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Squares and Loose Ends

Posted on August 11, 2007 | Comments Off on Squares and Loose Ends

I stopped making squares for the Rebuilding Greensburg Project a few days ago with the exception of one last square that remains on the needles. It is not quite half finished but will be done in plenty of time to go into the box being sent out very early this week.

Much of my free time today has been spent weaving in loose ends on theres of the squares. It does not matter if the item is small or large, knitted or crocheted. I do not like weaving in loose ends. My dislike is so bad that doing this chore is put off as long as possible. Every time I start a project, I promise myself to weave them in as I go, but I never do. This time there was a good reason. Between work and treatment for a medical condition my days have been super full in the past couple of months. It has taken planning a reasonable amount of organization to make the squares. My original plan was to take time on my days off to weave in the ends. Life did not work out to allow it. Details such as parenting, laundry and other Mom jobs have taken priority. Time is running out and I am in a real time crunch to finish this project. My family is being very understanding about it. They are not objecting to the attention I am giving to the squares this weekend. Actually they are most likely grateful that the box of squares in the kitchen will be out of the way soon. :)

It’s back to the squares for now.

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It’s the Weekend!

Posted on July 28, 2007 | 1 comment

The weekend has finally arrived! It is my weekend off. Actually it is my day off since I volunteered to work on Sunday. My shift is short a nurse and we can use the money. None the less, it is the weekend, which means we can sleep in late if we want. Naturally, I am up early after being up late last night. That is fine with me because it means quiet time without anyone awake in my household. These precious minutes will be spent updating my two knitting and crocheting blogs and trying to catch up on email. This is a rare treat.

Three sets of knitting needles have the beginnings of squares for the Rebuilding Greensburg Project on them. They will all be in my knitting bag when we go out to do errands later today. This way I can finish them off while my wonderful husband drives. One of my goals for the weekend is to complete them and start making a couple more.

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Projects

Posted on July 27, 2007 | Comments Off on Projects

There is a lot going on these days in terms of knitting and crocheting. The deadline for making squares for the Rebuilding Greenburg Project is August the first. I have been busy making some last minute squares to add to the box going to Laura in the next couple of weeks.

Progress on my part of  the private gift for my friend at work is going slowly.  Making a very long story short, the yarn will hopefully be arriving at a nearby store by next Thursday. Once it is here, making it will be easy.  I cannot say more in case she happens to be reading this blog.  Once it has been completed and delivered, I will post pictures.

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Loss Of A Child

Posted on July 4, 2007 | 3 comments

The past week has been unusually stressful at work. A week ago yesterday a friend and colleague at work learned of the death of her youngest son. He was only 30 years old. His death was completely unexpected.

I work in a small retirement center where the staff is very close knit. This young man’s death has hit all of us hard. The nurses, of which I am one, are an even closer knit group than the rest of the staff. It is my observation that this has touched us even more than others. We have all been going through the grieving process. Part of our grief is our own and part of it is for our friend. We hurt for her. We hurt for her family.

We are the ones who normally help others with the grieving process. Now we are in the position of going through it ourselves. We have each experienced the loss of a loved one before in our lives, but this seems to be different. We can only watch and pray at this point since our friend has not returned to work. Of course we are sending cards as a token expression of our sympathy. The staff of our facility is sending a lovely gift in the next few days after everyone has had the chance to donate for it.

At some point there will be a private hand made gift to she and her son’s girlfriend from the nurses on our shift. Work will begin on this gift in the next few days. I cannot bring myself to get the yarn for part of it from my stash just yet. The pattern choice has been made. At the moment it is just a bit too hard to begin this project. It will have to wait until my next day off in the middle of the week.

In the meantime we continue to pray and work through our part of the grief process. I have this sneaking hunch that I am not the only parent who has told a child they are loved more than usual this week.

Thank you for listening.

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Blog Anniversary

Posted on June 28, 2007 | 4 comments

The first anniversary of this blog was missed last week. That was not what I wanted to have happen, but it did. This blog began in a different location and was moved here on Nov. 7, 2oo6. There was no post here to commemorate that wonderful day.  :(  At that time life was difficult and I was  in the middle of  looking for work outside the home.

A lot has happened since that first post of June 2o, 2006:

  • I have met some wonderful and talented people in the Blogosphere

  • Many hours have been spent writing this blog and reading those of others.

  • Most of all I have had a lot of fun as  a blogger.

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Here and Knitting

Posted on June 28, 2007 | Comments Off on Here and Knitting

I am still here and knitting daily. My emphasis is dishcloths and squares for Rebuilding Greensburg. I weighed a couple of squares on our new kitchen scale last night to see how much yarn it is taking to make one. Of the five I checked, two weighed 1.2 ounces and three weighed 1.1 ounce. It takes so little yarn to do so much good, regardless of their destination.

