Good News, Bad News

exchanges
So, the good news is I've gotten a lot of knitting done lately! I've finished my picot socks knit with Yarn Pirate Calamity. They just need to be washed and blocked. I'm also nearly finished with the body of the Alpaca Silk Shrug--I've got about 20 rows left on the last sleeve, then seaming, then the six-inch ruffle.

The bad news? I can't show any of them to you. I've misplaced my freaking camera. Sigh.

This has been pretty much par for the course for me this past week or two.

A week ago today, I left for work at 7:30. Only I picked up the wrong set of keys, locking myself out of my house and my car. Yes, I felt smart. Particularly when The Beloved had to drive home from work--45 minutes away--to let me in. Did I mention how smart I felt?

Then The Beloved asked (very nicely) if he could have a night to raid on freakin' WoW. Yeah. This made me happy. But since I don't want to be the shrew wife who tells him, no, no hobbies for you, Computer Man, we agreed on a night. The deal was, I give him Friday Night for raiding and he reads chapter 11 of this book for me. I'm striving for the delusion that we will at least be speaking the same language vis-a-vis certain topics.

And add to all that fun the fact that I've just been extremely out of sorts. I'm not sure if it's my bad week or if it's seasonal depression or if it's something else. I'm just exceedingly moody and not desirous of getting out of bed in the morning. Meh.

The only thing I can think that could possibly help is to start a new knitting project. So, as soon as the body of the shrug is finished, I'll wind this yarn up:
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and begin some new socks. I'm thinking about knitting these socks (scroll down, they're there) with that tasty merino/tencel yarn. And as soon as I finish the ASS, er, Alpaca Silk Shrug, I'll start on the Cobblestone Sweater for my darling spouse. So, I'm hoping that those will suffice as glimmers of hope on the horizon.

On an unrelated note...well, maybe related, because the activity tickles me just a bit, I have two to Pay it Forward: The Crafty Preppy; and The Quintessential Procrastinator! In six to nine months, you will each receive something handmade from me! I'll be in touch shortly. But the rest of you--notice that I've only got two people for whom to make something! That means there is room for one more! So, the next person who leaves a comment and wants to pay some handmade gift goodness forward will be in. If you've got questions as to what in the hell I'm talking about, read the bottom half of this post.

4,000 Hats in 40 days

charity
Impressive, isn't it? It's a Ravelry Group that has made it their mission to try and knit/collect 4,000 hats during the 40 days of Lent for the Seaman's Church Institute. I have to admit, I'm intrigued.

Here's my conundrum, though... The Seaman's Institute is a fine program. I've knit for them in the past, right about the last time I picked up knitting. They received several garter-stitch hats and scarves made from the finest Red-Heart acrylic. (What? They requested the acrylic and I didn't know anything about yarn at that point, anyway.) And then I discovered Seafarer's Friend.

At this point in time, I prefer donating to the latter organization. Both carry out work to benefit working, merchant-type (as opposed to Navy-type) sailors. Both are Christian organizations, and the Seaman's Institute is even affiliated with the good ol' Episcopal Church*. But Seafarer's Friend is local. Donations go to sailors who come to my town during the course of their work. It's a way to express not only a sort of Christian hospitality, but also to extend hospitality on behalf of my community.

I'm big on local involvement. I truly believe that if we want to make the world a better place, we need to take a look out of our own front doors. And I believe that improvements in our immediate communities--familial, civic, religious, scholastic, whatever--can spread out and take root in ever widening groups. This isn't to say that one should never give to International Organizations--they need our help, too! I've just seen, way too often, people get wrapped up in the drama of feeding starving children halfway around the world while ignoring the starving child down the street.

My dream is to see a world with no starving children. But I digress.

4,000 hats in 40 days. Think of all the working sailors this would warm. Knitting seems an appropriate Lenten devotion, doesn't it? Many years ago I came to the realization that giving something up for Lent doesn't work for me. Deprivation does not help me get ready. Instead, I add something. I say morning prayer. Or I sing Compline every night. But devotional knitting might be the ticket for me this year. Maybe hats. Maybe Magic 28 socks. (Yes, Marianne, I'm still knitting them. I just never think to photograph them.) I've still got a little time to think about what I might like to do and where to send them.

