Little baby sweater I started Monday night.

I believe the Holy Spirit gives us appointments. Just like going to the doctor for a check up, we are given appointments to interact with people. To listen to their stories. To commiserate with them on the trials they face and cheer for them their accomplishments. He gives us opportunities to lift others, to share our own stories, and to meet people in the middle…on neutral ground.

When I had my little needlework shop in Glenwood Springs, a group of gals gathered around the large table in the back and stitched together. We solved the world’s problems as well as a few of our own. We caught up on each other’s lives, encouraged each other in our creative pursuits, and shared a camaraderie I treasure to this day. It’s one of the reasons I love getting my classmates together for coffee. 

I have become much more calm since I started knitting again last fall. I find the rhythmic movements of my hands to be hypnotic. I focus on the smallest of things…the way the yarn feels between my thumb and forefinger…the shape of the stitches…the way the yarn makes a pattern out of seeming chaos. I love the almost miraculous way two sticks and a thread can be manipulated into a warm garment. 

I was so fortunate to have the opportunity to be a stay-at-home mom when Hubby #2 joined a medical practice in 1986. We lived in the mountains of Colorado. We had a big five bedroom log house on a couple of acres. I fancied myself as some sort of latent hippy mama…a true granola, tree hugging believer in peace and love and Mother Earth News. Those were halcyon days. I was only 33 years old when we moved to Glenwood Springs. 

I’m really enjoying learning new patterns and stitches in knitting. I just finished the rainbow scarf/shawl last night. One thing I’ve discovered…you really do need to block your work when you make something like this. To block a hand knitted garment, you need to wet it, then lay it out on a thick blanket or comforter that you don’t mind a little color bleeding on, gently stretch the piece to the shape you want, pin the edges, then let it dry completely. If you ever have to launder the piece in the future, you need to repeat the steps for blocking. I will block both of the scarves I just finished this week and show you what they look like after.

The irises are sending up their shoots, proving once again…the world keeps on turning.

The last time I was at the farm, I noticed a leak in the ceiling of the Girl’s Room upstairs. We’ve had a lot of rain recently, so I just wanted to run out and check to see how it was doing. Surprisingly, it was dry as a bone, but I left a galvanized tub on the floor below where it leaked before…just in case. I changed the message on the answering machine to reflect the new number, picked up the mail, and had a look around.

Oh, how I love this yarn. The softness comes from 70% Superwash Merino Wool and the sheen comes from 30% Bamboo. It’s like butter. It’s lightweight and warm…just what you want in a wrap for a May outing in Colorado. The pattern is super easy and I love the edge it creates as you end rows and begin the next. It’s a series of open loops that seem to fit the nature of the both the pattern and the yarn.

It’s Tuesday…2-22-22!

Lands, sake! I am SO out of shape! When winter hit and the outdoor chores were over, and there were no big holiday parties, no big indoor projects to accomplish…I sat down. Well, of course I did! I had knitting to do. And, while I knitted away…happy as a little clam…my muscles atrophied and I feel like I aged ten years. This cannot happen. I’m not even 70 yet. I have things to do, places to go, camping to accomplish.

The tree is down, the sun is out, and I’ve finished the little shawl/scarf I knitted. I still need to block it. I followed the pattern exactly and had enough yarn left over to knit another one, I believe. It isn’t as large as I pictured it being, but it’s still lovely and was an adventure in learning how to knit lace. I am finding the more intricate the pattern, the more I need to concentrate while I’m knitting. I lost count how many times I needed to rip out a row…or three! I found I needed to put my headphones on and listen to the campfire whenever I knitted the open lacy sections. But, it’s done and now I can move on to other things.

In August 1988, George Herbert Walker Bush became the Republican Nominee for President of the United States. In his acceptance speech, he coined a phrase that has reverberated down the halls of time ever since. He exhorted the American people to become a kinder, gentler nation. He referenced “1000 points of light” which represented the diversity of this country.