The Mad Dash Cloth is finished. A picture of it will be posted tomorrow along with a couple of other dishcloths. I am currently making the Darrell Waltrip cloth using Passion yarn from my recent purchase from  Elmore Pisgah. It is so pretty. Pictures of it will be posted tomorrow. This will become a well used pattern for some of the multicolored yarns in my stash.

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In A Rut

Posted on June 17, 2007 | 1 comment

While updating one of my blogs today, I realized that I am in a rut. One of my passions is making dishcloths. They can be crocheted, knitted or Cro-hooked. The method used depends on my mood at the moment. I go through phases where one method is used more than the other. They are quick, fun and can be as hard or easy as the pattern chosen.

There are lots of free patterns available on line; in my home, in the stores and in the Library. My own collection includes a fairly large variety of new and vintage books which abound in patterns and pattern ideas. This does not include the patterns which have been downloaded over the years from friends, groups and web sites that may or may not still be with us.

When it comes time to start making another dish cloth, do I bother to check any of the above resources? Normally the answer is “No.” Instead I automatically begin using one of several patterns that have been used so often they are memorized.

Today was different. In the course of working online I came across a site that jerked me alert to my laziness when it comes to dish and wash cloth making. I saw some of the most unique dishcloths I have seen in a while. The one that stood out from the rest for me today is the Mad Dash Cloth. The reason is not certain. What is certain is that one is on my needles now. It is being made with my all time favorite cotton color, Peaches n Cream Potpurri Ombre. I chose the small cloth because the smaller size is my favorite.

Mad Dash

Hopefully, it looks like it should. If not, I will try again.

This has definitely gotten me out of the rut.

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More About Rebuilding Greensburg

Posted on June 9, 2007 | Comments Off on More About Rebuilding Greensburg

I realized I forgot to say something about the Rebuild Greensburg Project in my last post. Items other than squares are being accepted. Wash and dish cloths, warm winter hats, socks, mittens and baby bibs are also welcome.

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Greensburg and Stash

Posted on June 9, 2007 | 5 comments

A few days ago I learned about Rebuilding Greensburg -Block by Block while reading Knit and Pray. This struck a tender nerve in my heart. First of all the community was wiped out by the effects of the tornado that hit it. Having lived in Missouri most of my life I have seen some of the effects of this type of storm. They can be horrific to say the least. My heart goes out to all of those affected by it.

Secondly, I made a commitment years ago to return to the community part of what it has given to me. Even though this tragedy did not strike my immediate neighborhood it did hit happen and does affect real people. I recall all too vividly the sense of loss and displacement my family felt last summer and winter during some power outages that hit our St. Louis area. I can barely imagine the great sense of loss happening in Greensburg due to the tornado damage. It must far surpass anything my town and family has experienced.

My response to this situation is to begin to do my part to help. This week has seen a cloth and one square completed.

Cloths1

This is not much, but it is a start. Please excuse the loose ends. They will be woven in before being mailed. Each is in various stages of completion. The square is made from a blue ombre in my stash.The cloth in the picture is a smaller version of the square pattern. It works up quickly and easily. In the next few days I will become a bit more creative in my choice of patterns used.

My choice so far has been to knit squares and cloths. According to the information on the website, crocheted squares are also accepted. I may crochet a few as well. The dish cloths I make will be knitted or crocheted.

Earlier this week the decision was made for me to order some cotton yarn from Elmore-Pisgah. I have been wanting to do this for years because the color selection available on line is better than it is locally. I was told the order would take a few days to arrive. Fair enough… I am in Missouri and the company is in North Carolina. Much to my surprise and delight, it came yesterday while I was home.

I knew the order was large, but take a look at this:

Yarn box

The box is big and packed reasonably full of yarn. I was so excited. It was fun unloading the box and examining its contents. Here are more pictures:

EP Bags

Cones

Mill Ends

The last picture is of the Mill Ends I ordered. From what I have seen so far, they are fine. Based on my past experience with reputable companies such as this one, I don’t expect any problem with them.

This, combined with other cotton yarn from my stash is enough to keep me busy for a while. I will share more about the colors received as cloths are made from them.

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Field Trip

Posted on June 3, 2007 | Comments Off on Field Trip

Yesterday was a most delightful day spent with some very special friends. They are members of the St. Louis Crochet Club.  Some of us met here in Missouri and traveled the short distance to meet with others in Fairview Heights, Illinois.

The day was bright and sunny, which made for a perfect day to take a field trip. The company of long time friends and some new to me friends was most delightful.

Ronnie graciously gave me a ride both ways. The time spent visiting with her and catching up on each others lives was most pleasant.

I was fortunate to find some skeins of discontinued  Caron Cozi. It will make some beautiful and warm scarves for winter.

For a much better account of the days events I refer you to Crochet News @ CraftGossip. My friend Joani tells the tale far better than I would.

All in all it was a wonderful treat and a great way to spend a Saturday!

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