Projects On My Needles....

I find myself wishing I could knit about 15 things at once and get them all finished in a week. However, I have to be realistic and accept that I can only accomplish so much.

Having said that; I am at a stage in my life where I am feeling 'bold' and beginning to tackle techniques I used to steer clear of for fear of failing; or because I felt I did not have enough patience to do a good job. Maybe this 'boldness' is coming from the stage in a woman's life when she reaches the Age of Crones. When I say "Crone" I know it evokes an image of an old witch with a warted nose, bent over, and wearing a black dress and matching pointed hat in your mind. But in today's world, the term Crone means the time in a woman's life when she has passed through the many trials and tribulations of youth and has grown in knowledge and inner wisdom. It gives us patience, patience, and more patience. It allows us to 'saunter' through life feeling an inner peace and knowing that no matter what is happening around and with you; everything will eventually be fine.

In my knitting life, I am feeling more and more compelled to create items with cables and to begin knitting lace.

When I look at pattern instructions for cabled sweaters and scarves, I used to cringe. I have overcome that fear to a great extent. Having 'tackled' a scarf for my friend Steve; I am now knitting a toddler sweater that is 100 percent cabled; front, back, and sleeves.

Here is the back:

And below is another photo of the back ........

When this sweater is completed, it will go into my 'finished items' stash and find a home wherever my Spirit tells me to send it. It could be to a toddler nearby, or sent to whatever project my All Crafts For Charity" Yahoogroup is working on at the moment.

The second project I am working on is a scarf for an elderly gentleman in Boston who is a barber by profession and has been cutting hair for well over 50 years. He has cut the hair of two men I know for decades, and I would just like to give him a token of love for being who he is and doing what he does.

I think when you get into the Crone Era of your life, you begin to look at life differently, and appreciate those around you who have 'stood the course' and has always been there doing whatever it is they do. They are the 'great oak trees of humanity' and should be recognized for their stability.

So here is the scarf I am knitting for Mr Fontes. It is a wonderfully textured pattern using plain knit and purl stitches; but it is a 44 row pattern repeat. The good news is; after 44 rows, you have a minimum of 7 and a half inches of scarf; so it works up quickly.

My scarf will be approximately 42 inches long and I am half way through it now and have only worked on it two days.

I haven't decided if I am going to 'block' the scarf or not when I am finished. I love the texture just the way it is........


A real close-up of the stitches....

My final project is a lap-afghan for a woman who used to live across the street from the home I was raised in. She was my baby-sitter after I came from school until my great-aunt came home from work. She did this until I was 10 years old and to this day she communicates with me every year, and still thinks of me as "her baby." She also owned a Beauty Shop and used to do my hair for special occasions as a child. She is in wonderful mental health and only her legs are a little weak in the twilight years of her life.

I have only begun to knit the lap-ghan and hope to have it finished by Mother's Day....

Here's a closer view of the stitches.....