.

First: my grandma recently sent me six skeins of Bernat Kabuki, a silk/acrylic blend, in a tweedy-heathery blue.  And I know what I’m doing with it.

The color’s fairly accurate on my monitor.  Anyway – I’m going to get some similar yarn (a silk blend of some kind, since Kabuki is discontinued) in a matching solid color and knit myself some kind of awesome kimono thing, using the solid for the body and the Kabuki for accents on the sleeves.  I’m leaning toward this for the solid, in “Aries Teal”.  Will probably need two.

I plan to get this book to help with the design before I do anything (and to give me an idea on yardage).  While I wait, though, I charted up a hem design and test-knit it, using the Stained Glass color combination.

On size 10 needles and 4 repeats, it’s about 20 inches around.  That’s bigger than what I want, but Kabuki is thin and I’ll probably use US 5 or 6 needles.  Also, see how the little one-stitch columns get sucked into the black?  I’m thinking I’ll duplicate-stitch those on instead.

Second: I’m also working on a prayer shawl for a family friend.  After working on US 2 and 3 needles for quite a while, the US 13’s I’m using feel like telephone poles.  Also, I’m used to one ball turning out a pair of socks, or 2/3 of a scarf.  So it’s a bit startling to see this:

get turned into this:

Sorry for the blurriness; gremlins reset my camera.  That’s my hand in the last one, for scale.  Prayer shawls are easy; you cast on enough stitches to get you approximately two feet of width, then knit your chosen stitch pattern until it’s the length of your wingspan.  At the moment, unblocked, it’s roughly square-ish.  The yarn I’m using is Lion Brand Homespun in “Colonial”, and I purchased three skeins.  I’ll use up probably 2.5 skeins on the shawl, then the rest of the last one on fringing and maybe an edging to make it look nice.  And I want to get some charms – an angel for one corner, and a cross for the other.  (The woman it’s for is my brother’s godmother and my mum’s best friend.  She recently lost her father to prostate cancer, and since she lives several states away, I’m sending this in lieu of myself.)

Everything else I’m knitting is either a Christmas gift or boring; I’ll spare you the pictures.  For now.

I’m done.  Gonna hit “Publish” on this and try to work on mum’s Christmas gift while she naps.

PSA: I will be incommunicado for 10 days starting July 30th.  I’m going on a missions trip to the middle of nowhere and will not have any kind of contact with the outside world.  Please keep that in mind.

Lace Rib Panel on the Knitting Machine

While I love to hand-knit, a few years ago my husband got me a knitting machine for Christmas. So far, it has been great for large panels of stockinette stitch but I decided recently to learn a new stitch. I wanted to make a prayer shawl for a friend and settled on the Lace Rib Stitch.

Everything was going very smoothly — I had the stitch down and probably had 100 rows finished. Now let me set the stage. I have my machine set up on my kitchen counter, which is bar stool height rather than table height. I prefer to stand while I run the carriage back and forth. Then I sit when I’m working the stitches, which puts me at eye level with the needles.

I had on a terry cloth swimsuit cover up that I wear around the house as a robe. As I ran the carriage across the needles, it crunched to a stop. Oh yes, I had caught the front of my robe in the needles! Because I was leaning over the knitting machine, it was impossible to unhook the robe from the needles while in it. So I had to wriggle out of the robe, pulling it over my head. (Here is the TMI part — send the children out of the room.) I was completely naked underneath the robe so I am standing in my kitchen, pulling it off over my head while attached to the knitting machine.

Had to run to the bedroom, put on another robe, then go take that thing apart and save the knitting I had done. Fortunately, after laughing, crying and a few 4-letter words, I was able to get back on track and resume knitting.

When I told my mom about this, she said the knitting machine company should probably put a warning on the product that suggests you not wear loose clothing or just knit naked!

The prayer shawl is beautiful. I single crocheted, then double crocheted around it for edge stability. Will gift it to my friend on August 1st. There was a lot of praying done during the making of this prayer shawl!

Completed Lace Rib Prayer Shawl

You might remember that a couple of months ago, a friend at church gave me this pile of yarn…with the Mexican Rainbow Shawl from the Prayer Shawl Companion book in mind.  We’re both making shawls for our church ministry and had fallen in love with this pattern.  She surprised me by buying the yarn for it!

Alas, try as I might, I couldn’t make the yarn work with the pattern!  The pattern is written for DK weight, and the Vanna’s Choice just did not want to play nice!

So, I frogged what I had done (the center section and two of the orange sides) and went back to the drawing board…finally deciding on La La’s Simple Shawl, which is a free download on Ravelry.

This pattern allowed me to incorporate each colored yarn and, IMHO, gives it a “South of the Border” feel.

