Musings on Creation

A midrash teaches: “When the world was created, God made everything a little bit incomplete. Rather than making bread grow out of the earth, God made wheat grow so that we might bake it into bread. Rather than making the earth of bricks, God made it of clay so that we might bake the clay into bricks. Why? So that we might become partners in completing the work of creation.”

Today's Daily Word - Thursday, March 12, 2009
Cocreator
A new me has emerged.

Watching accomplished athletes execute their skills with perfection, I may consider their performances to be easy and effortless. I know, though, that they have dedicated years of practice toward honing their skills.

There is truth in the adage "practice makes perfect." My spiritual practices of prayer and meditation, faith and trust are more than skills. They are a way of life, a way of living in awareness of who I am and what I can accomplish as a cocreator with God.

With a dedication of my time and understanding, my heart and soul to God, I am spiritually enriched. I am renewed in spirit, mind, and body, and my life is a reflection of the new me that has emerged.

"You have stripped off the old self with its practices and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator."--Colossians 3:9-10

It is interesting to think of ourselves as in partnership with God. Many religions make a point of elevating and separating God from us. If this were our true relationship with God, it would be almost impossible to work with God to complete creation - to become co-creators with God. Yet everyday we experience how Humans and God have come together to create amazing things - medicines, technologies, art, music. God must be much closer to us than we have often been taught.

My personal belief is that the life energy that animates us is God energy - our consciousness is but an individualization of God consciousness. Humans are one way that God expresses itself in the Universe. Everything we do, say, or think is an aspect of co-creating with God.

The question today and every day is - How will I express God today? How will I use this vast store of creative energy in this moment? What will I knit?

Sheep were not created clad in sweaters but with fleece so that we could make yarn and knit, weave, and crochet that yarn into wonderful garments, and afghans and washcloths and countless other things. What will I knit with God today?

Knitting Tools and Projects

For about a year now I have had a strange, deep desire to own a yarn winder. It started the moment I knew that such a contraption existed and was relatively inexpensive. The challenge I faced in getting one is that none of the craft stores or LYSs had one. Oh sure they could order one for me, but there are some things that, for some inexplicable reason, I won't buy sight unseen or without being able to handle it before purchasing. The yarn winder fell into this category.
Last week my beloved and I took an impromptu trip to Lawrence, KS (about 30 mins. from KC). There were a couple of places on Massachusetts Avenue that I have been wanting to visit for some time and just haven't made the trip over - Waxman Candles and Yarn Barn.

Waxman Candles has the most wonderful, scented votives. I try to pick up a few whenever I am there.

The Yarn Barn is a great yarn store that I have wanted to visit and this trip gave me my first opportunity. The store is spacious and has a wonderful selection of yarns. Over on one side there are a couple of tables set up with swifts and - you guessed it - yarn winders. My man immediately asked if that was the contraption that I had been mooning over for a year. Upon my affirmative he asked the clerk who was using the winder if they had any for sale. "We sure do," she said pointing to a stack of square white boxes.

So now I am the proud owner of a manual crank yarn winder.

It is so easy to use and is almost as therapeutic as knitting. I love the center-pull "yarn-cakes" that it creates. They are easy to knit with and store so much easier than a ball or a skein. How did I ever knit without one?

This past week I also got a wild notion to knit a lace shawl. Now normally I try to knit things that I would find useful. As I don't have much call to wear a shawl and really don't have the je ne sais quoi needed to make one look good, I have never thought of knitting one. So I found it very odd that I felt this pull to begin knitting lace shawls.

I blame the men at MenWhoKnit.com. Many of the gents there knit the most beautiful, light, and intricate lace shawls. I don't feel that I have flexed my knitting muscles fully until I have applied them to knitting lace.

Upon starting, I quickly learned that I would need long, circular needles - not to knit in the round necessarily but to easily spread out the ever growing stitches of a shawl. My local craft stores don't carry circulars that are very long, but I did find a set of interchangeable circular needles that would allow me to create the length I would need.

So now I am set for knitting for a while. Except of course that now my wonderful hubby-to-be wants me to knit a shawl for his mother as a gift for our wedding. "Hello, Yarn Barn? I need a mess of yarn please -- red."

Stay tuned.

Knitting Through the Recession

Being unemployed sucks. On the up side, I have had a lot more time to knit. I have also been wondering how crafts such as knitting and crochet are faring during this "recession". News reports I have read lead me to think that as some people have less money for movies, travel, and starbucks, they are buying yarn, hooks and needles.

Here are some examples:

• In the article Living with Less: Getting Creative During a Recession, Robin Cowie Nalepa reported interviewed a Yarn Shop owner. "A $24 yarn purchase could garner two weeks of knitting and a scarf, while a sweater project may last two months and cost $80, explained Winburn. It gives new meaning to 'bang for your buck,'" said Lara Winburn." Nalepa aslo reported that this yarn store may not be seeing an increase in sales but is certainly not seeing a slow down.
• Channel KOAT 7 in Albuquerque has reported in the story Knitting Recession-Proof Pastime that a Local Yarn Shop is having difficulty keeping yarn on the shelves. The classes they offer on the fiber arts are also full.

This of course brings me to the issue which causes me irritation in a craft I otherwise love. The issue - the expense of natural fiber yarns, especially wool. I did some comparisons of some popular yarns that are available to me through LYS or online. My methodology was to look at the yardage for skeins of yarn, the price per skein and the number of skeins needed for a sweater.

What I found was the cheapest I could knit a wool sweater would be for about $40.00 in Lion Brand Fisherman's Wool Yarn. I would be extremely limited in the colors I could choose. The problem I see with this, is that I could buy a wool sweater for $40.00 or less. If I were to use one of the most popular Wool Yarns, Cascade 220, it would cost about $60 in yarn.

