Short and Squat

Sometimes I knit with a pattern.

Sometimes I go it alone.

Every so often

I feel like adventure...

And I make a pattern my own!

This time there was a pattern.

A blanket chart, double-knit.

I started out strong,

but it didn't last long...

Then I re-wrote the charts just a bit!

In truth, I re-wrote the charts a LOT. I have now started this blanket a total of three times: twice before the re-write! I love the look of picture knits, and I love that this will be reversible, but I did not love how the first row of pictures turned out...very short and squat.

When I first looked at the pattern (which is really just the chart), I saw that it was a bit too square looking. After all, knit stitches are short and squat...to get a  square you might need 10 stitches and 15 rows, or 12 stitches and 16 rows, or some other ratio. The smart thing to do, knowing this, would be to make a small swatch to test the ratio. Yes, that would be the smart thing to do.

What I did instead was to just cast on 139 stitches (times two, for double-knitting), and start knitting. Oops! A mistake! That's ok...I can rip back to fix it. Oops! I didn't rip back far enough? Ok, let's just rip it all out and start over. On a roll now, I am almost ready for the next set of picture charts...wait just a cotton pickin' minute! This is NOT a square! None of them are! 7 inches wide and only 5.5 inches tall? Ugh! 

And then I re-charted the whole thing. In Excel. 139 stitches by 184 rows, one square at a time. 

So, as I headed into this weekend, I had 3 rows of a new blankey on my needles...and high hopes! I would show you new photos, but I am at a knitters' retreat, and that is a little like Vegas...it stays here, people! Also, the Wi-Fi is sketchy, so I have blogged ahead. But I can tell you that I am having fun, knitting much and laughing with friends! There is no shortage of words (or food or drinks) here at the retreat, but the blog (unlike attempt 3 at the blanket, I hope) is a little short and squat this week!

Thanks for stopping by anyway, and Knit in Good Health yourself!

Prehistoric Pop of Color!

When one lives in northeast Ohio, one learns to tolerate the dull and dreary for months on end...even if one is a cat!

But then one day, in April or May, one just cannot take it any longer! The other day, while contemplating April snow...again...

I reached out for some color. (Side note: If you have a container of Tic Tacs Fruit Adventure, this is a perfect pour! Very inspiring!)

Anyhoo, as I popped those bad boys into my mouth, I started thinking about the yarn again. Remember the yarn? So. Much. Yarn. What color should I knit next? I know! I will knit ALL THE COLORS...muahahahahaha! And so I did...

I started a Stegosaurus in stripes, with the brightest of green plates running down his (her?) back...  

Even when the knitters made fun of my acrylic yarn (which may or may not have come from a dear, departed knitter's stash, gifted to our group by a loving relative...we quite affectionately refer to this as "dead people yarn"), I pressed on until it was time to add the personality.

"I'm stuffed!," shouted Steggie, after many minutes of manipulating fiber fill into the body cavity...

Then the legs. The bright green legs. The legs that will help her (him?) hold that head high! Well, not high. Technically (according to Wikipedia anyway), a stegosaurus holds its tail high, but its short forelegs bring the head closer to the ground, so it can munch on all the natural salad it can find. I know, I know. I am a geek, so I had to look it up. 

Before I looked it up, I agonized at the way that the head always pointed down when I stood Steggie up. I even removed and repositioned the hind legs to make the thing sit a bit straighter, but as it turns out, I should have left it alone. This dinosaur should look like it is taking a nose dive, and Steggie was apparently frustrated with my efforts. In any case, he (she?) was finished with the photo shoot, so I stopped stressing.

Now I am left with only one question: What does one knit following a striped stegosaurus? Well, after just a few minutes contemplation, the cat mentioned a T-Rex...so I have obliged. It does not yet have legs, but she (he?) seems to like the cat already... Black Cat, on the other hand, is not quite sure that she should have chimed in. She did not realize that her suggestion would require participation in the knitting event. She has heaved many a heavy sigh since I started this one! lol! 

So now you now, this is what happens when Springtime in Cleveland lags, which it does pretty much every year. The weather people tell me that the sun should shine today, and it has, so I am keeping my fingers crossed that warm will soon follow! Well, I have uncrossed them to knit...but you get the idea. 