• Rust – 17 yards
• Scarlet – 34 yards
• Eggplant – 55 yards
• Colonial Blue – 76.5 yards
• Olive -102 yards
• Mustard – 229.5 yards

The pattern did not specify a bind-off, so I used EZ’s Sewn Cast Off.  I like this bind off because it’s stretchy and invisible.  And it’s easy (although tedious when you have 265 stitches!!).

Forgive the state of my hair.  I woke up this morning and rushed to dress so I could get Chicky to take pictures before she heads to the beach for the day…hence no shower and no tamed hair (not that this is possible with living in Florida and having naturally-curly hair)…

All the sudden, it seems like summer is officially here. We went from mid-80 degree weather with rain, rain and more rain, to HOT HOT HOT! The air conditioner has been running nonstop all day long, and is struggling to keep the house under 80 degrees! Yuck, I hate the hot humid weather! And this is only June, so it looks like it’s gonna be a hot, long summer indoors. But Logan and I are planning on hitting the pool tomorrow for Tiny Tots swim! The pool center has designated an hour and a half for little ones under 2 and their parent to head to the pool, without the bigger kids splashing around. And it’s a reasonable price, considering the little ones just kinda splash in the water. I am super excited…not about the bathing suit part, but I’ll survive that too!
Seriously, we go from our air conditioned house, to our air conditioned car, to the air conditioned store/restaurant/friend’s house. And while I feel bad that Logan isn’t outside playing and getting some fresh air, I just have to remind myself that a) it’s stinkin’ hot outside, b) there is no fresh air to be had, and c) did I mention it’s 95 today? We went out on our daily walk this morning before 9 am, while the humidity was still manageable…I still sweat my bootie off! But Logan and Maddie enjoyed it, and I needed the exercise. It wasn’t enough for my Oreo-eating self, but it’ll have to do! I hope to squeeze another walk in this evening right before Logan’s bedtime, but we’ll have to see. I also have my prayer shawl knitting group at church this evening…and those ladies like to talk! Last week, I left 15 minutes AFTER it was scheduled to end, and I was the first person to leave! It’s a nice group of woman, creating awesome prayer shawls for those who might need them. Unfortunately, with Logan’s baptism and family coming into town, I didn’t knit a single stitch on it since last meeting. There are a wide range of knitters and crocheters in the group, so I don’t think there are any crazy expectations of people finishing the shawls at warp speed or anything…thank goodness!

And yes, I have RE-started the sweater cuff, although not with a smile on my face, if I must be truthful. I am still irritated with myself over that sweater sleeve! What a perfectly good waste of time! Oh, and I just found a new pattern for a felted bracelet pouch that I can’t wait to make! Just big enough for a cell phone, some cash/credit card/identification and a lipstick. I am thinking it will be super cute! I’ll let you know when I have 7 other projects finished and am finally allowed to cast on yet another project…or when I just go ahead and do it, which is way more likely!

A friend of ours’ dad has cancer.  Apparently he likes blankets, and his son is fascinated by handspun yarn.  So, I’m knitting him a throw.  It is NOT all handspun, however.  I didn’t have enough of the right colors available, and plus, most of my handspun is wool–which, I guess, is not so good for people having all those chemo and radiation treatments.  I’m a little over half done, I think.  This is what I have so far:

About half of the white/cream areas are superwash wool handspun.  The rest of it is machine washable–mostly acrylic.  I am all out of the splotchy blue yarn (LB “Mystery”) and have to get creative to finish the rest–right now I have 3 different #15 circular needles working and holding stitches while I add to it in various directions.  I don’t much like casting off and picking up–I keep as many edges live as possible, lol.  This is based on the Mason Dixon Log Cabin Moderne things.

May 31 and we finally have some weather to be proud here on the prairie. Gone are the signs of the Snow Goddess and Jack Frost took his leave. Mother Nature moved in and coaxed the trepid leaves and blades to come out and play in the sunshine. Spring has arrived and is swiftly moving toward summer. It was a breezy 21 C today.

Many of us gathered for some gartering and a few giggles this breezy afternoon. Jan, once again, brought some yarn to share. (PS: if you are in need of fibre, talk to Jan as she really does have a house full – send her a message at stitcher@shaw.ca or drop by Mackenzie Cole’s one Sunday afternoon and pick some up). Mary was busy doing some yarn dyeing and stitching up felted chapeau’s. Allison has returned with baby items in tow. Kate has survived her journey and even managed to avoid being crushed by unstable stacks of books. New faces, familiar faces, and returning faces mixed it up over some cool drinks.

