Little Lonely Lambkin!

Isn't he cute? He's a gift for a very sweet dear friend! It's a Fiber Trends pattern. Now I've made 5 of them and given them away except one for me. I still need a white one though. Mine is more of a Suffolk Sheep (brownish)! I think he needs a friend too. With others I have put little black buttons for eyes but I am thinking I like it better without. Oh, I've added scarves for all that I've made. This one is done in Koigu! Get the pattern. You'll have fun. Don't you think every knitter needs a sheepy friend around?

Saturday find and Sunday surprise!

My Saturday find at my favorite shop, the Goodwill. It's like new!! It will be fun to wear! Funny, see the little black sheep on the left?

A surprise for me lookie here! Llama! I'm no spinner, yet that is. But I thought it would be fun to play with. It's freshly sheared today! A friend and mutual greyhound owner (we run our dogs Sunday afternoons) helps out at a Llama farm and she sheared 6 Llamas today so she shared the goods. She's a needle felter. You can see two colors from 2 different Llamas. The left is a light chocolate brown and the right is actually very pretty with lots of shades of grey, brown and white. I got lucky!

Close to Home

'Massacre' was the headline in my newspaper today. I live about 50 minutes from Blacksburg. It's like 9-11 all over again. It's that kind of devastation you know. Sadness, grief, pain and shock, rolled together and amplified. Are there even words to describe it all? The ramifications of this is worldwide. One is related to or knows a victim or one directly affected by it all. It's amazing how so many are connected. Time will tell, time will heal although this date will never go by again without vivid memories. Love, comfort, support, words from the heart and prayer is all that is left. Pray everyone, PRAY. Our God is greater.

Knitting aboard the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown!

Yep, that's what I was doing this past weekend. I went with 20 Scouts and their parents to the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown at Charleston Harbor, SC. It was more than exciting to spend the night on board. I slept on the top bunk in the real berthing quarters that the military men would have slept in. Talk about tight spaces! I still don't know how they functioned day to day. We toured the Yorktown, a submarine, a destroyer and a coast guard ship. I think I missed my calling (the military)!! Being a Cubmaster for 40 Cubscouts I get to re-live the the 'boy' moments I missed! I needed a knitting project that didn't involve thinking for the trip so I started an Oregon Tote. I didn't drive myself so I had travel time as well. Look how much I finished! I might need another skein of the denim tweed color. It's Paton's which I think is the best for felting. I am also thinking of adding a kind of dark yellow stripe.

Everyone else does it...........

Photographs socks on the feets!!!! One sock was knit by my sister and the other by me. They started out as a Christmas gift. She would knit one and I knit the other and give the pair to our nephew. Well, that Christmas I couldn't swing it. So last July she just gave me the sock she had started (but hadn't finished). I finished the sock and knit the match and now they are all mine!! They look like ragwool socks. It's a worsted weight on size 4's but don't ask me what yarn. I can't remember and don't know what happened to the yarn band. I always keep them but that one seems to be lost. It's a Fiber Trends pattern called Railroad Rib socks. Why, they are my socks you may ask. Well, we did the knit one sock thing for the same nephew once already and I don't want to make a habit of it!! Selfish maybe, Oh well!

A Time for Quilting.....

I've been working on a quilt for my sisters 25th wedding anniversary. It's been along time in the making only because of my knitting! She's due to receive it in May!! I hope.


This is my pressing pile to the left and cut pile to the right of the iron. I thought I'd be a little knitterly and include Lambkin looking on! The center piece is awaiting the steam iron.
Here's a cut 8 1/2 inch square ready for piecing in the quilt. There will be 99 squares, a thin 1 inch border, then a larger probably 4 inch border and the binding. I've still yet to choose fabrics for most of the borders.

Each square has 25 different fabrics, no square should be the same although fabrics themselves are repeated and there are over 100 fabrics in the quilt. I am ready for it to be finished! It seems I am on and off with excitement about this quilt. Today was good though! Progress was made.

The 'ladder'!

Here's the picture for last nights post! I know my finger is poking it up a little so you can see but it's also very obvious when I put it on over my leg. Then think of that laddery line times 4! The needles are out so the next step is to start pulling! I'm fine with the frogging and the alternative socks I mentioned last night will actually be exquisite I think. That's if I can pull those off!!

I'm give'n up!!!

The over-the-knee stockings from Handknit Holidays that I made such a big deal about? Well, I'm frogging! I have started this one stocking three times now. I can't get rid of the 'ladder' at each of the four corners trying a few different possible solutions. I've knit lots of socks before too. Maybe because it's just straight knit and no other stitches, other than the lace down the center of the back of the leg but that doesn't affect the 'ladders'. The yarn is Rowan Cashsoft, is it the yarn? I tried taking a pic but it just didn't turn out. It's late and the flash was making it too bright.
I'm thinking of switching to the Austrian knee socks in the book, Socks, Socks, Socks. It's a whole lot more stitches, cables, etc. See Eunny's socks. I can't find whether she finished them but I'm sure she did. The socks of her dreams she says and I think they will be mine too! A real challenge but I'm sure they won't have the 'ladder' problem!!

PASSOVER!

I know you're thinking, "Is she sure she's not Jewish, I mean first a post on 'Shalom' and now 'Passover'. Well, it seems to me that lots of wonderful things have been forgotten by Christians that come from our Jewish heritage. Passover is one of them. My understanding is that we should have never forsaken the Feasts. 1Cor. 5:7-8 "....let us celebrate the feasts......." There is so much Messianic significance. Jesus is woven all through the meaning of Passover. When I first learned of all this about 5 years ago I was just in awe and so excited to make this celebration part of our family's tradition. My kids love it! I want to briefly share why and how Jesus fits right into Passover. Perhaps it will get you thinking and maybe you will have a Passover Seder at your home next year.
For the Jewish people Passover is the celebration of freedom from Egyptian slavery, the book of Exodus. For Christians it's also a celebration of freedom. The freedom we receive through Jesus Christ.
As the Passover lamb is without blemish so Jesus was found without blemish by the religious leaders. The Passover lamb is a male of the first year. Jesus was the firstborn Son of God. The lamb is killed at 3:00 P.M. Jesus died in the seventh hour, 3:00 P.M. The lambs bones were not broken. Jesus' bones were not broken. The blood of the lamb applied to the doorposts saved the Israelites' firstborn. The blood of Jesus Christ saves us. The body of the lamb must be eaten the same night. Jesus was crucified, suffered and died in the same night. No work was to be done on Passover. The Israelites could not save themselves. If they had not obeyed God's command of placing the lamb's blood on their doors their firstborns would have been killed. The blood of Jesus saves us not our works. The added gift for us is............ Jesus is Risen and with us forever!