I could take into account the joy of hand knitting a sweater, but in many ways that adds to the value/cost of the sweater. The question is does the enjoyment offset the expense of materials and time? So far my answer has been no. The expense of wool yarn, especially while I am on unemployment, is way out of my budget.

This is why I knit mostly with acrylic yarns or blended yarns. They are less expensive. I also try to find yarn on sale. I make an exception with my washcloths. I use bulk cotton when I can get it.

Maybe I will begin to change my mind when I am flush again.

And So I'm Back . . .

Ooh been gone for a while. Sorry about that.

Work got busy during September 08 and continued through October 08. In November, my traveling for work slowed down dramatically and in December I didn't leave KC. Then in mid January my company - which had said just on a call in the last quarter that the company was doing well, no worries - laid off about 50 people, including me.

So with the work slowdown and the new "work" of job hunting, I have had the opportunity to get in some knitting. I am still working on putting together the Barbara Walker, Learn to Knit Afghan (I just can't seem to get motivated to do it).

So here are a few things I have been knitting on . . .

Baby Bib O' Love

I knitted several of these for a couple that are in my partner's Jewish Conversion Class and that are expecting. They are so cute, simple, and quick to knit.

The pattern is from Mason Dixon Knitting by Kay Gardiner and Ann Shayne.

I also knitted some other baby things like a few burp cloths, some booties, and even a baby kimono, but didn't get any pics of those. I almost wish I was "expecting" a child, or had more pregnant friends because I really enjoyed knitting the baby stuff.

Irish Hiking Scarf

Earlier in the year I had picked up four skeins of Patons SWS Soy Wool Solids yarn on sale. I tend to buy yarn then try to figure out how I am going to use it later, so I had no idea what I planned on doing with this yarn. I carried it around in my suitcase thinking that inspiration would strike me during my travels. In October, I finally decided to knit the Irish Hiking Scarf to practice my cabling.

Let me just say, I hate this yarn - if you can call it yarn. It is more like roving as there is no discernible spin or ply to it. It is soft and I love the soft camel color, but to actually use it -- eck. I can't wait to get this project finished and use up all the skeins.

The Irish Hiking Scarf pattern is by Adrian Bizilia. It is easy and a great way to get into cables -- which are really not that difficult.

That all being said, I am liking how the scarf is turning out. I really love the pattern.

Hanukkah Washcloths

My partner and I host an annual Hanukkah Party and invite all of our friends to celebrate the holidays. This year was of course no exception. What was new this year is that my beloved wanted to give some inexpensive gifts to all that were going to attend. His thought was some simple hand-knit washcloths in blue and white.

So I spent the better part of early December knitting some simple cotton washcloths for Hanukkah. I actually enjoy knitting washcloths. They are quick to do, functional and always appreciated. Personally, I prefer my knit washcloths to the terrycloth ones you get at the store.

My First Gloves

Here is my first attempt at knitting gloves. In retrospect, I think I should have started with mittens. The pattern is House Gloves by Ruth Bendig.

Over all, it was a relatively simple project. The only real issue I had was figuring out how to deal with the "holes" that show up at the base of the fingers. In my research on the topic, I could not find any solutions to avoiding the holes. So if you have a good method on avoiding or hiding the holes at the base of glove fingers, I would appreciate your input.

The yarn I used was the ever economical Caron One Pound yarn. I love bulk yarn even though it is cheap and acrylic. I may have alpaca taste, but I have an acrylic budget.

Asherton Reversible Scarf

Love, Love, LOVE this pattern. It is the Asherton Reversible Scarf by Smariek. It was so easy to memorize and knit. I also love the way the pattern forms a geometric pattern that is kind of a three dimensional box. I'll wait why you check it out.

Again I used the Caron One Pound yarn because the gloves didn't use it up - naturally. I really think the color is great for the pattern as well. Yes I used the term color as opposed to the pretentious knitting term colorway. I mean is it really necessary to add "way" to the end of color?

LTKA Section VIII - Special Techniques

I have finally completed the knitting portion of the Learn to Knit Afghan by Barbara Walker. This final section was interesting but tedious. I was not particularly impressed with the "special techniques" except for Square 61 - Parquet Squares. This technique will come in handy when I start a Log Cabin Blanket.

Here are the rest of the results of the final section.

Square 59 - Dip-Stitch Check

Square 60 - Short-Row Stripes

Square 61 - Parquet Squares

Square 62 - Decreasing Seamless Square

Square 63 - Increasing Seamless Square

And now for the fun job of arranging and sewing the squares together. Stay tuned.

LTKA Section VIII - Square 57 and 58

I have completed 2 of the 7 squares in this section. So far I would have to say these squares are interesting but not particularly fun. Star Stitch was OK and came together rather quickly. Blister Stitch was a pain. I just did not understand the concept of dropping stitches and the Internet was completely useless. There were no examples or tutorials on how to intentionally drop stitches down to a specified row. I did eventually figure it out. I kinda think the same pattern could be done more easily with slip stitch but who am I to question the great Barbara Walker.

So here are the first two squares of this section.

Square 57 - Star Stitch

Square 58 - Blister Stitch

LTKA Section VII - Lace

Square 56 - Elkhorn and Fleurette Panels

I had some trouble with this one. First off is not an easy one to chart because the rows do not all have the same number of stitches. I could not figure out how it would come out even in the end. I threw away my chart and went directly to the book and it eventually worked out.

Lace Section Complete

Yeah the Lace section is done. Here are all of the square together. Just one more section to go and the knitting will be done.