So what was everyone up to:

I, of course, continued stitching Filagree (Square 1 is almost complete). She has outgrown the DPNs and moved onto the Options 2.5 mm circulars.

Mary has been busy preparing for her Ladies retreat. She’s taken some yarn off Jan’s hands and is well equipped to stitch up prayer shawls. She’s found a moment to create beautiful felted hats:

Not to mention dye some yarn. (Yes, Melistress, you missed the yarn again!). Take a close look for the earthy toned one is a Prairie Surprise for someone quite famous in our circles (care to guess who?):

Dael and Selina joined us (sans Kat who was, of all things, Scrapbooking supply shopping instead of knitting – go figure!). Dael is using up his uglies to stitch up Swifter mop cloths that are looking like mutated versions of the Cookie Monster. Function and fun, what more can one ask for from a pile of uglies. I agree, Selina, they need googlie eyes to really make them stylish!

Shakthi escaped us early to make it to a soccer time, but not after filling her pack with yarn and sharing her latest Creative Knitting magazine around the table. It was wonderful to see the return of old friends. Allison was a welcome surprise. Her special brand of uniqueness brightens my day. Kate’s appearance made me realize just how much her whacky
subdued personality is missed. All in all, a fantastic Sunday – as usual.

What’s on your needles these days, and when are you coming to knitterly show and tell?

Did you notice the word “first” in the title of this post?

Yes, that’s because, as you know, I’ve recently become involved with my church’s new prayer shawl ministry.

Today I did the Happy Dance because I finished the first one!!!  And, it’s what I consider my “first” crochet project (I don’t count the little animals I’ve made).  This pattern had double crochet and half double crochet stitches.

Oh yeah, baby.  Bring it on!

Ok…so on to the pictures, and then I’ll give stats…

Here’s the pattern booklet that I bought at Joann’s:

I had fallen in love with this project (the picture from the book):

And here’s my finished project…

I had a hard time getting the hang of the edging.  I just couldn’t quite figure out where to insert my needle on the row ends, so two of the sides look a bit wonky.  The third side was a piece of cake because it was my cast on edge.  Here’s a close-up of the stitches and edging (the part I’m proud of):

I started on 4/27 and finished today (5/7).

I used a little under four skeins of Bernat Satin (the colorway is Sable).

The yarn is soft and very warm. It was a little bit thready…which was not super easy for a novice crocheter like myself, but I didn’t find myself doing battle, if you know what I mean.

All in all, a pretty easy project except for the edging, which I attribute to my lack of practice and not the pattern.

Two bags of yarn…that’s what I saw when I walked into the empty room at church.  It was Wednesday night…time for Bible study with the ladies.  When I began meeting with this group, I discovered that one of the ladies was a knitter.  She’s been knitting a little while but is not overly confident in herself yet, preferring to stick with the easiest stitches.  We’ve formed a friendship, and I’ve been encouraging her to try new patterns.

Any good knitting friend will, naturally, enable another.  She buys the newest issues of magazines, and I run out to get them.  She buys a new book, and I do the same.  I discover a fabulous yarn store in New Orleans, and she visits and spends $150.

It’s a friendship made in heaven.

When I saw the bags of yarn, I figured they belonged to her.  We’re always showing off our latest cast-ons and talking about upcoming projects.

When she walked in, she nonchalantly picked up the bags and deposited them on the table in front of me.

They were for me.  For a shawl I’ve been ogling in this book, recently purchased with a 40% coupon at Hobby Lobby:

The pattern is for a Mexican Shawl:

As I pulled the yarn out of the bags, I counted them…12 skeins of Vanna’s Choice…in six different colors!

I am so touched that she would do this for me.  She has been personally affected by the financial woes that many of us have…a husband who only recently became employed again after being laid off…a house up for sale…a son newly home from Iraq…

To do something like this with pure excitement on her face…

A true blessing.

And a relief that I can honestly tell the Mr. that I didn’t buy more yarn.

Last night I had a Prayer Shawl Ministry meeting at church.  During the drive, I popped in a new CD that Rooster bought me for my birthday.  It’s Michael W. Smith’s A New Hallelujah, and it’s fabulous!

This song, in particular, lifted my spirit and put me in a great mood to meet with the other ladies and, essentially, have what I imagine to be a “Knit Night.”  We chatted as we worked on our shawls and prayed over one in particular.  This shawl will be delivered in the next few days.

I hope you enjoy the song.

First of all, hats off to those of you who can crochet.

It’s not as easy as it looks.

Trust me.

I tried…for two solid days.