What about you? Do you all have charitable organizations of choice for knitted stuff? Favorite places to do volunteer work? Lenten plans?

*I honestly don't care if a charity organization is religiously based. They could be Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, Shinto, Manichean, or Atheist for all I care. The important thing is that they do good works and I can buy into some aspect of their mission. I don't even have to agree with all of what they believe--I've got problems with the theological beliefs of the Salvation Army, but they feed the hungry and do amazing relief work and I respect that and happily work their soup kitchen. In any event, I think the only reason I used the religious descriptor was to, well, describe the organizations.

Westward Ho!

exchanges
That's what The Beloved calls this hat. What a little charmer!

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Lyra's Hat
Size: Large (To fit a large child or small adult)
Yarn: Reynold's Blizzard colorways 688 and 673
Purchased at: A Loom with a View, Newburyport, MA
Needles: KA circular needles, US size 19/15 mm.

So, on Wednesday I visited my friend Libby for tea and a knitting lesson. Libby reported on the fabulous knitwear in The Golden Compass after she saw it and said to me, Saisquoi, I want this hat that Lyra wears when she's with the polar bears. You'll know it when you see it. It doesn't look hard. Do you think I can do it? Of course! So, we bought yarn, went back to her place, and had some knitting fun. She learned the cable cast on and how to purl before the end of the evening. I'm happy to see she taught herself the three-needle bind-off and has a completed hat! Yay for the finished object!!

I brought mine home and finished it off whilst watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer with the Beloved. It was quick and easy and very satisfying.

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The Beloved is probably right and I look like a garden gnome gone bad, but the hat is warm and fuzzy and kind of cute. I fully intend on wearing it if the weather gets cold again. I will likely make the hat again...but probably for a small child and not for myself.

I've also decided to pony up and do this, which I've seen around blogtopia for a while: The Pay It Forward Exchange. It’s based on the concept of the movie “Pay it Forward” where acts or deeds of kindness are done without expecting something in return, just passing it on, with hope that the recipients of the acts of kindness are passed on. I'm coming in because of Marianne's post.

So here’s how it works. I will make and send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment to this post on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I do not know what that gift will be yet, and it won’t be sent this month, probably not next month, but it will be sent (within 6 months--or 9 months by Marianne's rules) and that’s a promise! What YOU have to do in return, then, is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.

I will now Pay It Forward to you THREE, I wonder who you will be?! Please, be a PIF! You will enjoy it just as much as we do!

And, remember…you have 6 months (or 9 months, to be 'fair') to get your gifts done!
Also, you don’t have to knit or crochet to participate, anyone who can make a nice handmade gift is welcome to join.

Any takers?

Epiphany

charity
Epiphanymittens
Epiphany Mittens
Pattern: Basic Pattern for Children's Mittens by Elizabeth Durand
Size: According to pattern, to fit child aged 8-10. In reality, these will fit a large child or a small adult.
Yarn: Noro Kureyon Colorway No. 212
Purchased at: Charlotte's Web, Exeter, NH
Needles: Takumi Clover US Size 7/4.5 mm DPNs

Today we celebrate the feast of the Epiphany--the day we remember the Magi...the Wise Ones...and their arrival in Bethlehem. At church, we decided that this was a good reason to have a coat drive. The Christ Child might not need a jacket right now, but there are certainly others in our community who could do with a little extra warmth. So, while the Magi may have brought offerings of Gold and Frankincense and Myrrh, we were asked to bring gifts of lightly-used outerwear.

nativitymittens


Since The Beloved and I don't have children, we didn't have any lightly-used children's coats to offer. We tend to wear our clothing into the ground, so we didn't have any big people things to give, either. So, this weekend I raided the stash and knit mittens. I don't think they came out half bad.

I bought the Noro in December with the intent of knitting these. But, I've had a recent slump of feeling excessively sorry for myself and the thought of knitting cute baby things just added to my morose-ness, so the Noro has waited patiently. When the coat drive was announced (the Sunday before Christmas), I thought I'd knit something if I had time, and I've generally got some Patons Classic 100% Merino lying around. This week when I realized that Christmas was nearly over, I realized that I really wanted to use the Noro. The mittens may be utilitarian, but there's no reason they can't be gorgeous, too, right?

Like I said earlier, I don't think they came out half bad.

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