Goodbye

My Grandma Helen was the original knitter in my life. She refused to teach me to knit though, always telling me I was too young to learn. Incidentally, it was my other grandmother that ended up teaching me (on sharpened pencils no less) to knit around age 8. Of course, I put my knitting down and didn't pick it up again until I was an adult.

But when I think of knitting, it's my Grandma Helen I remember most. I remember hearing about her finishing the Master Knitter program (I'm guessing just the first portion). She was the craftiest person in my family. She always had some sort of handiwork in her lap.....knitting, crocheting, sewing, embroidery....

She had an entire closet in the guest room (where I used to stay) devoted to craft supplies. Yarn, ribbon, shells, and sequins adorned almost every craft project I created in her home. And I created many!

We were two peas in a pod, but distance kept us from truly learning from each other.

A few years ago, Grandma Helen stopped remembering things. She mixed up people's names, and even forgot that she'd ever had children...much less grandchildren and great-grandchildren. It was around this time that I truly became passionate about knitting. It saddened me that I couldn't talk to her about it. After all, she was the expert in the family, and knitting is a tradition that used to be passed down from one generation to the next. Knitting loses a special something when it's learned from a book. I missed that, and I missed her. The one person that would understand my knitting frustrations and triumphs.

I haven't talked to my grandmother in a couple of years. She lived in Colorado, and someone introducing themselves as her grand-daughter on the phone confused her, so I stopped calling, not wanting to frustrate her. Eventually my aunt removed her phone altogether. I mentally said my goodbyes to the grandmother I'd once known, finding peace in knowing that her Alzheimer's (for the most part) didn't bother her. She was happy, finding the simple pleasures in life, over and over again for the first time each day.

This morning, my Grandma Helen passed away in her sleep. She was truly an exceptional woman, and I will miss her dearly.

Goodbye, Grandma.

I love you.

Trains And Christmas

Two Fridays ago, we were blessed with a unique opportunity. As part of a military appreciation program put on by BNSF Railroad, we were invited to ride on a vintage passenger train as a family! We snatched up the oportunity, unsure of when we'd ever get this kind of chance again...to ride on a train with the girls.

See? I'm always missing from the photos. *Sigh* Actually, there's a full family pic of me inside the train, but I'm gonna be selfish and not show it. lol. It's my blog and my right to protect myself from bad pictures. :)

This was our view as we awaited departure. Another BNSF train.

The BNSF staff was truly wonderful. The girls got coloring books, paper conductor hats, string cheese, pretzels, cheese crackers, juice, soft drinks, and the family got a very pretty train Christmas ornament.

We even got a visit from Santa and Mrs. Claus. Miss May was very quick to tell Santa exactly what she wants for Christmas!

It was truly a memorable evening. Thank you so much to BNSF for everything!

Simplicity

Sometimes, especially this time of year, when you're feeling most hard-pressed to get Christmas knitting done, you just can't. Your mind and fingers just refuse to mesh and you need a break from it all. At least, I need a break. So I've decided to just knit some simple dishcloths. The bonus? People love them and they make pretty darn good gifts on their own.

This is a pretty common pattern that I don't think has a real "source." So here it is:

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Simple Dishcloth

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US7-8 needles

Cotton like Sugar n' Cream (or cotton chenille for an elegant facecloth)

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CO 4 stitches

Row 1: knit

Row 2: k2, YO, knit to end

Repeat row 2 until washcloth is the desired size (I like 40 for dishcloths and 45 or so for facecloths.)

Begin decreasing:

Dec. row 1: k1, k2tog, YO, k2tog, knit to end

Repeat dec. row 1 until you only have 4 stitche left, knit last row, and bind off.

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Super simple and very easy to memorize. These are great for those knit nights where you end up talking instead of counting!!!

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Remember to take it easy everyone. Knitting is supposed to be fun!

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(Apologies for the "." line breaks. Blogger hasn't been cooperating with me today!)

New Karatstix Tools in the JL Yarnworks Shop!

The JL Yarnworks Shop was sold out of Karatstix™ Bamboo Tools for entirely too long! But I am completely stocked up again.

AND, I've added this nifty little Kitchener Stitch Keyring. On the front, it has all these cute little skeins of yarn, sheep, and socks.

But flip it over and it's a handy little Kitchener Stitch cheat sheet. Put your keys on this and you will never be far from the steps you need to stitch up the toes of your socks! See the close-up? Isn't it lovely?

Happy shopping!