Your greatness is not what you have, it's what you give.

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Knitting and Passions

It was our first day on the deck today! There was a light breeze coaxing a soft tune from the wind chimes and the sun warmed us just enough. It was perfect for knitting!

Liz finished the body of a mint green baby cardigan and now she has to pick up stitches to knit the button bands. We discussed how much we dislike picking up stitches and ways to get around it. Next time Liz will add stitches to either side of the front of the sweater and knit them in garter stitch to add the button bands on while knitting the body of the sweater.
She is almost finished with a child's pullover top-down sweater too. It's the only way she and I will knit sweaters. We both hate to sew pieces together!
Kathleen finished her reversible striped scarf. She knows she had a misplaced stitch somewhere in there but even she can't find it anymore. I reminded her it's ok to leave it. Only God is perfect!
She whipped up a quick toddler's hat too. Using a self striping yarn turned out to be a good idea for this horizontally ribbed pattern. It was made using stockinette and reversed stockinette to make bubble-like ridges up the hat. Very cute!
Kathleen's next project is this cowl....
using two strands of worsted weight yarn to substitute for bulky weight.
Liz added two more kitties to the animal farm we have growing around here.
And Beth finished her "Don't call me Dumbo" elephant. She used Sirdar acrylic/nylon blend yarn so he's nice and cuddly.
Carole is almost finished with her baby sweater. This photo doesn't do justice to the pretty deep teal color of the yarn.
I don't remember what we were talking about but it made Beth flip her glasses!
I've adjusted my feelings for this poncho I'm knitting. Rather than get involved with days and days of endless rounds of garter stitch, I've decided to make this a dickie instead and then I can get on to knit something else too.
Dorah's Gaptastic cowl grows slowly but steadily each week.
I'm so happy to have knitting friends who are as passionate about two sticks and string as I am.

Speaking of passion, I was thinking about how truly blessed I have been in my lifetime to always have had a passion. As a child, like most little girls, my passion was all about dolls and playing. My mother fed that passion by making clothes for my Madame Alexander Doll, Ginny, and later for my Barbie. I could spend hours dressing and changing outfits for them according to "where they were going". As I made it into my teen years I had a passion for singing and dancing. I joined a choir when I was 10 and sang with choirs pretty much until about 2003. Now I sing in the shower mostly. When I was old enough to start thinking about a career, I knew I wanted to help people. After fives years of orthodonture and seeing the dentist's office almost weekly for part of that time, I decided to study to become an assistant and spent some years working in oral surgery, where I could see some immediate results from the care I offered to my patients. 

Then came marriage and children. My husband and children were and still are a great passion for me. I love having a family and now have Phil, Moose, and Leo to include in my passionate circle. But as life moves on I had to include new passions along with the old. When my children grew older and didn't need me around as much I decided to work part time outside the home and I turned an old hobby into a job. I worked for a local jewelry store for almost eight years. I specialized in repairing and restringing necklaces. At first I thought it was just a job, but when I saw the grandmas bringing in their treasured strands of pearls to be refreshed so they could pass them on to their daughters and granddaughters, I realized I was doing something important for them. It wasn't just a job. I was helping to hand down memories of a loved one. I felt honored to have been a part of the process. 

And now my passion is...you guessed it! Knitting! I've always been crafty all my life with all sorts of handiwork...quilting, sewing, cross stitching, needlepoint, pottery throwing. You name it, I've probably tried it. But knitting has always stuck with me through thick and thin. And now I get to knit all the time and donate to those who might not have all that they need. I feel so blessed that God gave me the talents to create warm clothing from two sticks and some string and blessed to have had so many passions in my life. What is your passion?

2 comments:

AlisonH said...

I can just picture my mother taking my grandmother's pearls like that. Very cool that you did that.

And after family--knitting, of course.

Anonymous said...

I really appreciated your story. Well said.
Ron