I already shared the picture of the prayer shawl I want to make for my church’s new ministry.  I knew it would be a challenge.  But I thought I could handle it.  I had, after all, just completed the Umagurumi Dolphin…

I alluded to this mystery project a few weeks ago.  It’s been gifted, so now I can share it!  You can purchase the pattern here.  The instructions are very easy and detailed.  The designer responds quickly to questions.  Kudos!

I used Bernat Softee Chunky in Grey Heather.  My friend, Rabbitrescuer, had a skein of the yarn in her stash, which she sent me free of charge (aren’t knitters just the best?!).  However, my gauge must have been tight because I RAN OUT!!!  Can you believe it?!  And I only had a few rounds of one fin and then one other fin left.  That’s it!

She bought me another skein, sent it to me, and I finished it last night.

Putting it together was interesting, but ultimately, I’m pleased with the result.  The tail fins are my favorite!!

If I had to do anything over, I would not have stuffed the body quite so much, but I would have added a bit more stuffing to the tail base.

Now, who was the lucky recipient of the dolphin?

Ms D, the Attendance lady I worked with.  I came home from lunch, took pictures of it, and gently placed it in the largest non-Christmas bag I could find, covering it with tissue paper to cover it.

I grew a bit nervous as I carried it in.  What would people think?  I mean, it’s LARGE!  It measures 19 1/2″ from nose to tail.  When I selected this pattern, I thought it would be something small she could set beside her computer.

NOT!

I’m not sure what she’s going to do with it, but I feel good about gifting it.  She’s a wonderful lady who deserves to be pampered with unexpected surprises.

With another project under my belt, I quickly moved on to the new shawl, having set down my Swallowtail Lace Shawl for the time being.  We need a break from each other.

I picked up the crochet needle and proceeded to do the chain stitches and slip stitch.  And then I stopped.

I didn’t know what to do from that point forward.

I googled and googled and found some really neat sites.  If you’re new to crocheting, I highly recommend NexStitch and Crochet ‘N’ More.   The second link provided me with much-needed information about how to read various parts of the pattern; however, I was still stuck on the actual execution of them.

A quick post on Ravelry led me to a very interesting discovery…

I’ve been crocheting incorrectly!

Instead of going through BOTH loops, I’ve only been crocheting through the back loop.

So that dolphin I made…yeah…wrong-O.

I gifted it anyhow.  Who would know?

This shawl will be a different story.  I’m gonna crochet it correctly.  However, I still had no clue what a chain space was or how to skip a double crochet stitch.

I spent the better part of the morning searching before finding this page.  My eyes were opened, and something “clicked.”  I struggled as I got comfortable with the crochet cadence, but now I’m actually enjoying it!

Here is my progress so far, after 12 rows…

I crocheted during three showings of The Great Gatsby, and the students looked on with interest.

If I can crochet, anybody can!  Just goes to show you that you can teach an old dog new tricks!!

You’ve just gotta love Fridays.  Especially when you have the day off.

Now, I could have easily slept in or stayed in my jammies.  In fact, Mr. AuburnChick commented, on his way to bed, that we could both sleep until 12 if we wanted.  He’s been working a lot of overtime and is exhausted.  However, I chose to get up, shower, and dress.

Rather than lying low…playing my day by ear, I actually have a plan.

I have to get the oil changed in my car.  We have another long car trip in a few weeks, so I need to make sure my vehicle is in proper working order.

I’m also on the hunt for Bernat Satin.  A couple of days ago, I used a 50% coupon at Joann’s to buy this pamphlet, which you can order from anniesattic.com:

My church is starting a prayer shawl ministry.  Knitting an entire shawl on my own seems a daunting task, so I’ve decided to try to crochet one.  I’ve heard that crocheting is faster than knitting.  One of the patterns in this booklet struck my eye.  I went to Joann’s several times, staring at the pattern but not purchasing the booklet until the fifith time I went to the store.  I finally caved and made the purchase.  This is the shawl I want to make:

My errands will also include the obligatory trip to the bank.  Chicky got paid yesterday, so I offered to deposit it for her.

And a day of errands wouldn’t be complete with a trip to Walmart.  I need to get new toothbrush heads, and Target didn’t have the specific brand when I was there a few days ago.

I know I have cleaning to do, but I do not plan on doing much.  A load of laundry is about to visit the washing machine.  But actual dusting or sweeping?  Nawwww.

I wanna have some fun!  I’m going to work on my Swallowtail Lace Shawl.  Last night, I finished the last pattern repeat and started the first start of the lace edging.  Ahhh…such a lovely pattern and a real joy to knit!

I’m also expecting a skein of yarn from my friend Rabbitrescuer.  I’m working on a project, and I ran out with two small parts to finish!!!!  It’s a gift for someone too!  Hopefully the mailman will be delivering it to me today!

You’ve just gotta love free days, eh?!