How are you surviving the extended winter of 2018? Are you knitting?

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!

Demanding Dolls

(To the tune of The Brady Bunch Theme Song) 

Here's the story of a gal named Pretty, 

Who was thinking up some very lovely toys:

It starts by having White Cat pick the skin tone,

Then deciding girls or boys?

Since the grand kids are both daughters, 

She decides that gir-irls it must be. 

So she starts to knit the heads and arms and le-egs, 

Then she knits up two bodies.

Now this pile of pieces looks so very lifeless, 

And the dolls are seeming pretty rough -

The next steps are the stuffing and the sewing

Stitching them together so they're tough!

But they're naked, and that's not good! 

Wearing clothes is something they must do...

So Pretty heads out to the local craft store 

To bring home yarn for dresses too.

Then more knitting, and more knitting,
And then some more knitting still...

Until both dolls have new dresses and are decent. 

Yes, I think that fits the bill!

Ok, I am done with the singing now. But I am not done with the knitting! You see, after I finished these two dresses, the dolls looked over and noticed that there was a LOT more yarn available to me, 

and they have demanded more outfits. "At least one more dress each, I think," said the blonde.

"Yes, and wouldn't we like jeans as well? I mean sometimes a girl needs to be a bit more casual," answered her sister. 

"Oh! That's a lovely idea! Jeans! And t-shirts! Why aren't you knitting, Pretty?"

"Oh...," I answered slowly, unsure. "I guess I thought I was finished?" 

"Certainly not!," they replied in unison. And then they made me a list. Purses, hats, tote bags, and maybe a cardigan or shrug? But summer is coming, so they said I could take my time on the sweaters... 

Sigh! Dolls are demanding! But I do enjoy the knitting, so I suppose I will stop complaining and get to it! After all, the forecast calls for rain all weekend, so really...what better way is there to fill my rainy Saturday than knitting and catonlap? 

Is it raining where you are? Do you have weekend plans dictated by demanding dolls? 

Whatever your plans for the weekend, thanks for stopping by, and Knit (or not) in Good Health!

Just Because Follows Fifty

Sooo, last week I turned 50...here, there and everywhere! This morning, I was having a little trouble figuring out how exactly to follow that! I asked the cats for help, and they agreed to brainstorm with me...but then they saw a bird.

I thought back on chocolate covered fruit, sent from the clan in Colorado (THANK YOU!!! Super yummm!!!)...but then I was sad, because it is all eaten up!

I even thought about Barbie...all the Barbies, and all their new clothes, which were so fun to knit! (Photo courtesy of the Colorado girls.)

By the way, as I turned fifty, Peanut was turning 7, and Sweet Pea has managed 3 years and a  couple months...time, she sure does fly!

Anyhoo, I finally settled on the giant pile of yarn at my feet. Even the knitting has been a little uninspired lately. But, as I was getting ready to ship another box of Barbie goodies, it dawned on me that I have not knit a doll in a while...and we all know that I love to knit toys!

So, even though there is no occasion (Christmas is long gone, birthdays are finished, and Easter has passed), I am knitting some just-because-I-want-to dolls!

After all, there are many things in this life that I do because I have to (eat, shower, pay taxes, drive slow), and there are even more that I do because I should (eat less, wear pants, keep from strangling annoying people - yes, you're welcome)...once in awhile, it is good to do something just because it is something I want to do. Today, I want to knit dolls, and knitting dolls does not hurt anyone, so that is what I will do.

I remember thinking, when I was less than 50 years old, that it would be a glorious thing to be all grown up and be able to do whatever I wanted to do, whenever I wanted to do it, just because that is what I wanted to do. As it turns out (spoiler alert!) life rarely works that way for adults. Bills have to be paid, so jobs must be attended. Houses have to be cleaned and families need to eat, so mom naps are often forsaken. Cats must be petted, so even the knitting  sometimes takes a back seat to other things!

However, dull and sad is the life that is void of simple pleasures. I know that I have mentioned abundant life here before, but it bears repeating. Jesus came and died and rose again so that his followers would have life in abundance, including simple and extravagant pleasures! (John 10) Big birthdays and holidays, expensive toys and hobbies, elaborate outings and gatherings are a part of that abundance, for sure. The bigger part, though, is comprised of the smaller things: the perfect strawberry, plump and sweet and juicy, to finish out a simple snack; a really good parking spot, found by chance, in a really bad rainstorm; a word of encouragement, spoken at the right time, and a smile. For me, the little things sometimes include the frivolous knitting of unneeded toys, just because. 

