(First I will divert your attention from the fact that I haven’t been able to start on my Project Spectrum Red & Pink items by sharing a picture of a stargazer lily that I took last summer when visiting a tulip farm in Holland, MI.)
Participating in the Knitting Olympics gave me a chance to reflect on why and how I knit. I knit to relax..I knit to carry on a craft that my Grandma does…I knit as a way to give personalized gifts for others that show I’m thinking of them…I knit! Just yesterday I received an email from a friend that reaffirmed the joy that I find in knitting for others. Here is a snippet about a blanket I made for “Baby Grace” who is now 3:
“I forgot to tell you…the only other thing she has a hard time parting with for any period of time is her blanket that she calls (appropriately) blank… the blanket that she won’t let anyone touch is the sweet blanket that you made…she will not sleep without the blanket and the only one she will let touch it is her pup. she and pup and blank sleep together every night or…no one in the house sleeps at all…thank you so much for that sweet blanket!”
In other knitting news, I’ve made a detour into pale blues, greens & purples for a quick knit – details to be posted later. This evening while commuting home on the EL I spotted a fellow commuter knitting & discovered she was knitted the fabled Jaywalker that has been seen all over knit-blog-landia – I think the woman got a kick out of someone recognizing the pattern – she commented that it was an easy knit but she has had to frog several times – in fact, at lunch her co-workers give her grief when she pulls out “the same sock”. I took a sock class 3 years ago (& never finished the second sock) – one of my knitting goals for this year to to complete a pair of socks.
March 2, 2006 at 7:18 pm
Oh, make sure you make that pair for yourself. You will love them! There is nothing like a pair of socks knit just for your feet!
March 3, 2006 at 12:01 am
That’s so cool that you had a close encounter with a knitter of the first kind!! If someone came up to me out of the blue and recognized what I was knitting, I’d be so thrilled! What a fun experience. And what a sweet note from your friend! There’s nothing better than knowing that your knitting has brought someone warmth, peace and comfort. The Stargazer Lily is beautiful- one of my favorite flowers! Take care, Amy! 🙂
March 3, 2006 at 5:37 am
Yes, you need socks!
What a neat encounter on the commute. You can bet that Jaywalker told everyone that someone recognized her sock, too!
March 3, 2006 at 9:32 am
Isn’t fun to see other knitters on the el? I ususally read instead of knit on the train, so I end up just staring at the other knitter. Once I saw a guy walking down Randolph to the blue line knitting socks while walking! He had the yarn ball in his pocket. Too funny!
March 3, 2006 at 10:05 am
I love the colors!! Inspiring and distracting…hehe
March 5, 2006 at 8:48 am
That lily is breathtaking, Amy! Thanks for sharing!
I love the story of you meeting the other commuting knitter 😉 It is just too funny that she was knitting the Jaywalkers. I saw a lady on the street one day in DC wearing a Clapotis, but by the time I recognized it, she was too far gone to say anything…
Go sock knitting! I know you can do it – then you may be as addicted as me 😉
March 9, 2006 at 3:23 pm
How sweet that your friend shared how loved your baby blanket is! I give so many things away and sometimes wonder how appreciated they are.
You definately should knit your second sock. I just finished knitting my first pair for myself and there’s nothing like wearing a sock you made!