The extravagant is often here and gone quickly. But pay attention. The little things add up, day by day. When they do, they create an overflow of the heart that brings personal and shared joy that can barely be contained! 

Regardless of the big things that you wish you had, can you find some of those little things in your life today? I would bet my eye teeth that they are there, hidden among the have-tos and shoulds, just waiting to be discovered so they can bring more abundance to your life. Keep your heart and your eyes open, and see what you find. Oh, and along the way, do a little something "just because" today. 

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit (what you love) in Good Health!

Fifty...

Tomorrow is a big day, and I have been thinking about it for some time. Tomorrow is Easter, and it is also April Fools' Day. I learned on the internet that this will happen again in 2029 and 2040, then not until 2108. The last time it happened was in 1956.

There is something else about tomorrow...it is my fiftieth birthday! I would not say that I am "excited" to be fifty, but I am glad to still be here, watching my grandchildren grow and celebrating life with people I love! I am even ok with having to share this day with Jesus...lol! His resurrection is certainly a much bigger deal than 50 candles on my cake, and I live in the celebration that He conquered death so that I might see my fiftieth birthday with more faith, hope, love and joy than a body has a right to! 

In the last half-century, I realize that I have learned a thing or two. I am so grateful that I can be taught! Sometimes I doubt myself, as even the simple lessons get past me, but eventually I have managed to catch a few truths about myself and this lifetime. On the eve of the conclusion of my first 5 decades, I would love to share some of them with you...maybe they are true for you as well:

50 Things I Have Learned in My First Half Century:

1. Jesus loves me
2. My mom loves  me
3. My dad loves me
4. My mom and dad are not perfect, but they have always done the best they could do
5. I am not perfect
6. I want to be perfect
7. I want to be enough
8. I am enough, even though I am flawed
9. I am loved more than I know
10. My husband loves me
11. My children love me
12. Even though I love them, I still fail them...more often than I would like
13. I am human and broken, but I can still be kind
14. I am smart
15. I am funny
16. I like people, most of the time
17. People are people, wherever you go
18. People, even Christian people, will let me down
19. I will let others down
20. God will never let me (or anyone else) down
21. God is good, all the time
22. Just because it sounds cliché doesn't mean it isn't true
23. Everyone leaves
24. Everyone loses hope
25. Everyone doubts something
26. Everyone struggles with issues of faith
27. I am not alone
28. My dog loves me unconditionally
29. My cats have conditions
30. I should love like my dog
31. I love my husband more than I thought was humanly  possible before I married him
32. I struggle with that love when times are hard, but I still love him
33. I love my children more than I thought was humanly possible before they were born
34. No matter what they do or have done, I love them beyond measure
35. I love my grandchildren way more than I thought was humanly possible
36. There is nothing they could do that would separate them from my love
37. God loves them (and me) more than any human could ever love
38. God loves me (and you) so much that he gave his one and only Son away to death, so that whoever believes in Him will never die but have eternal life
39. Eternity is a very long time
40. Fifty years is not very long at all
41. Fifty years is a lifetime
42. Death is certain for everyone
43. What happens next is up to me (and you)
44. We have options because Jesus conquered death
45. Losing someone you love is hard
46. Grief is part of life in a fallen world
47. Friendship and love soften grief in this lifetime
48. There is a place where there are no tears, no pain and no sorrow
49. Worship restores my soul
50. When we all get to Heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be!

Ok, it is not an exhaustive list. I could probably find another 50 things if I wanted to, and it would likely not take me half a century! But I think this is a good start for Easter weekend 2018, and the fiftieth anniversary of my birth.

Whatever your age and wherever you are, I hope you find some truth for yourself in my humble list. I also hope that you find love, joy, hope and faith in Jesus this Easter!

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!

PS - Yeah, there was no knitting (again) in this post. Rest assured, my needles are still clicking! Barbie is getting new clothes, and my family has warm hats and mittens on this cold Easter weekend in Ohio! Happy Easter friends!